Official Selections & A Best Director Nomination

Today happens to be my birthday, and while this would be reason enough to celebrate on any other year, this birthday already feels different because some incredibly positive news about my documentary on the Monarch Theatre has started rolling in over the last few weeks. 

With the spring film festival season only just beginning, notifications of the very first official selections for "Your Cinema Needs You" started showing up in my inbox a couple weeks ago. Previews of the documentary this month brought the story about Canada's oldest surviving cinema to Lisbon, Los Angeles, Dresden, Stockholm, Chicago, and Berlin. If that wasn't enough, I just found out this week that, "Your Cinema Needs You" was shortlisted for two Best Documentary awards, and received a festival nomination for Best Director in the feature documentary category. My chances of winning are slim, but still, a pleasure to be nominated and all that jazz.

On my birthday last year (and for much of 2023) I was deep in post-production and I posted frequently about if this movie was ever going to be finished, if I was going to get the ending I'd been holding out for, if the premiere would actually happen, and if the Monarch Theatre would finally reopen. Honestly, it would've saved me so much stress if I could've predicted that any of this would've worked out quite so well. 

I have a feeling that this is the beginning of a lot more exciting stories to share this year, so let me just say thank you again! Thank you to everyone who was involved in making this, who supported this multi-year project, who contributed to it, who attended the screenings, etc. etc. It's so awesome to see this through so many fresh eyes and to even have to opportunity to share this experience with you. 

What a great day to have cake in the house lol.

2023: Top Photo Essays of the Year

Suffice it to say, my feed was pretty documentary heavy in 2023, but I still found time to release some major travel shoots throughout the year. It's once again quite a mixed bag of locations, which is a nice reminder of just how much this aspect of my career has grown over the decade.

The 10 images shown here represent complete photo essays that were released on the Editing Luke site in 2023 - ranked as the 10 most viewed collections on the site this year. Thank you all for coming on this ride with me. Here's to continued adventures in 2024!

10. A visit with the Statue of Liberty

9. Capturing iconic London views from the Royal Leonardo Hotel

8. Inside the German Spy Museum in Berlin

7. A stay at Winnipeg's iconic Fort Garry 

6. The Big Donut: Randy's Donuts

5. Trying the best scotch at the Balmoral in Edinburgh, Scotland

4. Inside the Academy Museum in Los Angeles

3. A stay at the Watergate in Washington DC

2. Climbing the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City

1. Sunsets & Cowboy Baths: Camping out in a vintage trailer in Joshua Tree National Park 

German Spy Museum in Berlin, Germany

No trip to Berlin, Germany would be complete without a little exploration of World War / Cold War history. The German Spy Museum (AKA Deutsches Spionagemuseum) highlights some of the unique, covert artifacts that spies and agents used, notably between East and West Berlin. Here are a few visuals from inside this popular Berlin attraction.

Schnitzel, Strudel, Pretzels & Beer

When in Berlin, Germany it doesn't hurt to play into as many stereotypical foods in one sitting as possible. On our first night we nailed the photo-op with schnitzel, pretzels, beer, and apple strudel for dessert just a short walk from the Brandenburg Gate.