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Winnipeg Free Press
11 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Technology helps revive folk fest documentary
The creator of a new documentary and oral history book about the Winnipeg Folk Festival doesn't describe himself as a die-hard folkie. 'I've been more of a casual attender, but still a fan,' says Kevin Nikkel, a local filmmaker and writer with an interest in Winnipeg history and culture. SUPPLIED Filmmaker Kevin Nikkel (left) with collaborator John Prentice. SUPPLIED Filmmaker Kevin Nikkel (left) with collaborator John Prentice. This week, Nikkel releases two parallel projects about the history of the annual summer music festival, which celebrates its 50-ish anniversary at Birds Hill Provincial Park in July. His book, Founding Folks: An Oral History of the Winnipeg Folk Festival, launches at McNally Robinson Grant Park Wednesday; followed by the opening of his feature-length documentary, When We Became Folk Fest, at Dave Barber Cinematheque on Friday. 'I'm really excited to show people this cinematic time capsule of the folk fest,' Nikkel says of the documentary directed with his late collaborator, Dave Barber. It's a movie that almost ended up in the trash. Nikkel and Barber — Cinematheque's founding programmer, who died in 2021 — were working on another local history documentary, Tales from the Winnipeg Film Group, when they started mulling another project. Barber had come across a set of previously unusable film reels that hadn't been watched in decades and were headed for the bin. Captured by Winnipeg Film Group members in 1975, the grainy Super 8 footage shows a young Mitch Podolak, bearded and bespectacled, keeping things afloat during the second-ever Winnipeg Folk Festival. SUPPLIED PHOTO Founding Folks is an oral history of the event. The reels, which also included more than four hours of crowd shots and artist performances, were intended for a documentary that was scrapped in the editing booth because the video and audio were out of sync — a fatal issue at the time. 'We were able to access all this material because, technology being the way it is, it was far more reasonable to sync up the faulty audio with the picture because the software has improved so much,' Nikkel says. 'We picked up a project that had begun and was stalled and has become something completely different than what they had originally intended.' Local composer and sound designer Andy Rudolph helped solve the post-production puzzle and UMFM 101.5 radio host John Prentice, who was present during the original film group shoot in 1975, was brought on as a collaborator. When We Became Folk Fest pairs the vintage footage with archival photographs and offscreen interviews with festival instigators Podolak, prior to his death in 2019, wife Ava Kobrinsky, co-founder Colin Gorrie and others. SUPPLIED PHOTO When We Became Folk Fest is a feature-length doc about the early days of the festival. The film — which focuses on the event's early politics, vision and business model — also includes conversations with the likes of performers Bruce Cockburn, Tom Jackson, Peter Paul Van Camp and Al Simmons. 'I'm really looking forward to sharing this window into our scene, our culture — and people might even recognize themselves or their relatives,' Nikkel says. Creating a documentary is a big enough project on its own, but Nikkel knew from the outset he wanted to pair it with an oral history book. He took a similar tack with Establishing Shots: An Oral History of the Winnipeg Film Group, a book based on interviews from his 2017 documentary with Barber. 'My frustration as a filmmaker or editor is you sit down and have a nice long conversation with someone, but then you only take a couple quotes that end up in the film,' he says, adding writing has become a fitting companion to his filmmaking practice. Founding Folks, published by University of Manitoba Press, features many of the same voices as the film but takes a deeper look at the festival's early days and continued success, which Nikkel says is due in large part to its location and dedicated volunteers. JOHN BACHMANN PHOTO A new documentary revives troubled footage from 1975 for a look back at 50-ish years of Folk Fest. These performers were among the first in 1974. JOHN BACHMANN PHOTO A new documentary revives troubled footage from 1975 for a look back at 50-ish years of Folk Fest. These performers were among the first in 1974. In an era when folk festivals across the country are failing, he hopes readers and viewers will recognize the rarity of a grassroots event that's managed to carry on since 1974. 'For both of these projects, I'm really wanting to contribute to that sense of place and the fact that we have this very rich history and heritage,' Nikkel says. 'We often see this kind of archival material and think about Woodstock and some of these other highly important cultural gatherings from that era, but you never get to see that about yourself and about Winnipeg.' BETSY THORSTEINSON PHOTO The footage captured by the Winnipeg Film Group in 1975 suffered the then-fatal flaw of out-of-sync images and sound: today's technology was able to save it. BETSY THORSTEINSON PHOTO The footage captured by the Winnipeg Film Group in 1975 suffered the then-fatal flaw of out-of-sync images and sound: today's technology was able to save it. Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. Eva WasneyReporter Eva Wasney has been a reporter with the Free Press Arts & Life department since 2019. Read more about Eva. Every piece of reporting Eva produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Rugby: Gisborne eyeing first Callagahan Trophy victory in Super 8 clash with Rotorua
