artwork by Group of Seven Billion

I had people over last week to see my new apartment in Hamilton Ontario. I call it an apartment, but really it’s the main floor of an old bank that’s been converted into a loft. I live where the tellers used to scramble around before the neighbourhood of Barton Village took a nose dive. Nowadays, even an underemployed hipster online magazine editor can afford to rent a beat palace here.

Hamilton is a steel town like Pittsburgh or Detroit… not exactly the most forward facing industry in North America. Despite its gruff exterior Hamilton has been very welcoming. In my short time here I’ve met many kind and creative people, and I’ve felt at home for the first time since I was a teenager.

 “ART IS THE NEW STEEL” were the words printed in bold lettering on my friend Darryl Gold’s t-shirt. Darryl was raised in my neighbourhood until some point in the 80s when he matured into a successful filmmaker, and spent his next 25 years in Toronto. We screened three short films that night. I figured showing these on ZOUCH would be a clever way to schmooze and self-promote, all under the guise of an article aimed at launching our new “FILM & FASHION FRIDAYS” initiative.

So without further ado, here are Darryl Gold’s Youtube hit High-Tech Noon, his Hamilton Film Festival award winning Behind The Camera, and my film CRE8TIVE ANARCHY: Media Abstractions #1, which I’m proud to announce was recently referred to as “nuke porn” on twitter: