It’s a little bit more than 15 minutes in length. Short films are tough to make and tough to review as the Director has a limited time to express his ideas and the viewer has a limited time to grasp them. That is probably the reason why short films never become too popular to general audiences or achieve recognition outside of the selected film festivals circuit where they are screened.
To begin with, Traumzähler (also known as Dream Counter) has quite an intriguing title. They say your home is your castle. We have all heard that phrase at school, ever since kindergarten. Whatever problems you have in the world, once you close the front door of your home you are safe. The monsters of your nightmares can not get you once you are inside. But what if the monsters are inside the house as well? Or what if you’re a child forced to live with them?
The first scenes briefly explain why Max (Pablo Brandecker) has decided to leave his home to head for the streets that seem safer…
Overall, the film has quite a depressing atmosphere – with the lead character barely speaking anything but his name – Max. Once on the run, 11-year-old Max stumbles upon an odd stranger (Maverick Quek) who is obviously involved in drug dealing and has a disturbing knowledge about weapons. The stranger remembers the time when he was a runaway himself. So now he takes runaway boys under his wing – trying to teach them life lessons coming out of his own experience.
Max has escaped from his home, only to be returned there forcefully a few scenes later, but maybe now better prepared to fight the monsters that await him behind closed doors.
An excellent job by Director Jens Barlag. Traumzähler is a good short film which, even if a bit depressing, raises some moral dilemmas and makes the viewer think about if we really live in the perfect society or at least in anything remotely close to it. The music score by Sven Rossenbach and Florian van Volxem brilliantly add to the atmosphere of the film and overall makes its title a good choice. Yet, I do recommend that you see this short film at least twice to fully grasp its meaning.
I have often criticized American-made movies for their lack of realism and a tendency to either ignore serious issues or present them in a mild way to the extent they lose their meaning. However, there are certain filmmakers that have proven me wrong on that and one of them is Stephen Ryder. He often addresses controversial issues in a unique and truly provocative way and his latest filmThe Last Days of April is no exception. A coming of age thriller at its best, the film has rapidly attracted a lot of attention. The relentless perfectionism of Director Rick Lancaster ( Ahmed ) is apparent throughout the masterfully mounted, immaculately filmed thriller.
The Last Days of April – The Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClAxw08F4Ws
This is an exclusive review prior to The Last Days of April general release. The much anticipated film starts with documentary-like scenes from the war in Iraq. These shocking scenes illuminate the horrors of the war and are in strong contrast to the scenes that follow (featuring a calm and typical suburban American town – in a setting of flowers, front yards and green grass).
April McKenna (Brett Helsham) is a 25-year-old Iraq war veteran with a troubled past. She is pretty but, now when the war is over and she is back home, her troubled childhood and the stresses of adulthood have left their mark on her psyche.
“Never before in America’s history have women served in combat, as they are in Iraq and Afghanistan.”, says Stephen Ryder. “ This film examines the story behind the news.”
Trained to perfection, deadly and expert in demolition, she decides to kidnap a young boy. Her motives are unknown to the viewers, but they will observe how she expertly stalks and then kidnaps the 14-year-old Zachary Butterfield (T.J Plunkett). Zachary is a smart and sensitive boy who is into sports and is an outstanding athlete. Through hard training, he is one of the best in his Karate classes. His character image is built through conversations with his friends and scenes from his everyday activities, all of which leave no doubt that he is anything but a typical victim. He is not some overly shy and lonely boy. On the contrary, he is popular, has a lot of friends and obviously knows how to protect himself. Yet April picks him following criteria unknown to anyone but her, leaving the viewer to discover her motives as the movie unfolds.
April abducts the startled youth, taking him to her secluded home in the woods. She shows him around the place as if he were a guest and leads him into what she calls “your room “ – a typical room that most families would have for their teenage kids. Only it turns out this room was made specifically for Zachary. She handcuffs him to the bed at first and later affixes a beaded necklace to him and takes him to doors overlooking the backyard. Outside, there is a dummy on a stick – wearing the very same necklace. As he watches, she triggers a remote detonator in her hand and the necklace on the dummy explodes, blowing off its head. April explains to him, “C-4 — plastic explosive. The beads in your necklace are stuffed with it. This is the detonator.” She wears it around her neck, explaining that the necklace is “dead-switched”. If he tries to remove it – it will detonate spontaneously. She further tells him that henceforth he will have the freedom to wander the house and grounds, but that there is an electronic perimeter fence which would cause the explosive in her necklace to detonate if he tries to escape.
Zack is confused yet, being an intelligent boy, he desperately tries to understand what is going on. Money is obviously not the reason for his abduction, but then what is …?
In the next few days, he participates in conversations with April that give him and the viewers an insight into April’s character and Zack’s way of thinking and motives. All the while, his imprisonment is horrifying to him.
“I’m very proud of our production and our cast,” says Rick Lancaster, Director (who also co-wrote the film for Metropolis Films.) “I think it’s the scariest film we’ve ever made, and one of the most thought-provoking. We have a main character who is 14-years-old and forced into a circumstance that would baffle and terrify any adult. He learns more about life in a week then we would expect a kid to absorb in a decade.”
Aside from the characteristically slick script by Stephen Ryder, there are several other aspects of it that made an impression on me. One of them is the cinematography. Many of the scenes are shot in a manner that makes them a contemporary art form on their own. One example is the manner in which the cinematographer catches the sun’s glare while, in another, the camera work is perfected to a level where one can actually feel the slope of the road due to the angle from which the scene is shot.
Another thing that struck me from the opening scenes was the musical score. Composer Mark Krench assured that the score truthfully reflects the atmosphere of the film.
Last, but not least, the acting of the entire cast was nothing short of perfect. I saw TJ Plunkett for the very first time in The Last Days of April and was quite impressed by his acting abilities. He was very convincing in his role, ably conveying a combination of athleticism, youthful innocence, and a nascent manliness that proves an effective counterpoint to April McKenna’s character. Being a former national junior Tai Kwon Do Champion definitely helped Plunkett in this challenging role.
