Bringing a little bit of ice to Brazil

Posted on January 15, 2014 by CAMERONDUECK

Brazil’s Globosat, a multichannel cable and satellite TV service, has brought the broadcast rights to The New Northwest Passage documentary! I’m not sure which of their 26 channels will be airing it, or when, but the deal has been confirmed.

There’s not much money in it, but it’s significant to me because it means that I actually sold my first film, completing the entire process of going on the trip, making the film, showing it at a festival (and winning it!) and then getting distribution. That follows the international publication of the book and the creating and sale of the iPad app on iTunes. I feel I’ve wrung as much out of that adventure as I could be expected to!

Mance Media are the distributor of the film. We’re still hoping for a sale in North America in the coming months, and we’re also moving ahead with digital distribution, from pay-per-view on Amazon to Blu-Ray discs, etc.

Happy (in Hong Kong)

Posted on January 10, 2014 by CAMERONDUECK

I had the great privilege of helping my friend Hélène Franchineau shoot a Hong Kong version of the extremely infectious song and video “Happy” by Pharrell Williams. Check it out the HK style of Happy on YouTube below or right here on Vimeo!

Even the Wall Street Journal was impressed…here’s what they said on their Asia Scene Blog.

One word at a time

Posted on November 14, 2013 by CAMERONDUECK

Yes, you’re right, I haven’t updated my blog in a very long time. Mostly because I don’t have a lot of news to share…

I’m back in Hong Kong, working hard to get my book written. It’s been a slow, deeply introspective and difficult process. I thought my second book would be much easier than my first, but I was very wrong. My research into the repetitive history of the Mennonite diaspora has led me far further back into the past than I had planned, and I’m now putting the finishing touches on an expansive opening few chapters that tell the story of my family’s immigration from Russia to Canada. Although I’ve always said this would not be a book about Mennonite history, the story of that journey dovetails too well into the rest of my story not to include it.

I’m also planning a new adventure, this time in China. I have found new partners to help me bring my Red Coast project back to life, and I hope to have some news on this front within the next few weeks.

And lastly, hello to Ray. You may be the only one still checking this blog on a regular basis…

Cameron

Fastnet Race aboard ADOR’s Azzam

Posted on August 24, 2013 by CAMERONDUECK

I’ve just come back from England where I sailed in the Fastnet Race (my second time) aboard Azzam, the 70-foot racing yacht of the Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing team. They are in early training and try-outs for the round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race, which starts in Alicante, Spain in September 2014. The team is led by skipper Ian Walker, a double Olympic medal winner for Britain.

The Fastnet Race is one of the world’s most famous and classic offshore yacht races, organized by the Royal Ocean Racing Club in the UK. The biennial 608-mile race takes boats from Cowes past Land’s End, across the Irish Sea to the Fastnet Rock, around the rock and home to Plymouth.

Azzam won the race in 2011 and set a new course record, so there was plenty of attention on the boat. However, this year the winds were much lighter, giving the advantage to the bigger boats designed for ocean sprint races such as the Fastnet. Azzam, designed to race around the world in much rougher conditions, still did well, coming across the line in second place, beaten only by a 100-foot boat with electric powered winches.

I was invited to join the race as an onboard reporter, and here’s the film I made.

Distribution Deal

Posted on June 27, 2013 by CAMERONDUECK

I’m very pleased to say I’ve signed a distribution agreement for The New Northwest Passage documentary with US-based Mance Media. This means that if all goes well the film should soon be available on TV and/or digital formats in various regions around the world.

This is another very satisfying conclusion to the entire Northwest Passage project, following the international publication of the book and the release of the iPad app. Now I have to wait and see if Mance is able to sell the film to broadcasters, online content providers, etc.

Mance Media is a worldwide film/television distribution company. Its core business is the worldwide distribution of television programming to broadcasters in every territory of the world. Formed by international television executive Matthew Mancinelli in early 2012, Mance Media acquires, licenses, co-produces and co-finances a wide-range of programming for the international marketplace.

HK Film Screening & Lecture, June 3 & 4

Posted on May 28, 2013 by CAMERONDUECK

The Royal Geographical Society in Hong Kong is hosting a lecture by me on Monday, June 3, and a screening of my documentary The New Northwest Passage on Tuesday, June 4.

Monday, June 3: Lecture on The New Northwest Passage

Drinks Reception and Book Signing 6.30 pm Lecture 7.30 pm

HK$100 for members and HK$150 for non-members.

Location: Auditorium. 1/F Duke of Windsor Social Services Building, 15 Hennessy Road, Wanchai (please note that this building is 5 minutes from Admiralty MTR or Pacific Place, next to the HK Police HQ)

Tuesday, June 4 (7:30pm): Screening of the film The New Northwest Passage
Q&A with the director following the screening. Edwin Lee, film editor, will also be present.
Location: SCOPE Admiralty Learning Center, City University of HK, 8/F, United Centre, 95 Queensway, Admiralty
Contact the RGS for further details on both events.Tel: (852) 2583 9700

In 2009 the 40-foot yacht Silent Sound set off to sail the infamous Northwest Passage. These waters are normally locked in ice, but due to climate change it is now possible to sail here for a few weeks each summer. However, it remains an epic yachting challenge, and fewer people have sailed this passage than have climbed Mt Everest.

The crew dropped anchor in Inuit villages where they joined hunters in stalking their game and experienced the last vestiges of an ancient nomadic culture. Each person they met destroyed another stereotype about the Inuit and their way of life.

This film shows how the crew came face-to-face with the realities of climate change and it’s impact on a remote and fragile culture. They helped scientists tag a southern fox caught on an Arctic island and learn about the Inuit way of life from an old woman skinning seals on the beach. They met elders who told them about the struggle to maintain Inuit culture. They experienced first hand how climate change is opening the Canadian Arctic to create The New Northwest Passage.

About The Royal Geographical Society in Hong Kong

The Royal Geographical Society in Hong Kong is a chapter of the highly esteemed UK society. It provides a forum where members can regularly meet and listen to leading local and international speakers from the world of geography and related sciences, exploration, travel, research, the environment and conservation.

Previous speakers include the Polar explorers Sir Ranulph Fiennes and Robert Swan, mountaineers Sir Chris Bonington and Doug Scott, primate expert Dame Jane Goodall, the botanist Professor David Bellamy, leading environmentalist Sir Crispin Tickell, former space shuttle pilot Dr James van Hoften, moon walker Commander Dave Scott, Hong Kong explorer Wong How Man, round-the-world yachtsmen Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, Sir Chay Blythe and yachtswoman Tracy Edwards and the authors Simon Winchester, William Dalrymple, Paul French, Jan Morris and Mark Tully.

Got an iPad? Buy my Arctic app!

Posted on April 18, 2013 by CAMERONDUECK

The New Northwest Passage iPad is finally here! Relish Design of Winnipeg have been working on this for several months, and today it is finally available for sale on iTunes. Click here to buy it! The best news is that 10% of each sale goes to the World Wildlife Fund’s Global Arctic Program.

Written and created for sailing enthusiasts and environmentalists alike, you’ll be able to explore isolated Inuit communities, experience modern Arctic life and learn about climate change that’s affecting the North with rich video, photography and interactive maps. Experience life in the arctic on iPad and iPad mini.

Check it out here!

Radio Beijing interviews

Posted on March 19, 2013 by CAMERONDUECK

For your listening pleasure…a rambling and eclectic three-part interview conducted by Bruce Connolly of Radio Beijing. He was a wonderfully interesting person to chat with, and it’s a shame he edited out his own stories. I suspect he has a much more riveting, and certainly eccentric, story to tell than I do. He’s one of those guys that when you name a place on the globe, any place, he goes (in that lovely Scottish accent of his), “Ah yes, back when I was there in ’72 it was still under dictatorship and this guy I met…” and then you’re off and running on another yarn.

Click on the links below to listen to the MP3 files.

Interview 1

Interview 2

Interview 3

You can listen to more of his work for RBC right here.

Rhubarb Review

Posted on March 12, 2013 by CAMERONDUECK

Rhubarb Magazine, which describes itself as an “outlet for the Mennonite voice”, did a review of my book The New Northwest Passage in its Winter 2012 edition. I think it’s one of the best reviews of the book written so far, but it’s fairly positive, so I guess as the author I would like it, wouldn’t I?

Frieda Esau Klippenstein, a Parks Canada historian and an expert in First Nations and fur trading history, writes that “There is a brilliant intensity in the descriptions of the changing scenery, of life on-board the ship, and especially of the people and communities at stops along the way.”

You can download the RHUBARB REVIEW right here.

Shanghai & Beijing literary festivals

Posted on March 5, 2013 by CAMERONDUECK

I’m heading to Beijing and Shanghai to take part in their international literary festivals this weekend, where I’ll be presenting my book, The New Northwest Passage.

I will be in Beijing for the Capital Literary Festival and will be speaking about my book at the Capital M restaurant (No. 2 Qianmen Pedestrian Street) on Thursday, March 7, at 7pm.

I will be presenting my book at the Shanghai International Literary Festival on Sunday, March 10 at 11am. The event takes place at the Glamour Bar (No. 5 on the Bund).

Here’s a preview article that ran in That’s Shanghai (scroll to the bottom of the page).

If you’re in Shanghai or Beijing you should check out the festival!

Cameron Dueck

– Writer –