My childhood is filled with colourful shenanigans. I loved drawing, painting, and colouring, and I practiced art all the way till secondary school. After that, I evolved the way I utilized art to express myself, translating into what I do professionally today.
As soon as TIFF‘s 2022 roster of films was announced, I couldn’t help but be drawn toward The Colour of Ink.
Jason Logan, inkmaker and founder of the Toronto Ink Company, takes audiences on a journey to understand the profound impact of ink across the ages, in a visually stimulating cinematic experience crafted by director Brian D. Johnson and cinematographer Nicholas de Pencier. This film will move you, inspire you, and make you have a deeper appreciation for colour.
Jason Logan tests ink made from drywall dust | Still from ‘The Colour of Ink’ | Photo: Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada and Sphinx Productions, 2022A visually heart-warming experience
The Colour of Ink is a finely crafted film that places the viewers directly into a vivid world of creation and awe. Each scene will stimulate your senses, bringing you up-close to the magic as it unfolds. Pencier’s cinematography unleashes your inner child, as you visually see the mixing of elements to create mind-boggling results. Using imagery to touch your emotions makes this a very engaging film.
One of my favourite elements of the film were the transitions between various micro-stories. Using suspension of liquid as colour flowed and mixed actually connected the dots to the story that was coming up. It provided a breather from the storyline, while pushing you into a world of wonder and amazement.
I think editor Robert Kennedy does a phenomenal job in the way the film is spliced together. Pencier’s cinematography is sublime, and the incredibly zoomed-in shots allow one to capture every micro detail being presented. The way Kennedy splices together so many different scenes and angles to provide an almost holistic and immersive experience elevates our understanding of the process of inkmaking. I feel the entire creative team have captured Johnson’s vision in a way that can only be understood by watching the film.
I will also say that this film was designed to be watched in theatres. The score, the beautiful imagery, the lovely narration. It is the perfect theatre experience.
Jason Logan conducts an ink test. | Still from ‘The Colour of Ink’ | Photo: Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada and Sphinx Productions, 2022Jason Logan, the perfect subject
Logan is at the heart of this film the vessel through which we the audience immerse ourselves into the world of ink. His passion as an inkmaker translates to the big screen, and more importantly, gives audiences an opportunity to see the greater world through his enlightening banter.
Logan is such a full-of-life character. The passion he has for the art of inkmaking, and the profound drive to explore nature’s own gifts, is something that is inspiring. His curiosity of the world, and simple approach to creative design, make him a born storyteller. Whether he is talking or playing around with ink, you feel you are going to understand something new from him. If you watch our interview, you will see his inkmaking drive and that want to share.
Johnson doesn’t dwell on history like some teacher who has forgotten their notes for the day. Everything is weaved into Logan’s narrative, bringing together multiple salient points that create an abundance of knowledge and information for us to cherry pick and absorb. I particularly loved how Logan’s nerdy side wasn’t censored but very much captured. Sometimes you felt like he was a science student about to mix up some cool stuff, to make more cool stuff. That was exciting.
Japanese artist Koji Kakinuma’s prepares his performance of large-scale calligraphy | Still from ‘The Colour of Ink’ | Photo: Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada and Sphinx Productions, 2022Bringing people together, loving mother nature
Ink is such a niche subject that many of us simply don’t know anything about its history or impact on the world. With so many guests from all walks of life and careers showcased throughout this film, you quickly learn how global and common ink is between cultures, people, and geographic regions. You immediately understand its historical significance, the role it has played in passing down knowledge from one era to another, and how vital inks and related mediums are to both people and economies across the planet.
The commonality of ink across the world is an eye opener, and really helps the audience to utilize ink to understand the storyteller on the other end. The ink brought people together, and that was powerful to watch as it unfolded on screen.
I also loved that this film was very much a love-letter to mother nature. The film isn’t trying to partake in activism, but indirectly it speaks to the importance of mother nature and its role in improving our own lives. Logan’s quest to make natural inks actually fundamentally shows the abundance of ink in our ecosystem, something we have almost educated ourselves out of using.
The scene that will remain with me is one to do with a fossilized creature that provides the ingredients to creating something profound and magical. I won’t say what it is, because that is for you to discover when you watch the film. But it highlights the importance of mother nature, and how it has given us and our many civilizations the oldest gift for expressing ourselves.
Cartoonist Liana Finck at her home in Brooklyn. | Still from ‘The Colour of Ink’ | Photo: Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada and Sphinx Productions, 2022The Colour of Ink is profound in so many ways. It was a celebration of art, an education in colour, a profound dialogue across cultures and a love for individuality. There are so many different things in this film, that you cannot leave the cinema empty handed.
I didn’t just love seeing this film, I am grateful for it. I garnered new knowledge and a new appreciation of an art form I have always admired from a distance but never truly understood. This is a film you could see over and over again, and you’d probably not take away everything this film has to offer.
If you get a chance to watch this film at TIFF, do it, otherwise stay tuned to see where this film will get released. I hope it gets a cinematic release very soon.
The Colour of Ink plays as part of TIFF’s Docs programme at the 47th Toronto International Film Festival. Visit TIFF’s website HERE for all the details on screenings.
Cover: Jason Logan in his home studio. | Still from ‘The Colour of Ink’ | Photo: Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada and Sphinx Productions, 2022
Roxx with client Justin Bullock at her studio in the Santa Monica Mountains. | Still from ‘The Colour of Ink’ | Photo: Courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada and Sphinx Productions, 2022
