CHARLOTTE DAY WILSON AND FANTAVIOUS FRITZ’ WORK FILM GRANT ANNOUNCES WINNING ENTRIES

JACKIE DIVES & JESSAMINE FOKS SHARE $10K PRIZE FOR VIDEO PROJECTS

ONE-TIME FUND WAS CREATED FOR WOMEN AND NON-GENDER BINARY DIRECTORS IN CANADA

Today, the winning entrants were announced for the one-time Work Film Grant – a $10K fund that was donated by Charlotte Day Wilson and director Fantavious Fritz generated from a portion of the Prism Grand Prize the duo received at the 2018 awards.

The official video for Day Wilson’s song “Work,” which was directed by Fritz, was originally released in January of 2017 around the International Women’s March.

The fund was officially launched in September and after more than 150 entries, the $10K will be split between a music video and a short film, with two very deserving directors spreading the budget across their projects.

Jackie Dives’ short film “A Room for the Pain,” is an intimate and unique look into Vancouver’s overdose crisis told through the true story of a daughter’s loss of her father.

And Toronto’s Jessamine Fok’s music video treatment for Nomvdslvnd’s “Flowers While You’re Here” is a visual study of the "Herbivore Man,” a Japanese term used to coin men who embody traditionally feminine traits; a rediscovery of the conventions that surround masculinity.

The winners were selected by a volunteer Jury of four Canadian filmmakers: Daiva Zalnieriunas, Jasmin Mozaffari, Luis De Filippis and Yassmina Karajah.

Says Fritz, "We started this project as a small gesture of encouragement to someone new and the response we received was a tidal wave of what I’m confident will be a very bright future for Canadian film and music videos." 

“The music video for ‘Work’ was created with the help of my community,” added Charlotte in September 2018 at the time of the fund’s announcement. “This is our way of giving back and paying it forward.”

The remaining $5000 was from the original $15K Prizm Prize was donated by Charlotte and Fritz to Toronto women’s shelter Sistering. While the Work Film Grant was always intended as a one-time fund, the duo is looking for ways to continue the funding in 2019 and beyond.

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BEGONIA SHARES VIDEO FOR NEW SINGLE, “BEATS”

WATCH AND SHARE “BEATS” HERE

BUY / STREAM “BEATS” HERE

THE LONGEST ROAD TOUR DATES WITH TERRA LIGHTFOOT AND LINDI ORTEGA BEGIN FEBRUARY 5

MORE CANADIAN DATES ANNOUNCED IN KINGSTON AND QUEBEC CITY

“...searing and dignified” - NPR Music

"...a complex, powerhouse synth-soul that hangs on one of Canada’s most
extraordinary voices." - Line Of Best Fit

“The woman has, you would say, presence to spare. When she opens her mouth to sing it's like, ‘What just happened?’” - Exclaim!

"an audacious adventure in modern soul, with gospel inspirations and updated takes on finger-snapping Motown pop and late 20th-century R&B.‎" - Globe & Mail

“With her showstopping voice, Dirks blends acoustics and synths for her own
brand of gospel.” - CBC Music

“Beats” Single Artwork // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

Today, the “searing and dignified” (NPR) Begonia (aka Alexa Dirks) is sharing the first new single of 2019. “Beats” says Dirks, “is all of my self-doubt and self-confidence living together in a poppy little package. It's all the voices in my head speaking at once. I get so worked up sometimes it can be hard to see things for what they really are. I think this song is basically saying that you can be deeply vulnerable and completely strong at the same time. It can seem confusing but sometimes you just have to feel all your feelings and then step back, take a deep breath and keep on going.”

The lyric video for “Beats” sees projections, live-action, and animation layered together by multidisciplinary designers Jadyn Klassen and Nick Luchak, working under the moniker TGFS (an unofficial conglomerate and acronym for the name of the vacated Tropical General Food Supply store in which the two of them once shared a studio space.) "There were a lot of moving parts in putting together the video that all worked quite well together,” says TGFS. “We were given the chance to run wild with layout and type, treating every phrase like its own poster. At the end of the day, we wanted to make a lyric video that was engaging, playful, and resonated with Begonia’s sensibility: dreamy, casual, colourful, and glamorous.”

WATCH AND SHARE “BEATS” HERE

BUY / STREAM “BEATS” HERE

Get the song : http://smarturl.it/BegoniaBeats Song: Written by Alexa Dirks, Matt Peters and Matt Schellenberg Produced by Alexa Dirks, Matt Peters, Matt Schellenberg and Marcus Paquin Performed by Alexa Dirks, Matt Peters, Matt Schellenberg and Marcus Paquin with the exception of drums performed by Michael Jordan, trombone by Joel Green

Following a successful run of Western Canada tour dates, including a stop at Winterupption, Begonia will head back out on the road beginning February 5 for The Longest Road Show with Terra Lightfoot, Lindi Ortega, and a whole host of special guests. The Longest Road Show is produced in conjunction with Sonic Unyon and LiveNation Entertainment, sponsored by Exclaim!, and benefitting Women in Music Canada, MusiCounts, YWCA Canada, and Girls Rock Camp. Full tour dates can be found below.

Recently, Begonia also released “The Light”, co-produced by Dirks with Marcus Paquin (Stars, The National), Matt Schellenberg (Royal Canoe), and Matt Peters (Royal Canoe), who also co-produced “Beats”. The two singles lead the way for more new music from Begonia in the near future.

WATCH  AND SHARE “THE LIGHT” HERE
“PURCHASE / STREAM “THE LIGHT” HERE

Begonia’s Alexa Dirks has never been able to fit into the box of being a "conventional woman". “I’m loud, I’m awkward and I’ve always taken up space. I've done things my whole life that some people would tell me weren't appropriate 'for a girl'.” That narrative that once tore Dirks down is now what empowers her to take charge of her own story, in her own way.

Winnipeg-based Dirks is a JUNO Award winner with her former group, Chic Gamine. As Begonia, Dirks is bold, brazen with her florid, surprising pop that is tempered with sensitivity and wisdom. Dirks' first solo output, Lady in Mind, was listed on NPR’s 10 Artists You Need To Know in 2017 and “Juniper” reached #1 on the CBC Music Top 20. Noisey wrote that, “Begonia has one of Canada’s most extraordinary voices, and thankfully she uses it to obliterate the misery from this world one live performance at a time.” NPR claimed that Begonia is “the place where where synth-pop meets old soul and scrappy meets sexy."

Photo Credit : Leeor Wild // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

BEGONIA ON TOUR
2/5 - Kitchener, ON - Centre In The Square *
2/6 - Ottawa, ON - Algonquin Theatre *
2/7 - Hamilton, ON - New Vision Church *
2/8 - London, ON - London Music Hall *
2/9 - Toronto, ON - Phoenix *
3/21 - St Catharines, ON - FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre
3/22 - Burnstown, ON - Neat Cafe
3/23 - Kingston, ON - Grad Club
3/24 - New York, NY - TBD
3/25 - Boston, MA - TBD
3/26 - Quebec City, QC @ L’Anti

* The Longest Road Tour with Terra Lightfoot and Lindi Ortega

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PUP SHARE NEW VIDEO FOR “KIDS”

WATCH AND SHARE “KIDS” HERE

MORBID STUFF DUE OUT APRIL 5 VIA LITTLE DIPPER

THE MORBID STUFF TOUR-POCALYPSE 2019 BEGINS MARCH 26

PRE-ORDER MORBID STUFF HERE

EARLY PRAISE FOR MORBID STUFF

"With singalong ready – yet downright nihilistic – refrains and a pristine punk sound, PUP’s 'Kids' has the makings of an apocalyptic anthem." - NPR Music (Night Shift)

"[‘Kids’] is a fitting follow-up to The Dream Is Over, their excellent 2016 album which we named one of the best albums of that year. It’s all heavy riffs and nervous energy and an exclamation mark of a chorus" - Stereogum

“a reluctant, thrashing love song.” - The FADER

"It's raucous and death-obsessed and silly all at once, packed with chant-along vocals and spindly riffs. " - Noisey

“Charging gleefully towards insanity…’Kids’ embraces the misery by wrapping it in melodic, driven punk chords and thunderous gang-vocals.” - Consequence of Sound

Toronto’s very own punk powerhouse PUP recently announced their excellent new record Morbid Stuff, set for release on April 5th via Little Dipper / Universal Music Canada. The album’s visceral, wildfire first single “Kids” has already received praise from the likes of NPR, The FADER, Noisey, Stereogum, and more. Today it receives an incredible, futuristic, and “bleak as fuck” Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux directed music video, reuniting the blood-oath bound band in the year 2059. “Jeremy cooked up this hilarious concept of what all of our lives would be like 40 years in the future,” explains Stefan Babcock. “Our goal was to sorta set viewers up for this happy feel-good ending, and then at the last minute, crush them with darkness. Just like life in the present, most things in the future will probably turn out shit, or, if we’re really lucky, fine at best.”

WATCH AND SHARE “KIDS” HERE

We will be watching the video premiere with you all and answering your questions in the comments section afterward! Directed by Jeremy Schaulin-Rioux. Produced by Amanda Fotes.

This Spring, PUP will embark on a North America, UK, and European tour in support of Morbid Stuff. All of the Canadian dates have sold out already, as have the U.K. and shows in New York, Los Angeles Chicago, and Boston. See below to find a show near you, and grab your tickets HERE as these are selling fast.