Exemplifying Rick Lancaster’s superb casting choices, Brett Helsham, who plays April, is also trained and very accomplished in Thai-Bo and other martial arts which, combined with her extensive acting training in various countries (including Hungary, Belgium and the US), leads to a very effective performance in the film.
I highly recommend the film it to anyone interested in psychology and adolescent development. The Last Days of April sets a high standard, which is not surprising given the track record of previous works of its screen writer, Stephen Ryder. Viewers are advised that the film touches on adult themes. While there are no direct indecent or unclothed scenes, I don’t recommend this film to anyone under the age of 12.
Readers should note that The Last Days of April has just begun the festival circuit and has not yet been made available to the general public in theaters. Stay tuned to theskykid.com for the latest updates about the film and feel free to join the Metropolis films mailing list atinfo {at} metropolis-films.com .
Read my preview article about the film which features an exclusive interview with its screen writer, Stephen Ryder.
Have you enjoyed reading articles posted here at theskykid.com?
Have you found yourself agreeing or disagreeing with something contained in a post? Do you know something about the subject of a post that maybe wasn’t included in the post that you thought should be?
If any of the above applies to you – yet you have not posted a comment – ever – here, then this post is aimed at you.
We here at theskykid.com (myself and the guest authors) enjoy bringing you news and information about coming of age movies, young singers, actors and dancers, as well as a variety of other topics. But sometimes we scratch our heads wondering if it’s worth it – if anyone really cares or enjoys the content. That’s because often there is a lack of feedback via comments to articles. Comments let authors know if they are on the mark with a post and if there is enough interest for like articles in the future. In short, comments provide inspiration and validation to authors.
Here at theskykid.com, we get more than 100,000 hits per month. The blog has attracted top producers and directors because of the young talents we’ve promoted and in some cases have helped to discover. It has featured exclusive interviews with famous singers, dancers, movie and music directors. In short, we know people are coming to the blog, but what we often don’t know are the specifics of why people come and whether they like or dislike the content of the various articles which appear here.
So if you’re a regular reader of content here, but are a “noob” to writing comments, PLEASE consider giving us some feedback as to how we’re doing – or add to the discussion – or correct us when we’re inaccurate about something – or all of the above. Your opinion and contributions will only improve things here for the future.
The world is full of great talents and, thanks to the Internet, we are now able to discover them much more easily than in years past. Robinzion in Russia, Sam Verlinden in New Zealand, Arden Rymer in Canada, Alex Georgiev in Bulgaria,Yatharth Ratnum Rastogi in India – it’s quite a long list and I have only mentioned a few. One of the missions of theskykid.com is to support and promote young talent and today I would like to introduce a new talent — Devin Fox.
American Devin Fox was born in Ohio on September 12, 1997. That makes him 12 years old and he is the youngest of seven children.
Here’s just a sample of his musical talent:
Use Somebody – Kings of Leon Cover
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9p15vRf1Hbc
Devin found his voice about two years ago but has only been serious about singing for about a year. He has taken voice lessons for a year and a half and has just started piano lessons three months ago.
Devin has competed in a few local talent competitions and won prizes such as recording time in a studio and a spot to perform at the Michigan State Fair. In addition to singing, Devin loves to act and do musical theater. His favorite roles so far are Grandpa Joe in Willie Wonka and Rooster Hannigan in Annie Jr. Devin also likes to draw and has been enrolled in an art class for about a year. He also likes movie editing and photography.
With his movie editing programs, Devin has made several sims videos :
One of Devin’s sims videos received an offer to partner with Google, an indication of the good quality of his work in that area.
Devin was kind enough to consent to answer a few questions for theskykid.com:
TheSkyKid.com: When and how did you first discover you could sing?
Devin Fox : Three years ago my sister asked me to sing an audition song that she was having trouble with and when I sang it everyone really liked it. But I’ve only been serious about singing for about a year.
TheSkyKid.com :If you couldn’t be a singer, what would like to do with your life?
Devin Fox : If I couldn’t be a singer I would like to be an actor.
TheSkyKid.com:In the description of a YouTube video of yours, it was mentioned that you sing in a choir. I really appreciate choir music myself. Is there any particular choir you follow – Libera,WSK…etc ?
Devin Fox : No. But at my school choir is the only vocal music offered.
TheSkyKid.com: What role does music play in your everyday life and what does it mean to you?
Devin Fox : Without music I don’t know what I would do because it is such a part of my life.
TheSkyKid.com: What else do you enjoy besides singing?
Devin Fox : I like to draw, act, I make sims videos with my editing programs and I like photography and using photoshop.
TheSkyKid.com: What is your dream goal?
Devin Fox : To become a famous singer/actor.
TheSkyKid.com: Do you get a lot of support from your large family?
Devin Fox : Yes. I do from most of them.
TheSkyKid.com : If you had the chance to perform with anyone in the world who would it be?
Devin Fox : Ke$ha
TheSkyKid.com: Do you get nervous on stage?
Devin Fox : I get nervous before I go on, but once I walk on the stage I’m fine.
TheSkyKid.com: Do you keep in touch with any other young star like you – Jordan , Arden…etc ?
Devin Fox : Yes, Jordan Jansen.
TheSkyKid.com: How do you choose the songs you sing?
Devin Fox : My family and friends make suggestions and from the radio or billboard top 100.
As if Devin’s musical talents weren’t enough, once you get to know him, it becomes obvious he has some other talent genes as well. He loves photography and he has a real gift for art. Here is a line drawing that Devin’s mom, Lorrie, sent me. I’m including it in this post with his/her permission. There is no doubt that should he ever decide down the road not to follow a career in music, there is one waiting for him in the world of art.
Devin Fox – “Twilight”
All in all, another example of how the Internet has helped another young talent be “discovered”. Devin Fox is something of a “Renaissance Man”. I say that because his talent is not relegated to just one area — like music, for example. Ah yes, he is definitely talented in that area. But his talents extend to the visual arts (photography and drawing) and acting as well. And like many young people today, he is growing up in a world of technology for which he’s attained an early mastery, as is evidenced by his work with video. Yes, a talented young man who possesses a great personality as well. A young talent to watch for sure — a future star.
