LIFT

This link in the local free paper recognizes Roberto Ariganello for his involvement in the Toronto film community. His death came as quite a shock and I didn't post anything earlier because I wasn't quite sure what to say and I guess I'm still not sure what I can say. My personal connection to Roberto was during the making of my film "from Human Resources" for LIFT's Poetry Projections program that coupled poets with filmmakers to create a silent film that the poet would read live during the screening. As the executive director of LIFT, Roberto headed the project and was nothing but enthusiastic about the process. He was very encouraging about any experimental techniques I wanted to try and was open to all of my ideas about what the film should include. He took the time to watch my footage and discuss it. He went over my ideas about the process and brought his own experience to the discussion to help me through any difficulties I was having. He also took the time to introduce me to all that LIFT has to offer. He made sure workshops were available to the filmmakers that related to the project we were working on. As a result, I found a new passion for filmmaking and saw that the possibilities were endless and the important thing was to follow that passion and see it through.
My sympathies are with his family and close friends.