Formed in Toronto five years ago, PUP – comprised of Stefan Babcock, Nestor Chumak, Zack Mykula, and Steve Sladowski – quickly became favorites of the punk scene with their first two, critically-beloved albums, winning accolades everywhere from the New York Times to Pitchfork, from NPR and Rolling Stone, and more. Now, with Morbid Stuff, PUP have grown up and doubled down on everything that made you love their first two records. It’s gang’s-all-here vocals, guitarmonies, and lyrics about death. Lots of them.

Fitting to their ethos, their new album takes the dichotomy of fun and emotional wreckage in their songs and teeters between gleeful chaos and bleak oblivion while wielding some of the best choruses the band has ever written. Morbid Stuff is also a pretty intense foray into singer Stefan Babcock’s fight with depression, and shows, in perfect PUP fashion, how taking responsibility of his own depression lead him to….laughter. Admitting his depression allowed Babcock to laugh in its face, and the result is that marriage of darkness and joy that made PUP who they are, but in a brand new way.

Indeed, despite its dark subject matter, at times Morbid Stuff is funny as hell, even in the music. It’s the most insightful, sweetest, funniest, sickest, angriest, saddest and most inescapably desperate collection of songs they’ve recorded to date. If their self-titled record was the fuse and The Dream Is Over was the bomb going off, Morbid Stuff is your family sifting through the rubble, only to find you giggling while you bleed to death.

PRE-ORDER MORBID STUFF HERE

PHOTO CREDIT : Vanessa Heins // DOWNLOAD HIGH-RES

THE MORBID STUFF TOUR-POCALYPSE

3/26/19 - Calgary, AB @ Commonwealth  **SOLD OUT**
3/27/19 - Edmonton, AB @ Starlite  **SOLD OUT**
3/29/19 - Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall  **SOLD OUT**
4/3/19 - London, ON @ Rum Runners  **SOLD OUT**
4/9/19 - Bristol, UK @ The Fleece % ! **SOLD OUT**
4/10/19 - London, UK @ The Garage % ! **SOLD OUT**
4/11/19 - Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club % ! **SOLD OUT**
4/12/19 - Glasgow, UK @ Cathouse % ! **SOLD OUT**
4/14/19 - Paris, FR @ La Boule Noire !
4/15/19 - Dunkirk, FR @ Les 4Ecluses !
4/16/19 - Brussels, BE @ AB Club !
4/18/19 - Berlin, DE @ Cassiopeia !
4/19/19 - Hamburg, DE @ Hafenklang !
4/20/19 - Cologne, DE @ MTC Club !
4/21/19 - Amsterdam, NE @ Upstairs @ Paradiso !
4/25/19 - Boston, MA @ Royale # ^ **SOLD OUT**
4/26/19 - Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel # ^  **SOLD OUT**
4/29/19 - Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer # ^
4/30/19 - Pittsburgh, PA @ REX Theater $ ^
5/1/19 - Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom $ ^
5/3/19 - Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot Ballroom $ ^
5/4/19 - Chicago, IL @ Metro $ ^
5/5/19 - Minneapolis, MN @ Fine Line Music Cafe $ ^
5/6/19 - Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theater $
5/8/19 - Dallas, TX @ Trees $ ^
5/9/19 - Austin, TX @ The Mohawk $ ^
5/10/19 - Houston, TX @ Rockefeller's $ ^
5/11/19 - New Orleans, LA @ One Eyed Jacks $ ^
5/13/19 - Atlanta, GA @ Terminal West $ ^
5/14/19 - Carrboro, NC @ Cat's Cradle $ ^
5/15/19 - Asheville, NC @ The Grey Eagle $ ^
5/17/19 - Washington, DC @ The Black Cat $ ^
5/18/19 - Boston, MA @ Royale ^
5/22/19 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogarts ^
5/23/19 - Chicago, IL @ Metro ^
6/7/19 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall # ^ **SOLD OUT**
6/8/19 - Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall # ^ **SOLD OUT**
6/19/19 - San Diego, CA @ The Irenic + ^
6/20/19 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom + ^
6/21/19 - Los Angeles, CA @ Teragram Ballroom + ^ **SOLD OUT**
6/22/19 - San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore + ^
6/24/19 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom + ^
6/25/19 - Seattle, WA @ The Showbox + ^
6/27/19 - Boise, ID @ The Olympic + ^
6/28/19 - Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue + ^
6/29/19 - Englewood, CO @ Gothic Theatre + ^
7/1/19 - Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf + ^
7/2/19 - Phoenix, AZ @ Valley Bar + ^
7/3/19 - Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room ^

# - with support from Diet Cig
^ - with support from Ratboys
! - with support from Milk Teeth
% - with support from Gender Roles
$ - with support from Casper Skulls
+ - with support from Beach Bunny

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MORBID STUFF TRACKLIST
01 Morbid Stuff
02 Kids
03 Free At Last
04 See You At Your Funeral
05 Scorpion Hill
06 Closure
07 Bloody Mary, Kate and Ashley
08 Sibling Rivalry
09 Full Blown Meltdown
10 Bare Hands
11 City

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