Monday, October 14, 2019

Air pollution in Mongolia


A brief documentary from Time magazine on one of the polluted areas on Earth. This has ramifications for much of northeast Asia.

Friday, October 04, 2019

광화문에서/ Près de Gwanghwamun/ Near Gwanghwamun


Noteworthy

Alex Good on Karen Elliot House’s On Saudi Arabia. I have serious doubts of House’s characterization of Saudis as generally passive; not that this isn’t theoretically possible — but rather that it smacks too much of stereotypes of Asians in the 19th century.

Thursday, October 03, 2019

Greening Korea - prize-winner at The Great Message Film Festival

Honored to announce this won a prize at the Great Message Festival in India.

C'est un honneur d'annoncer que ce prix a été primé au Great Message Festival en Inde.

Onorato di annunciarlo, ha vinto un premio al Great Message Festival in India.

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Great Message International Film Festival


Happy to announce I have two videos upcoming in this festival in India. Below are stills and filmography info from one of them.


Upcoming/ bientôt 

Runtime: 5:47

Synopsis: Meeting my brother the last time.

*
The main story of this authorial movie is that of the death of my brother. He was an alcoholic. He was also self-medicating. 

Among these underlying conditions, depression was certainly one of them. But his decline and dysfunctional decision-making was also linked to dysfunction within the family. That's how it often is with addicts: the problems exist on individual levels; they also exist on group levels.

From my collection of authorial movies



Screenings/ awards/ publication:

Published at Poetry Film Live: http://poetryfilmlive.com/three-authorial-works-by-finn-harvor/

Silk Road Festival (Kazakhstan): Summer, 2018

O’Bheal Videopoetry Festival (Ireland): autumn, 2018

Winner, best smartphone, Chhatrapati Shivaji Film Festival (India), January, 2019

9th Pune Film Festival (India), June, 2019

Great Message International Film Festival (India), September 2019

(Note: From a long work entitled "Family Maps", and including the song "PoemSong". In effect, I am taking the authorial movie concept farther. This is both author-made videopoem and song.)

YouTube link: 

*
*
*

Rencontrer mon frère la dernière fois.
*
L'histoire principale de ce film d'auteur est celle de la mort de mon frère. C'était un alcoolique. Il s'était aussi auto-soigné.

Parmi ces conditions sous-jacentes, la dépression en était certainement un. Mais son déclin et sa prise de décision dysfonctionnelle étaient également liés à un dysfonctionnement au sein de la famille. C'est souvent le cas chez les toxicomanes: les problèmes existent au niveau individuel; ils existent aussi au niveau du groupe.

De ma collection de films d'auteur


Projections / prix / publication:

Publié sur Poetry Film Live: http://poetryfilmlive.com/three-authorial-works-by-finn-harvor/

Festival de la Route de la soie (Kazakhstan): été 2018

Festival de vidéopoésie O’Bheal (Irlande): automne 2018

Gagnant du meilleur smartphone, Festival du film de Chhatrapati Shivaji (Inde), janvier 2019

9ème festival du film de Pune (Inde), juin 2019


(Remarque: tiré d'un long ouvrage intitulé "Family Maps" et incluant la chanson "PoemSong". En fait, je vais plus loin dans le concept du film d'auteur. Il s'agit à la fois d'un vidéopoem et d'une chanson créés par l'auteur.)

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Policy and the Pendulum


This videopoem is from a cycle about geopolitics and war that was originally published in the journal Former People. There is a fair bit of poetry about war (though I think more should be written about it in a contemporary context); there is very little about the institutions and power elites who manage those wars.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Minute Haïku- World Bardo 121

How long is a minute?

Combien de temps dure une minute?

분은 얼마나 되나요?

1分はどれくらいですか?

¿Cuánto dura un minuto?

Wie lang ist eine Minute?


Как долго это минута?

On Primo Levi


Thursday, July 18, 2019

Three Tragedies, Four Seasons


A feature-length authorial movie about life, nature, and death

Sunday, June 16, 2019

The Business Army


On a novel about an attempted American coup d’état. Based in fact.

