The Leader-Post from Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada • 37

C11 The Leader-Post Regina, Saskatchewan Monday, November 9, 1d81 Oak Ridge Boys ride high in Regina Film about women's struggle nabs honors at Yorkton festival Since their decision in 1975 to change genres from gospel to country rock, the Oaks have won a string of impressive honors including vocal group of the year from both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music. Another honor was passed on Saturday night when representatives of MCA (their record label) came on stage to present them with gold records for their latest album Fancy Free. The title song, Fancy Free, has been No. 1 on the American charts for the past 13 weeks. GReview While each member of the band doesn't look old enough to be out of school, each is well accomplished on his instrument.

No second-rate musicians in this band! And the Oak Ridge Boys themselves what else can you say but they were great! Romping through hit after hit, to conr tinuous hand-clapping, foot-stomping, cheers and whistles, tenor Joe Bonsall, lead Duane Allen, baritone William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban who han- dies the bass certainly provided their fans with full value for their money. Sterban, attired in a white shirt, tie and suit, proved to be the most popular member of the group as he hit notes that were so low, they ran of the bottom of the music sheets. His parts in Dig a Little Deeper in the Well and of course, 'oom papa, oom papa, mau-mau' literally brought screams from some members of the audience. Except when singing their quieter numbers like Sail Away, Dream of Me, and Beautiful You, the four constantly bounded around the stage. Where they get their energy remains a good question! The harmony, the driving sounds and the soft lyrics were all there as they sang no less than 15 of their hits, incluq-ing the popular Elvira.

They're individualists, from Sterban's neat suit to Golden's buckskins and long flowing hair and beard (the hair is down well past his shoulders and the beard is nearing the middle of his chest), but they have one thing in common the blend of their voices is almost perfects The Oak Ridge sound which we have all become accustomed to, was what we heard. No one left disappointed! By Robert J. Watson of The Leader-Post A song about a saloon back in 1977 transformed the Oak Ridge Boys from gospel music rebels to country music dynamos. And two sell-out crowds Saturday night at the Saskatchewan Centre of the can certainly atest to that. But, somewhere along the line, they have forgotten those hundreds, perhaps even thousands of fans, who couldn't, for one reason or another, attend the concerts.

(Both sold out in about four hours Plans had been made with Pat Roberts, the booking agent for the Canadian tour, for an interview between concerts 'with the idea of writing an indepth story on the group. However, when I arrived backstage, Roberts apologized and said the Oak Ridge Boys were refusing all interviews while in Canada. The result no story Could it be that the fantastic success the group has enjoyed has placed them above such lowly interviews? Can they afford to come into this city, entertain between five and six thousand fans, and totally ignore the rest? Perhaps someone should tell them that those thousands who couldn't attend, also buy records! Notwithstanding this apparent snub, the concerts were a success, even if some people did leave early claiming the sound level was too high. It was high, but then this wasn't a symphony concert; it was a high-energy show with the beat as close to boogie, with driving uptempo numbers in tight-knit harmony which had the audience clapping continuously and brought them to their feet several times. The album sales has reached 94,000 and should qualify for a platinum disc (for sales of 100,000 copies) with two weeks.

Holding down the position in the country music field isn't easy, but the Oaks are managing to do it with one hit after another. And taking that sound into concert halls requires the backing of a strong band. As expected, the Oak Ridge Band is strong. With Skip Mitchell on lead guitar, Pete Cummings on rhythm guitar, Don Breland on bass, Fred Sattei field on drums and Ron Fairchild at the keyboards, the driving sound of the Oaks' uptown, uptempo country rock filled the Centre without any difficulties. By Nell.

