August 22, 2010
A Few Things...

     Information has finally been released about York University's Cineseige. It's October 26th at 7pm at the new TIFF Bell Lightbox, downtown Toronto. The film will only screen that night if it wins any kind of award in the documentary category. Tickets for non-students are $10, and tickets for students are $5.

     On a side note, I found out that another documentary piece that I worked on in an editing capacity last summer is premiering at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. The film is called Disfarmer: A Portrait of America. Disfarmer is a documentary film about the eccentric, rural American portrait photographer, Mike Disfarmer and his influence on the Manhattan art world and the legacy he left behind in his hometown of Heber Springs, Arkansas. The film was directed by Martin Lavut, produced by Public Pictures' Dennis Mohr, and edited by Rob Ruzic. Look it up if you're interested. The story is very interesting and the photography is very unique. Google search Disfarmer or the title of the film, Disfarmer: A Portrait of America and you'll find info about it - I can't find one site with all the info, but it's scattered around. It was a great project to be a part of.

     I'd like to mention that while I will continue updating the website with information every now and then, I'll be doing smaller updates more frequently via my Twitter account. For any larger updates in the future, I will be linking from my Twitter and Facebook to the website, but for small updates and bits and pieces of information, follow me on twitter: twitter.com/joekrumins

     Thanks for your continued support! Things are going great and it's because of all of the people that have been following and supporting throughout the process! As thanks, here is a video of a cow on rollerskates that was on the Hammer City Roller Girls' twitter...

August 21, 2010
Docutah

     Hey Salt City Roller Derby, our film is coming to Utah. Hugs & Bruises was selected for Docutah, the Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival. It's screening on September 18th at 5:00 at Dixie State College. If anyone is in that area, you should totally go check it out. I don't think I'll be able to make it down, but the festival looks pretty cool and I'm sure there are a lot of cool films screening. Here is the website for Docutah: www.docutah.com - added bonus, it's a 90 minute drive from Vegas.

Photo Courtesy of William Bruce, 2010

     We have also received word as to when the film is screening at the Art Gallery of Hamilton's World Film Festival. It will be showing September 30th at Cinema Hamilton Night, an evening of films from the winners from the top three independent film festivals from Hamilton. The screenings start at 7pm at the Art Gallery. I'm not sure what order the films are screening yet. Tickets to individual film screenings are $10. I'll be there!

     Check out the AGH World Film Festival website: www.aghfilmfest.com. There are some more awesome promotional photos featuring the HCRG on the festival's facebook page.

July 31, 2010
World Film Festival

Photo Courtesy of William Bruce, 2009

     Coming up at the end of September is the Art Gallery of Hamilton's World Film Festival. It runs from September 24th to October 3rd, "showcasing the best in innovative international and Canadian cinema". With Hugs and Bruises' win at the Hamilton Music and Film Festival, the film automatically qualifies for the World Film Festival, which is very exciting for a handful of young filmmakers like ourselves. Seeing names like Bruce MacDonald and Clement Virgo on the website as directors whose films they are showing, how can we not be excited!

     For more information about the Art Gallery of Hamilton's World Film Festival, check out http://www.aghfilmfest.com/.

     Two weeks from now, the Hammer City Roller Girls will be playing their last home bout of the season. It takes place Sunday, August 15th at the Hamilton Waterfront, Pier 8 Skating Pad to be exact. It will be another chapter in the rival between the Harlots and Dames. With the Harlots taking the first bout this season, and the Dames winning the second one, this match is going to see who takes the winner's crown into the winter off-season. Check out the facebook event for all the details!

     I know there haven't been a lot of updates here of recent, but that doesn't mean that things aren't happening. Fingers crossed - more exciting news to come in the near future!

July 17, 2010
Shout Out

     First off, tonight is a big double header home bout for Hammer City. The Dames are taking on the Vicious Dishes to get things going, followed by a match between the Harlots and the Venus Fly Tramps. It's happening at Dave Andreychuck Arena in Hamilton with the first bout starting at 6PM. Here is the facebook event with all the details: HCRG Double Header.

Photo Courtesy of Derek "Bagel Hot" Lang, 2010

     Hugs and Bruises got a nice little shout out on the Derby News Network website a couple weeks ago in relation to Steven LaFond's article in The Independent. Always nice to see! Here's the Link!