Friday, June 14, 2019

Friday, June 07, 2019

The Save and Preserve Film Festival, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Honoured to have some work selected for the upcoming "Save and Preserve Film Festival", in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

For more info, click here.

Stills connected to some of my work below.
*

Для меня большая честь, что некоторые работы были отобраны для предстоящего «Фестиваля спасения и сохранения» в Ханты-Мансийске, Россия.


Для дополнительной информации щелкните здесь.


Кадры, связанные с некоторыми из моих работ ниже.

*

Honoré d'avoir sélectionné certaines œuvres pour le prochain "Save and Preserve Film Festival", à Khanty-Mansiysk, en Russie.


Pour plus d'informations, cliquez ici.


Des images liées à certains de mes travaux ci-dessous.



Friday, May 31, 2019

The Business Army — Gerry MacGuire and “the nine”

The Business Army -- "The Nine"

Several days later. Mid-day. The beginning of August.

The sky has turned hazy and still. Outside, the electric, orchestral sound of crickets and the distant drone of cicadas.

There is a knock on the door.

Butler walks to the door and opens it. There stands MacGuire, this time alone. MacGuire, smiling once again at the General, lets out a friendly laugh.

"The hot days have really started, haven't they, sir?" he says, his voice a sudden gush. "Thank you, thank you for letting me drop by."

"You've been dropping by quite a bit lately, haven't you?"

"Sir, it's for the good of the Legion."

The two walk to Butler's office, and Butler takes his regular position behind his desk, while MacGuire once more plunks himself in one of the chairs, his physical bulk seemingly diminished by his surroundings.

"I think you've got some explaining to do," Butler says.

"You know, I can explain whatever you want, sir."

"This money that you showed me earlier—where did you get all this money? It cannot be yours."

"Well, y'see, this movement to unhorse the Royal Family, there are other people behind it. Bigger men than me."

"Go on."

"Well, there are nine of them. And the biggest contributor has given me $9,000. And the donations, they run all the way from $2,500 to $9,000."

"What's the object of all this?"

"Well, the object is to take care of the rank and file of the soldiers. To get them their bonus and get them properly cared for."

"With all due respect, Mr. MacGuire, it's time for us to get down to brass tacks. The kind of people who are in favor of the gold standard are not the kind of people in favor of paying the bonus now. If anything, the opposite. That's why Hoover in the first place thought he could get away with busting up the Bonus March the way he did."

"Oh, no, sir, you're wrong about that."

*
Full novel here:

http://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/harvor.html

Monday, May 20, 2019

Greening Korea - at the Save and Preserve Eco Festival, Russia

Honoured to have some work selected for the upcoming "Save and Preserve Film Festival", in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

For more info, click here.

Stills connected to some of my work below.
*

Для меня большая честь, что некоторые работы были отобраны для предстоящего «Фестиваля спасения и сохранения» в Ханты-Мансийске, Россия.


Для дополнительной информации щелкните здесь.


Кадры, связанные с некоторыми из моих работ ниже.

*

Honoré d'avoir sélectionné certaines œuvres pour le prochain "Save and Preserve Film Festival", à Khanty-Mansiysk, en Russie.


Pour plus d'informations, cliquez ici.


Des images liées à certains de mes travaux ci-dessous.

Sunday, May 19, 2019

The Save and Preserve Film Festival, in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

Honoured to have some work selected for the upcoming "Save and Preserve Film Festival", in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

For more info, click here.

Stills connected to some of my work below.
*

Для меня большая честь, что некоторые работы были отобраны для предстоящего «Фестиваля спасения и сохранения» в Ханты-Мансийске, Россия.


Для дополнительной информации щелкните здесь.


Кадры, связанные с некоторыми из моих работ ниже.

*

Honoré d'avoir sélectionné certaines œuvres pour le prochain "Save and Preserve Film Festival", à Khanty-Mansiysk, en Russie.


Pour plus d'informations, cliquez ici.


Des images liées à certains de mes travaux ci-dessous.

Thursday, May 16, 2019

To Save and Preserve - an eco-film festival in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia

Honoured to have some work selected for the upcoming "Save and Preserve Film Festival", in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

For more info, click here.