The power of social media never ceases to amaze me. Ever since Bestpi wrote his article, entitled YouTube – The Largest Casting Call in History, things have been happening that confirm his writings. Nowadays, you sing a song, upload it to the web and, with a bit of luck, before you know it you are an internationally known star. The media notices you, people send messages on Twitter about your songs, various blogs do an article on you calling you a promising young star, and TV and Radio hosts are inviting you to their shows. It has happened before – Justin Biber, Jordan Jansen , Brendan MacFarlane , Noa Johannesson – to name but a few.
Now it has happened again. This time the spotlight is on 12- year-old Greyson Michael Chance who recently performed Lady Gaga’s song Paparazzi at a local school festival:
Greyson Michael Chance – Paparazzi.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxDlC7YV5is
The video quickly became viral on YouTube. Just yesterday, when I found out about Greyson for the very first time, the video had 2,000,000 views. Today, when I decided to do an article on him, the view count exceeds 8,000,000. That is truly astonishing!
Of course, the fact that he was invited to be a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show I’m sure influenced that tremendous increase of views, based on his performance on Ellen. I was impressed with his piano skills and liked the fact that he writes his own songs. That’s very important for every young singer — as a cover of a famous singer may get him noticed, but it’s his own creativity and talent that is going to send him on a journey to true stardom. I am not personally that fond of Lady Gaga, but he really added his own style to her song – and that is what made his performance so special.
And Greyson recognizes that. In his interview with Ellen, he talks about how he admires Lady Gaga for her individuality and how he’s tried to emulate her in that regard.
Greyson Michael Chance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
I was also impressed with his apparent comfort and interview skills while appearing on a big, nationally syndicated TV show. At one point during the interview, Ellen poked fun at Greyson showing a still photo of a couple of young ladies sort of rolling their eyes in that school audience as he was performing Paparazzi. Greyson, joking right back said something to the effect that he didn’t know about them, but he “got a couple of phone numbers” out of that performance. Ellen said that after his appearance on her show, she suspected he may get a few more numbers.
And a few more views on his youtube channel. Watch out for this young man. With his talent, he’s definitely on his journey to stardom.
[quote_center]I sing, I dance, I play guitar and I love acting.[/quote_center]
Seems like it was just yesterday when I first found out about Gaby Borges. Her cover of Laura Pausini ‘s Viveme moved me deeply as she sang that touching song with a voice and soul that somehow made me feel every single word of the lyrics. Not too many singers are capable of doing that – and I really admire her devotion of to attaining her goals and becoming a world renowned singer. Gaby’s songs have frequently been played on TheSkyKid.com radio and every time they are the feedback is more than positive.
Gabriela Borges, better known as “Gaby”, is 10 years old and is the daughter of Mexican parents. She already has an impressive CV full of international competitions, awards and concerts and is very active in the artistic community of Miami, Florida. A promising young talent, Gaby Borges in on her way to stardom. She sets an example that one has to believe in one’s dreams and reach for the stars – and when it comes to talent, age is irrelevant:
Gaby Borges Viveme
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM_U_9YZY3k
Gaby agreed to give a short interview exclusively for the readers of theskykid.com:
Hello Gaby! Thank you for agreeing to answer some questions for our readers. I am sure that many of them would like to learn more about you after hearing your songs. Let’s start with one trivial question which is typical for interviews with young and promising talents:
theskykid.com: When and how did you first discover you could sing?
Gaby Borges: My mom and me used to sing along with the radio. One day she turned the volume down and heard me sing, so she asked me if I wanted to go to a vocal coach to see if I could sing, and I said “yes”. This was about three years ago, when I was seven.
theskykid.com: What does it feel like when you are on stage singing?
Gaby Borges: It feels great, especially when people are clapping and cheering for me! It’s an amazing feeling!!!!
theskykid.com: Who would you say has had the biggest musical influence on you?
Gaby Borges: Well, I love Pink and Laura Pausini. I know they are completely different stars, but both of them are awesome and I would love to be just like them! They had a lot to do with my singing career.
theskykid.com: Do you sing when you’re home alone?
Gaby Borges: Oh yes, all the time :D
theskykid.com: Do you get a lot of support from your family?
Gaby Borges: Yes, they support me a lot, because they already know I want to be a pop-star and they support me 100%
theskykid.com: How you see yourself 10 years from now?
Gaby Borges : Well, I think 10 years from now I will be a pop-star already, my dream will have come true!
We would like to thank Gaby for agreeing to this interview and hope that whoever you are , whatever your goal may be, it can be achieved.
Sergey Kuznetsov – Russian composer, poet and songwriter. He is the ideological founder of the group “Tender May” and author of numerous of their songs. I have been following the music he produces in Creative Studio Sergey Kuznechov and you will find several articles on several of its projects at theskykid.com. You can read about: Steklovata, New Forms and Chernila dlya pyatogo klassa. The music produced by Creative Studio Sergey Kuznechov can be easily defined as magical and inspiring. The lyrics written by Sergey have influenced generations with their purity and healing spirit. As people often say about him: ” He taught us how to listen not with our ears, but with our soul.”
Being a long time admirer, it was inevitable that I would try to obtain an interview with Sergey, paying tribute to his creativity and introducing his music to you, my readers. I am very pleased that he agreed to respond to the questions that I prepared for him. This article is the result of our communication. I made sure that the interview is available in both English and Russian and, even though I know that the translation is not perfect, I hope that whatever your native language is you will enjoy the interview and the clips below.
Сергей Кузнецов – советско – российский композитор, поэт, автор песен. Является идейным основателем группы и автором многочисленных песен для группы ” Ласковый Май “.
Steklovata with the their producer Sergey Kuznechov
[EN] TheSkyKid.com: Studio Sergey Kuznechov has many music projects, yet the one most known outside of the Russian speaking countries is the musical group Steklovata. Why do you think Steklovata has gained more exposure compared with the other projects of the studio (all of which are just as talented in my opinion)?
[RU] TheSkyKid.com: Студия Сергея Кузнецова имеет в своем творческом архиве – деятельности – немало музыкальных проэктов,но более популярным за пределами русскоязычных стран является музыкальный коллектив Стекловата. Почему Стекловата получила такую популярность и признание в отличии от других проектов студии (которые на мой взгляд также не менее талантливые) ?
