Blog
Lives Lived
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Hello Friends!
Eva’s parents wrote a wonderful piece that was published in The Globe and Mail a few weeks ago. For anyone who missed it, here it is: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/facts
It’s been a crazy few weeks with the Vancouver International Film Festival going on in the city. VIFF dedicated one of it’s screenings this year in memory of Eva, which was wonderful because the film they chose was co-edited by Justin Cousineau, Eva’s boyfriend who also worked on 65_RedRoses. The documentary, called Leave Them Laughing, recently won an award at the Hot Docs International Film Festival, and it was voted Most Popular Canadian Documentary at VIFF (we won last year in the same category, as well as taking home the Audience Choice for Best Canadian Feature). As it turns out Leave Them Laughing was directed by John Zaritsky, who taught Phil and I at UBC. He was one of the first people to encourage us to make 65_RedRoses, so it was a special evening getting to see his film, and have the screening dedicated to Eva. I have no doubts that Eva would have absolutely loved Carla (who is the main subject of the documentary and who passed away this year from ALS). I know Eva saw bits of the film while it was in the rough cut stage, and the finished documentary is one you don’t want to miss.
65_RedRoses is being broadcast in Canada (the full version) on November 16th at 9pm on Knowledge. For scheduling details please visit: http://www.knowledge.ca/schedule/2010-11-15
I’ve been working on a small video with Justin that is going to be played at the upcoming CF Gala here in Vancouver. For those of you that want to make a financial donation to a worthy cause please consider the Canadian Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Their researchers are doing amazing work and are leading the race to find a cure for CF. To make a donation just visit our homepage and click on “download to donate to CF,” and you’ll get a free song written by singer/songwriter Shani Banerjee for Eva.
Can’t wait to tell everyone more about the American broadcast we have coming up in the new year! We just sent off a new cut of the film and are waiting back for notes. We have incorporated new interview footage and videos of Eva and her family. The ending is completely different.
Just two weeks left for the Geminis!
Love, love, love,
Nimisha
Gemini Nomination!
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On the day of the Gemini Announcement Phil and I (both in our respective cities of Toronto and Vancouver) woke up to our blackberries buzzing with emails and calls from people letting us know we had received a Gemini Nomination for Best Direction of a Documentary Program. The Geminis are the Canadian version of the Emmy’s, and since 65_RedRoses is our first film for television we are extremely honored and humbled to be nominated this year! Our category includes some amazing filmmakers, including Niles Diamond who made a wonderful film called Reel Injun (which we totally recommend checking out!).
Major thanks goes out to Force Four Entertainment and CBC News Network, especially our amazing Commissioning Editor Andrew Johnson (we’re all pictured above at Hot Docs 2009).
65_RedRoses had it’s broadcast premiere on the documentary program The Passionate Eye last year and now we’re getting ready for it’s up-coming Canadian broadcast on The Knowledge Network in November. Knowledge will be airing the feature version in its entirety, which is amazing and wonderful since the original, longer cut shows more of Meg and Kina and Eva’s relationship with them. I spent the afternoon yesterday recording an update that will air after the film is broadcast. When I was asked to come in and record it on camera I didn’t think twice about saying yes. I thought it would be easy, Phil and I have both done a lot of interviews the past few months, and I get emails and messages every day about 65_RedRoses and Eva. But yesterday it just hit me that I was going to be the one telling viewers that she’s gone. As I stood on the mark facing the camera all I could think was, she should be the one in front of the lens. This update should really be her talking about life and all the adventures that she’s been on. In many ways it feels like there is no normal anymore, it feels wrong even talking about her in the past tense. I knew I was going to have trouble with the update, but I didn’t expect the sadness to just spill out of me, emotions uncontrollable. In the end I am happy the director only did one take. Whatever they captured came from the heart, and I can honestly say it was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do as a director on this film.
Lots of love to Eva wherever she may be.
DVDs are IN!
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Last Thursday was a pretty exciting day, we received the first batch of 65_RedRoses dvds!!! For people who pre-ordered the film in Canada and the US, dvds are now on their way to you! I wish Eva was here to see these – they’re real dvds with a proper case and everything! Now it feels like a real movie, I can hold it in my hands! We all worked so hard to get to this point.
I read all the comments that come in and Phil and I are really hoping that we can start sending copies overseas, we keep getting these lovely messages from people in the Netherlands and Peru and Australia. Eva had an international following and we want everyone to get to see the film that she spent the last three years of her life making and promoting. There are logistical issues right now but I think that in the next few months we should be able to figure out an affordable way to get them out there…
For the moment we are trying to share the film with our fellow Canadians. Last week I got an invitation from the law firm Hwang Company in New Westminster to come out to an event called Show & Shine and sell dvds. Michael Hwang is a lawyer and a great supporter of the arts (the world needs more people like him!) and his offices are currently displaying the original 65 Red Roses painting on their main wall. Show & Shine, for those of you who don’t live in New Westminster, is referred to as “the largest car show in the lower mainland.” It seemed liked a great chance to hand out organ donor cards and sell copies of the film, so on World Cup Sunday I piled boxes of dvds and donor cards into my car and headed to New West – with my aunt and mom coming along as volunteers.
