A big thank you to all Ez Sez readers around the world for such a great year in 2007!
I wish every one of you all the best for 2008.
More posts coming in the new year. Keep EzSez.com well bookmarked. It's always great seeing you here.
Love to all from Montreal!
Ez
My friend Christos Sourligas ("Elephant Shoes") has a habit of posting rather original 'Out Of Office' email auto-replies whenever he travels for work. Here's a selection of the best ones I compiled over the past few years...
-I'm on "SURVIVOR: Fiji" for the next 39 days... I have a huge crush on Jessica... Gotta run, that handsome Alex is flirting with her again!
-I'm attending the 3GSM World Congress until Feb 16. If you're there, just cry out my name in the conference hall and I'll find you...
-I will be out of the office until Dec 5th, trying out for the Greek National Men's Synchronized Swim Team. Don't worry, I don't plan on quiting my day job...
-Sorry to have missed you but I'm at home working on my Chevrolet Camaro.
-Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, where have you been?
"I've been to London to look at the queen."
Pussy-cat, pussy-cat, what did you there?
"I frightened a little mouse under the chair."
-I've gone home for the afternoon to watch "Days Of Our Lives".
-I'm Helen Mirren's date for the Oscars. Isn't she amazing?!... "I'm coming, my honey bunny!" Gotta run, my Queen is calling for me...
-I've gone to Al Gore's mansion to shut off his lights...
-Off to The White House for the annual Easter egg hunt. Let's hope Cheney doesn't shoot me in the face.
-I'm on the red carpet at the Toronto International Film Festival. My latest film "Christos the Greek Firefighter: The Legend of Zeus" stars Jennifer Aniston as Aphrodite...
And last but not least:
-Merry Christos and a Happy Nguyen!
Have a great holiday week and whatever you do, stay out of the office if you can.
Ez
This one comes from a little list I keep called "Future Ez Sez Posts?":
Ez Sez: I believe the single most amazing thing about hemp is its VERSATILITY. It is not just its hearty taste, incomparable durability, environmental benefits, pesticide-freeness, nutritional advantages, age-old service to humankind, or its sheer coolness factor. Hemp, it has been proven, can be used in the creation of virtually anything... from food to fabric, paper to fuel, rope to plastic, and more. Use hemp widely and wildly. To happiness and hempiness, friends.
Don't be late for '08.
Ez
Seen this short film yet?
If not, get ready to go into holiday shopping underdrive as you reflect on where our purchases come from and where they go to.
Click HERE to watch the film.
Enjoy!
Ez
("Black", 2007, by Ezra Soiferman)
Yellow there,
Feeling blue?
Orange you being too hard on yourself?!
I pink so.
Purplehaps it's time for the holidays.
Sp'red the word!
White on!
Ez
Good news!
My latest documentary, Posthumous Pickle Party, about Montreal's beloved, now-defunct Simcha's Grocery on St. Laurent Blvd. will be playing on Canal D, Canada's French language all-documentary broadcaster.
Sunday, December 16th, 2007 at 9pm
Thursday, December 20th, 2007 at 1pm
If you can't speak a lick of French, don't get Canal D or want to see it on your own dang schedule, not to worry!...
Co-Producer Matt Zimbel and I are now selling DVDs of the quirky 46 minute-long film which yanks you by the pickle into Simcha's crammed 40 year old shop. See how he made his famous briny wonders. See the footage Melissa Auf der Maur took of Simcha just before he died. See if his secret recipe survives...
$22 including shipping. Simply email your DVD request to: ezra at pressuredrop dot com. 
The film, which played at Pop Montreal and Les Rendez-vous du ciméma Québecois, stars Montreal klezmer/hip-hop sensation Josh 'Socalled'
Dolgin, food critic Barry Lazar, sculptor Stanley Lewis, Pop Montreal's Dan Seligman and many other members of Simcha's kooky and cukey coterie.
Pick up a DVD for yourself or one to share with your 'foodie' friends!
Ez
P.S. Read the Bill Brownstein Gazette article on PPP here.
("Halifax Heart", 6/07, HFX)
I'm in a good mood. Not certain why, likely many reasons, but it feels nice.
