mpGO members Paul Campsall & Tom Knowlton
win international film award
When the Blues Come to Town Receives Silver Award from Spotlight Documentary Film Awards
Waterloo, ON (January 3, 2016) — Waterloo filmmakers Paul Campsall of MetaMedia Productions and Tom Knowlton of TCK Productions, who are members of the Media Producers Group of Ontario (mpGO), toasted the New Year with an international film award. They are the proud recipients of a Silver Award from Spotlight Documentary Film Awards for 2015 for their 60-mintue documentary When the Blues Come to Town.
“Spotlight Film Awards is a year-long international film competition designed to promote talented filmmakers and their projects,” explained Producer Paula Campsall. “The jury considered thousands of film submissions from more than 40 countries and selected the best 250 documentaries of 2015 in three award tiers: Platinum, Gold and Silver. Here is what the jury had to say about When the Blues Come to Town:”
“After reviewing thousands of films this year, we compiled a list of 250 of the best independent documentary films of 2015. We are so honored to announce When the Blues Come to Town has been selected as one of the top documentary films of the year, and the jury has awarded it with the Silver Award at the Spotlight Documentary Film Awards! Silver Awards are given to unforgettable films with the third highest scores from our panel.”
Additionally, the film was chosen as part of the On Location: Memphis Film and Music Festival, as one of 10 documentaries selected from international submissions. The filmmakers were in attendance at the festival held in September 2015.
From the Mississippi Delta to the frozen north, When the Blues Come to Town explores the events, the people, the stories and the music that have made Waterloo Region - a small community in Canada - an unlikely hot-spot for Blues music in North America. The highly acclaimed Kitchener Blues Festival provides the backdrop for an intimate look at the characters and the musicians who make Blues music their life's calling.
The storyline traces the passing of the torch in the evolution of the blues locally and includes some seminal figures:
· Dave (Daddy Cool) Booth, a local disc jockey who introduced the blues to area listeners on his midnight radio show.
· Blues impresario Glenn Smith who booked blues concerts in legions, the Hoodoo Lounge and Pop the Gator. He invited the late Mel Brown, who is in the film, to leave Texas and make his home in Kitchener.
· Mel Brown mentored a generation of Canadian blues artists, including Shawn Kellerman, Julian Fauth and Steve Strongman.
To view the trailer, visit: https://vimeo.com/125518171
Production Credits:
Co-Directors: Paul Campsall and Tom Knowlton
Producer: Paula Campsall
Camera: Paul Campsall, Tom Knowlton
Editor: Paul Campsall, Tom Knowlton
Mr. Campsall has been producing films and video through his company, MetaMedia, for more than 20 years. His work as cameraman and director has taken him to Africa, Asia and South America, including a one-year posting in Nairobi. He has produced a number of films telling Waterloo Region stories, most recently When the Blues Come to Town. MetaMedia has a studio and editing facility in uptown Waterloo. For more information, visit: www.metamedia.ca
Mr. Knowlton is a television performer, writer and producer. He co-hosted the award-winning children's television series Camp Cariboo, and has been the host of Good Morning Canada on CTV. As a freelance writer and filmmaker (TCK Productions), Tom has written numerous children's television scripts and produced creative video projects for many clients. For more information, visit: https://vimeo.com/tckproductions
MEDIA CONTACT
Mary-Lou Schagena
Marketing and Membership
Media Producers Group of Ontario (mpGO)
Email: mary-lou@mpgo.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/#!/group.php?gid=104483759887
Twitter: @mpGOOntario2
The Media Producers Group of Ontario (mpGO) is a professional organization which encourages interdependence among film, video and interactive media producers and other industry professionals, while fostering the sharing of knowledge, skills, creativity, innovation and technology for the common good. mpGO is committed to staying on the leading edge of technology change through ongoing professional development.