[EN] Sergey Kuznechov: The group “Steklovata” was actively supported by patrons, not only in Russia, but also from abroad. Yes, and the Russian pop music at that time had not fallen so low as nowdays.
[RU] Сергей Кузнецов: Группу «Стекловата» активно поддерживали меценаты не только в России, но и за её пределами. Да и Российская поп музыка в то время не так низко пала как сейчас.
http://youtu.be/B2N26XqhlDA
[EN] TheSkyKid.com: Last year, a film was released in Russia which told the story of the music group “Gentle May” which you created back in the 1980s. According to Wikipedia, “The popularity of this group was similar to the popularity of ‘The Beatles’ in the Soviet Union at the time.” While doing the research for my review of the film, I read that the story portrayed in the film departed a bit from the real events and history of the group. Is there a big difference and were you involved in some way during the shooting of the film?
[RU] TheSkyKid.com: В прошлом году в России был выпущен фильм о истории музыкальной группы Ласковый Май созданной вами в концах 1980х.Согласно Викапедии- Wikipedia-“Популярность и успех этой группы в СССР был сравним лишь с популярностью Битлз в свои времена”.Делая свой обзор фильму доступный здесь: https://theskykid.com/movies/laskovyjmaj/ я узнал,что многие события отображенные в фильме часто далеки и не соответсвуют реальным событиям истории группы.Эти несоответствия-различия- большие , важные, ивы принимали лично какое-то участие во время съемок-создания-фильма?
[EN] Sergey Kuznechov: I was not invited to participate in the filming of this movie. I can say one thing- it is a good tale, but not the story of “Tender May”. The truth in this movie is not more than two percent accurate. And the real story can be found here !
[RU] Сергей Кузнецов: Меня никто не приглашал к участию в съёмках этого фильма. Могу сказать одно – это хорошая добрая сказка, но не о «Ласковом мае». Правды в этом фильме не более двух процентов. А вся относительно правдивая история здесь !
Group Tender May / Ласковый май
[EN] TheSkyKid.com: You compose the music and write the songs for the music groups of your studio. Where do you find inspiration?
[RU] TheSkyKid.com: Вы создаете музыку и песни для всех ваших музыкальных проэктов вашей студии? Где вы берете и откуда черпаете ваше вдохновение?
[EN] Sergey Kuznechov: Well, you may not like my answer…I just write. Where the inspiration comes from I don’t really know. It just seems to come to me and I write it down and then do the recordings at our studio. I can’t really put a finger on what inspires me.
[RU] Сергей Кузнецов: Не люблю это слово. Просто пишу и всё… Откуда беру? Я сам не знаю… Пишу, где придётся. А записываю в нашей студии. Вдохновение – дорогое удовольствие. У меня его нет…
НОВЫЕ ФОРМЫ (New Forms)
[EN] TheSkyKid.com: One of my favorite projects of Studio Sergey Kuznechov is “New Forms” with Vladislav Ivolgin. I loved the melodic sound and the poetic lyrics – what happened to this project?
[RU] TheSkyKid.com: Один из самых моих любимых проектов студии Сергея Кузнецова –Новые Формы с Владиславом Иволгиным.Я даже написал об этом статью. Мне очень понравилась мелодичность музыки и поэтическая лирика – какова была дальнейшая судьба этого проэкта?
[EN] Sergey Kuznechov: The project closed naturally. It is what we decided with Vlad.
[RU] Сергей Кузнецов: Проект закрыт по естественным причинам. Просто мы с Владом так решили.
Vladislav Ivolgin -The little fiddler
[EN] TheSkyKid.com: Do you listen to the music of young performers outside Russia (for example Declan Galbraith , Troy Sivan…etc.) ?
[RU] TheSkyKid.com: Слушаете ли вы юных исполнителей из зарубежных стран (например Деклан,Трой…и т.д.) ? Кому-то отдельно вы отдаете предпочитание и на что по вашему мнению стоит обратить внимания ?Troy Sivan…etc.)?
[EN] Sergey Kuznechov: No. I am unfamiliar with singers outside of Russia.
[RU] Сергей Кузнецов: Я далёк от этого.
Angel and Cat – boys with different personalities that manage to achieve perfect harmony
[EN] TheSkyKid.com: What are you working on at the moment?
[RU] TheSkyKid.com: В данный момент идут ли у вас работы над созданием нового проэкта? Каким вы его представляете и какие уроки для вас наиболее важно извлечь, принять во внимание “учесть” из всех ваших прошлых проэктов?
[EN] Sergey Kuznechov : I have learned a lot. I have learned from my mistakes. Now I am working on two projects – “Angel and Cat” and “Lesha.” I am secretly hoping that there will be people who will support our studio and these young talents. That’s why I will take the opportunity to publicize our account at “Yandex.Money “: 41001498378886
Yandex.Money is an online payment system – a dependable and handy tool to make instant payments for goods and services on the web.
[RU] Сергей Кузнецов: Я многое учел. На ошибках учатся. Сейчас работаю над двумя проектами – «Ангел и Кот» и «Лёха»
Я в тайне надеюсь на помощь меценатов и на всякий случай пользуясь возможностью размещаю наш счет: “Яндекс-Деньги” : 41001498378886
Angel and Cat- New Year
[EN] TheSkyKid.com: I have been admiring the way you distribute your studio’s music without charging for it, though people who download it are encouraged to support the studio financially if they enjoy its releases (there are also collectable CDs available for sale). Such a philosophy is in contrast to the way most Western producers distribute their music. Why did you decide to distribute your music in such a manner?
[RU] TheSkyKid.com: Я восхищаюсь способом, которым Вы распределяете музыку своей студии, не взимая за это ничего, хотя люди, которые загружают ее, согласны поддержать студию материально, если они наслаждаются ее дисками (есть также коллекционируемые компакт-диски, доступные для продажи). Такая философия отличается от способа, которым большинство Западных производителей продает свою музыку. Почему Вы решили распространять свою музыку в такой манере?
