When I first came up with the idea of doing this, I was sure it would be me, and MAYBE one other family member contributing, but I couldn't have been more wrong. EVERY single sibling put in at least one film. I couldn't believe how much everyone participated.
There was laughter. There were tears. But most of all, there were lots of memories. And while this is pretty special now, I can only imagine how great it will be 20 years from now.
Our first film comes from 30 years of digitised video footage. Several family members warned (apologetically) about what I'd find. Somehow, I think the only proper response to that is to put every embarrassing moment to music.
This groovy piece was done by my Bostonian nieces and nephews thanks to their auntie (on the other side of their family, Kate). Cuties.
You never really realise how many inside jokes a family has, until you marry into one. After watching basically every filmed moment of their lives, I can finally laugh along, which I must say feels pretty grand. This one was done by Matt and his lovely wife Lisa.
I'll probably never be able to say enough about how much this kid inspires me. Andrew is a real gem, and while I've said it before, his bravery inspires me.
For a change of pace, here's Tom's Ode to a fart machine.
My nieces in Wisconsin, definitely don't back down from a solid roasting of the Young brothers. Here's there skit inspired from Kid Snippets.
Because Kathryn, Jason and their girls couldn't be at the reunion, they made this second film and I have to admit to being totally blown away-- the idea was BRILLIANT. I love how she got everyone up and moving, and the whole family interacting. I filmed the reactions of everyone at the reunion and edited it in to the original video. Together it makes this film one of my all time favs.
When Jon and his bros were little, they weren't really allowed to do much by way of playing with friends on Sundays. They did, however, have a video camera, and --to fight boredom-- they got creative and started filming each other. This video is a remastered set of those little films. After seeing the fruits of a this rule, my children will definitely get to look forward to no friends on Sunday.
This one was a big fan favourite at the reunion. It chronicles the early days of Dave and Rachel... who may or may not have put their son in a wig and dress. It's epic. Please watch.
This film was a beast to get finished! It took about two weeks longer than anticipated. I learned quite quickly that trying to implement green screen (when you have a Christmas tree in virtually every shot) is just pure masochism. In the end this is where we arrived-- this is what Christmas Eve looked like in Jon's house as a child. Also, a big shout out to Auntie Claire for being such a killer narrator!
This film cleaned house. It probably would have won every award if we would have let it-- and even a few we didn't do (like special effects, for example). Dan put so much work into this, and I seriously get more impressed with it with each viewing. Friends, I give you the coolest home film you've probably ever seen...
And then there is this one. I've talked about it before, but it really is one of the things I'm most proud of watching. Please watch it, share it and enjoy...
So that is this years film festival. For family, I know there are a couple of recommendations on how we can improve things for next year, so please do let me know what those things are! Also, for a little nostalgia, check out our 2013 reunion (one of my very first videos ever!).
As for the awards, here's the offical list for posterity:
Best Young Filmmaker
Winner: Come and Get Your Love (Christensens)
Runner-up: Wedding Jitters (Woods)
Best Drama
Winner: Daydream (Dyers)
Runner-up: Youngling Bunch (Jon + Jess)
Best Musical
Winner: Home (Andrew)
Runner up: Freeze Dance (Woods)
Best Comedy
Winner: Come and Get Young Love (Dave + Rachel)
Runner up: Thank You Notes (Matt + Lisa)
Audience Choice Award
Winner: Daydream (Dyers)
Runner up: Come and Get Young Love (Dave + Rachel)
Best of Show
Winner: Chairs (Jess)
Runner up: Daydream (Dyers)
Also, for my loyal readers, I know I've been MIA this summer, but all that is about to change come September 1st. Watch out cuz there's gonna be a whole lotta bloggin going on.