Photo Courtesy of Derek "Bagel Hot" Lang, 2010

June 19, 2010
The Independent

Photo Courtesy of Derek "Bagel Hot" Lang, 2010

     H&B Director Joe Krumins was contacted in early April by Steven LaFond, also known as Pelvis Costello of the Boston Derby Dames, with regards to an article he was writing about derby documentaries and the DIY ethic of derby. Little did we know at the time that he was writing profiles and reviews of "must see" roller derby documentaries - and Steven LaFond has named Hugs and Bruises: The Story of the Hammer City Roller Girls one of the top five "must see" derby docs! Hugs & Bruises shares the article with such films as Hell on Wheels and Blood on the Flat Track...

     Joe Krumins brings us up-to-date with his documentary short about Hamilton, Ontario's Hammer City Roller Girls. With roller derby spanning all of North America, this is the first film that focuses on the emerging superstars of Canada. While most leagues in the States have had opening crowds of three or four hundred, we learn that 1,200 showed up for Hammer City's opening bout.

Photo Courtesy of Derek "Bagel Hot" Lang, 2010

     I would like to remind you all that the Death Row Dames are taking on London's Thames Fatales this evening at Dave Andreychuck Arena in Hamilton, so definitely go check that out! Here is the facebook event with all the details: Death Row Dames vs. London's Thames Fatales.

June 13, 2010
Screenings

     First off, I would like to thank everyone that came out to support the HCRG and the film on June 3rd at This Ain't Hollywood. That night was incredible and it was an amazing thrill to screen H&B for the league and supporting community. The bar marked the occasion by naming drinks after the film, "Hugs" and "Bruises", which was a pretty cool idea - not to mention tasty.

     Last night was the Hamilton Music and Film Festival and Hugs and Bruises: The Story of the Hammer City Roller Girls took home the award for Best Film. With this win, the film qualifies for the World Film Festival, taking place September 24 to October 3 in Hamilton, hosted by the Art Gallery of Hamilton. Pretty exciting stuff if you ask me!

Joe and Jameson sing "Halloween" with Chainsaw

     This afternoon, the Hamilton Harlots and the Death Row Dames scrimmaged at the Hamilton Waterfront Wingfest. I hope the game was a great success - and we look forward to the bout next weekend!

June 2, 2010
Lou's Control

     This afternoon, at around 5pm, I (Joe) will be doing a radio interview with Lou Molinaro of Lou's Control and This Ain't Hollywood. If you recall from an earlier blog post, Lou hosts a radio show every Wednesday afternoon on Mohawk radio, where he plays some great music and interviews a couple guests. The guests on today's show include Ritchie Scarlett of The 5th Aveneue Vampires, John Catto of The Diodes (who are playing at This Ain't Hollywood on Saturday night), and myself, talking about the film, and the screening tomorrow night, June 3rd, at This Ain't Hollywood.

     Lou's Control is on from 12:30 to 6, so tune in to 101.5 FM or listen on line at www.indifm.ca.

May 28, 2010
The View & IMDb

     Director Joe Krumins had a chance to speak with Ric Taylor from The View and CFMU Radio the other day and talk about the film and the Hamilton music and arts community...

     "I grew up in Burlington, and having Imants as an uncle - and parents that are quite involved in the community as well, you can't help but go to shows and do that whole thing," explains Joe Krumins on growing up in the local scene. "Half the battle in a documentary film is establishing the personal connection with your subject, so having that comfort and trust established early, or more quickly established as a result of my connections to Imants. As I get more involved, I'm definitely starting to see the network take shape and understand what an important role the community aspect plays in this type of work - no matter what kind of role you take."

     Joe may be joining Ric on air this evening on CMFU 93.3 around 7pm to discuss the film and Hamilton H&B premiere. Link: CMFU 93.3

     A couple other small things... Here is the facebook event for next weeks screening at This Ain't Hollywood: LINK. Also, Hugs & Bruises: The Story of the Hammer City Roller Girls is now live on IMBd. There is still a bunch of information that needs to be filled in, but I always get a kick out of our names being on IMDb for some reason...

May 25, 2010
This Ain't Hollywood II

Joe interviews the Judge

     It's official, Thursday, June 3rd, Hugs and Bruises: The Story of the Hammer City Roller Girls will be screening at This Ain't Hollywood Rock n Roll Bar in Hamilton. It should be a good party as it will be the first time that Hammer City will be seeing the film. The screening is open to the public as well, so I encourage everyone that's interested to come and check it out! The film will screen at 10PM, however, please come out earlier for some karaoke and bingo with the HCRG. Check out a preview of the film below:

May 22, 2010
Hamilton Music & Film Festival

     We received news today that the film has been selected for the Hamilton Music & Film Festival! The festival is taking place at The Corktown Tavern on June 12th. It will be an evening of live music and film screenings, starting in the afternoon/early evening. Check out the Hamilton Music & Film Festival website for all the information.