Scott of The Leader-Post YORKTON A drama about the fight by Alberta women to have Canadian women legally recognized as persons won top honors at this year's edition of the Yorkton International Short Film and Video Festival. At an award's dinner Saturday, it was announced that The Persons' Case, an ACCESS Alberta production, directed by John Wright, had won the Golden Sheaf award as the best video tape entry. The 56-minute drama tells the story of five Alberta women who appealed a law case all the way to the British Privy Council in an effort to establish that women are persons, under the terms of the British North America Act. The production won four awards, with actress Frances Hyland receiving a Golden Sheaf award for the best performance in the video category for her portrayal of Emily Murphy, the leader of the Alberta women. Wright received an award as best director and the Persons' Case also received a category award as the video tape production best portraying the human condition.

While the Persons' Case was the big winner, a 17 year-old high school student from Moose Jaw stole the hearts of many of those attending the awards dinner. Faye Sopick, a Grade 12 student at Albert E. Peacock Technical High School, played the lead role in Melanie, a drama about a dwarf girl entering her final year of high school. The drama won a special $500 award as the best video tape production from Saskatchewan dealing with the problems of disabled persons. Sopick was having the time of her life, mingling with Waxman and other stars of the Canadian film industry.

Sopick, who plans to attend university next year, had no previous acting experience and said making a movie was "scary, but very exciting." Noting that Melanie had been produced on a very low budget by a volunteer crew, Sopick said she had never dreamed it would win an award. The drama was directed by Roberta Osemlak of Prairie Co-Ax Cable T.V. Ltd. in Moose Jaw. All the actors came from Moose Jaw.

According to adjudicator Bill Nemtin, Melanie is an example of what community stations can do with video tape. Noting that video tape is cheaper and more convenient than film, Nemtin said there was "obviously a wave of video productions sweeping the nation." The growing importance of video tape was recognized by festival organizers this year, when they decided to accept video entries for the first time. More Waxman pays "royal" visit to festival What Canadian culture is" all about, he said, is Canadian artists standing up and ex-, pressing themselves honestly in films, on the stage and elsewhere. SCOTT Happy moment Producer-director Roberta Osemlak (left) and Grade 12 student Faye Sopick of Moose Jaw share a happy moment after learning that their video tape production Melanie, a drama about a dwarf girl entering her final year of high school, won a special $500 award. (Leader-Post photo by Neil Scott) reservations about high budget movies cramned with special effects.

"I think our pictures have to be rich in characters, not rich in technology," he said. One of the biggest problems in the movie industry, not only in Canada but throughout the world, is" a lack of good scripts which tell interesting stories about real people. He has little patience for those who suggest that a made-in-Canada movie, which is designed to tell a story and deal with universal rather than strictly Canadain themes, is not an authentic example of Canadian culture. Hari accused Mata Hari was a Dutch dancer who was accused by the French of being a German spy during the First World War; she was executed Some might scoff, he said, but the series was an authentic contribution to Canadian culture. The weekly half-hour episodes "were honestly told little stories about Canada," he said, adding that the series "is becoming part of our history." Waxman doesn't appear to be having much trouble keeping busy since Kensington went out of production.

In addition to making several movies, he has starred on seven CBC super-specials and served as national campaign chairman for the Canadian Cancer Society. In Deathbite, he plays a private detective who is hired to stalk a demon snake. "I have an incredible death scene in the picture," Wax-man said. "I come to a very terrible end." After years in the business, Waxman has some strong opinions about movies and about Canadian culture. "The first purpose of a picture is to tell a story," he said, adding that he sometimes has The "King," came to York-ton on Friday, but only for a brief visit.

Al Waxman, the star of the King of Kensington, a situation comedy which ran for five years on CBC. was to have been an adjudicator in the video portion of competition at this year's edition of the Yorkton International Short Film and Video Festival, but his arrival was delayed when the shooting of his latest movie, Deathbite, fell behind schedule. The festival began Monday, but by the time Waxman arrived in Yorkton, on mid-afternoon Friday, the ing was, for all intents and purposes, complete, While late, he was still welcome. He had the royal tour of the city, shook hands with the locals during a visit to a shopping mall, and participated in festival activities, including the awards presentations Saturday night. When he spoke with reporters Saturday afternoon, he was quick to come to the defence of King of Kensington.

film about a railway brakeman and a prostitue living together, won a Golden Sheaf award in the human condition film category. The award in the human dynamic category was won by Barry Lank of Winnipeg, the producer of It's a Hobby for Harry. Les Cloches, a movie by Serge Denko of Montreal, won in the spontaneous human category. In all, more than 30 awards were bestowed. The first Yorkton film festival was held in 1950.