Stills connected to some of my work below.
*

Для меня большая честь, что некоторые работы были отобраны для предстоящего «Фестиваля спасения и сохранения» в Ханты-Мансийске, Россия.


Для дополнительной информации щелкните здесь.


Кадры, связанные с некоторыми из моих работ ниже.

*

Honoré d'avoir sélectionné certaines œuvres pour le prochain "Save and Preserve Film Festival", à Khanty-Mansiysk, en Russie.


Pour plus d'informations, cliquez ici.


Des images liées à certains de mes travaux ci-dessous.





Thursday, May 09, 2019

The Business Army - traduction francaise

Un extrait de mon roman sur la Grande Dépression et une tentative de coup d'Etat fasciste aux États-Unis:


"Bon sang, nous allons recevoir des ordres de vos semblables! Vous n'êtes qu'un pion! Ne sentez-vous pas honte? Il y a des anciens combattants ici qui peuvent à peine nourrir leur famille! vous commencez à donner des cours aux autres sur leur devoir? "

Mais les troupes ne sont pas émues. Et tandis qu’ils continuent leur progression, les manifestants sont obligés de choisir entre la retraite et le faible défi aux non-armés qui, bientôt, se transforment en défaite.

Un autre officier siffle brusquement et un deuxième bataillon de cavalerie plus agressif avance. Une fois sur la foule, certains soldats retournent leurs fusils et utilisent leurs crosses comme des matraques.

Derrière le fantassin, qui avance également, se trouve une colonne de chars. Au milieu d'eux se trouve la figure de George S. Patton. Il surveille la foule pendant quelques instants. Puis il dit à ses équipages: "Charge!"

Les chars crient en avant; l'infanterie piétine en rythme, la cavalerie gémit et attaque. Les manifestants sont maintenant divisés en une série de groupes dispersés. Certains se mettent à courir. D'autres crient, poussent et poussent. Mais à quelques mètres de là, il semble presque que les manifestants aient une chance: les troupes, les chevaux et les tanks ne semblent pas remporter une victoire nette. Puis un coup de feu retentit, suivi d'un autre. On entend une voix de femme crier avec hystérie: "Jésus! Seigneur Jésus!"

Cela semble seulement raidir une partie de la résistance des manifestants, même si quelqu'un d'autre, sa voix aussi hystérique, crie: "Docteur!" et le melée atteint son crescendo.



Roman complet chez Eclectica: http://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/harvor.html

The Business Army



An excerpt from my novel about the Great Depression and an attempted fascist coup in the United States:

"The hell we'll take orders from the likes of you! You're just a pawn! Don't you feel any shame? There are veterans here who can barely feed their families! Why don't you think of justice first before you start lecturing others on their duty?"
But the troops are unmoved. And as they continue their advance, the demonstrators are forced to choose between retreat and the feeble defiance of the un-armed which, soon enough, turns to defeat.
A different officer blows a whistle sharply, and second, more aggressive battalion of cavalry move forward. Some of the soldiers, upon reaching the crowd, reverse their rifles and use their butts like truncheons.
Behind the foot soldier, also advancing, is a column of tanks. In the midst of them is the figure of George S. Patton. He surveys the crowd for a few moments. Then he says to his crews, "Charge!"
The tanks trundle-squeak forward; the infantry stomp in rhythm, the cavalry whinny and attack. The demonstrators are now divided into a series of broken up groups. Some turn to run. Others scream, push and shove. But from several yards away, it seems almost as if the demonstrators might have a chance: the troops and the horses and the tanks do not seem to be achieving a clear victory. Then a shot rings out, followed by another. A woman's voice can be heard screaming hysterically, "Jesus! Lord Jesus!"
This only seems to stiffen some of the demonstrators' resistance, even as someone else, his voice also hysterical, calls out, "Doctor!" and the melée reaches its crescendo.