[EN] Sergey Kuznechov : Russian publishing companies are not interested in the type of music my studio produces. That’s why we are mainly using the Internet.
[RU] Сергей Кузнецов: Издательские компании России эту музыку не приемлят. Поэтому остаётся Интернет.
[EN] TheSkyKid.com: One of your new projects ” Angel and Cat ” is rapidly gaining popularity. Can you tell us about it – how it all started?
[RU] TheSkyKid.com: Существует один ваш музыкальный проект, гр. Ангел и Кот. Можете ли вы рассказать нам о нем?Кто солистов и как это все начиналось ?
[EN] Sergey Kuznechov: Everything began four years ago. The boys simply arrived and wanted to sing.
[RU] Сергей Кузнецов: Всё начиналось четыре года назад. Просто пришли мальчишки и показали свои голоса.
[EN] TheSkyKid.com: Sergey, Thank you for agreeing to this interview for the readers of our site!
[RU] TheSkyKid.com: Сергей, спасибо, что ответили на вопросы посетителей нашего сайта!
[EN] Sergey Kuznechov: SUCCESS AND PROSPERITY TO YOUR SITE!!!
[RU] Сергей Кузнецов: УСПЕХОВ И ПРОЦВЕТАНИЯ ВАШЕМУСАЙТУ!!!
Most of the songs lyrics come out of poems composed by Sergey Kuznechov. I could not resist showing you an example in a Russian and English of what those poems are like :
ТЫ ВСПОМНИШЬ
You will remember
Ты вспомнишь, просыпаясь,Что старый год уходит.И всё, что в нём случилось,
Уже не повториться.
И будет только память
Надёжно, верно помнить,
Чего ты в школе Жизни
Достиг и обучился…
Ты вспомнишь ночь и лето,
И озеро на даче,
И самый первый опыт,
Когда шептал, что любишь…
А год уносит это,
И ты в Душе заплачешь…
О, первая влюблённость!
Такое не забудешь…
Не плачь малыш, не надо
С тоской жалеть о прошлом.
Ведь столько ещё будет –
Тебе всего тринадцать.
Ночные ласки, клятвы…
И ты их помнить будешь,
А Рождество прошепчет:
“Расти, чтобы ВЛЮБЛЯТЬСЯ!!!
You remember, waking up,As the old year leaves.And all that happened,
Will not be repeated.
And it will be just a memory
Reliable, right to remember
Why you are in the school of life
successful and learned …
You will remember the night and summer,
And the lake at the cottage,
And the first experience
When you whisper that you love …
And a year carries it all away
Oh, first love!
That you won`t forget …
Do not cry boy, do not
Regret the past with nostalgia,
So many things are bound to happen –
You are only thirteen.
Night caresses , oaths …
And you’ll remember them,
A Christmas whisper:
” Grow up, to fall in love!”
In conclusion, in doing my research on Sergey, there are three things not covered specifically in the interview which I learned and want to share with my readers about him.
First, he is part of a culture in Russia that desires to share the arts, in Sergey’s case his music, with the people of the world. In other words, he wants the arts available to all classes – not just those who can afford them. Therefore, he makes his work, and that of the artists he works with, available via the Internet. His work, including the expenses of his studio, is supported by donations from supporters and the sales of CDs via his website. This is very unlike how things work in the Western world.
Secondly, over many years, Sergey has worked with the underprivileged in his area, especially underprivileged children. He’s worked with many of them fostering their artistic talents and giving them feelings of self worth, when no one else would.
Thirdly, with regard to the musical group “Angel Cat”, his observation was that when he first brought the kids together, what struck one was how diverse their personalities were, almost to the point where one would question whether they could even work together. But he has slowly gotten them to work well together so they are able to produce an excellent sound – wonderfully harmonic music.
For a detailed report (in Russian) about Sergey Kuznechov, please follow this link .
…I disappeared a few years ago, and I don’t even know the place I went…
Short films are essential for the coming of age genre — which is why they have their own category in the coming of age movie awards. Commonly, most good short productions are filmed either in the Scandinavian region or the UK and the film featured in this review is no exception. The title of the film is Wanted. It’s 30 minutes in length and was produced in 1994 for BBC TV. On a side note, a surprisingly large amount of good films are produced for BCC. While some of them are often considered a bit dry by the general audience, they are almost always historically accurate and feature a lot of psychological treats — especially when it comes to character development.
The story is told in the first person by the nine-year-old Erol (John Bracegirdle). In a rather intriguing way, he analyses the events and happenings in his life. One notes that he lacks self-esteem and that often causes him to feel miserable and depressed. The cause of that is revealed later in the film. He thinks that he might be different from the rest, which may have caused his father to leave his mom and his mentally ill sister alone. What truly amazed me was the amount of psychology and philosophy which the director managed to fit in a 30 minutes feature.
The lead actor debuted in his role as Erol. Despite the fact that the portrayal of his character would have been a challenge to a much more experienced actor, he manages to involve the viewers — letting them have a peak into the world through the eyes of an adolescent who is yet to make sense of the meaning of life and his own place in it. He might be awkward, vulnerable, not always sure of the answers – but can we say for sure that we are any different …?
….Sometimes you can’t tell the difference between someone who is ordinary and someone who is not…
Zelimo is a coming of age film that tells the story of a young Jewish farm boy who embarks on a journey from Russia to America in search of a better life. The film, through flashbacks, looks at the boy’s haunted past as he seeks a new life in a new world.
The story begins to develop in Russia, where Zelimo lives with his parents and his younger brother. Even if Stalin was dead, his legacy lived on in Russia. People were disappearing and afraid that something bad might happen to their families, especially keeping in mind that being Jews they were looked down upon by even the common people.
The film captures its viewers with its dark first scenes, accompanied by tension building music. The lead character doesn’t look older than 12, he has black paint on his face and is preparing to do something dangerous, illegal or both. A few flashback scenes indicate that whatever is about to happen is going to reflect something that has happened in the past – even if the events shown during this flashback leave only a vague idea of the thoughts that pass through Zelimo’s mind.