It was previously known as the Yorkton International Film Festival, but in 1981 was renamed the York-ton International Short Film and Video Festival. in separate categories. Other major video winners included 10 Toronto Street, which won in the spontaneous human category. A CBC production, it is a documentary about Argus Corporation and its chief executive officiers. The Curse of Ponsonby Hall, a children's fantasy musical, submitted by CKY-TV in Winnipeg, was the winner in the Human Dynamic Category.

More than-100 films were entered, with Crac, a 15-minute animated film produced by Frederic Back, winning the Golden Sheaf award for best film production. The film depicts the memories of a rocking chair and thus relates the rapid movements of our lifestyles. Nose and Tina, a National Film Board CARBON than SO video' entries were received, with video and film productions judged CQPV White says province's culture comes first AVCO EMBASSY PICTURES Release IM AVCOEMBASS. AiC'uOCSCOH ADULT DAILY 7:00 9:00 Albert 11th 565-8665 HANDMADE FILMS Ptcmhis I 15 I I SHOWCASE CINEMAS I 'JfflS I FOR INFORMATION 522-3998 4 I "bmP I TSrrs TIME tural community, supporting cultural production, improving public access and preserving Saskatchewan's heritage. But he stopped short of saying how much the government was willing to spend to support culture.

'I am confident that the Government of Saskatchewan will begin following through, commencing with the 1982-83 budget which will be presented next spring," he said. "Consequently I must ask for your patience for a few months." The meeting adjourned for lunch, but there was little further talk about blockbuster announcements. ing that residents of remote areas of the province should not be denied the opportunity to participate in the province's cultural life. The government believed in community involvement and recognized the importance of multi-culturalism in Saskatchewan, he said. White said the government was committed to supporting culture and "recognizes culture as the most significant component in the quality of life in Saskatchewan." He outlined five objectives of Saskatchewan cultural policy, which included promoting greater public understanding of culture, developing the cul BANDITS yu A they didn't make history, they stole it: our province to block our culture from other parts of Canada or the world," he said, but "to give you a specific example, we strongly believe that our school children should have access to the history of Saskatchewan native people." White's speech had been eagerly anticipated by many of the delegates.

There was speculation about what one delegate called "a blockbuster announcement." Noting that a cultural policy secretariat had been established in 1979 to study cultural policy. White told the crowd that the government was "now ready to make a major statement about government's role in the cultural life of Saskatchewan." Saskatchewan culture first was one of six main beliefs which will form the basis of Saskatchewan's public policy towards culture, he said. The government believes "in the value of culture," he said and "in the importance of public participation." Universal access to culture was important, he said, add HANDMADE FILMS w. YORKTON (Staff)- Clint White, Saskatchewan's minis-ter of culture and youth, strongly endorsed a "Saskatchewan culture first," policy in a speech Saturday. "We in government strongly support the concept of Saskatchean culture first," White told about 40 of the delegates attending the annual meeting of the Saskatchewan Council of Cultural Organizations.

"It is important that residents of this province become familiar with the culture that exists within our own borders," he said. "When we are aware of our own culture, its value and significace, we can better extend ourselves culturally in the world. "This is not to say that we will be erecting walls around Class opera EDMONTON (CP) Op-era-In-Schools, the Edmonton Opera Association's educational branch, has started its second decade of performances in Edmonton. jgi.h Technicolor I I BriMl Panavuion- c. a I ADULT ADULT Language Warning (Not Suitable For Children) DAILY 7:15 and 9:15 At 8:00 p.m.

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