The Poem

After Lydia

by Raoul Fernandes

Daniel took an axe to a young fir tree in the grove
behind the dance school. Trevor immersed himself
in a book on the elements of typography. Clive smashed
his mother’s favourite vase and spent the next week
painstakingly gluing the pieces back together. Rob spent
all his free time at the gym, building a coat of muscle
around his slender frame. Michael gazed at his drink
as if it were a jar of dimly glowing fireflies. Dean listened to
an old murder ballad for an entire night, becoming
more and more gentle with each repeat. Adam began
his fight for the preservation of the bird habitat in
his community. Spencer bought a beautiful motorcycle
that spoke like a lion. Billy gave up smoking. Patrick started.
David went on a pilgrimage, the Camino de Santiago.
Ian didn’t feel anything until he saw the destroyed fir tree
in the grove behind the dance school. Then he gasped
her name.

The Team

Nicholas Bradford-Ewart (Producer/Director/Cinematographer)
Nicholas is an award winning director and producer with a background in photography and cinematography. His films are known for their unique visual style and for blending fiction and documentary techniques.

Born in Vancouver, Nicholas studied film production at Simon Fraser University. He became active in Vancouver’s vibrant film scene, working on both small independent film projects and on multi-million dollar productions for Anagram Pictures. He also served as project manager, technical director and cinematographer on several of the city’s high-profile visual art installation projects.

Nicholas’ documentary BOREAL FOREST EXPEDITION(2008)  screened across Canada as well as internationally. The film was nominated for a Golden Sheaf Award at Canada’s oldest film festival. Nicholas has just completed his first feature length film called WHERE THE GROUND WON’T SHAKE, (which was co-directed with his wife Lindsay.) It will premiere in the fall 2013 film festival season.

In addition to developing the “Poetry on Film” anthology, Nicholas produces a bi-weekly web series called “Canada!” and is developing a documentary on video game creators and mental health. He is also writing his second feature length fiction film.

Nicholas lives in Toronto with his wife- fellow filmmaker Lindsay Bradford-Ewart, and their two children.

Bret Goldin (Executive Producer)
Bret Goldin is an experienced finance professional with years of exposure in the entertainment industry and arts community.

After graduating Union College in 1992, Bret founded and grew Caffe Dolce into a small chain of four unique coffee bars in New York’s Capital District. The cafes received several awards including the Schenectady County Chamber of Commerce award for Best New Enterprise and Metroland Magazine’s Best Coffee Bar. All four of Caffe Dolce’s locations played host to regularly scheduled music performances, open mic nights, poetry readings and 24 hour Earth Day celebrations. During these years, Bret curated the constantly revolving art installations on the cafe walls and co-owned a small record label.

Most recently, Bret worked on projects for Stan Lee and the Sherman Brothers.  This is his first film project as executive producer.

Bret grew up in New York and now lives in Toronto with his daughters and wife, Kim

Susannah Ludwig (Producer)
Susannah Ludwig is a “visionary independent producer,” known to have unique qualities: Susannah is nurturing yet direct, her sensitivity and care builds trust that allows her to push filmmakers towards greater discoveries, deeper creativity, tougher truths, and the most honest and compassionate way of telling stories. When the Sundance Institute awarded Susannah Ludwig the Mark Silverman Fellowship in 2003, it was in recognition of these special and unusual qualities.

The search for truth has inspired Susannah’s most recent work. Documentary short film, KINGS POINT, by Sari Gilman was recently nominated for a 2013 Academy Award for best short documentary. The film was acquired by HBO and premiered in March 2013.

Susannah co-created and executive produced the docu-series BOOMTOWN, about the effects of oil discovery on a small town in North Dakota. BOOMTOWN is currently airing on Discovery/Planet Green; the Associated Press called it  “brilliant,” adding “it’s impossible not to get swept up in this saga of haves and have-nots, and not to root for them all.”  BOOMTOWN was the recipient of the prestigious IDA award for Best Documentary Series in 2011.

FLAT DADDY a documentary directed by Nara Garber and Betsy Nagler premiered at the 2011 DOC NYC film festival.  The film is being distributed digitally on iTunes, Hulu, and other digital platforms in November 2012 in partnership with Film Buff.

Ludwig produced ANIMAS PERDIDAS (LOST SOULS), which aired on PBS’ Independent Lens series in March of 2010 and the award winning, MY MOTHER’S GARDEN, which is currently airing on MSNBC. Ludwig also produced, CLOSE UP: Photographers at Work, which aired on Ovation TV, and Self Portrait With Cows Going Home and Other Works: A PORTRAIT OF SYLVIA PLACHY, which won the grand jury prize for best short documentary at the 2008 Seattle International Film Festival.

STOLEN, a feature documentary exploring the infamous 1990 art heist that stripped the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston of some of the world’s most beloved paintings, won the audience award at the Sarasota Film Festival and the best documentary award at the Avignon/New York Film Festival. STOLEN received support from The Jerome Foundation, New York State Council of the Arts, The Roy W. Dean Foundation and The Women in Film Finishing Fund. The film was released theatrically in 50 cities across the country and distributed via Netflix as well as broadcast on PBS’ Independent Lens series.

Susannah has also been a major force in the realization of numerous critically acclaimed theatrical films including OUR SONG, directed by Jim McKay; BALLAD OF RAMBLIN’ JACK, directed by Aiyana Elliott; SPRING FORWARD starring Ned Beatty and Liev Schreiber, directed by Tom Gilroy and LA CIUDAD, directed by David Riker.

Susannah is currently developing a diverse slate of projects, including a narrative project, ISABEL X, directed by Rebecca Dreyfus, a docu-web series, ON MEDITATION, a television series, MAKE ROOM FOR BABY and a feature documentary, SUNLIGHT MAN, directed by Joel Gardner.

Susannah also is the executive producer/co-founder of Snapdragon Films, a full-service production/content creation company. She lives in Brooklyn, with her son Jack.

Raoul Fernandes (Author)
Raoul Fernandes’ poetry has appeared in journals across North America, including The Malahat Review, Event, Poetry Is Dead, Contemporary Verse 2 and Forget Magazine. In 2009 he completed The Writer’s Studio at Simon Fraser University and in 2010 was a finalist for the Bronwen Wallace Award for Emerging Writers. He lives and writes in Vancouver BC where he is currently assembling his first manuscript of poems. In addition to writing, he composes electronic music under the moniker Goodnight Streetlight. Follow his blog at raoulfernandes.com