May 21, 2010
Watch Live Derby Online

     This weekend the Hammer City Roller Girls are headed to Milwaukee to take part in the Midwest Brew Ha Ha Tournament. They are competing in two bouts, one on Saturday against the Grand Raggidy Roller Girls All-Stars of Grand Rapids and one on Sunday against the Ohio Roller Girls. I wish them luck.

     What is cool about this tournament is that it's going to streamed live online via the Derby News Network. So this weekend you can tune in and watch the HCRG Eh! Team from your home computer. Here is the link to live coverage: Live Coverage on DNN.

     Good news on the film's front, Hugs & Bruises: The Story of the Hammer City Roller Girls has been nominated for Best Documentary at Cinesiege, York University's annual film festival/awards night. The way it has gone in the past is that if it wins, it gets screened, otherwise, it gets a shout out. Cinesiege takes place in October at a theatre downtown Toronto. So that's pretty cool. I'll post updates as I learn more about the event - but it's still a long way away.

May 15, 2010
Face-Lift

     With the documentary reaching completion of production over the last couple of weeks and the piece taking the next step into screenings and so on. I felt it was time to give the site a bit of a face-lift, stylistically coordinate it a bit with the film - and I have to admit that I had a little spare time this past week and got a little bored... But I've been in the mood to create. So here it is, shaken up a little bit.

      I will keep the menu on the right up to date with H&B screenings, HCRG events, and information of that sort (probably some facebook event links as well). For the most part, it is very similar to the one before in terms of structure and navigation - a few small changes here and there.

     At the end of the month, Chainsaw of the HCRG is hosting an event called PUNK N' PUPPETS - A Fundraiser for the making of the Hamityville Spoookies at the Doors Pub in Hess Village. Chainsaw was telling me that "The Hamityville Spookies is an educational show in the vein of Hilarious House of Frightenstein mashed up with Elmo. We not only will be teaching all the fun stuff like numbers, letters, and colours but encouraging kids to be accepting of all types of people and to not be afraid to come into their own. It's something that all the spooky, punk rock parents can get into - and can enjoy learning with their children." It will also feature bands, puppets, cupcakes, and fun stuff like that. Here's the facebook event.

     Stay tuned for updates!

May 11, 2010
Crash Landing

     Crash Landing is a great "ma and pa operation that takes pride in supporting the local music scene in Hamilton and surrounding areas." They sell punk rock music, merch, and music accessories. They also support and sell all types of local music, which is very awesome. Owners, Sue and Crash have supported Hugs & Bruises as well as the Hammer City Roller Girls, so here's a shout out to a great local business! Crash Landing is also a ticket outlet for HCRG home games.

Crash Landing store interior

     Crash Landing Punk Rock Shop and Music Supply Store is located 187-189 Ottawa Street North in Hamilton. Check them out on Myspace and Facebook.

     Film and screening updates coming soon. The wheels are in motion.

     As for derby updates, the HCRG are hosting another crash course on derby. Here is the facebook event. Check it out if you're interested in becoming a part of the Hammer City Roller Girls.

May 9, 2010
Mother's Day... Massacre

     Saturday night in downtown Dundas, the Hammer City Roller Girls kicked off their home season with their Fourth Annual Mother's Day Massacre bout. It was not as tight a match as I think we were all expecting with the emergence of the Death Row Dames at the Beast of the East. However, we all got to enjoy a solid game - and a newer brand of derby I might add, as to the best of my knowledge, the WFTDA has introduced a handful of new rules this year. In the end, the Harlots came away with a big victory over the Dames 158-106for another awesome start to the HCRG home season.

     Next home game is June 19th.

Judge Jodie and H&B director Joe Krumins

     Here's a photo from the York University screening of the film. I autographed a DVD for the Judge.

April 30, 2010
Update

     Last week's screening of the film went very well! Thanks to everyone that came out to support the project - special thanks to Staplehead, Judge Jodie, and Little Red Rollerhood from the HCRG. We took some photos at the screening... so those will probably crop up over the next short while.

     Now it's time to keep your eye open for more screenings and updates of that sort. We're currently working on organizing a few screenings in Hamilton and Toronto and we'll definitely post all the details here as soon as they are set in stone.

