Cancel your plans, hire a babysitter, call in sick, do whatever you need to do to watch the world premiere of Riddle Films’ GOD’S GREATEST HITS on VisionTV, May 11th at 10pm. This 5-part, half-hour series explores some of the most beautiful and most famous spiritual music of all time, and features performances by Bobby McFerrin, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Dione Taylor, Judy Collins, The Priests, The Nathaniel Dett Chorale and many more. Check out the article in the Vancouver Sun!

Director Joel Goldberg (Samba Squad: Drums We Love) and cinematographer Kiarash Sadigh (God’s Greatest Hits, Sex + Religion) went on the road with singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn while he recorded his solo live album Slice ‘O Life.  What they came back with is a moving portrait of one one of the most thoughtful and influential musicians of our time.  Bruce Cockburn: Pacing the Cage features appearances by Bono, Sarah Harmer, Michael Ondaatje, Sen. Romeo Dallaire, Colin Linden and, of course, Bruce Cockburn performing many of his most-loved songs. Premieres May 4th at 10pm on VisionTV.

Our video, “Angel,” by The Flying Bulgar Klezmer band is now at Bravo!FACT.com.  It was directed by Bruce McDonald.  You can see and hear more from the Flying Bulgars at www.theflyingbulgars.com.  Check them out!

Shooting has begun for God’s Greatest Hits. First up was the unique version of Amazing Grace by The Blind Boys of Alabama. The intrepid team of Liam Romalis, Kiarash Sadigh, Gary Vaughan and the  incomparable Mako Funasaka captured the series’s first images in Port Credit, right here in the GTA. Thanks to the Southside Shuffle Festival for their generous help.

Below is a small sample of what we captured:

Sex + Religion has gone online!  You can now watch webisodes of the series by going to http://www.ithentic.com/series/sex-religion/.

Join adventurer and explorer, George Kourounis, as he travels to the edges of civilization, visiting the most remote places on Earth. Communities, cultures at risk of vanishing forever.

To the Ends of the Earth brings you stories about people’s indomitable will to survive against all odds in the most extreme conditions on the planet. This adventure series is part cultural experience and part epic exploration of places on the edge of human inhabitability. In each episode, viewers visit virtually impossible to reach locales and learn what it takes to survive, and even thrive, in the most harsh, remote or endangered spots on Earth.

Host George Kourounis has spent years traveling to many of the most inhospitable places and obscure countries in the world and specializes in documenting environmental extremes and the people who live in them. Never afraid to jump in with both feet, he brings his own perspective as an outsider as he becomes a member of these communities for a brief period of time.

Many of these locations serve as a warning to us of the environmental consequences of rampant development and disregard for our impact on the planet. These communities are the “canary in a coal mine” for such issues as climate change, sea level rise and pollution. But they can also serve as inspiration, showing how people are able to persevere in the bleakest of places, the harshest of climates, and even turn things around.

This series combines stunning cinematography, exotic locations and exchanges with some of the most unique people in the world. The hardships and dangers of these hostile places make To the Ends of the Earth the most compelling half hour on television. We are reminded of our fragile relationship with the planet we call home and lifted up by all its possibilities.

So, dust off your red/blue Anaglyph glasses and check out the 3D trailer below:

Sex + Religion goes online.  Stories from this provocative series are available as webisodes through iThentic.com.

What is the relationship between religion and sexuality?  Where does sex fit into the pursuit of divine enlightenment? Is it an integral part of who we are or is it a blind biological drive that distracts us from realizing our highest spiritual goals?  In a world in which we are bombarded with sexual messages, can we unite our sexual desires with our divine purpose?

This thirty-two-part web series looks at stories of people trying to answer those questions.  It speaks to experts both inside and outside the fold: rabbis, priests, sex workers, philosophers and gurus, all of whom shed some much-needed light on the relationship between sex and religion.

Produced by Riddle Films and Creative Anarchy in association with VisionTV and HiFiHDTV, with the participation of the Canadian Media Fund and The Rogers Documentary Fund.

Winner, Gold Remi Award, Best Documentary Series, 2011 Houston WorldFest.

32 x 8min. documentary series
Executive Producers: Jason Charters, Liam Romalis, Robert Sandler
Directors: Jason Charters, Liam Romalis, Robert Sandler
Writers: Allen Booth, Jason Charters, Robert Sandler

Distribution: iThentic, www.ithentic.com

Shot in stunning HD on location at the Banff Centre’s Rolston Hall during the 2010 Banff International String Quartet Competition, these 9 string quartets represent the world’s best emerging classical ensembles. Below is a selection from Canada’s Afiara String Quartet:

The Afiara String Quartet

www.banffcentre.ca/bisqc/2010

Below is a documentary we are currently developing with Leonard Nimoy and Rich Michelson of the R. Michelson Gallery:

The Icon and the Image

Leonard Nimoy’s life has been about images.  As a ten-year-old boy growing up in a two-bedroom apartment in Boston with his Yiddish-speaking Orthodox Jewish parents, his brother and his grandparents, he discovered the family camera.  It was a discovery that would spark a life-long pursuit of art, truth and beauty, often within the context of his Judaism.

At one time enrolled in photography at UCLA, Nimoy abandoned his original love for a life as an actor and celebrity.  His is one of the most famous faces in the world.  He is more than just a movie star really.  He is a pop culture icon. TV Guide recently named his Mr. Spock as one of the 50 Greatest TV Charters of all time.

Now in his eighties, he has returned to his passion for photography.  Nimoy’s pictures are widely acclaimed and respected, and he is just as engaged as ever in the pursuit of art.  Leonard Nimoy: THE ICON AND THE IMAGE looks at his work as a photographer as the man reflects on the life he has led, and the curiosity that drives him to continue to create.

Unbelievably, there has never been a documentary produced on Nimoy’s livelong creative quest.  The film will mark the first and perhaps only document of artist who has made his way permanently into the lexicon of popular culture.

The below promo on Leonard Nimoy is from our series, Sex + Religion: