Have you heard a good story recently?  Do yourself a favor by listening to Gary Jay Hoffman's new multi-genre album 'Back to the Farm'.  Gary Jay is a country*grassroots songwriter / story-teller with 40+ years in the making.   Gary Jay writes mostly about the 'true life' experience. The last three words Gary's dad told him in Feb 1997 were 'Please remember me'. 

Gary wondered why that was his last job assignment from his dad?  After all, Gary wondered 'How could I ever forget him?'. After many failed attempts at writing a song for his dad's memory, Gary finally had a new idea.  At a friend's memorial service in early 2017, he heard about all the wonderful things that Linda's mom had done for her family and the good name she had made for herself.  With this new idea after twenty years, he wrote a song in twenty minutes 'Back to the Farm'.  Gary reckoned the song didn't necessarily have to be directly about his dad but instead could be about things his dad had done for himself or other people.  Yes, the title track 'Back to the Farm' is written in his dad's memory but is so much more.  It is also about where and how his parents raised him in Northern Virginia USA (1964 - 1989).

Gary grew up next to a farm in Northern Virginia.  His parents owned a six-acre farmette nestled between the McNair's dairy cow farm and the Frying Pan Meeting House.  Also, next door was the family that worked with the McNair's, the Reynolds.  Gary still talks to the Reynolds family and particularly his friend Roy weekly.

Why DSL?

DSL*DIRE STRAITS LEGACY: the closest you’re going to get!

Here’s why:

Five members of our band recorded and toured as members of Dire Straits, and one of them, keyboardist Alan Clark was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a significant member of Dire Straits. Our bass player, Trevor Horn also knows a thing or two about music; he is widely regarded as the world’s greatest record producer. Our guitarist, Phil Palmer who is regarded by his peers as one of the world’s greatest, played on Dire Straits’ On Every Street record and world tour and the On the Night live record, and features on hundreds of records of other major acts. Our percussion player, again one of the world’s best, Danny Cummings also played on Dire Straits’ On Every Street record and world tour and the On the Night live record, and has since worked extensively with Mark Knopfler, playing drums in his band for many years and percussion on his latest world tour. Our world renowned sax player, Mel Collins played on Dire Straits’ Love Over Gold, Alchemy and Twisting by the Pool records as well as touring for several years with Dire Straits, and over his long career has played on countless other major records, and he’s currently touring the world with reformed King Crimson. And who can forget Jack Sonni, Dire Straits’ “man in the red coat” dancing around the stage on the Brothers in Arms world tour and Live Aid concert? He’s with us too! Our frontman, Marco Caviglia is one of the world’s leading authorities on the music of Dire Straits and Mark Knopfler’s guitar style, and an accomplished and fine guitarist and frontman. And Primiano Di Biase is one of Italy’s most sought after keyboard players.

We are not Dire Straits; Dire Straits cannot exist without Mark Knopfler. But we are the next best thing. We can all listen to the records, but the last time you’ll have heard the music of Dire Straits played live by the musicians who played on those records and tours, was back in 1992.

 

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Brian Trenchard-Smith is an Anglo Australian film and television director, producer, and writer, with a reputation for large scale movies on small scale budgets.  Quentin Tarantino referred to him in Entertainment Weekly as his “ favorite obscure director.”. His early work is featured in Not Quite Hollywood, an award-winning documentary released by Magnolia in August 2009. Born in England, where his Australian father was in the RAF, Trenchard-Smith attended UK's prestigious Wellington College, where he neglected studies in favor of acting and making short films, before migrating to Australia.

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Among early successes were The Man From Hong Kong, a wry James Bond/Chop Sockey cocktail, the Vietnam battle movie Siege Of Firebase Gloria, and the futuristic satire Dead End Drive-In, a particular Tarantino favorite. BMX Bandits, showcasing a 15-year old Nicole Kidman, won the Prix Chouette in Europe, as Best Saturday Matinee Movie. Miramax's The Quest/Frog Dreaming, starring ET's Henry Thomas, now on Blu Ray, won a prize at Montreal’s Children's Film Festival.  

He has directed 43 episodes of television series as diverse as Silk Stalkings, Time Trax, Five Mile Creek, The Others, Flipper, Chemistry, and the Showtime docu-drama  DC 9/11: Time Of Crisis, one of five movies he made for the network.  Recently released through Image is Drive Hard, an offbeat action comedy with John Cusack as the bank robber and Thomas Jane as his reluctant driver.
 

BRIAN TRENCHARD-SMITH

Dr. Rebekah Louisa Smith (aka Rebekah Film Dr) was born in Worcestershire, United Kingdom. From humble beginnings working as a Personal Assistant at lots of corporate companies, she worked her way up to become an award-winning consultant and media personality who now has

more than 10 years of film festival strategy consulting experience.

After choosing not to pursue a career in Academia teaching film studies, Rebekah began her film industry career in 2009, working as one of the producers of Wales’ most successful national horror film festival; the Abertoir Horror Festival, and during that time began to develop a great knowledge of the film festival business. Which led her to become inspired to start her own innovative company in an industry she loved.

Rebekah and the hard-working team behind her company The Film Festival Doctor are creators of success and are committed to nurturing filmmakers in order to help them secure film festival screenings, win awards and a positive recognition within the film industry. Currently her company have won more than 800 awards for their clients and her team have supported nearly 1,000 creatives across the world, enlightening and inspiring their journey towards achieving their goals and following their filmmaking dreams.

REBEKAH LOUISA SMITH

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With an illustrious heritage via her musical ancestors, an exciting life recording and performing in London, and new material in store, Israeli singer-songwriter Dana Elle is the past, present and future of urban soul, pop, jazz and R&B.

Dana’s life story is as fascinating as her music. She is descended from the Ovitz family, travelling actors and musicians from the village of Rozavlea in Transylvania, and the largest recorded family of dwarves. They were rounded up and imprisoned in Auschwitz, and were subject to the horrible experiments of Josef Mengele, but they all survived. Their inspirational story was revealed by Star Wars actor Warwick Davis in a documentary for ITV.

Dana has been singing all her life. At four, she could be found performing songs by one of her heroes, Madonna, on tables in the house of her grandma, who raised her and had performed with the Ovitzes. This precocious child loved many genres of music, which shows in the eclecticism of her work as an adult. She had vocal training in opera (which explains the power behind her incredible voice) and was a ballet dancer for 10 years. 

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DANA

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The Ramsgate International Film and TV Festival will be held in Ramsgate with its stunning Royal Harbour, unique in England. The organization also runs a variety of screenings throughout the year to bring more international independent cinema to local audiences as well as various events and workshops.

The Festival's focus is to show new works and help promote filmmakers. Screenings are complemented by a strong program of quality events and seminars, with industry professionals of high reputation, who have already confirmed their attendance.

No film in competition will screen by invitation. All screenings are chosen by the Selection Committee, which is composed of a panel of industry professionals and local residents.

To add to the experience, festival-goers will have the opportunity to explore the area rich in culture, maritime heritage, and historic architecture, and enjoy its waterside and cafés. Sylvie is also an actress and film director herself so we shall also be talking a little about that also.

SYLVIE BOLIOL