The HCRG Pyramid
Photo Courtesy of Evelynn Bryant, 2010

     As for derby news, the Beast of the East was last weekend in Montreal, and from all the reports it sounds like it was another good one. Congratulations to the Montreal teams who finished One-Two-Three! The Derby Nerd has posted a fantastic recap of the weekend - you can navigate there from our links page.

     The two HCRG teams, The Hamilton Harlots and The Death Row Dames did quite well as well. Coming into the tournament, the teams had shaken up their rosters quite a bit from last season, and had a lot of Fresh Meat playing in their first competitive matches. The Harlots had a few tough match-ups early on, facing off against Montreal's Les Filles du Roi, who eventually went on to win the tournament, and the defending TORD champs, The Gore-Gore Roller Girls. They finished with a 1-2 record. The new-look Dames came into the tournament and surprised quite a few, winning their first bout against Kitchener's Venus Fly Tramps and a later bout against TORD's Chicks Ahoy!, but coming up short against the Contrabanditas of Montreal. Congratulations to both teams - not to meantion the Rowdy Refs and Stat Pack - for a great showing! And a special congratulations to the Dames for being named the Breakout Team of the tournament!

     I think we're all very much looking forward to the HCRG 2010 Season Opener: MOTHER'S DAY MASSACRE IV!!! on May 8th. Here is the facebook event. I'm going to win the poster colouring contest.

April 20, 2010
Premiere

     Finally! The film is finished - and the premiere screening will be this Thursday night (April 22) at York University. The screenings start at 7 and take place in the Price Family Cinema, in the Accolade East Building. It will be screened with a collection of other great short films, with H&B being the last film of the night screening. A few of the other films I had a hand it too! So please come on our and support all of these young filmmakers.

     I'm very much looking forward to screening the film and hearing what people have to say about it. First, I want to make sure that credit is given where credit is due. Over the last few weeks between when we locked our picture and finished the film, it went through a handful of processes which took the film to a new level - sound editing and mixing, colour correction. Both Jameson and Tess did some really great work.

     As for derby stuff coming up, following the premiere of Hugs & Bruises on Thursday night, The Beasts of the East tournament in Montreal kicks off. All the teams from central-eastern Canada face off in a two day tournament to see who can claim the title of "Beasts of the East".

     The HCRG in the past, has used the Beasts of the East tournament to kick off their season - and this year is no different. Miss Carriage and the rest of the Hammer City Roller Girls have recently announced the home game schedule for the summer:

May 8 - Market St. (JL Grightmire) Arena, Dundas
June 19 - Mountain (Dave Andreychuk) Arena
July 17 - Mountain (Dave Andreychuk) Arena
Aug 15 - Eastwood Arena, Downtown Hamilton)

     Should be a good one! We're looking to, hopefully, arrange some screenings of the documentary to coincide with the home games. Keep your eyes peeled!

April 2, 2010
Lock and Roll

Photo Courtesy of Liz Van Gerven, 2010

     I hope you all enjoyed the preview of the film I posted last weekend! Thank you all very much for all the positive response and for spreading the word! Over 300 views in less than a week!

     Things are starting to move very quickly now for the film. The edit is complete (locked!) and the sound department has taken over to do the design and mix. With just less than three weeks until the premiere, things are getting pretty exciting on this end. Again, the film will be screening Thursday, April 22nd at York University. I will create an official facebook event page once the details are set in stone, which should be within the next couple days, and invite everyone. If you can't make it to Toronto for the premiere at the end of the month. We do expect screenings to take place in Hamilton in the not too distant future. Keep your eyes peeled for those.

Photo Courtesy of Todd Burgess Photography, 2010

     There are tons of photos starting to surface from the Quad City Chaos of last weekend. The Derby Nerd has a fantastic recap of the weekend for those that missed it or want a refresher of all the excitement that took place over the course of the two day, five game, derby extravaganza. The Hamilton Eh! Team finished with a respectable record of one win and two losses. It seems as though Montreal is the team to look out for these days. However, as I recall from a game over the summer in Dundas, the HCRG Eh! Team put up a solid fight against them and were one or two jams away from the win.

     Info with regards to the 2010 HCRG season should be surfacing in the near future too!

     Oh, and be sure to check out The Joe Strummer Tribute at This Ain't Hollywood this weekend. It's a two-night show (April 2 and April 3) loaded with great bands paying tribute to Joe Strummer.

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