Hot Docs Independent Cinemas Relief Fund Established

HOT DOCS LAUNCHES INDEPENDENT CINEMAS RELIEF FUND

TO HELP SUPPORT SHUTTERED CINEMAS ACROSS CANADA

Toronto, April 6, 2021— Hot Docs is pleased to announce the launch of Hot Docs Independent Cinemas Relief Fund in response to the extreme challenges of the past year, which forced the closure of independent cinemas across the country. Developed and administered in consultation with the Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE), the Fund will provide urgent financial relief to Canadian independent cinemas to better prepare to them for their eventual reopening, and the continuation of their vital role in bringing communities together to experience the transformational power of documentaries and other forms of cinematic storytelling. Donations will be collected from March 23 until the close of this year’s Hot Docs Festival, May 9, on Hot Docs’ website and at the end of the online ticket checkout process. One hundred per cent of all funds received will be dispersed to Canadian independent cinemas in late spring and early summer of this year.

“The past year has been incredibly hard for independent cinemas across the country, and as the owners and operators of a cinema, we felt compelled to help,” says Alan Black, managing director of Hot Docs. “Independent cinemas offer unique and valuable cultural experiences for their communities, and they need this support now if they are to survive and eventually thrive.”

“Cinemas from coast to coast have been hit hard this past year, doing their part to reduce community transmission of COVID-19,” says Wendy Huot, co-chair of NICE and owner/operator of The Screening Room in Kingston, ON. “We applaud Hot Docs for their commitment to keeping these treasured institutions open for audiences across Canada. We’re certain that when the economy reopens, our neighbours will want to reconnect and head out to the movies!”

The Hot Docs Independent Cinemas Relief Fund will distribute 14 grants of $2,000 each. Cinemas can apply to receive resources collected from the Fund through the Hot Docs website, with an application deadline of May 9. Cinemas applying must: operate a physical space year-round where the primary purpose is film exhibition to public audiences; have no more than four locations and not be publicly traded; be located in Canada; and have exhibited at least three feature length documentaries in the 12 months prior to pandemic closures.

All donations are considered charitable and are eligible for a tax receipt. For more information, please visit the website at https://hotdocs.ca/p/cinema-relief-fund.

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Hot Docs, North America’s largest documentary festival, conference and market, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing and celebrating the art of documentary and to creating production opportunities for documentary filmmakers. Hot Docs will present its 28th annual edition online from April 29-May 9, 2021, during which a full roster of industry conference sessions, market programs and networking events will be held for Canadian and international delegates, including the renowned Hot Docs Forum, Hot Docs Deal Maker, Distribution Rendezvous and The Doc Shop. Year-round, Hot Docs supports the Canadian and international industry with professional development programs and a multi-million-dollar production fund portfolio, and fosters education through documentaries with its popular free program Docs For Schools. Hot Docs owns and programs the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, a century-old landmark located in Toronto’s Annex neighbourhood and the world’s first and largest documentary cinema, and operates Hot Docs at Home streaming platform.

Hot Docs is proud to include Scotia Wealth Management as its Presenting Platinum Partner; Rogers Group of Funds as its Founding Partner; CBC Gem as its Signature Partner; Crave and Netflix as its Presenting Partners; and Telefilm Canada and the Government of Ontario as its Major Supporters.

The Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE) is an alliance of Canadian independent cinemas, festivals and professional programmers offering curated film programming to public audiences. NICE film exhibitors are community oriented; we provide a meeting space for audiences and present high quality Canadian and international films. nicecinema.ca

Thinking About Nothing! I Challenge You

You know perhaps that mindfulness attempts you to slow down your mind and focus on the present moment. That makes sense as the only moment you have is indeed the present moment. But so many of us are caught up with going beyond and before the present moment.

We can take issue with being in the present moment but slow down and forget the theoretical. Can you think of nothing in 120 seconds as you close your eyes? Probably not as you are thinking of what we have for dinner, how to deal with your boss or perhaps a nagging spouse or how to live through this dreadful pandemic. An endless ream of your brain tugging and pulling you. Let this pattern dog you and repress you. Attempt to escape it through alcohol, anorexia, cannabis, drugs, sex and escapist media. But I challenge you to give your mind a holiday to refresh your soul. Sit down and close your eyes for two minutes and think of nothing more than the present moment. You and your presence.

If you are trained in mindfulness meditation those 120 minutes can be pocked by the mind tugging and pulling you. If you are not trained in mindfulness meditation you may be somewhat lost as your raging mind rules over you like some Trumpian nightmare.

I say to you that are snickering at mindfulness meditation can you last 120 seconds with your mind never shutting up and vying for your attention with worries, anxieties, criticisms and plans?

I will answer your snickering and preconceived notion mindfulness is a namby pamby Lotus Land and say did you successfully rest your mind for a paltry 120 seconds?

What if I said after several years of mindfulness my mind can “almost” rest undisturbed for a measly 2 minutes? And it has taken me 5 years to be able to focus on ME and MY MIND to reach a jagged peace of mind and mental relaxation?

And I can expand and say mindfulness has enabled me to deal with several traumas in my life so thy have been expunged releasing me from hatred and anger.

Mindfulness is up to you. If your raging mind tortures you go ahead. If you want some peace of mind can you try and enroll in a introductory mindfulness class at your local hospital or church?

As a minimum mindfulness can teach you how to co-exist with a mind that never shuts you up and deprives you of a quiet moment you deserve.

Thinking About Nothing! I Challenge You

I say to you that are snickering at mindfulness meditation can you last 120 seconds with your mind never shutting up and vying for your attention with worries, anxieties, criticisms and plans?

I will answer your snickering and preconceived notion mindfulness is a namby pamby Lotus Land and say did you successfully rest your mind for a paltry 120 seconds?

And I can expand and say mindfulness has enabled me to deal with several traumas in my life so thy have been expunged releasing me from hatred and anger.

Mindfulness is up to you. If your raging mind tortures you go ahead. If you want some peace of mind can you try and enroll in a introductory mindfulness class at your local hospital or church?

As a minimum mindfulness can teach you how to co-exist with a mind that never shuts you up and deprives you of a quiet moment you deserve.

Thinking About Nothing! I Challenge You

I say to you that are snickering at mindfulness meditation can you last 120 seconds with your mind never shutting up and vying for your attention with worries, anxieties, criticisms and plans?

I will answer your snickering and preconceived notion mindfulness is a namby pamby Lotus Land and say did you successfully rest your mind for a paltry 120 seconds?

And I can expand and say mindfulness has enabled me to deal with several traumas in my life so they have been expunged releasing me from hatred and anger.

Mindfulness is up to you. If your raging mind tortures you go ahead. If you want some peace of mind can you try and enroll in a introductory mindfulness class at your local hospital or church?

As a minimum mindfulness can teach you how to co-exist with a mind that never shuts you up and deprives you of a quiet moment you deserve.

“Mutantism on the March” :Chapter 35 “Zorollia Sparks its Demise”

The ragged remnants of the Opposite Party in Zorollia hijacked a Zortixian Spaceline flight from Zortixia City to the Zortixian city of Kloip. The Opposite Party hijackers landed the plane in the Zorollian province of Idididi ruled by the treacherous Kampoola who had distinguished himself through idiotic and cannibalistic acts. At one time he had challenged Redbeard to a cannibalistic contest of how many slug people they could consume. Redbeard cancelled this idiotic challenge. Redbeard had toyed with the idea of crushing Kampoola but had decided against such action. Kampoola may have been insane but he controlled a group of fanatically focused blackbooters. The Opposite Party was weak so why encourage destructive infighting. It would be deleterious to the Opposite Party and shatter the national image Redbeard had so carefully tied to inculcate. And one must not overlook Idididi was well endowed with huilio a fuel used for Zorollian spacecraft. Redbeard figured it was better to pander to the idiot and tolerate his outrageous behaviour with a smile for the meantime.