Full novel at Eclectica:  http://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/harvor.html

Brother


The Violence of Sadness, YouTube link: https://youtu.be/nqEo77CC3mo

Summer Gone, Summer Gone - Ottawa, 1967


Monday, May 06, 2019

The Business Army - excerpt


Washington, 1933. The Great Depression is at its worst. The Roosevelt administration is determined to do something, but feels constrained by conservative opinion.
*

The interior of the Oval Office.
It is three days after the inauguration. Roosevelt sits behind his desk, surrounded by advisors, including Lew Douglas, Rexford Tugwell, Ray Moley, Louis Howe and James Farley.
Roosevelt states, "We have to stop this bleeding of the banks."
Lew Douglas says, "We could create our own banks."
Roosevelt: "How do you mean?"
Ray Moley, a soft-spoken man who is going genially bald, cuts in, "We could create a national chain of banks. They would be backed by government-issued bonds. People would have a guarantee their savings are secure."
James Farley, fleshy-faced, earnestly expressive, says, "We can't do that. That would be equivalent to nationalizing the current system."
Rexford Tugwell looks at Farley. "So?"
"The people won't have it. Not the businessmen and the professional folk—the 'doctors and accountants and whatnot.' This is a country built on enterprise, not government interference."



Complete novel at Eclectica Magazine: http://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/harvor.html

The Business Army - meeting General Butler


Video excerpt from my screenplay-novel. Complete text now published at Eclectica: http://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/harvor.html

봄/ printemps/ spring


Sunday, April 14, 2019

The Business Army [opening]




Excerpt from the opening of The Business Army, now online at Eclectica:

PART ONE
CHAPTER ONE
July 28, 1932. Washington
The sky is a high, mid-summer blue. It has a quality of vast, apparently infinite, peacefulness. Cumulus clouds—as grand as towers—float through the sky, while at ground level the white dome of the Capitol also resembles an immense, majestic cloud.

But also at ground level a demonstration is taking place. A group of World War One veterans moves down a boulevard in one direction while a small group of cavalry backed by a battalion of foot soldiers approaches from the other.

The veterans are mainly dressed in mufti: the neat but inappropriately warm wool trousers of people with only one good pair of pants to wear, white shirts with the sleeves rolled up, or worn-out, shiny jackets. Some are also dressed in doughboy uniforms. But all of them look both impoverished and determined, like a peasant army marching with ragtag determination toward the walls of a royal castle.

Then one of the cavalry's horsemen rushes forward and wades into the crowd. The crowd tries to to stand its territory but almost as quickly pulls back with instinctive fear. The horse rears up, its sweating brown flanks rippling with quivering muscle as the animal's hooves spin dangerously in the air; living clubs.

Two or three in the crowd shriek. Behind them, some others call out the demonstration's rallying cry: "Bonus! Bonus!"

Then the horse stomps to all fours, its rider yanks the animal's reins, and the demonstrators inch a little farther forward with cautious determination.

To one side of this scene, watching attentively, stands the figure of General Douglas MacArthur. He is impeccable attired in a cavalry uniform, freshly pressed, plumped jodhpurs, and brown riding boots glossed to a fastidious sheen. Next to MacArthur is Major Dwight Eisenhower. He is dressed in civilian clothes: light trousers, a dark jacket and incongruous straw hat. He also looks on the scene taking place attentively, but with some embarrassment. MacArthur, however, is unaware of his aide-de-camp's discomfort; his nostrils, petitely equine, flare with impatience. He calls out to the captain leading the infantry battalion: "You there. Why aren't those troops moving faster?"

The captain calls back, "Sir, they're going as fast as they safely can."

"Don't make them go 'safely.' Make them go."

The infantry advance, their long rifles down, their bayonets forward. In the crowd of demonstrators, individuals—with the bravado of the doomed brave—call out.

"Bonus! A fair bonus for the veteran now!"

"Where's Hoover's heart?"

"We fought for this country! All we're asking for is help at a time of need!"

But the infantry keeps methodically approaching, and when they encounter the first demonstrators, they implacably keep their bayonets at chest level.

A demonstrator, his voice suddenly urgent, cries at the troops, "You brutes! Can't you see there are women and children here?"

The captain leading the infantry battalion says loudly, his tone commanding and bland, "Move on, you people. Move on. Remember, you were in uniform once. Do what you're told. It's for the best."
A man in the background steps to the front of the crowd. He has the hungry, alert look of one who would be either categorized as a troublemaker or hero, depending on one's allegiances.

