Great song, great opening credits for a great movie.
Friday, August 21, 2026
Monday, August 17, 2026
my movie montages
I love the movies. And I like making things. So I spend a lot of time making movies out of the movies. Here are links to some of my ongoing montage projects. (Note: They're always best with headphones, or good speakers. The bigger the screen the better. Probably best at the theatre, or a gallery...)
Installation:
Dal Schindell Gallery
Sep 16 - Oct 3, 2026
Gallery closed Sundays
Several of my long form film montages will be featured this fall in the gallery at Regent College on the UBC Campus. The centrepiece will be the premiere of the 12-hour Date Movie, which moves through the twelve months of the calendar year using date-specific clips from thousands of films. Timepiece, which premiered in 2025 at the Richmond Cultural Centre, moves through twenty-four hours of clock time in one hour, a tribute to Christian Marclay's video masterwork The Clock. Also premiering will be the Cinema Prayer Chapel, a contemplative space featuring prayers of every kind drawn from world film, as well as other works celebrating the movies and movie-going.
gallery website
Date Movies
The whole obsession began with the project of finding date references in movies. On June 6, 2004, I marked the 60th anniversary of D-Day by watching The Longest Day, which led to a search to find one movie for each day in the calendar year, undertaken by several participants in the Arts & Faith online conversation board. Which eventually led to the idea of creating mashups of multiple film clips representing specific days of the year, usually the birthdays of friends. I've created almost 100 such videos, but many were posted on a defunct Vimeo account. Here are links to a handful I've put up on YouTube.
March 21 for Tom (new)
April 24 for Doug (new)
Jul 12 | with extended credits
Another iteration of this whole dates-in-movies project was to build a thirty minute montage with one clip for each calendar day. I really like it.
or one month at a time... (September is my favourite)
A Month At The Movies In Two And A Half Minutes
January | dates only | dates titles events
February | dates only | dates titles events
March | dates only | dates titles events
April | dates only | dates titles events
May | dates only | dates titles events
June | dates only | dates titles events
July | dates only | dates titles events
August | dates only | dates titles events
September | dates only | dates titles events
October | dates only | dates + titles
November | dates only | dates + titles
December | dates only | dates titles events
I prefer the versions with no titles, just a stream of images and sound. But if you're curious about what movies the clips are from, or about the events depicted, there are versions including those things as well
Dial V for Video
A tribute to video stores, a trailer for Video Cat on International Independent Video Store Day. 40 movies in 4:32. Here.
Good Time Diner
My son-in-law plays in a band, and they thought it would be a blast to project movie clips behind them while they play, and during breaks. So I got to make some really long montages! Welcome to the diner! Here's a minute-and-a-half trailer for one of their gigs, but unfortunately there are restrictions for viewing the longer montages.
NT GUILTY: You need a good lawyer?
Movie clips about lawyers and the law, a graduation present for my daughter Katie's graduation from law school. Probably my favourite. Montage, not daughter. Here.
The Movies Go To The Movies: Marquees
A chronology of movie-going, as seen in the movies. A work in progress; here's an early version, starting with a 1915 screening of "The Curse Of Drink" at The Gem (from the film "On Moonlight Bay") through to "The Bicycle Thief" at The Rialto in 1991 (as seen in "The Player"). The complete Marquee montage will premiere as part of the Numbering Our Days installation at the Dal Schindell Gallery this fall.
Earth Day International Film Festival: End of the World Edition
And here's the trailer for an imaginary film festival. Just for fun, to pass the time during the pandemic.
Monday, August 10, 2026
Sunday, August 09, 2026
Saturday, August 01, 2026
henri + fred
Henri Nouwen wrote this letter to Fred Rogers after Fred had been hurt by a particularly critical article about him.
Dear Fred,
I have just returned from Europe where I received permission from my Bishop to stay at L’Arche. I am now back here hoping to settle more definitely and find a new rhythm of life that is a little more livable than what I have had in the past. I read the article you sent me and can very well understand how much that must have hurt you. It must be really painful to be confronted with a total misunderstanding of your mission and your spiritual intentions.
It is these little persecutions within the church that hurt the most. I simply hope that you are not too surprised by them. They come and will keep coming precisely when you do something significant for the Kingdom. It has always struck me that the real pain comes often from the people from whom we expected real support. It was Jesus’ experience and the experience of all the great visionaries in the Church, and it continues to be the experience of many who are committed to Jesus.
I don’t think it makes much sense to argue with the writer of this article. He speaks from a very different plane and will not be open to your explanations. Some of the criticisms we simply have to suffer and see as invitations to enter deeper into the heart of Jesus. I won’t send you some of the reviews I get of my books, but some are not very different from the tone of this piece. So I certainly feel a unique solidarity with you.
Let us pray for each other, that we remain faithful and not become bitter and that we continue to return to the center where we can find the joy and peace that is not of this world. Thanks so much for staying in touch with me.
Much love,
Henri Nouwen
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