Monday, June 29, 2009

DRAGON RITUAL DRUMMERS - Drum Troupe


The Dragon Ritual Drummers are a Canadian pagan drum troupe with a Global following, their music is inspired from around the world and through the ages. They are currently the highest ranking unsigned Afro beat and Tropical band on the Canadian myspace music charts, and are the number one pagan drum troupe on the planet. They have been featured in numerous mainstream and pagan media world wide, and headline top pagan and musical festivals across North America. Their shows are uplifting and interactive, filled with dancing, invocations, stories and rhythms of creole history and voodoo gods. Their main totem and namesake is the historic dragon spirit that resides at the brink of their home in Niagara Falls, and have released the worlds first "Drum Opera" telling the story and history of the Niagara dragon and its surrounding region. They have produced four CDs independently, available at their web site, itunes or a fine occult shop near you. Dragon Ritual Drummers’ music is featured in the film “Strafe”.

www.dragonritualdrummers.com
www.myspace.com/dragonritualdrummers

Monday, June 22, 2009

SHIBATEN SPIRITS - Musician


Shibaten is originally from Japan. He has been traveling around the world throughout Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America since April 1999. Each new country he visited,
he collected a new sound to enhance their spiritually and uniqueness of his performance. Expect to see Didgeridoo (Australia), Djembe (Guinea), Sese (Mali), Foot Nuts Bell (Indonesia),Tibetan Bell (Tibet), Thai Gong (Thailand), Wind Chime (Indonesia), Chinese Cymbal (China), Clap Sticks (Burkina Faso), African Bell (Guinea), Chau Gong (China), Stomp box (Australia). His music comes from nature, the culture of the countries he's visited and his heart. He believes language is not the only means of communication, and music knows no frontiers. Some of Shibaten's music from the "This Earth" album is featured in the film "Strafe".

"NO HEART, NO MUSIC. MUSIC IS FROM THE SPIRIT"

Thursday, June 18, 2009

DRAGON RITUAL DRUMMERS join the STRAFE Soundtrack!

I am pleased and honored to announce that the Dragon Ritual Drummers have joined the Strafe project, contributing their powerful spiritual music and energy to the Strafe soundtrack! We will be featuring a few of their tunes throughout the film, alongside Paul Whitaker's original compositions and Shibaten Spirits. STRAFE is truly blessed! I am so grateful for all the fantastic people involved in this project, I can't wait!

Monday, June 15, 2009

KIRK WOOD - Actor


Kirk Wood is an actor, writer, singer and stuntman. He has been working in theatre and as an entertainer since the tender age of 6. Growing up in a creatively thriving community north of Toronto, Canada, he was exposed to various art forms early on in life but ultimately fell in love with the silver screen. At the age of twenty-two; after a two year hiatus of traveling across Australia and New Zealand, he quickly returned to study classical theatre at the esteemed Humber College. In his second year he transferred into a new program strictly focused on acting for film. He spent two more years learning the craft and graduated in the top of his class. Whilst in school Kirk also began to train at a dinner theatre company called Medieval Times. He spent almost five years there and is now skilled in the very technically challenging art of choreographed combat with a wide array of medieval weaponry. In addition, Kirk is a very gifted and accomplished horse rider, mainly trained in the traditional English riding style. Kirk’s execution of stunt falls off of horseback and prowess in the art of the joust secured his status as teacher and trainer until he left the Toronto castle early in 2007. Since moving to Vancouver almost two years ago he has experienced an unprecedented amount of success working in independent film and is very excited about the unveiling of V.I.P.’s first webcast in 2010. He is focused on writing screenplays, developing a number of web series and continuing to build his career as an actor. Kirk played the principal role of “Leander Gurden” in the film “Strafe”.