James Hamblyn, pictured playing against Manukura School, will be wearing the No 9 jersey for Gisborne Boys' High School First XV in their Super 8 clash against Rotorua BHS at the Rectory ground on Saturday. Photo / Paul Rickard A match was struck at the Rectory 30 years ago. On June 17, 1995, Gisborne Boys' High School First XV vice-captain and openside flanker Michael Green scored the only try against Rotorua BHS in the home team's first defence of the Ranfurly Shield of New Zealand secondary schools' rugby –
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Local law enforcement: Incidents underreported, so scope not fully quantified
JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – The National Human Trafficking Hotline identified 12 likely victims of human trafficking in Cambria County from 2015-22. There were three in Somerset County. A few legal cases have taken place. In 2017, Barshay Dunbar, of Johnstown, was convicted on charges stemming from operating a sex ring using out of the Super 8 hotel in Richland Township, in which he paid the women with drugs. The case developed when a hotel general manager notified police of suspicious activities. Barshay Reqwan Dunbar Barshay Reqwan Dunbar William Warren was arrested in 2022 and later pleaded guilty to trafficking and other charges. Law enforcement began an investigation after responding to an overdose at his residence, next to the Stonycreek Township Police Department, in which the woman later died. Then, a few weeks ago, a Johnstown man was charged with multiple felonies after allegedly providing a teenage runaway with drugs and using her for sexual favors in exchange for a place to stay. Those were all occurrences or allegations of sexual human trafficking. Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer said he has not seen cases of labor human trafficking because, 'We don't really have a lot of migrant workers that come through here.' Without elaborating, Neugebauer said, 'Frankly, we're actively investigating several cases right now.' Those might not seem like a statistically significant number of incidents. But law enforcement officers, legislators, counselors and advocates agree that human trafficking crimes are extremely underreported. 'With human trafficking, 1,000%, those numbers lack reporting, especially in our area,' said Victim Services' Jessica Piro, the Cambria County Human Trafficking Response Team's co-coordinator. Johnstown Police Department | Chief Mark Britton Johnstown Police Department Chief Mark Britton shown here outside the Public Safety Building on Washington Street in downtown Johnstown on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Johnstown Police Department Chief Mark Britton compared the lack of reporting to the silence that often accompanies other crimes of violence and exploitation. 'It's just like somebody who has been raped,' Britton said. 'You know they've been raped. You know they've been abused. But they don't want to come forward because of the embarrassment, or because they have become so used to the abuse that they encounter – not so much maybe physical abuse, but the mental abuse and the emotional abuse – they don't want to come forward because they're so aligned with that type of behavior that they don't know any other behavior. They don't know how they're going to survive.' 'Definitely happening' About a decade ago, Kelly Callihan attended a Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association conference in Philadelphia during which there was a presentation about human trafficking. 'I just remember thinking, 'Human trafficking, I'm going to half-pay attention. That doesn't apply here,' ' said Callihan, who was Cambria County's district attorney at the time. 'Then once we heard the presentation, I was like, 'Wow, this is definitely happening then in our area.' ' Callihan's experience inspired her to help form the Cambria County Human Trafficking Response Team in 2016, in collaboration with other individuals and organizations, including Victim Services Inc. Kelly Callihan Kelly Callihan The trafficking response group is connected to the Cambria County Sexual Assault Response Team. Members come from victim services groups, law enforcement agencies and health care providers. The organization works to raise awareness about the issue, develop practices for law enforcement, train people such as medical professionals and hotel workers on how to recognize the signs of human trafficking, and assist survivors. Even with the team carrying out its mission, it is still a challenge to define the scope of how much human trafficking occurs locally. 