Thought I'd share this fascinating description of what love is written by Woody Guthrie.
Have a great weekend, Ez Sezzers.
Ez
P.S. Regular Ez Sez readers will recognize this Woody text and the above photo from earlier posts. Ez Sez is not one to repeat items regularly but I suppose I'm too busy being in a good mood to generate anything fully original. So I'm bringing you treats from the past to escort you into the future.
(This video gives new meaning to 'playing with your food')
A friend in Barcelona just sent me this wonderful video clip.
Ever heard of the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra?
Now you have!
Ez
P.S. You'll never look at a vegetable the same again... (And if you do, you'll want to strum it.)
(12/3/07, MTL)
A fresh shot from today! It's my Smart buried under today's 30cm of snow.
Ez
(10/2007, MTL)
I photographed this subtle utterance out on Milton St. recently. Thought I'd share it here at Ez Sez.
Ez
This is my furry friend Fifi. She is the puppy of my friends Jessica and Eden.
Though she's a dog, Fifi loves taking cat-naps.
Ez
(Still from the video for "While You Were Sleeping" directed by Osgood Perkins. Click HERE to watch.)
Montreal will once again be treated to an Elvis Perkins in Dearland concert, friends.
I'll be there this Thursday (Nov. 29th) and hope you'll be there too.
2111 St-Laurent at Le Cabaret. The show's at 8pm. Tickets are $15 plus service charge. Bon Iver opens for Elvis. Tickets at Admission or at the door if they aren't sold out by then.
To read more about my friend Elvis and his amazing band, visit his website or have a look at this Ez Sez posting announcing the release of his CD Ash Wednesday which I must say is as brilliant as ever after all these months.
(11/29/07, Le Cabaret, MTL, by Ezra)
Also, Elvis released a brand new version of his song "All The Night Without Love" on iTunes this week. The hot new track was produced by Chris Shaw who engineered Bob Dylan's Love & Theft and Modern Times CDs.
See you at the show on Thursday if you can make it.
Ez
P.S. Here's a link to Elvis on Letterman recently.
(11/29/07, Le Cabaret, MTL, by Ezra)
Update: What a show! Thanks to all who attended!
(11/29/07, Le Cabaret, MTL, by Alexandra Yanofsky)
Final thought: A reporter in the Gothamist recently asked Elvis what the most memorable encounter with a fan has been so far. Here's what he replied: "A young girl in Montreal, not our most recent show but the last time we were there. After the show I had gone to the merchandise table and was seeing how it was going and this girl came up to me to thank me for the record because before it came out she said she had been experiencing some palpable void in her consciousness or something and she didn’t know what it was about. And when the record showed up she felt it was the exact positive to fill in the negative she was experiencing. And that gave me the chills. I thought it was pretty major."
This is a fantastic free concert hosted online by Fabchannel. I'm a big fan of Josh Ritter's music and thought I'd share this with you.
The show is easy to stream, very well filmed, and features Josh smiling endlessly like few rockers do.
Enjoy,
Ez
(Original ad for the famed deli. Presented by Ezra to late owner Abe Lebewohl. The ad hung in the restaurant's original location for many years.)
Great news!
The Second Avenue Deli (est. 1954) in NYC will reopen very soon on 33rd between Lexington and Third Ave.
More info here!
See you there for a plate fries!
Ez
Update:
Here's the official web site.
Here's the NY Times review of the reopened deli.
(Enhanced version)
(MTL, c. 2004, by Ez)
This is just a taste of the winter to come. A photo of winter in action from a few years ago. It snowed in Montreal yesterday and today. Just a few very light flakes, but enough to remind us all that winter is coming.
Stay warm.
Ez
(Photo courtesy Beitel/Lazar Prods.)
There's an NFB feature film coming out about my buddy Josh 'Socalled' Dolgin.
Directed by Garry Beitel and Produced by Barry Lazar, it's sure to be a winner. Garry and Barry made the tasty Chez Schwartz doc from early 2007.
The Socalled film will be ready in the new year. More news to be announced here at Ez Sez.
Here's the new trailer, just released on YouTube today!
Enjoy!