The second important moment in the film is the crossing of the Russian border – which has never been an easy thing to do. Night trains, cold, tension, passport checks and then another flashback all lead us to the second Zelimo’s family arrives on US soil. Those of you who have been paying attention will note that only Zelimo and his mother descend to the station platform and nothing is known about the other passengers who were traveling on that same night train.
While it is interesting that the director decided to use filtering technologies, with emphasis on the blue coloring which makes the film artier – on the down side that technique may be confusing for many viewers. I would have been happier if the director just stuck to telling the story and not overdoing the visuals.
I found the soundtrack a bit odd for the film, as it mostly included modern US pop and rock music which seemed out of place — being completely unrelated to the subject matter. On a side note, even if the film was a US production, it felt weird to listen to everyone speaking fluent English. The main characters were Jews and they had spent quite some time in Russia. Yet, there were only a few phrases used in languages other than English – which made the film a bit unreal, as one could see that the reality of the time was not being projected accurately. I have noted similar issues in another coming of age film titled I am David – where instead of setting subtitles to the foreign speech, all of a sudden everyone started speaking in English.
Generally speaking, I don’t think the adult actors were convincing enough and overall failed to portray their emotions, which must have been quite intense, keeping in mind what they had to go through.Once in the US, Zelimo is split from his mother as they are sent to male and female camps for Jewish immigrants. Zelimo is has trouble adjusting, as he hadn’t met a lot of people on the Russian farm where he grew up. He even noted that some people treated him differently than the rest because he was a Jew. And to the people from his own community, he is considered an outsider as he was not raised religiously and is not too willing to accept all the religious restrictions that are imposed on him.
Overall, Zelimo is a good movie that focuses on the struggle of a boy to fit in – in a place, with new people in another country. The film has some educational value as it shows where violence – both physical and mental — may lead.In the end, I hesitate to recommend this film highly, as it personally failed to involve me emotionally and I felt it too cliched at times. It must have been a real challenge for the film’s director to cover a theme that has been done before, with a new twist. While he succeeds to an extent, I felt that Aleks Rosenberg generally failed in that respect.
——————————————————————————————————-
This review would not have been possible without the valuable support of SCVMC.net who provided the DVD for it.
In 1994, Hanson released their first independent record. In 1997, the band released Middle of Nowhere – an album which sold more than ten million copies. The band achieved word wide success and in 1998 was nominated for three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. An army of devoted fans followed every step in their success – I am one of these fans. Their music is the soundtrack of my childhood. Today they are rocking the world again – making me proud, proud that I was with them all this time, proud that they kept their promise to keep making music inspiring thousands of young artists around the world .
The band is currently hosting an exclusive five-night engagement at New York City’s Gramercy Theater – five nights during which the band is performing, in its entirety, one of their previous albums — leading up to a worldwide premier of their new album tomorrow (30th the April 2010). Each of these concerts is being streamed live at their official livestream page – tonight (8pm EST) the band will perform the songs of The Walk – their 4th Studio Album – released on the band’s own independent label, 3CG Records. I am going to be watching and I highly recommend that you watch it too. They will amaze you – of that I have no doubts.
Yesterday I was watching their 3rd concert of the five in which they were performing the songs from Underneath. It was a great concert, I could not help it and got overly emotional when they came onto the stage. Every song, every word they said was touching something deep inside me. Pure magic, the music of Hanson rocking the world once again!
I had only heard The Skykid.com Radio a few times when I thought to myself that he needed more of a variety for the station. As I thought about this, several ideas came to mind based on shows that some of my local radio stations had. So I sat down and put together a demo show, recording using my cell phone since I didn’t have a mic at the time. To my surprise, Skykid loved the idea and wanted to know if I’d like to do more. I was just trying to be helpful and come up with some new ideas and didn’t really expect to get into the radio business.
After doing a few shows, I wanted to add something new. Well, I knew Skykid was doing written interviews with artists so I thought….“hey why can’t I do that?” and that way it would make The Mystery Artist show seem more like a live show. A few days before that, I had received an email from Matt Larsen about a new video that he had uploaded. So I thought this was as good a place as any to start and sent Matt an email. Here are the emails we sent back and forth and the entire show.
Hello and welcome to a very special edition of the Mystery Artist Show. Thanks to technology today, I’ve been able to correspond back and forth with the mystery artist and he has agreed to record his responses to some questions that I have prepared for him. So, since the show is recorded, it will appear as though the mystery artist is here with me. Also our mystery artist will be introducing himself. So, without further ado, here is today’s mystery artist:
“Matt Larsen is an exciting, award winning singer/songwriter from Perth, Western Australia and was born in 1994. His ability to create hook laden melodies and foot tapping rhythms, combined with meaningful lyrics, has won him wide critical acclaim. As a solo acoustic act, Matt consistently forms strong connections with his audience through live performances that are full of energy and passion. His style is best described as guitar driven indie pop/rock and has been compared to the likes of Ben Lee, Alex Lloyd and Bob Evans.”
Matt : Hello everyone, this is Matt Larsen, and you’re listening to The Mystery Artist Show on The Skykid.com Radio and — mystery solved — I’m the artist today.
Jeffrey: Matt, when did you start singing?
Matt : I started singing around about the same time I started playing guitar. I was about 9 years old, but I kinda started properly singing when I was about 11, when I wrote my first song called No One To Blame.
Jeffrey: Is there any advice you’d like to give any others such as yourself who are just starting out?
Matt : I think the best advice is to just keep going no matter what anyone says. I mean, you’re always going to get people to tell you you aren’t good enough. If you really love your music, it’s all worth it, trust me, it really is.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dmlghQFAA4
Well, it’s obvious Matt loves to sing and hasn’t listened to anyone trying to deter him from his goals. In 2006, he won the West Australian Music Industry (WAMI) Song of the Year (Primary Category) with his song Free and was the youngest artist ever to reach the grand finals of the “Step-up-Live” original songwriters competition in Fremantle. In 2007, he released his debut album Undeniable in which he wrote, performed & recorded all the instruments & vocals himself. Three songs from Matt’s CD reached 4th, 5th and 8th respectively in the Australian Songwriters Association (ASA) National Song writing Contest (Youth Category), performing at both the Garage Kids Rock Festival and as an emerging artist at the West Coast Blues and Roots Festival in Perth. He performed live on Perth’s Access 31 TV station, 89.7FM and 95.3FM radio stations. In 2008, he was nominated finalist in the ASA National Songwriters Contest (Youth Category), West Australian Music Industry (WAMI) Song of the Year (Lower Secondary Category) and the NAB National Song writing Competition (Youth Category) for his song Everything to Me. He also performed as the guest artist at the West Coast Song Fest and Wanneroo Show, backed by a 650 member choir.
