SMITHS FALLS, ON, Aug. 17, 2016 /CNW/ - Tweed Inc. ("Tweed" or "the Company"), wholly owned subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation (TSX: CGC) and Canada's largest marijuana producer today launched an Artist in Residence program in an effort to bring its voice and the dialogue about cannabis into Canada's artistic communities. The Company is proud to announce that Ezra Soiferman, the Montreal-based documentary filmmaker and photographer, will be the first to fill the new role, believed to be the first of its kind in the world.
Cannabis and art have always fit together, but never quite like this.
"As an emerging brand in an emerging industry, we want to be able to tell our story in creative ways to make memorable and unique first impressions," said Martin Strazovec, Tweed's Chief Creative Officer. "Ezra is a gifted storyteller who will help us expand our reach through his art."
Some of the photography-based projects from the year-long residency will be based on cannabis related subjects and themes such as marijuana and hemp, while others will be photo series and photo-based music videos that speak to the Canadian cities and towns where the Company operates.
Ezra comes to this residency with a long list of cannabis-related credentials to complement his twenty-year career in film and television since graduating from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts in 1994. His cannabis background includes co-directing the award-winning 1993 medical marijuana film Pressure Drop and creating Hemp for the Homeless in 2006, a project which donated functional hemp food and clothing kits to Montrealhomeless shelters. Ezra was introduced to the Tweed team when he filmed a scene from his 2015 CBC Documentary Channel movie "Grass Fed". The documentary explored cannabis edibles through the eyes of comedian, sciatica patient and Tweed customer Mike Paterson.
Together, Tweed and Soiferman hope to "bring art to cannabis and cannabis to art." Taking a broad view of the burgeoning cannabis landscape, there is a unique opportunity to engage with a number of communities through the arts. With legalization comes an evolving understanding of cannabis and how it will be woven into society, and Tweed's Artist in Residence program will become an outlet for artistic expression that aligns with Tweed's values as a proudly Canadian company.
"I have always strived to produce work that educates, entertains and even enlightens. Doings so with a forward-thinking company like Tweed will be a highlight in my career and help to bring my stories and images to an increasingly diverse audience," said Soiferman.
Soiferman's first Artist in Residence project is "The Walls of Montreal" a photo-based music video that will make its premiere at the N.D.G. Off The Wall Film Festival in Montrealon Friday, August 26th. Subsequent photo projects will be announced throughout the year at Tweed.com and Soiferman's EzraSoiferman.com.
Here's to Future Growth.
About Tweed Inc.
Tweed Inc. is a Canadian company licensed under the Marihuana for Medical Purposes Regulations to produce and sell marijuana to authorized customers. Tweed strives to supply a wide selection of marijuana, as diverse as the patients who trust the company with their patronage. For more information visit www.tweed.com.
About Ezra Soiferman
Montreal-based filmmaker and photographer Ezra Soiferman shoots and directs documentaries and photo series about people, places and things that warm hearts, uplift spirits, and frequently provoke thought and laughter. His works (including "Grass Fed", "Dockside to Bedside: 100 Years of Herzl", "Man of Grease" and "Tree Weeks") have screened or won awards at over 35 film festivals worldwide since 1994, when he graduated from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Soiferman has produced film festivals, served on festival juries and is the co-founder and director of the Montreal Film Group, a networking group for over 2500 Montreal film and TV industry members, founded in 2004. His latest film is the Muse Entertainment documentary "Grass Fed" which premiered in late 2015 on the CBC's Documentary Channel and can be seen on iTunes. Soiferman's latest photo project is the acclaimed "Last Game at The Forum" which featured a coffee table book, gallery exhibit and music video about the final Canadiens hockey match played at the Montreal Forum prior to its closing in 1996. Ezra shares his films, photos and writings at www.EzraSoiferman.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Canopy Growth Corporation, Tweed Inc., Tweed Farms Inc. or Bedrocan Canada Inc. to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and Canopy Growth does not undertake an obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, subsequent events or otherwise unless required by applicable securities legislation.
Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Canopy Growth Corporation
Image with caption: "Tweed's First Artist in Residence, Ezra Soiferman, hard at work in a flowering room in Smiths Falls, ON. (CNW Group/Canopy Growth Corporation)". Image available at: https://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160817_C4510_PHOTO_EN_753805.jpg
Video with caption: "Tweed's First Artist in Residence, Ezra Soiferman". Video available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QLoqlFfEjE&feature=youtu.be
Jordan Sinclair, Director of Communications, Jordan@tweed.com, 613-769-4196; Tyler Burns, Investor Relations, Tyler.burns@canopygrowth.com, 855-558-9333 ex 122; Director: Bruce Linton, Chairman & CEO, tmx@tweed.comCopyright CNW Group 2016