Pam Wells is an editor and writer living on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Book Publishing from Portland State University, having returned to school after a ridiculously long time. Pam is the former Editor in Chief and a founding editor of THE TIMBERLINE REVIEW. She also produced, directed, wrote, and edited the 2014 documentary, MY SHANGHAI (2014).
Flowers I have seen and honey I have tasted, and heard the cuckoo’s song through to the end. Now, in this world, and in the next, dear friend, I shall forever know that life was not wasted. — Anon. (17th century Japanese poem) Virginia Lumsdaine McCutcheon December 23, 1919 – June 21, 2015
Oh, what a year for My Shanghai. 2014 began with an air of finality: after two and a half years of work, it was time to marry sound and picture and create the master. Let me tell you, I was a little freaked out because Heidi, my assistant editor with all the experience, was tied up … More Note to filmmakers: enjoy your festival year
I have a lot of laurels in my yard. English laurels. India laurels. They grow like crazy and pop up all over the place, and hardly a day goes by that I’m not yanking them out or cutting them back or just plain cursing them. Portland laurels are a different matter. Yep, it’s my way … More My Shanghai loves Portland laurels
September is looking HOT. We’re thrilled to announce a new festival invitation to DOCUTAH, Sept. 2-6 in sunny St. George, Utah. This will be the 5th annual DOCUTAH, a.k.a. Southern Utah International Documentary Film Festival, presented by Dixie State University. DOCUTAH screens inside and out in the dramatic red rock venues of Southern Utah and Southern Nevada. Their motto is, “Come … More DOCUTAH invites My Shanghai
Today I sent out the link to the HD download of My Shanghai to our Kickstarter backers. I think this is our real world premiere. In the U.S., our backers come from Oregon, Washington, Alaska, California, Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Colorado, Texas, North Carolina, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine. And those are just the ones I know about! … More Talk about a world premiere
On Sunday, My Shanghai will be the focus of a seminar at the 4th Annual Ojai WordFest in beautiful Ojai, California. This awesome opportunity came at the invitation of the festival’s director, Mary Sequoia Hamilton, after she saw the film in San Luis Obispo. Thank you, Mary! Here’s the official class description: April 14, 1pm – “Writing for the … More WordFest highlights “My Shanghai”
Taking on any documentary film project means being ready to go anywhere your story leads you. In the case of My Shanghai, the roads have linked oceans, decades and cultures, with one exit off the I-5 in Keizer, Oregon. This is where I found Thomas Crossland. Thomas is a Japanese print dealer. Wherefore, ahead of … More Article #58: Journeys from Japan
We’re beyond excited. My Shanghai has been scheduled for its World Premiere screening, plus a second screening, at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival — 4:00pm Saturday, March 8, at the Downtown Cinemas, 888 Marsh St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401 4:00pm Sunday, March 9, at the Galaxy Theatres, El Camino Real & California … More SLOIFF Preps Premiere
We are so pleased to announce that MY SHANGHAI has been accepted to the SAN LUIS OBISPO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL, March 5-9, 2014 in San Luis Obispo, California. More details to come!
In My Shanghai, Virginia talks about how her mother always hid money in her mattress, just in case. Thankfully, we didn’t have to do that. Another round of thanks goes to our Kickstarter funders as My Shanghai moves from production to premiere screening. A whole bunch of folks contributed $25 to $99, with our appreciation: Lee Babb • Laurie … More Which is why they don’t call it MattressStarter
As 2013 comes to a close, I’m raising my glass to everyone associated with My Shanghai. So many people have generously supported this documentary. On behalf of the My Shanghai team, I give our most sincere thanks. If you worked on the film, gave us materials to use onscreen, consulted, researched, held an umbrella over my … More Closing credits
Q: What’s got more style, the tango or champagne? A: Why choose when you can have both? Both, as in “Tango Champán” by Jonathan Geer. If you’ve visited our Facebook page in the last couple of days, you’ll know we’ve been soliciting title ideas for for the closing credits music. On request from the producers (or was it … More A toast to the tango
Here’s where you’ll find all the latest goings-on with My Shanghai. We have a new format to disguise the fact that we’re still bloggy-based (sshhh!!!), so our posts don’t appear on the front page anymore. It may take a few days to get it all set, but you’ll still get to read all about what’s … More Like our new look?
Where better to announce the latest addition to our crew than at 39,000 feet? Meet Vashi Nedomansky, a Los Angeles–based editor who will handle My Shanghai’s color correction and grading. Born in Czechoslovakia, Vashi defected to North America with his parents when he was five years old. “My father was a professional hockey player in the NHL and … More Color takes flight
So long, summer. We like a change of season at My Shanghai. We’re bringing on people to get this little film into shape for the big show…. er, festival circuit… which we plan to begin in early 2014. Meet our new assistant editor, Heidi Zimmerman, who will be in charge of all the specs and codecs to … More Fall brings a global perspective
Geography quiz: what river runs through Shanghai? Virginia would tell you it’s the Whangpoo (or Huangpu in today’s spelling). But I’m beginning to think it’s the Willamette. At least, my Shanghai finds its home on the Willamette, the river that runs through Portland, Oregon. And tomorrow night, Portland will get a taste of My Shanghai … More Shanghai on the Willamette
My Shanghai’s talent pool just got a lot deeper. With the success of Kickstarter, we’ve now met one of our goals: bringing a top sound editor onto the project. Meet Michael Gandsey, sound designer, re-recording mixer and owner of T2 Audio in Portland. Originally from Burbank, Michael grew up with the music and film industry in … More Deep into sound
At 3pm last Friday, with 24 hours and 2 minutes left on Kickstarter, I posted the first in a series of hourly thank-yous on our Facebook page. Since many of you are not on FB (for good reason, I’m sure), I’ll share them here. Thank you, 3pm Virginia McCutcheon, for being our hero, for opening the book … More 24 and counting
$20,586 We thought we could… thanks to you! phw
The spring has brought changes to My Shanghai. Beyond everything else, we mourn the passing of Virginia’s grandson, Eric Palmer, who let us into his life on camera and helped with the production. His obituary is online in the San Luis Obispo Tribune. May has also been fundraising season. Our Kickstarter drive runs until Saturday at 3pm … More Fishermen’s four seasons
It was so much fun the first time, I’m doing it again! Today, May 29 at 3:05pm PDT, I’ll be back on internet radio W4CY.com to go behind the scenes of My Shanghai. Take your mid-day break, pour yourself a cup of something and listen in! A chance to talk about the film helps with the final … More More adventures in radio
Attention screenwriters: we added a fantastic new backer reward for the Kickstarter campaign! Now, at the $1000 donation level, Joan and I will do a full evaluation of one of your screenplays. Both of us are experienced readers for competitions, and both of us have had more than a few of our own scripts torn apart by … More Cracking the K-nut
My Shanghai: the Film 