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After successfully making the “pitch,” five independent filmmaking teams had eight days to shoot, edit, and deliver a finished short film for the final adjudicating and Gala Screening at the Seventh Annual Crazy 8s Festival. At a sold-out Vogue Theatre, 21-year-old director Zach Lipovsky and his team, producer Chris Ferguson and writer Derek Lee, took top honours with Crazy Late, his one seamless camera take of a tardy groom on his wedding day. It topped an unprecedented 65 filmmaking hopefuls to vie for the coveted honour and Citytv cash prize.

The Vancouver Art Gallery hosted its big ticket Extraordinary Design, Auction and Party benefit at the former Finning Factory on Great Northern Way. The city’s biggest collectors and design aficionados were on hand to bid on 120 extraordinary design items of furniture, fashion, art and jewelry.

Hundreds of design buffs and curious Georges also explored six of Vancouver’s finest homes and gardens at Ballet B.C.’s third annual Home and Garden Tour. Among the six magnificent private homes selected for the tour were a Dutch colonial house, an English chateau-inspired mansion and a Wall Centre property.

Patrick Mercer’s Brix Restaurant in Yaletown was the place to be for the coolest summer patio party. With the patio renos complete, the Englishman, along with co-owner David Hannay and Seattle’s Best Coffee’s Jay Garnett, announced the opening of their next project George, Vancouver’s first, London-style, lounge-forward, hip hang-out to open in July.

Opus Hotel’s Elixir and executive chef Don Letendre introduced their quintessentially French Petit Plats spring summer menu with a fabulous, invite-only French fling that included all the francais party favours. Creating the new vibe, famed Parisian DJ and designer Claude Sabbah was flown in from Paris for the weekend VIP fete and French kiss.

UVIC fine arts grad Mark Neufeld presented his latest paintings, Lumph, at the Bjornson Kajiwara Gallery. The recipient of the first annual Joseph Plaskett prize from the renowned New Westminister-born artist, Neufeld will use his $25,000 award to travel and study art this summer in Berlin.

Overdrive Productions presented Paula Vogel’s Pulitzer Prize winning drama How I Learned To Drive at Performance Works.

Have an event, opening or just plain gossip you’d like to share or something cool, hot or trendy you’d like to show off? Email me at yvrflee@hotmail.com Fred’s weekly funcast Stepping Out can be heard every Monday morning on CBC’s The Early Edition.
Setting the vibe for the Elixir French fling was Paris DJ and designer Claude Sabbah (right) with Opus Hotel General Manager Daniel Craig. Sabbah is the resident DJ of Parisian hot spot Mandala Ray, owned by Johnny Depp and Sean Penn. Sabbah’s clothing has also dressed the figures of Eve and Lauryn Hill.
Cate Simpson with homeowner Bob Chapin in his charming Tudor-style home featured in Ballet B.C.’s Home and Garden tour. Exquisitely furnished with French and American antiques, the finely appointed home complete with parlour, library and multi-guest rooms also serves as a venue for same-sex weddings. For details, see www.englishbayweddings.com.
Art student Mark Neufeld showed off his recent works at the Bjornson Kajiwara Gallery’s opening of Lumph. The recent UVIC grad will use his recent $25,000 Plaskett prize and study art in Berlin for a year, but not before a month-long sojourn at Plaskett’s home in London.
(l-r) Jacques Lalonde, Tammy Bentz and Allan Morgan put down solid performances in Paula Vogel’s acclaimed How I Learned To Drive, directed by James Fagan Tait.
Brix Proprietors Patrick Mercer and David Hannay announced their latest venture, George, a London-style lounge with Seattle’s Best Coffee’s Jay Garnett at their summer patio party. George will open in July.
Extraordinary chair Rick Graham and Vancouver Art Gallery’s executive director Kathleen Bartels take in the biannual design, auction and party bash. Over $100,000 was raised.
Displaying Lot 37-a year’s supply of Ginch Gonch’s bold and sassy underwear-at the VAG benefit were models (l-r) Trey Rosenkranz, Andrea Oddy and Yvan Cournoyer.
Getting all nutty for the Crazy 8s screening was Crazy Late actor Ben Ayres with Citytv’s director of multicultural programming and public affairs Prem Gill. Last year’s winner Man Feel Pain won Best Short at the Toronto Film Fest.
A sold-out crowd of 1,100 industry insiders including actors (l-r) Gabrielle Miller (Corner Gas), Ben Ratner (Moving Malcolm) and Jennifer Copping (Ill Fated) were on hand for the Crazy 8s Gala Screening finale.
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