Name: Jeff Klarin Home Base: Los Angeles, California, USA Biggest accomplishment so far: My latest interaction with the person that is joyous about possessing something I made. What creativity means to me: Creativity is the space in our lives that allows nature to take the stage. As a species, our purpose is to expand the vision of mankind. The best method to achieve this is compassion. The second best method is wonder. My hope is that any delivery system that one uses to create wonder and illicit compassion is a beautiful expression of existence. Past and present…
Author: Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne is the co-founder and editor of SHIFTER magazine. Born and raised in Toronto, Kevin currently resides in Ottawa with his wife Koliah and their three children. He's a big fan of hip-hop, pop culture, and urbanism and spends most of his time keeping up with the Kardashians.
Women and their role in film and television has always been a highly talked about topic. More and more people are talking about how much women get paid or whether they’re being offered good roles. So much so, it’s easy to forget about the things they have, and more importantly the strong, powerful and inspirational female characters they’ve played. In celebration of International Women’s Day, let’s remember ten strong-willed and inspirational female characters who have blessed our screens over the years. Buffy Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Life isn’t easy, even if you’re the slayer. Buffy had to survive vampires,…
The Life of Pablo is the seventh solo studio album from controversial rapper Kanye West. This is his first project since Yeezus, which dropped in 2013. Overall, it’s a very busy album, as we see shades of the old Kanye, as well as his newer, darker style of production, all with a mix of auto tune, which makes it one that cannot be neglected. The album opens up with Ultralight Beam, which features Chance the Rapper, R&B sensations The Dream and Kelly Price, as well as Gospel singer Kirk Franklin. Essentially, this song represents Kanye’s faith in God. The song…
This February, popular Ottawa radio host, Stuntman Stu, announced on Facebook that he was diagnosed with Leukemia. The community leader that he is, he decided to not only fight the disease for himself, but to use this as an opportunity to raise awareness and funds for research in partnership with the Ottawa Hospital and the Ottawa Senators. According to stustrong.ca: In February 2016 community leader and MAJIC 100 morning show host ‘Stuntman’ Stu Schwartz was diagnosed with Leukemia. He immediately began his treatment at The Ottawa Hospital and within a few short hours inspired the #StuStrong movement. Without hesitation, the…
Directed by Babak Najafi; Screenplay by Creighton Rothenberger, Katrin Benedikt, Chad St. John and Christian Gudegast; Starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman, Alon Moni Aboutboul, Angela Basset; Music by Trevor Morris After the death of the British prime minister, the world’s most powerful leaders gather in London to pay their respects. Without warning, terrorists unleash a devastating attack that leaves the city in chaos and ruins. Secret Service agent Mike Banning (Gerard Butler) springs into action to bring U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart) to safety. Let’s make one thing perfectly clear. One does not walk into a movie…
Last September our co-founder, Joe Mebrahtu, wrote a thought-provoking opinion piece on the power of creative protest. In it he stated: “Influencers use their creative force to mold culture into their image while victims will simply protest and demand justice.” This point hit home during the recent #OscarsSoWhite controversy. At SHIFTER Magazine we typically advocate for using creativity to address issues instead of the conventional approach of protesting. Protesting rarely yields meaningful long-term results. Even in the case of the Arab Spring, celebrated at the time as a highly successful demonstration resulting in a change of leadership, crowds returned a…
On February 29th, our film section editor, Vladimir Jean-Gilles, and critic Axandre Lemours were guests on All In A Day with Alan Neal on CBC Radio One 91.5FM in Ottawa where they talked about the Oscars, diversity and Chris Rock’s monologue on the #OscarsSoWhite controversy. Click on the media player below to listen to their segment. Also read: OPINION – THE OSCARS: THE WHITE, THE BLACK AND EVERYONE IN BETWEEN
This morning our film section editor, Vladimir Jean-Gilles, and film critic Axandre Lemours appeared on CTV Morning Live to share their 2016 Oscar predictions. Check it out below. http://www.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=816921 Check out Oscars Central for more Oscars coverage
Name: Rebecca Johnson Home Base: Los Angeles, California, USA Biggest accomplishment so far: Every time I sell a piece of art, it feels like an accomplishment. No matter how small the piece. Being able to work full-time in creative fields for the past 20+ years. Being profiled in the LA Times and on Last Call with Carson Daly. What creativity means to me: Artists see the unseen. Creativity is a bit of alchemy and synthesis. Our perception of the world is a bit different, we like to make it to our liking, rather than settle. Sometimes my active and dormant…
We live in a world where people develop many talents, for which they keep hidden or never have the chance to show it off. Although this may be the case for most, there are certain people that have acquired new talents but were able to present them. In this list, we take a look at the top 5 rappers turned successful actors. It is without a doubt that these people have made a noteworthy transition from rocking the mic to rocking the big screen, and in the process have left a mark on culture. 1. Will Smith In West Philadelphia,…
Pablo Esteban Sanchez Rijlaarsdam was born in Mexico City. As the son of a Oaxacan painter Pablo had his first experience in art by watching his father paint. He and his family later moved to the city of Leiden in the Netherlands. There he came into direct contact with the works of the great Dutch Masters such as Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Mondriaan and Karel Appel. This helped him expand his vision and create his own distinct way of thinking. ‘‘Art is an ever growing hunger to create. Kind of like exorcism. Our job as artists is to investigate the immaculte…
A few months ago I wrote an opinion piece called There’s No Creation Without Collaboration that was pretty well received. I wrote that very few things of note have been created by “one man shows”. Working with others is something that many creative people struggle with because it requires surrendering your vision to others. Today’s piece is a follow-up which reflects something I’m learning on my own creative journey- there’s no creation without persistence. It’s noted that Thomas Edison failed over a thousand times before successfully creating a light bulb. When Illumination Pictures needed a theme song for the Minion…