'It's one of those things that I don't think, necessarily, the amount of cases that are being filed is indicative of what the actual problem is,' said Callihan, who is now the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Association's executive director. 'Kind of like a hub' The Pennsylvania Turnpike, Interstate 99, U.S. Route 219, U.S. Route 22, other highways and rails carrying Amtrak trains pass through the local region – providing ways for human traffickers to move among major metropolitan areas, such as New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Buffalo. 'What we're primarily seeing is that it's kind of like a hub,' Piro said. 'We are in the middle of several key cities, and we're also on what is like a trafficking beltway from D.C. to Ohio.' Greg Neugebauer | Announces Candidacy For Judge Cambria County District Attorney Greg Neugebauer answers questions from the media after announcing his candidacy for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas during a press conference at the Young Peoples Community Center in Ebensburg on Thursday, January 16, 2025. Neugebauer recalled one case from a few years ago 'that will always stick out in my mind' involving a person being trafficked through the region. 'Essentially, the victim met this individual at a bar in another state,' Neugebauer said. 'They started hanging out, and before she knew it, she was being basically driven across the country and being severely physically abused. 'They stopped at a local store to get gas and some snacks and the perpetrator basically left her alone for a minute. And she essentially ran out of the car. A store employee saw her, saw that she had what appeared to be fresh physical injuries. That kicked off an investigation that led to us looking at things in other states and all kinds of stuff.' Neugebauer said he does not believe the people had any local connections other than they were passing through the area. The victim later died from underlying health issues, according to Neugebauer.
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
Napier Boys' High v Hastings Boys' High 1st XV rugby: The build-up to Hawke's Bay's biggest school clash
The big annual Super 8 rugby between traditional Hawke's Bay secondary campus powerhouses Napier and Hastings boys' high schools will be played in rare circumstances on Saturday. Each side goes into the battle at high noon at Napier BHS having been beaten in their most recent Super 8 schools matches
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Human trafficking suspect arrested after investigation at Nashville motels
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A man was arrested Tuesday following an investigation into a human trafficking operation based out of Nashville motels. According to court documents, special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation in December 2023 into a human trafficking operation at Super 8 in the 800 block of Murfreesboro Pike and Somatel Nashville Airport Hotel on Metroplex Drive. 📧 Have breaking news come to you: → During this investigation, officials spoke with two women who claimed they were recruited in Venezuela and smuggled to the United States. Once in Tennessee, the women were reportedly forced into engaging in commercial sex to pay off 'fines' of $20,000-$30,000. Arrest documents detail how the women were sex trafficked under the direction of several people, including Kleiver Daniel Mota-Rivero and Yilibeth Del Carmen Rivero-De Caldera –who were indicted in February for their roles in a Middle Tennessee-based sex trafficking operation. Tuesday, officers arrested a third person — 25-year-old Ramon de Jesus Velasquez-Martinez — for his role in a similar operation involving Mota-Rivero. According to reports, one of the women said between November 2023 and February 2025 Velasquez-Martinez sent commercial sex clients to her motel rooms, took the money earned from these interactions and frequently took her cellphone to monitor who she was in contact with. RELATED: Several Venezuelan nationals indicted for role in Middle Tennessee-based sex trafficking ring The woman told authorities that in 2024, she escaped the trafficking operation and moved to Miami to work at a restaurant. Velasquez-Martinez reportedly showed up at her workplace and threatened her with a gun to go with him while making comments about her children back in Venezuela. Court documents said after this interaction she returned to Nashville with him and was forced back in to participating in commercial sex acts. During the investigation authorities reportedly found 26 advertisements for commercial sex posted in Nashville which featured Velasquez-Martinez's phone number as the main point of contact. Authorities said thousands of text messages were recovered between Velasquez-Martinez and other suspects regarding commercial sex clients, advertisements and firearms. ⏩ Velasquez-Martinez is charged with felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and felony trafficking for a commercial sex act. According to Davidson County Sheriff's Office records, he is being held on an ICE detainer and a $150,000 bond. If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1 (888) 373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