New Westminster is Eva’s home town and her uncle owns a historic shoe store on the city’s main road so everywhere I looked there were prints of the 65 Red Roses paintings up in store windows. I got to see the painting for myself for the first time. There are no words to describe just how beautiful it is. They haven’t decided yet where it will end up, but I hope it is a children’s hospital in Canada. Eva’s mom was telling me that families spend a lot of time just waiting in the hospitals, so it would be amazing for them to have a painting this intricate and detailed to spend time appreciating. It’s true that every time you look at it you discover something new.
I handed out as many donor cards as I could and I’m happy to say that 2 people registered right in front of me to donate all their organs. Inside the offices where I had a display of the dvds dozens of people told me their stories about their experiences with transplant.. A lot of people who had never seen the film before picked up the dvd. It was a really great and successful event and I also got to see some pretty amazing cars!
The next stop for selling the film is going to be Vancouver’s Leisure Society where Eva spent a lot of time last summer raising money for CF and awareness for organ donation. We are self distributing the film in Canada so right now a large portion of what we’re making on the film is going straight back into keeping this movement running. I know we are just getting started.
Phil, the co-director of the film will be in attendance at the screening of 65_RedRoses in Toronto July 18th as a part of the BITE ME! Toronto International Body Image Film & Arts Festival. For more info please click here!
Love love love,
Mish
PS: Eva’s friend Ian Bevis is riding a tandem bike across Canada to raise money for CF!
DVD Pre-Sales Start Shipping This Week
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We’ve got the DVD in our hot little hands and they start shipping to Canada this week. The US is not far behind!
Thanks to everyone who purchased a DVD & are helping support Eva’s movement for organ donation!
We’re now selling the DVD in Canada through HelloCoolWorld.com’s web store for $24.95. For now, it’s Canada only but this is only the beginning. We’d love to be able to sell it internationally but it’s a lot more complicated. Different regions use different formats, and we’d need a way to process and fulfill international orders. It’s definitely on our wish list though, and we’re exploring the options.
2010 BANFF WINNER FOR BEST CANADIAN PROGRAM
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PRESS RELEASE!
Force Four Entertainment picked up the Banff Rockie Award for Best Canadian Program for the one-hour documentary 65_RedRoses at the Banff World Television Festival on Tuesday, June 15th. Directed by Nimisha Mukerji and Philip Lyall, the film tells the heart-wrenching story of Eva Markvoort, a beautiful, high –spirited young woman with Cystic Fibrosis, as she awaits a double lung transplant.
The film was produced by Force Four partner John Ritchie and Executive Produced by Force Four partners Rob Bromley and Gillian Lowrey, for CBC News Network’s The Passionate Eye. Commissioning Editor for CBC was Andrew Johnson. Funding was also provided by Knowledge.
Eva Markvoort lived for two years with her new lungs and recently passed away, causing an outpouring of emotion from around the world, as the film, distributed by PBS International, has screened in more than a dozen countries, picking up three awards at the Vancouver Film Festival and awards at the 2009 Hot Docs Film Festival, Mendocino International Film Festival, as well as Omaha and Arizona’s International Film Festivals.
Spurred on by demand from around the world, the filmmakers are making DVD’s available for pre-order on the official website, www.65RedRoses.com. A portion of all proceeds will go to honoring the movement Eva Markvoort created for organ donation.
The win at the Banff Rockie Awards signifies that the jury, comprised of top broadcasters from around the world, judged the documentary to be the best program produced in Canada in 2009, across all genres.
Force Four Entertainment is a leading production company, producing television in all genres, from scripted drama and comedies to factual entertainment and documentaries. The company’s many awards include the prestigious Peabody and multiple Gemini Awards.
65_Red Roses was directed and produced by Nimisha Mukerji and Philip Lyall, and is their first feature length documentary. The two young talents were last month awarded the Don Haig Award for most promising new filmmakers at the 2010 Hot Docs Festival in Toronto.
65_RedRoses Wins at Mendocino Film Festival!
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We’re so happy to report that 65_RedRoses just won 2 awards at the 2010 Mendocino Film Festival in California!!! What an incredible festival for filmmakers, they screened two Oscar Winning documentaries (The Cove and Music By Prudence) and Phil and I both really enjoyed the documentaries Between the Folds and Tapped.
65_RedRoses won the Audience Choice Award as well as Best Emerging Filmmaker Award!
Here we are with the Oscar winning director of The Cove – Louie Psihoyos
Filmmaker’s Mission Statement
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LOVE FROM THE INSIDE OUT
“This is the end of my life but it is not the end of my love…it is not the end of the story.” -Eva Markvoort, Feb. 11, 2010
Without fully realizing it, Eva Markvoort started a global campaign for organ donation in the spring of 2007, while she was waiting on a transplant list for new lungs. At the time, her future depended entirely on the kindness of strangers, who could give her the gift of life by being an organ donor. Living with the fatal genetic disease Cystic Fibrosis was a constant reminder to Eva that she needed to make every breath count.
