The highlight of what promises to be an exciting, moving and maybe a light hearted evening will be the crowning of the King of the Confinement®, the Best Video sent to me by May 1.
If you thought the other categories were tough to handicap, let's review the heavyweights who have been nominated for Best Video.
Let's start with the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, an organization which predates the State of Israel. Founded in 1936 by Bronislaw Huberman, a Polish-born, Jewish violinist and musician, who foresaw the Holocaust, "persuaded 75 Jewish musicians from major European orchestras to immigrate to Palestine, creating what he called the “materialization of the Zionist culture in the fatherland” on the sand dunes of Tel Aviv."
It has been a good news/bad news year for Lahav Shani. He has been selected as the Musical Director of the Philharmonic replacing long time conductor Zubin Mehta. Unfortunately, he started his new position this year. He introduces the video (in Hebrew with English subtitles)
To celebrate Passover during the time of confinement, trombonist Micha Davis composed a medley of traditional songs including, “Ma Nishtana,” “Simcha Raba,” “B’tzet Yisrael” and “Avadim Hayinu” in the three-minute performance. The 20 musicians all played their parts in isolation.
The result is a stunning, beautiful holiday gift.
Released on April 6, the video has over 1 million views on YouTube. The images of these talented musicians as well as their music is inspiring. Definitely in contention for the Donnie.™
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Alexander Hamilton's story goes back even further than the Israeli Philharmonic. Hamilton, an immigrant from Nevis, arrived in the then British Colonies in 1772. He served as George Washington's chief of staff, lead troops in the decisive battle of Yorktown, founded the Bank of New York, wrote many of Federalist Papers to support the signing of the Constitution, and served as the first Secretary of the Treasury.
Today, he is primarily known for being the subject of Lin-Manual Miranda's smash international hit musical, Hamilton.
Somehow, John Krasinski who is hosting the web series Some Good News found out about the Tweet and parlayed it into a wonderful bit of Internet charm. With a lead in from Emily Blunt, star of Mary Poppins (married to Krasinski), they offer Aubrey tickets to see Hamilton in New York. Lin-Manuel Miranda Zoom bombs them and provides a great big topper. The original Broadway cast of Hamilton performs remotely for Aubrey and at last count had over 12 million viewers. (Performance begins at the 11:35 mark)
I have watched the performance at least three times and cry each time. The musicality and personality of the cast who share the now familiar Zoom screen with Krasinski, Blunt and Aubrey create a breath taking experience. A Donnie™ winner? Like they say in the song, "Just you wait, just your wait!
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Julie Nolke and her husband Sam Larson have been making videos since 2011. They contributed episodes to the food and lifestyle web site, TASTEMADE, including the high energy, Canadian Kit Kat Taste Test and the bizarre recipe for Homemade Hot Cheetos Ice Cream.
Nolke and Larson have been posting slice of life weekly comedy videos on FACEBOOK as Feeling Peckish since 2018 with increasing viewership peaking at 61,000 earlier this year. Until...."Explaining the Pandemic to my Past Self."
Now at over 6,300,000 views, this eminently relatable conversation between Julie in April and her past self in January deftly hits at the personal and global implications of this historic time. At one point, past Julie mentions her travel plans...future Julie's response provided me with one of the laugh out loud moments of the confinement.
Not the elaborate production of the Philharmonic or Hamilton but keep an eye on Julie past and present.
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The Holderness family, Penn, Kim and their kids have been upping their video game since 2014 and keeping an online VLOG for the past three years providing a glimpse into "the craziness of our daily lives." Like Julie Nolke, they racked up five digit views of their videos until the "New Normal in Quarantine" hit in April amassing over 500,000 unique visitors.
Family life in the New Normal includes hazmat suits, disinfecting odd cracker choices, the almost inevitable working at home without pants, and a hilarious bit on social distancing and jogging.
While hitting the right confinement memes, with the exception of the jogging bit, the New Normal doesn't hold up to repeat viewing. I would stay away from this one in your Donnie™ pool.
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In an earlier post, I talked about being under the radar. This next video might not register nationally but it is a black and white charmer. Make it Last Forever by Amanda Kramer, director of 2019's Ladyworld and Paris Window is part of the Without Precedent film festival.
Narrated in Italian (with subtitles), the actor/podcaster Matt DeLia dances through the craziness of isolation. In parts funny and gripping, this is a subtle reflection of what we are feeling right now.
In a tough field, this one will have trouble getting to the finish line first. If you like to play long shots, you might give this one a try but otherwise...
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Excited about the Award Ceremony! Here is an image from last night's dress rehearsal. I'll be sending out invites as soon as I figure out to do it.
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