Jeffrey: Matt, it’s obvious that you play other instruments besides the guitar. What else do you play?
Matt : Yea I do. I play bass and drums. I also play keyboards, but I’m not formally trained for that. I just make up little melodies here and there.
Jeffrey: That’s cool. What do your friends and school mates think of your success?
Matt : Ah, they’re really supportive and they have a lot of fun together playing on drum sets, filming video clips…yeah they’re great.
Jeffrey: Do you hope to make it big one day or are you just happy doing local shows and contests?
Matt : Yeah. It’d be great to make it big some day — make a career out of music. But at the same time, you know, it’s still great fun doing local gigs and writing songs and recording. It’s all good. As long as I’m doing something with music, I’m happy.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsheFXDaYKw
Earlier in the year, Matt traveled to Sydney, Australia where he was nominated for a National Musicoz Award. Unfortunately he didn’t win, but that’s the way life goes. Sometimes you win and sometimes you don’t. Any artist who’s in the business, whether it’s entertainment or whether it’s acting, knows you don’t always win the awards.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_ni-awaobs
Jeffrey: Ok Matt, in your song Giving In, you’re constantly mentioning “kiss me” and in your song Standing In Your Window, you talk about breaking up. Well, I’m sure a lot of our young female listeners would like to know if you currently have a girlfriend?
Matt : Hehehe. No I don’t have a girlfriend at the moment. Just lots of friends.
Jeffrey: Is there anything you would like to add?
Matt : Nah, just thanks so much for having me on the show. I really appreciate it.
Jeffrey: I would like to thank you, Matt, for taking the time out of your busy schedule to be here on the show with us today.
If you would like to continue to follow Matt’s career, then you can go to his MySpace or his YouTube page where he has videos of songs that he has sung and also videos from concerts that he has done. Or, you can go to his official website which is mattlarsenmusic.com. Now under normal circumstances I wouldn’t do this, but since this is my first show like this, I am going to let Matt Larsen introduce his favorite song and we are going to let that song lead us out of the show. So remember, stay young and we’ll see you next time…
Matt : This is Matt Larsen and you’re listening to my favorite song Electrical Storm by U2.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uq8vXUpnssc
Jeffrey: After seeing what Matt goes through in the way of emails, I was really surprised that he took the time to go through each and every one of them. Otherwise, he would have never seen my emails and therefore would not have done the show. I am honored and grateful that he took the time out of his very busy schedule to do the show. From what I’ve seen in his videos and the way that he answered my questions, I can tell that he is a down-to-earth, respectful young man with maybe a little wild streak from time to time. I hope that I will have the pleasure of working with Matt again sometime in the near future.
Coming of Age films frequently focus on boyhood. The definition of the genre does not exclude the coming of age experience of girls. A coming of age film is “A film that focuses on the psychosocial development of a youth and it often involves great conflict and transformation”, as Mark put it, in my article titled Coming of age films – definition. All reviews in theskykid.com are of films that belong to the coming of age genre, yet I recognize the fact that most of the films reviewed here have a male character as a lead. The reasons for this are outlined in another article I wrote in 2008 titled Coming of age films – boy’s or girl’s thing. But I feel that a blog that focuses on the coming of age genre is not complete without also featuring articles about films in which the lead character is a girl or woman. If you’re a girl who is interested in coming of age films, you can find many of them wherever movies are rented or sold. They will give you the information you need regarding growing up, and taking on new challenges. In this post, I would like to present five films that are considered to be classic coming of age films which focus on girlhood rather than boyhood in the period of life we know as the Rite of Passage.
Audio version of Top 5 Coming of Age Films for Girls
1. Ghost World
In a different sort of manner, Ghost World is a Coming of Age film, though not typical of the genre. One critic called it “… a movie about teens, but not a teen movie”. The critic meant that in the best possible way. So many of the so-called “teen” movies cast the young protagonists as sort of silly, unintelligent and/or naive to the ways of the world. Not Ghost World. The viewer meets Enid, an intelligent, cynical and thoughtful girl, just graduated from high school, and her friend Rebecca.
The main plotline has these two friends coming together, and falling apart, in the course of the movie. It also has a sub-plot involving a sort of “girl meets boy” scenario or, more accurately, “girl meets older man”. That happens when the girls play a mean prank on an older Seymour, a nerdy man who is a collector of the old vinyl records. As things progress, Enid and Seymour find they are kindred souls and a friendship gradually evolves which helps Enid to mature and develop a different outlook on life.
This was once a comic book story, written into a movie script, and it rings heartbreakingly true. One of the friends ruins another’s life while trying to get the friendship back. This is one of the most sought after films about friendship and coming of age due to the painful truths revealed and the heartbreak prevalent throughout the scenes. While a “dark” film, it also has its comedic moments.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OmvPT5aXzI
2. Juno
Juno MacGuff is in a tough spot. She’s 16, in high school and… pregnant. This film is about what she does about it.
The father of Juno’s baby is her best friend, Bleaker. While the relationship has been strictly platonic, a one-time encounter between them, in a chair, results in Juno becoming pregnant. Bleaker leaves all the decisions for her to make on the baby, and she initially decides to have an abortion. While waiting for the appointment, Juno decides she would much rather give the baby up for adoption. She looks in the Pennysaver ads to find adoptive parents and finds a yuppie couple who live in the suburbs. She decides to have a closed adoption, meaning she won’t ever get to see the child once the adoption is complete. Due to the marital problems of the yuppie couple, the adoption doesn’t work out. Eventually, she does put the baby up for adoption, but finds herself growing ever closer to Bleaker as time goes on, while learning some of life’s lessons the hard way.
