Rapa Nui (isla de pascua, easter island)

We’re currently settled in a cabin on the island of Chiloé in Chile for the next 10 days. We decided to spend some concentrated time away from a city months ago and just chill in one spot. Creatively, I feel like I’m having the chance to flip a switch and dig deep into some fundamentals. Some goals this year include defining the type of film I want to pursue (subject, genre, themes, commercial content, etc.), film education (LOTS of movies, reading and studying), and defining what my business will look like for the next 5-10 years. What the time in Chiloé has really looked like is spending my time baking bread, sleeping in, watching movies, writing and petting a stray dog that visits every day (his name is Mago - wizard in english).

Regardless, I’m savouring this time as something that doesn’t happen very often in one’s adult life: 3 weeks of self-imposed un-structured time! I created the intentions of how to structure my days at the beginning, but that quickly became a bit more muddled. It’s all good. So here’s a blog post about Rapa Nui (Easter Island) that’s been in my drafts for some time now. Hope you enjoy!

Not initially on our list of places to visit, we got a hot tip from fellow travellers to go to Rapa Nui. A little skeptical at first because of its reputation for being costly, we lucked out and found some flight deals and cheap accommodation. In our little concrete bungalow (sans wifi), we woke up to the sounds of roosters, horses, cows and dogs. Rapa Nui felt like a Hawaii pre-development and if it was colonized by the Spanish instead of the English. It was definitely a little slice of heaven.

Literally in the middle of nowhere, Rapa Nui is one of the most remote places on the earth. 3,500 km from the coast of Chile, it sits in the Pacific Ocean. We rode our (very loud) Yamaha scooter around the island, observing Moai (giant heads) and avoiding the roaming horses and cows. Adventuring around the island was interrupted by periodic tropical showers and afternoon naps. A combination of internet speeds from 1999, a snails pace of life and not much going on, left us with plenty of time to just be.

Being on the island was a stark contrast to back living back home in a hectic, errand-filled, eat at my desk, scheduled life. I don’t think that life on an island is easy at all, but I feel like priorities are a bit different on Rapa Nui. Being in Latin America is definitely reflecting the values that already exist in me that I want to bring home. Things like closing shop on Sunday to be with family, long-ass lunches & siestas and a passionate expression of life.

BTS: The Year that was 2018

While my time in Peru was a time for learning Spanish, discovering more about my roots and connecting to a different home - Chile is feeling much different. The pace of life is slowing down, with days being filled with walking in new streets, cooking at home, and play.

Our days in Valparaiso have mostly been filled with wandering the streets, watching movies and hanging out in the apartment. I don’t feel like full travel mode has settled in - I’m still weary of ‘wasting time’ (is there such a thing?) and am well into editing Sound Water. Although, I have rekindled a childhood love and started playing MTG Arena which has been a beautiful time sink. Anyways, after feeling a tad bit lazy, I thought I’d get back to writing. Prompted by my friend Jess’s email reflecting on the past year, I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon and do my yearly reflection post.

See my yearly recaps from the past two years:

- 2016 Reflections
- 2017 Reflections

By all accounts, 2018 was epic. I was pushed out of my comfort zone many times, took on entirely new projects, decided to take a stab at making an outdoor adventure film and decided to travel for a year. Here’s the top 4 highlights of the year:

1. THE YEAR DEFINED BY TRAVEL

We packed our bags, sold some things, sublet our apartment and said goodbye to Vancouver for a year. The idea to travel for a year had been in our heads for the past couple years. Originally, we wanted to do this three years ago, but then Lauren got into her Masters program. I think it was for the best. And then this past October when Lauren was finishing her master’s, we knew that this was the perfect time! It’s been 2 months and 3 days since we departed on the trip of a lifetime and boy has it already been something else.

Here are some of the highlights :

• Spending 1.5 months in Lima, taking Spanish School and meeting some super rad new friends.

• Learning about my family’s history, chilling with my parents and eating everything in Peru.

• Realizing how out of shape I was and climbing 1600 meters out of the world’s second deepest Canyon.

• Learning how to make empanadas with two Chilean sisters in Santiago…and having a true Chilean experience when rioters took to the streets

• Attending my first nude drawing (not me ;)) in Valparaiso

• 40+ days of ocean view apartments (thank you Tio & Airbnb!)

• Watching giant seals eat and play by the pier in Valparaiso.

• Having the best travel buddy to do it all with

In the coming months, I’m excited to find myself in more nature, inspired by Latin American Culture and discovering new things around each corner. I’m also hoping to use the time away to find more clarity in film and spend some time writing up some new personal projects.

2. clients & collaborators

Filmmaking is not something done in isolation. My first full year of freelance couldn’t have been possible without my amazing clients, generous collaborators and all of you watching along the way. I’m immensely grateful for the incredibly people I got to work with this year. This year was an absolute blast and I can’t wait to keep creating when I get back!

I made headways working with many new clients this year that have been a goal to work with for some time - Destination BC, Tourism Vancouver, Hypebae, Myodetox and other unlikely clients including Fraser Valley Poultry and Nikkei Place. I had a fun creative challenge being able to participate in VAFF’s We Heart Canada Project and took home the best film of the program.

Here are some of the highlights from the year:

3. going out of my comfort zone

Making Sound Water has definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. Things like learning how to backcountry splitboard, developing a pitch and story with Drew, and now in the edit. This project has been so many things, both professionally and personally. Being on the Elaho Glacier for a week was transformative and pushed my physically further than I’ve gone in a long time. What started as an idea between friends is ending with a film screening at the Vancouver Mountain Film Festival in March.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing BTS posts on Social Media. Keep following along for the rest of the Journey! I’m also stoked to share with you a short teaser trailer for the first time:"

4. all of you

Filmmaking is fun and I absolutely love it. But it’s all of you that make life fun and worthwhile. Being away from my friends, family and community, I always come back to how much better things are with people. There are so many more people than pictured below. Thank you and Happy Holidays!