It was Kampoola that had given refuge to the skyjackers and on the rocket launching site his soldiers were encircling the spacecraft. Obviously the whole affair had been planned by the Zortixian exile community living in Idididi. They played on the incident as evidence that the Zortixians were intolerant of minority groups within their own planet. The skyjackers purported to be members of the Porko Liberation Movement (PLM) who declared those living in the Zortixian province of Grosso should be entitled to form their own nation. They claimed that the ancestors of the Grossians had settled the area long before the Zortixians had “colonized” it. They said the citizens of Grosso were obese and as a result the Zortixian nation pointed threatening fingers at them. The PLM bellowed that the Grossians were wholeheartedly behind their actions because they wanted inter planetary awareness of the problems they were facing in Grosso.

The overwhelming majority of Grossians laughed at the claims of the PLM and their representatives in the Legislative Assembly of Zortixia denounced the PLM skyjackers and emphasized the Grossians were content in the Zortixian milieu. They accused the PLM of not acting in the interest of the Grossians. In their opinion the PLM were nothing but tools of the Kampoola clique of Zortixian Opposite party exiles. Grosso was the scene of heated demonstrations as its citizens marched overwhelmingly in support of the Zortixian status quo.

In Idididi the hostages of the skyjacking were held at the whims of the brutish suicide squad of Kampoola. This squad was comprised of the most brutal and despicable elements of the Zorollian blackbooter corps. They killed for the sheer pleasure of it. In return for their loyalty they received enormous salaries and given wild parties where huge quantities of sausages and intoxicating liquors were served. After satiating themselves at these garrulous affairs they roamed the streets molesting and beating at will. If any citizen dared to complain it lead to their disappearance.

The PLM were demanding autonomy for Grosso within three days or the hostages would be killed one by one. Zortixian authorities were in a quandary as they had never faced such a situation previously. Grosso’s population was on edge, And so Frizzy the Smicket Boy, head of the Zortixian Defence Academy was called to stage a rescue of the hostages. A surprise attack was planned by an elite group of Zortixian commandos. None other than Charles Brunson, a native of Grosso, was to lead the attack.

The overcoming of the PLM skyjackers was easy as eating a plum pudding. The PLM squad was so intoxicated from their evening debauchery they really had no idea what hit them. The Zortixians celebrated their victory. Finally, it seemed they had stood their ground and won a solid victory.

Jon Kabat-Zinn “Full Catastrophe Living”: Meditation as Non-Doing

“Meditation is really a non-doing. It is the only human endeavour I know that does not involve trying to get somewhere else, but rather, emphasizes being where you already are. Much of the time we are so carried away by all the doing, striving, the planning, the reacting, the busyness-that when we stop just to feel where we are, it can seem a little peculiar at first. For one thing, we tend to have little awareness of the incessant and relentless activity of our own mind and how much we are driven by it. That is not too surprising, given that we hardly ever stop and observe the mind directly to see what it is up to. We seldom look dispassionately at the reactions and habits of our own mind, at its fears and its desires.”

What CDC Says What You Should and Can do After Being Fully Vaccinated

When You’ve Been Fully Vaccinated

How to Protect Yourself and OthersUpdated Apr. 2, 2021LanguagesPrint

COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting you from getting sick. Based on what we know about COVID-19 vaccines, people who have been fully vaccinated can start to do some things that they had stopped doing because of the pandemic.

We’re still learning how vaccines will affect the spread of COVID-19. After you’ve been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, you should keep taking precautions – like wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces – in public places until we know more.

These recommendations can help you make decisions about daily activities after you are fully vaccinated. They are not intended for healthcare settings.Have You Been Fully Vaccinated?