The movie is well done and presents the viewer with several unexpected plot twists and well developed characters. Juno, in particular, is a character who starts out as perhaps a little naive to the ways of the world but ends up, by film’s end, having a much better grasp of who she is and what she wants from life than many people twice her age.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuN0Z65sp5c
3. Now and Then
Four girls, close friends through childhood, make a pact to be there for each other whenever the need arises. They gather, later in their lives, to celebrate the birth of one of their children, and relive one of the greatest summers they have ever had. It was the year they were all 12-years-old and growing up in a typical small town of 1970.
There have been many comparisons of Now and Then to the more popular and more economically successful film Stand by Me. The reasons for the comparison are obvious. Both are in the Coming of Age genre, though one is about young girls and the other about boys. Both have a central plotline featuring an event in which the protagonists find a dead body. And both films starred young actors who were very popular at the time of the respective film’s release.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxhiuNQPuj0
4. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Four girls who have been friends for almost all of their lives are separated for the first time over the summer vacation from school. Lena goes to visit her family in Greece, and meets a boy. Tibby stays home, starts filming a movie, and makes a new friend. Bridget is sent to a camp in Mexico, and ends up in love with one of the coaches. Carmen spends time with her father in S. Carolina, and finds out a most shocking secret.
This film is a laid back type of Coming of Age movie about four young friends who, in an effort to stay in touch during that long hot summer, form an affiliation that they call The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. It’s called that because the symbolic bond that holds the sisterhood together is a pair of magical jeans. Despite the girls being of differing shapes and sizes, they can all fit into the jeans which they pass on, one to the next, while at the same time passing on the adventures that each of them experiences on their vacations.
Packed with humor, sadness, and heart rending tales throughout, this was one of the most loved movies of 2005, the year this film was released.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VE7F87xP-fo
5. Thirteen
On the brink of adolescence, Tracy is a straight A student, but a naive one. She cuts classes and smokes to alleviate the emotional pain that is suffered at home. She befriends the most popular and prettiest girl in school. Evie leads Tracy into a life of petty crimes and misbehavior. Once Tracy chooses this path, her world gets flipped upside down. It creates tension between her family, friends, and teachers to whom she was once close. Everyone tries telling her about how she is acting, but she would rather not hear it, listening instead to her new friend Evie.
This film has a sense of realism about it, which is not surprising given the fact that the screenplay was written by Nikki Reed, who was just 13 when she wrote it. Nikki was helped in her effort by an older lady friend of her father, director Catherine Hardwicke. The movie is about growing up in an era when children are so influenced by TV, internet and films which foster the desire in them to be popular and “in”.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yxrc2W-czA
I hope that you have found this article interesting and informative. If you know other coming of age films that did not make it in this list, please tell us about them by leaving a comment on this article.
It’s a little bit more than 15 minutes in length. Short films are tough to make and tough to review as the Director has a limited time to express his ideas and the viewer has a limited time to grasp them. That is probably the reason why short films never become too popular to general audiences or achieve recognition outside of the selected film festivals circuit where they are screened.
I have often criticized American-made movies for their lack of realism and a tendency to either ignore serious issues or present them in a mild way to the extent they lose their meaning. However, there are certain filmmakers that have proven me wrong on that and one of them is Stephen Ryder. He often addresses controversial issues in a unique and truly provocative way and his latest filmThe Last Days of April is no exception. A coming of age thriller at its best, the film has rapidly attracted a lot of attention. The relentless perfectionism of Director Rick Lancaster ( 
The world is full of great talents and, thanks to the Internet, we are now able to discover them much more easily than in years past. 
eems like it was just yesterday when I first found out about Gaby Borges. Her cover of Laura Pausini ‘s Viveme moved me deeply as she sang that touching song with a voice and soul that somehow made me feel every single word of the lyrics. Not too many singers are capable of doing that – and I really admire her devotion of to attaining her goals and becoming a world renowned singer. Gaby’s songs have frequently been played on TheSkyKid.com radio and every time they are the feedback is more than positive.
The lead actor debuted in his role as Erol. Despite the fact that the portrayal of his character would have been a challenge to a much more experienced actor, he manages to involve the viewers — letting them have a peak into the world through the eyes of an adolescent who is yet to make sense of the meaning of life and his own place in it. He might be awkward, vulnerable, not always sure of the answers – but can we say for sure that we are any different …?
Zelimo is a coming of age film that tells the story of a young Jewish farm boy who embarks on a journey from Russia to America in search of a better life. The film, through flashbacks, looks at the boy’s haunted past as he seeks a new life in a new world.
Overall, Zelimo is a good movie that focuses on the struggle of a boy to fit in – in a place, with new people in another country. The film has some educational value as it shows where violence – both physical and mental — may lead.In the end, I hesitate to recommend this film highly, as it personally failed to involve me emotionally and I felt it too cliched at times. It must have been a real challenge for the film’s director to cover a theme that has been done before, with a new twist. While he succeeds to an extent, I felt that Aleks Rosenberg generally failed in that respect.
I had only heard The Skykid.com Radio a few times when I thought to myself that he needed more of a variety for the station. As I thought about this, several ideas came to mind based on shows that some of my local radio stations had. So I sat down and put together a demo show, recording using my cell phone since I didn’t have a mic at the time. To my surprise, Skykid loved the idea and wanted to know if I’d like to do more. I was just trying to be helpful and come up with some new ideas and didn’t really expect to get into the radio business.
If you would like to continue to follow Matt’s career, then you can go to his MySpace or his 
1. Ghost World
2. Juno
3. Now and Then
On the brink of adolescence, Tracy is a straight A student, but a naive one. She cuts classes and smokes to alleviate the emotional pain that is suffered at home. She befriends the most popular and prettiest girl in school. Evie leads Tracy into a life of petty crimes and misbehavior. Once Tracy chooses this path, her world gets flipped upside down. It creates tension between her family, friends, and teachers to whom she was once close. Everyone tries telling her about how she is acting, but she would rather not hear it, listening instead to her new friend Evie.