Ez
TODAY, TODAY
(10/20/07, MTL, by Ez)
If today we do what we won't tomorrow
And yesterday was filled with sorrow
Embrace today like nothing else
One true day to be your self
Here today, alive and well
Do it now and live to tell
Today, today, it rings a bell
Think back now...
Today was swell.
My friend and Posthumous Pickle Party co-producer Matt Zimbel will be playing with his legendary Quebec jazz band Manteca this Friday, October 12th at 8pm at La Tulipe (4530 Papineau) in Montreal.
Come on down to check them out!
Visit the Manteca MySpace page HERE.
Ez
(Josh Dolgin as Socalled as a robot)
Have you seen the incredible new Socalled video for "You Are Never Alone" (AKA "Jewish Cowboy")?
Film Pop played this at the Film Pop/Montreal Film Group opening party last week. The crowd loved it. Mouths were agape. Jaws were at the floor. Eyes were popping.
Ben Steiger-Levine directed this music video and soon after being put on YouTube last week it was featured as one of the vaunted 'Featured Videos' on the YouTube homepage. Over 300,000 views so far! This was the second time a Socalled video was given this honour. The first time was for the Socalled Promo I made with Mika Goodfriend.
Enjoy the new one. It's brilliant...
Click HERE to watch the video.
Ez
Thanks to all who attended Film Pop 2007!
What an experience it was to share all those films with you.
Ezra
(Tasty dehulled hemp seeds)
A sign o' the times?
The Toronto Star today published a recipe for Cranberry Hemp Quinoa Salad.
Looks like a tasty meal to me!
Bon apple-tea.
Ez
[This post is intended for all Ez Sezzers in the Montreal area. For all of you fine folks outside this region, please scroll down to other recent posts featuring Schwarzenegger's private parts, various bon mots and lots of juicy EzraPix. And now... Pop!]
Hello again Ez Sez Readers,
As many of you may know, I've been working at a homey little film fest called Film Pop, part of the Pop Montreal International Music Festival.
Last year my doc Posthumous Pickle Party, about Simcha's grocery on The Main, premiered at Film Pop to a sold out audience. I'm back at the fest this year as one of the event's co-producers...
So, now the time has come to let you know that the 4th annual Film Pop is right around the corner and the Film Pop team and I will be presenting over 43 features and shorts and music videos beginning this Wednesday, October 3rd until Sunday, October 7th.
We received close to 300 submissions and the films we ultimately selected are from countries including Canada, the USA, Japan, Norway, Mexico and Australia. There are also many made right here in Montreal, some too by filmmakers who are part of the Montreal Film Group, the 1300+ member film & TV industry networking group I am a co-founder and co-director of.
To make things easy for you, Film Pop has created a lovely little program book with short blurbs and photos about all the films playing as of this Wednesday. You can download it at this here link here.
A few Film Pop highlights include:
-The big Film Pop opening party on Wed. Oct. 3rd at 10:30PM. Free entry. Co-presented by the Montreal Film Group. This event will feature the astounding brand new "Jewish Cowboy" video by Socalled (Josh Dolgin) and lots of other new Montreal music videos on the big screen. Come party!
Tableland, by Craig Noble
-"Tableland", the world premiere of the new road-trip documentary that takes you and your appetite to some of North America's finest organic and artisanale restaurants, farms, bakeries and wineries. Featuring a live Q&A by Vancouver filmmaker Craig Noble and FREE organic vegetarian hors d'oeuvres by Montreal caterers Crudessence.
Dr. Emmanuel Bronner in Sara Lamm's first feature film
-See the award-winning NY documentary "Dr. Bronner's Magic Soapboox" and meet Ralph Bronner, 71, in person. Ralph is the son of the late eccentric soap maker Emmanuel Bronner whose multi-million dollar soap empire gives away up to 75% of its profits to charity. Ralph will be at the screening to do a Q&A and to sing and play guitar. Ever seen a famous Dr. Bronner's soap bottle labels at a health food or camping store? Oy! Check one out here. It'll give you a sense of how wild this film is. "ALL-ONE!" as Bronner used to scream. Sponsored in part by Co-op La Maison Verte in NDG. Sunday, October 7th at 4pm. 
