Musings of a Lady

Saturday, November 29, 2014

Happy Holidays!

Dear readers, I hope that this post will find you well and happy.  I hope that your holiday season has begun with great cheer and a sure light of love, hope and joy abounds.

I haven't been very productive since I got back from my wonderful trip to Bath for the Jane Austen Festival.  However, my energy is returning and I am itching to get back into the swing of things.  In the meantime, I am getting ready for the holidays and my main plan is to Make it, Love it and Share it! (I have stolen a phrase from the Mollie Makes folk).  I want to do homemade Christmas giving and sharing, so check out my 'arty' blog for the first post on arts 'n' crafts project I started this Thanksgiving weekend.

Oh, there is something special I want to share with you all and hope that you don't mind this plug for a friend of mine.  While I was in Bath, UK in September, another group of friends were participating in a commemorative program for Josephine Bonaparte at Malmaison, in France.  Coincidently, another friend was also there beginning work on a film about Napoleon.  This is an independent film (an Indy) and it is going to prove to be an interesting piece.  Jesse Handsher is one of the producers and directors for the film. For those of you interested in the period surrounding the rise and fall of Napoleon, you may be want to follow how this film develops until its premiere.  Here is a bit about both filmmakers and what the film is about:

Jesse Handsher is an American filmmaker with a production company (www.bywaterfilms.com) based in San Francisco.  He most recently produced and directed the GQ.com sponsored web series CASUALTIES OF THE GRIDIRON, which was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of Best Sports Documentary Series.
Olivier Roland is a Belgian filmmaker who spent 15 years living in Los Angeles, working in film production and earning his PhD from the University of Southern California. His dissertation about the creation of filmmaking and its effects on the human body has recently been published.
Roland and Handsher conceived of this film last summer while enjoying Belgium's finest export, Trappist beer. They started with the premise of looking at the world of war reenactment, the motivations behind the participants' obsession with the hobby, and what these individuals are really after. After extensive research, the filmmakers found this story of the two Napoleons who are both striving to play Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo 200 year Reenactment.
It is all too, exciting with the celebration of the battle of Waterloo in Belgium this summer (2015). I am actually considering going there in June.  Anyway, of course film making is not an inexpensive venture.  Jesse and Olivier are still in the midst of fundraising for the film's production.  There is a special matching 10k grant up for grabs that will help them a lot.  There is only 3 days left to match the grant.  If you can, please go to the website and look over the filming information and how to donate, if you are so inclined.  As fellow historians, it is really cool to see re-enactments being planned for documentation and in an exciting and thrilling way.  Any contribution will help them take the next steps to make this soon to be awesome adventure a reality.  Cheers!




Thank you for letting me put in this plug for Jesse and his partner, Olivier.  Happy Holidays!