Postcard: Photos from Cusco, Sacred Valley and The Colca Canyon

This is a long one!

Getting out of the big city and going to Cusco & Arequipa was a literal breath of fresh air.

After a fun two weeks of travelling around Cusco and Arequipa, I’m back at our favourite bakery in Lima writing this blog post. Summer feels like it’s coming back in full swing and we can finally see blue sky, which is a huge surprise since Lima is shrouded in grey for most of the year. 

The first time I went to Cusco and Machu Picchu was 20 years ago when I was just a chubby kid. I had gotten really sick from the altitude and remember hobbling along the cobblestone streets feeling like puking. Luckily, this time was really different. We lucked out with the weather, getting 5 days of sun during our time in Cusco. The city itself is wonderful and hiring a driver to drive around the sacred valley was definitely a highlight of the trip so far. 

After Cusco, we hopped down to the Colonial city of Arequipa where we spent another 5 days in the “White City.” Dubbed the White City, not only for its beautiful white walls, but because it used to be the city with the most europeans in Peru - yes, racism was/is a thing in Peru. Despite it’s past, Arequipa is a beautiful city.
All the eating and lack of exercise has definitely left me a little pudgy. So when I decided to do a 2 day, 22km trek with 1600m of gain in the Colca Canyon, I knew it wasn’t going to the easiest walk. 

Despite this, it was a beautiful trek around the second deepest Canyon on earth. We descended into the canyon and walked through rows of cacti, passed small farms and homes and ended at a an oasis in the desert. Although filled to the brim with tourists, the Oasis was a great evening to relax with drinks and a pool before setting off the next morning. 

In the next week or so, we’ll be headed off to Chile! Leave me a note if you have any must-see’s and recommendations!

A Year Sabbatical: Month one in lima peru

This past year has been fast and furious. I took on as many projects as possible to see the range of types of projects I wanted to work on. I don’t expect this career to be easy, but I need to remember why I got into in the first place. It’s easy to fall into the trap of creating cookie cutter work instead of taking the time to invent and reinvent myself and the work.

The first time I heard of taking a year sabbatical was from Stefan Sagmeister in the Great Discontent. He describes the risk of deciding to take a year off, but also the rewards of doing so for the years afterwards. I thought this was a brilliant idea - combining leisure, learning, experimentation, travel and creativity all into one year. I’ve had this idea sitting in my head for a couple years that I would try it out and see if it is for me.

My hopes for the year are to come back reinvigorated, with more focus and a body of creations and experiences that I can look back fondly on. I want to meet, see, and experience the most out of my time and live by my philosophy that work to live, not live to work.

Becoming more connecting with my Chinese & Peruvian cultures have been a consistent theme throughout most of my adult life. Having been to Peru a couple times in the past, I knew I wanted to spend more time here learning about where my parents come from. Even in just the past weeks, I’ve noticed some of the cultural influences that have shaped my life. Things like chatting over long lunches with family, an obsession with all things food, hilarious jokes that don’t translate well in english and of course speaking Spanish.

I believe that creation and self exploration come hand in hand. To understand what and how we create, we need to have an understanding why we create and where it comes from. And of course, the words that make

I’ve dubbed this the month of the language.

This past month has been packed with Spanish classes with the hopes of gaining some more fluency by the end of the year. I’m not going to lie, it’s been sooo much harder than I remember Highschool Spanish to be. When I look back, it was kind of a joke. What’s interesting (beyond learning about the language) is getting to learn about Peruvian and Latin culture through the language. I’ve been learning to appreciate nuances in why people are perhaps the way they are, because of how their language shapes them. For example, I find Peruvian humor to be hilarious, clever and witty in ways that English is not. There’s a certain directness and calling things by what they appear to be in Peruvian culture that I appreciate.

At the end of the week we’ll be leaving the coastal beauty of Lima and touring the South to Cusco, Machu Picchu and Arequipa. For sure I’ll be missing the coastal sunsets from my uncles apartment, but it’ll be nice to get out of the busy city and into some quieter areas on the country. On to the next!

Hand Made Life

Drew and I had the delight of spending an afternoon filming with author, playwright, and all around creative human being, Pauline La Bel for our short documentary, Sound Water. 

On our ferry ride over to Bowen Island, I brought up the insanity of choosing the potentially “harder path.” You know the one. The one that takes a less traditional route, rather than the well trodden path. Like working for the ferries, earning $30 an hour with a pension and a steady income. Like, why are we making things so complicated in our attempts to make a living instead of just taking on what's there?

Of course, working a pensionable, regular, stable job isn't necessarily what I want, or a bad thing.  But why go through the ups and downs, battles with doubt, taxes, legalities, uncertainties, etc. etc. So we brought this question to Pauline. To give you a little context, Pauline is writer, performer, singer and has had an emmy nomination to boot.  She's also 74 and published her third novel at 68. Needless to say, she's a boss. 

The response she gave was wonderful. Simply put, she said: "you’re choosing the hand made life.” That sentence stopped us in our tracks and put a smile on our face. 

Yes, this is the hand made life. 

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In other news, we didn't get the Story Hive grant, but are still going to make this documentary happen (of course!). If you know any generous private donors, hit us up! 

Drew enjoying the left over hand made pizza.