MOHAMED HASSAN - Director of Photography


A Sudanese Canadian and an award winning filmmaker, Mohamed Hassan, is the son of renowned journalist and political activist Abdullah Hassan. Advocates of human rights and democratic principles the family was forced to flee the Sudanese military junta. Since graduating with honors from the Toronto Film School in Film and TV production, Mohamed has been producing and directing independent shows, short films, commercials, music videos, corporate videos, and feature documentaries, as well as Cinematographer on a number of shorts and feature length films. He is currently in post- production on his latest documentary DEATH IN DARFUR: THE TRUTH, which he produced and directed. Mohamed immerses himself in the root causes of the conflict that has been declared by the United Nations as the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st Century, while documenting the day-to-day experience of life on the edge in Darfur, Sudan. The film is due for release this fall 2009. Mohamed is the winner of the following awards in film;

** Ontario film Review Board Class Acts Student Film Award 2006
** Cinematography award the Academy Film Festival 2004
** Outstanding cinematography award Toronto Film School 2003

Monday, June 8, 2009

BRUNO TALOTTA - Actor


Bruno Talotta’s desire to be a performer developed at a very young age when he was encouraged by the faculty at school to perform in several productions. However, it was not until Bruno’s third year of college when he decided to follow his heart, and begin his journey to becoming a professional entertainer. Bruno began to enroll in acting classes where he quickly began networking and attaining information about the entertainment industry. After graduating from college, Bruno enrolled in University where he studied both business and Theatre. His television and film credits are of a wide variety in all genres. His recent credits include the role of Luca Squicciarini in the television series "Mayday" otherwise known as "Air Crash Investigation", which will be airing on Discovery Channel and on the National Geographic Channel in 2009. Other recent credits include actor roles on several episodes of the Comedy Networks "Keys to the VIP", the role of Napolatano in the television series "Masterminds", the lead role of Professor George Kubbard in the short film "Consumption", and the principal role of Matthew Dublin in the feature film "Fallen Before Falling". Bruno played the role of “Dorian, an ancient god” in the film “Strafe”.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

KIRILL BELOUSOV - Sound Engineer


Kirill Belousov is a self-taught musician. Born in 1981 in Moscow, Russia he moved to Toronto, Canada in 2001. He started plucking the strings of his father’s guitar and keys of his mother’s piano at the age of 7. It gave him a feel for music on a very deep level. In 1994, he had a classmate who was running a school radio station. That was the first time he pushed his first control button. From this moment on, he got further into electronic music and understanding the ways of sound. He never had his own computer growing up, but that wasn’t a barrier. Starting from the easiest computer programs, such as Dance EJ he started creating his first musical ideas. He started learning sound science by himself about 7 years ago. Then in 2004, Kirill went to the Toronto Film School and took the sound engineering course. Since the first semester he started taking part in short films and other school projects, through which he gained priceless experience. Since graduating in 2005, he has been working as a self employed freelance sound engineer. Kirill is the Location Sound engineer, as well as the Post-Production Sound Engineer in the film “Strafe”.

Monday, June 1, 2009

NOELLE DUBOIS - Model/Actress


Although born in Toronto, Noelle spent most of her childhood living on farms in rural Ontario. At the age of 16, Ms. Dubois longed for a more urban lifestyle, prompting her to move out on her own and obtain work in various fields. After working as a bartender and mixologist for a few years, Noelle received the opportunity and inspiration to begin a modeling career. Having finally found her proper niche in the entertainment industry, Noelle quickly burst onto the Toronto modeling scene. After a few years of full time work as a model, having many great opportunities and experiences along the way, she sought more challenging ventures in her life. In 2008, Noelle had the opportunity to work behind a different lens as an on-camera personality and immediately recognized acting as her next great challenge. Beginning with a few independent films, acting quickly became not only her passion, but a means to continue challenging herself and a catalyst in her growth as a person. When she's away from set Noelle's hobbies include reading, horseback riding, cooking, jewelry making and psychological evaluation. Noelle played the lead role of “Talanis” in the film “Strafe”.