Bigfoot's Reflection by Evan Beloff
-"Bigfoot's Reflection" directed by Evan Beloff. World film festival premiere of the portrait of some of B.C.'s foremost sasquatch researchers. Spooky, kooky and expertly photographed. Not to be missed! Sat. Oct. 6th at 4pm. With a Q&A by the film's director.
-The National Film Board and Pop Montreal team up again for another bout of "music movies". Making Music challenged 5 emerging filmmaking/musical teams from Montreal join creative forces and explore the relationship between cinema and music. Check it out on Sunday Oct 7th at 7pm at the Portuguese Association, 4170 St-Urbain at Rachel. $5 students/seniors, $7 general.
A Balancing Act by Marc Israel
-"A Balancing Act" Way too hard to describe. This film is nuts. For all you fans of strange folks, kombucha tea and unforgettable endings to films. That's all I'll say. Saturday, Oct. 6th at 2pm. Director Marc Israel will be present to help make sense of it all.
-Freshly popped organic pop corn will be available at all screenings! Generously provided to Film Pop by EcollegeY on Wilson and Somerled in NDG.
-Tasty nuts made by Prana will be available. Though< i'm allergic to nuts, these organic nuts look utterly amazing!
-Hemp seeds, butters and oils will be available for you to finally try if you're not already a fan as I am. Generously provided by Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils.
-Film Pop feature film screenings take place at the Portuguese Association, 4170 St-Urbain (just South of Rachel). (All films listed above are at the Portuguese Assn.)
-Film Pop short films (many!) and zippy music videos take place at the Film Pop Screening Room at the Puces Pop Arts & Crafts Fair at the Armoury at 4171 Esplanade (just South of Rachel). 12pm-5pm, Saturday and Sunday only. See Man Of Grease editor Mika Goodfriend's brand new short "Mika's Brain" at Puces Pop along with many others.
-Read the John Griffin article on Film Pop in the Montreal Gazette (9/29/07).
-All screening are $5 for students and seniors, $7 general. Puces Pop screenings are free.
-Buy a Film Pop 5-day film pass for the incredible price of $20 ($15 for students/seniors)!
There are many other superb films at Film Pop, which is brought to you in part by Cineflix Productions, Muse Entertainment, Video Service and other gracious sponsors, so go ahead and download the Film Pop program here.
Ez Sez: See you at Film Pop 2007!
Dr. Bronner's sez: ALL-ONE!
Ez
("Pupitres", 9/07, MTL, by Ez)
("Old Snowy Porsche", 2007, by Ezra)
Fall officially starts this Sunday. I thought I'd put things into perspective by sharing this photo I took last winter.
Stay warm. Prep those snowshoes...
Ez
SPEED
(A poem by Ez, 9/15/07, MTL)
Traffic and truth
You can't rush either
Love and pain
You can't put those off
Life flies at you
In streams unending
And now you look back
And you are right here
Speed is just you
And gently you rise
Take it all slow
For there is no prize
Life is the gift
For there is no prize
Bring it to me
And look in my eyes
Speed is the rush
The river is shy
Bring it to me
And look in my eyes
("Self Portrait in Alexandra's Eye", 9/07, St-Adolphe, QC)
I've just been informed that I've been featured on the NFB's CITIZENShift Blog.
You can visit the page here.
Have a great weekend wherever you are and whenever you are too, ye timeless Ez Sezzer.
Ez
(Click pic for juicy view)
("Statue Montage", Barcelona/Chicago, 2006/2004)
A fresh pix-series for you.
Ezra
I was featured this past Saturday in a 25 minute interview on Radio Centre-Ville (102.3FM) in Montreal. The interview was conducted by Leslie Lutsky for his show Jewish Digest.
The interview is about my documentary films and my most recent one, Posthumous Pickle Party about Simcha's Grocery on St-Laurent.
Download the full interview as a podcast here.
Stay tuned for a Posthumous Pickle Party TV date and the official DVD release announcement...
Ez
("Red Bike", 1999, MTL, Ezra S.)
I hope everyone's summer is zipping along.
Much love to all,
Ez