"The hell we'll take orders from the likes of you! You're just a pawn! Don't you feel any shame? There are veterans here who can barely feed their families! Why don't you think of justice first before you start lecturing others on their duty?"

But the troops are unmoved. And as they continue their advance, the demonstrators are forced to choose between retreat and the feeble defiance of the un-armed which, soon enough, turns to defeat.
A different officer blows a whistle sharply, and second, more aggressive battalion of cavalry move forward. Some of the soldiers, upon reaching the crowd, reverse their rifles and use their butts like truncheons.

Behind the foot soldier, also advancing, is a column of tanks. In the midst of them is the figure of George S. Patton. He surveys the crowd for a few moments. Then he says to his crews, "Charge!"
The tanks trundle-squeak forward; the infantry stomp in rhythm, the cavalry whinny and attack.

The demonstrators are now divided into a series of broken up groups. Some turn to run. Others scream, push and shove. But from several yards away, it seems almost as if the demonstrators might have a chance: the troops and the horses and the tanks do not seem to be achieving a clear victory.

Then a shot rings out, followed by another. A woman's voice can be heard screaming hysterically, "Jesus! Lord Jesus!"

This only seems to stiffen some of the demonstrators' resistance, even as someone else, his voice also hysterical, calls out, "Doctor!" and the melée reaches its crescendo.

Link: http://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/harvor.html

Saturday, April 13, 2019

The Business Army


A shirt authorial videostory based on my novel The Business Army, now at Eclectica: http://www.eclectica.org/v23n2/harvor.html

Thursday, March 14, 2019

Noteworthy

Brian Busby on the Arch-Satirist

Avant-Cinema, Gjost World: Animal Rites

Monday, March 11, 2019

Axe City 5


Ext. Busy street in Toronto. Day.

The youngish man (whose name is Lars) makes his way down the sidewalk. All around him, the hyperactive slush of hurrying, frantic humanity.

Thursday, March 07, 2019

Axe City - four


Int. The Toronto Reference Library. Day.

The youngish man looks to his left. He notices another man who is clearly very absorbed in whatever it is that is on his computer screen. After a moment, the second man looks at the first.

Second man: Lookit this, willya?

First man (youngish): What?

Second man: It's friggin' Justin Trudeau.

First man: Okaaaay.

Second man: He's really in trouble now, eh? [chortles with a phlegmy laugh]

PeaceWalk 2, new cut


Sunday, February 24, 2019

Axe City - three



Ext. Toronto downtown. Day

The  youngish man trudges along the slush-soupy sidewalk. Out of the corner of his eye, the brick red ziggurat of the Metro Toronto Reference Library. On an impulse (telling himself he has to use the washroom), he enters.

Ont. The library. Day.

A moment later.

In the vast atrium, people are everywhere at a series of communal desks. They are students, mainly. A group he not only belonged to not so long ago, but that he keeps phasing in and out of.





Axe City, two


Ext. Street, downtown Toronto. Day.

The youngish man emerges from a subway station that’s connected to an aging but still popular shopping mall. Grayness is everywhere: inside the building and on the noisy, slush-soaked street. But so is the busyness; the chronic energy of the city.

The young man walks down the street.


Sunday, February 17, 2019

Finn Harvor - art CV (abridged)

CURRICULUM VITAE

FINN HARVOR


I am a writer, artist, film-maker and occasional musician. I have had art-work in several group shows, mounted two solo shows, written and performed stage work which was in turn videotaped, and made my own movies. My interest in art-and-text work goes back many years, initially to involvement with underground comics (bandes dessinées).

As a professional writer, I have published articles in several Canadian, Korean, British and American publications (both online and in print). My freelance career has spanned many years, and I have worked in many mediums: from writing to radio broadcasting to script-writing for films and theatre. Academically, I have presented papers to conferences in Jember (Indonesia), Helsinki, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, and Oxford, and have written on Thomas De Quincey, William Blake, Yoon Heung-gil and Richard Kim, as well as analyses of changes currently taking place in the publishing industry. I have proofread children's books in Korea and edited countless student essays.

Below is a selection of my accomplishments.