Eva put her whole heart into her relationships with her family and friends and was an accomplished writer with an international following through her online blog, where she became known as 65_RedRoses. Although she knew that transplant surgery would never cure her of CF, all Eva really wanted was more time to share her love with the world.
Eva was an incredibly artistic and creative person, and she agreed to open up her life and that of her family’s for the documentary 65_RedRoses because she knew the medium of film was a powerful way to communicate her message of hope. She fearlessly shared the most intimate and personal moments of her life with us on camera because she believed that after seeing 65_RedRoses and witnessing the miracle of transplant, people would finally understand the importance of registering to become an organ donor.
To date, our award-winning film has screened at numerous international festivals and been televised in a dozen countries, and Eva’s message of love continues to gain momentum.
Right now all over the world there are countless people like Eva waiting for their pagers to go off, telling them they are about to receive the gift of life, and if even one person decides to register to become an organ donor after seeing our film then we will have helped turn Eva’s dream into a reality. By purchasing 65_RedRoses on DVD you are not just supporting our worldwide initiative to raise awareness about organ donation but you are also helping us keep a part of Eva’s indomitable spirit alive, as well as helping to promote research to cure Cystic Fibrosis.
Eva’s personal heroes were her donor and her donor’s family who extended her life by two more years, which she filled with incredible memories.
While waiting for a second transplant on March 27, 2010, at the age of 25, Eva’s breath finally ran out. She left us knowing that while her life was cut too short she still managed to share her love with people around the world. This movement for organ donation created by Eva can only live on with your support. We hope that you will become a part of the 65_RedRoses movement and help Eva’s story inspire others to give the greatest gift of love; the gift of life.
– Nimisha Mukerji and Philip Lyall, Directors 65_RedRoses
PREORDER 65_REDROSES DVD!
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Thanks to the overwhelming response we received over the past few months we are now officially selling 65_RedRoses on DVD!!!
If you live in Canada or the US you can preorder a copy of 65_RedRoses online until June 21st for $19.99.
www.hellocoolstuff.com/catalog.cfm?view=CATALOG_DETAILS&category_id=10&product_id=171
Our wish is Eva’s wish – that her work on behalf of organ donation carry on so please help us spread the word about the film becoming available for the first time on DVD!
CNN.com!
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Hello Everyone!
Before she passed away Eva worked tirelessly to promote 65_RedRoses, and she was thrilled to hear that CNN.com was interested in covering her story. Her mom gave an interview with one of their journalists, and now the article is online.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/04/27/blog.terminal.illness/index.html
Also 65_RedRoses won BEST DOCUMENTARY at the 2010 Arizona International Film Festival!!!! Eva would be so excited right now – she wanted the film to be seen throughout the US.
We’re winning them over one state at a time girl.
Much love to Arizona.
These photos are from the recording session that we had for 65_RedRoses where Eva came into the studio to do some narration.
I’ll leave you with the lyrics from a song called BETWEEN TWO LUNGS which Eva loved. The Artist is Florence and the Machine, and thanks to Bethany for passing these words along to me the other day…
Now all the days of begging
The days of theft
No more gasping for a breath
The air has filled me head-to-toe
And I can see the ground far below
I have this breath
And I hold it tight
And I keep it in my chest
With all my might
I pray to God this breath will last
As it pushes past my lips
Love love love,
Team 65_RedRoses
PETITION FOR US BROADCAST!
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Thanks to everyone for your messages of support. We are committed to spreading Eva’s message about organ donation but WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Please join our Facebook Group where we have created a petition on our Discussion board to get the film shown in the US!
If you are American or know Americans that would be interested in seeing this film, please sign up by adding your NAME and STATE.
This is an IMPORTANT petition that will be used to help secure an American broadcast. Please spread the word to all your friends and family by telling them to join our facebook group! We need tens of thousands of online signatures to make Eva’s dream of broadcasting the film in the US a reality. We know we can do it with your help!
We also just found out some great news – 65_RedRoses has been nominated for a Banff World Television Award under the category of Social & Humanitarian Documentary!!!
UP-COMING SCREENINGS IN VANCOUVER AND ARIZONA
ARIZONA SCREENING:
Arizona International Film Festival
April 18th & 22nd
http://www.filmfestivalarizona.com/2010_Schedule.cfm
VANCOUVER SCREENING: The University of British Columbia’s Film Society presents INDIE WEEK at THE NORM on campus- featuring the award-winning documentary 65_REDROSES for one night only on FRIDAY APRIL 16th @ 7pm. Tickets are only $4 for the public and $2 for UBC Film Society members.
Thanks and love from,
The 65_RedRoses Team