People are considered fully vaccinated:

2 weeks after their second dose in a 2-dose series, such as the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, or
2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccine

If you don’t meet these requirements, you are NOT fully vaccinated. Keep taking all precautions until you are fully vaccinated.

illustration of people receiving vaccination

What You Can Start to Do

If you’ve been fully vaccinated:

You can gather indoors with fully vaccinated people without wearing a mask or staying 6 feet apart.
You can gather indoors with unvaccinated people of any age from one other household (for example, visiting with relatives who all live together) without masks or staying 6 feet apart, unless any of those people or anyone they live with has an increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19.
If you travel in the United States, you do not need to get tested before or after travel or self-quarantine after travel.
You need to pay close attention to the situation at your international destination before traveling outside the United States.
- You do NOT need to get tested before leaving the United States unless your destination requires it.
- You still need to show a negative test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before boarding a flight to the United States.
- You should still get tested 3-5 days after international travel.
- You do NOT need to self-quarantine after arriving in the United States.
If you’ve been around someone who has COVID-19, you do not need to stay away from others or get tested unless you have symptoms.
- However, if you live in a group setting (like a correctional or detention facility or group home) and are around someone who has COVID-19, you should still stay away from others for 14 days and get tested, even if you don’t have symptoms.

What You Should Keep Doing

For now, if you’ve been fully vaccinated:

You should still take steps to protect yourself and others in many situations, like wearing a mask, staying at least 6 feet apart from others, and avoiding crowds and poorly ventilated spaces. Take these precautions whenever you are:
- In public
- Gathering with unvaccinated people from more than one other household
- Visiting with an unvaccinated person who is at increased risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 or who lives with a person at increased risk
You should still avoid medium or large-sized gatherings.
If you travel, you should still take steps to protect yourself and others. You will still be required to wear a mask on planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation traveling into, within, or out of the United States, and in U.S. transportation hubs such as airports and stations. Fully vaccinated international travelers arriving in the United States are still required to get tested within 3 days of their flight (or show documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in the past 3 months) and should still get tested 3-5 days after their trip.
You should still watch out for symptoms of COVID-19, especially if you’ve been around someone who is sick. If you have symptoms of COVID-19, you should get tested and stay home and away from others.
You will still need to follow guidance at your workplace.

illustration of people enjoying a party inside

What We Know and What We’re Still Learning

We know that COVID-19 vaccines are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death.
- We’re still learning how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work against some variants but could be less effective against others.
We know that other prevention steps help stop the spread of COVID-19, and that these steps are still important, even as vaccines are being distributed.
- We’re still learning how well COVID-19 vaccines keep people from spreading the disease.
- Early data show that the vaccines may help keep people from spreading COVID-19, but we are learning more as more people get vaccinated.
We’re still learning how long COVID-19 vaccines can protect people.
As we know more, CDC will continue to update our recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

Until we know more about those questions, everyone — even people who’ve had their vaccines — should continue taking steps to protect themselves and others when recommended.

Want to learn more about these recommendations? Read our expanded Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People, corresponding Science Brief, and recommendations for healthcare providers.

Last Updated Apr. 2, 2021Content source: National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD), Division of Viral DiseaseshomeVaccines

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Passage of the Day: Marguerite de Navarre “The Heptameron”

“’Quite!’ said Longarine. “I’m sure that what you say is true. The fact is that every man who’s ever wanted to be my devoted servant has always started by declaring that my life, my welfare and my honour were all he truly desired. But in the end it’s only their own interests that count, only their own pleasure and their own glory that they really desire. Consequently, the best thing to do is to get rid of them before they’ve finished the first part of their speech. If one waits until they get into the second part, there is less honour in refusing them, for vice should be rejected as son as it is recognized.”

Marguerite de Navrre (1492-1549)

Susan Cain’s “Quiet”: Stimulation

“Once you understand introversion and extroversion as preferences for certain levels of stimulation, you can begin consciously trying to situate yourself in environments favourable to your personality-neither overstimulating nor understimulating, neither boring or anxiety-making. You can organize your life in terms of what personality psychologists call “optimal levels of arousal” and what I call “sweet spots, and by doing so feel more energetic and alive than before.”

“Quiet” available on Broadway Books