SmartFilm Website
Dec. 31/18
Link to “Portrait of C”, as well as poster art for three other projects.

InShort Film Festival
Lago, Nigeria
Sheraton Hotel, Lagos
December 17/19
Fourteen movies selected as semi-finalists with laurels, including “The Violence of Sadness” and “Meat”
[Only finalists screened]

Athens International Video Poetry Film Festival (Athens, Greece)
Winter 2018 (December 17, 2018)
Screening of "Portrait of C" [finalist]

North by Northeast [curated gallery event]
December 7, 2018, London, UK
Screening of “Meat”

North Bellarine Film Festival
November 16, 2018
Drysdale
Screening of “Makin' Shelter”

Conference on the Image
November 2, 2018
Hong Kong, Baptist University
Pop-up gallery
screening of “Insects' World” [premiere]

Rabbitheart Film Festival
Worcester, Massachussetts
Autumn 2018
Screening of “The Wargasm” [curators' choice]

O'Bheal Videopoetry Festival,
Autumn, 2018
October 14, 2018, Cork, Ireland
Screening of “Portrait of C” [finalist]

O'Bheal Videopoetry Festival, Cork, Ireland
Autumn, 2018
October 14, 2018, Cork, Ireland
Screening of “The Violence of Sadness II” [finalist]

The Silk Road Videopoetry Festival
June 21, 2018
National Library of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty
Screening of “The Violence of Sadness II” [finalist]

Athens International Video Poetry Film Festival (Athens, Greece)
Winter 2017/2018 (January 19/20, 2018)
Screening of "The War on Smog" [finalist]

MIX Conference, Bath Spa University
Bath, UK.  (July 10 - 12, 2017)
Screening of "The Carpet 1" [finalist]

MIX Conference, Bath Spa University
Bath, UK.  (July 10 - 12, 2017)
Presentation: "Feeling Need" (July 10)

MIX Conference, Bath Spa University
Bath, UK.  (July 10 - 12, 2017)
Presentation: "Toward an art of the Anthropocene" (July 12)

Poetry Film Live
Bristol, UK (spring, 2017)
Online screening, publication of Refugee-ism.

Society of Comparative Literature (Seoul, South Korea)
October, 2016
Screening of "Sound into World"

Athens Poetry Film Festival (Athens, Greece)
Autumn, 2016
Screening of "Baram CVII" [finalist]


Pacifism21, 15 January 2016

“Narratives of Ignorance”. An article on North Korea and its perceptions in Western media

link:

http://pacifism21.org/narratives-of-ignorance-how-we-fail-to-see-north-korea


Pacifism21, 25 January 2016

“Yi Mun-yol's literary appointment with North Korea”. An article on Korean writer Yi Mun-yol.

link:

http://pacifism21.org/yi-mun-yol-literary-appointment-with-north-korea


Rabbit Heart poetry film festival, October 2015. Four videopoems screened as non-finalists.

“Conversations in the Book Trade”

Articles, short stories, and poems published in many publications, including The Canadian Forum, This Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, Eclectica, Former People, and elsewhere.

Conference presentations to academic conferences in Oxford, Bath, Liverpool, Berlin, Dubrovnik, Osaka, Youngju, Seoul, and Hingston Kong.

An ongoing online project comprised mainly of interviews with publishers and critics, including Phil Marchand and Judy Stoffman of the Toronto Star (separate interviews), Ian Brown of the Globe and Mail, TVO and CBC, Richard Nash of Soft Skull Press, Fred Ramey of Unbridled Books, Jennifer Barnes of Raw Dog Screaming Press, Jennifer Banash of Impetus Press, Bev Daurio of Mercury Press, and Scott Esposito of Conversational Reading, among many others. The site has received mention, among elsewhere, in the literary blog of Peter Stothard, the editor of the Book Section of the London Times.

http://conversationsinthebooktrade.blogspot.com [original site]

Other

I have also worked won grants and awards from the Canada Council, Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council, The Hart House Review and Arthur (the newspaper of Trent University). I have a BA (Cultural Studies) from Trent University, and an MA (Interdisciplinary Studies) from York University. I am working on three interlinked novel manuscripts, and have had group and solo shows of my art.