THIS MAGAZINE: BECAUSE EVERTHING IS POLITICAL

Search for:

• FEATURES
• THIS & THAT
• ARTS & IDEAS
• FICTION & POETRY
• LETTERS
• BLOG THIS
•  
• SUBSCRIBE
• BACK ISSUES
• SUPPORT THIS
•  
• ABOUT THIS
• CONTRIBUTORS
• CONTACT THIS
• ADVERTISE
• SITE MAP

Home » Blog This

May 28, 2009

Film Club Contest!

Posted by annette at 11:19 AM ET | Comments (1)

Who wants to go see The Baby Formula? The new Canadian comedy debuts June 19 at Toronto's AMC Dundas Square. Email me at filmclub@thismagazine.ca before midnight tomorrow (May 29) for a chance to win a pair of tickets valid opening week.

The Baby Formula is a comedy about a lesbian couple who try to conceive a child using sperm created from their own stem cells.

More entries on: Film

Film Club Contest!

Posted by annette at 11:19 AM ET | Comments (0)

Who wants to go see The Baby Formula? The new Canadian comedy debuts June 19 at Toronto's AMC Dundas Square. Email me at filmclub@thismagazine.ca before midnight tomorrow (May 29) for a chance to win a pair of tickets valid opening week.

The Baby Formula is a comedy about a lesbian couple who try to conceive a child using sperm created from their own stem cells.

More entries on: Film

May 01, 2009

Hot Docs launches with docs in crisis

Posted by Elaisha Stokes at 10:27 AM ET | Comments (0)

Last night marked the opening of the 16th annual Hot Docs International Documentary Film Festival, the largest documentary film festival in North America, and an important industry event for independent film makers world wide. As an independent Toronto based producer, I've been involved with Hot Docs for the last four years. This year I'll be covering the event for This Magazine, bringing you news and reviews from the front lines of the festival.

This years festival is the largest in the history of Hot Docs. It's also arguably the most important. The global economic down turn, combined with the restructuring of Canadian government funding for film and television has created unprecedented challenges for documentary filmmakers. Recently, the Conservative government elected to abolish both the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) and the Canadian New Media Fund (CNMF). While these funds have been replaced by the Canadian Media Fund (CMF), the CMF is controlled by the cable industry, with no commitment to educational or documentary programming. Moreover, private broadcasters will have access to the CMF to produce their in-house productions. The result? Less financing for independent Canadian producers, more of tax payers money in the hands of private broadcasters and cable companies, and less quality Canadian content on our airwaves.

Independent Canadian documentary production is a $170 million dollar industry in Canada. It represents some of the best in educational Canadian content. While Hot Docs is a time of celebration for an industry with international recognition, it's also a time to pause and reflect on what kind of content we as Canadians want to see on our airwaves. Like it or not, television matters. And in my mind, television without Canadian content in no television worth having at all.

More entries on: Film | Hot Docs festival

April 29, 2009

Film Club Contest!

Posted by annette at 03:51 PM ET | Comments (0)

We're giving away a signed copy of Guy Maddin's new book, My Winnipeg, to the ninth person who emails filmclub@thismagazine.ca telling us what their favourite Guy Maddin film is.

Thanks to Coach House Books for helping us out with this contest!

For more information about My Winnipeg, go to www.chbooks.com. The Toronto launch of the book is happening at 7:30pm on May 12th at Revival, 783 College St. It's $5 at the door, or free if you buy a copy of the book.

More entries on: Film

February 18, 2009

Guest Blogger: 'Slumdog Millionaire' is the feel-bad movie of the year

Posted by Graham F. Scott at 12:13 PM ET | Comments (4)

[Editor's note: From time to time we feature guest bloggers on a variety of topics. To enquire about contributing, email editor at this magazine dot ca.]

BY MITU SENGUPTA

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire is one of the most celebrated films in recent times. The cinematically spectacular film tells the rags-to-rajah story of a young, love-struck Indian boy, Jamal, who, with a little help from "destiny," succeeds in overcoming his wretched beginnings in Mumbai's squalid slums. Riding on a wave of rave reviews, Slumdog is now poised to win Hollywood's highest honour, the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Nabbing this honour, if it indeed does so during Sunday's Oscar ceremony, would probably add some US$100 million to Slumdog's box-office takings, as Oscar wins usually do. It will also further enhance the film's already-robust reputation as an authentic representation of the lives of India's urban poor. So far, most of the awards collected by the film have been accepted in the name of "the children," suggesting that its own cast and crew regard it (and are promoting it) not as an entertaining work of fiction, but as a powerful piece of advocacy. Nothing could be more worrying, since Slumdog Millionaire, despite all the hype to the contrary, delivers a deeply disempowering narrative about the poor, which undermines, if not totally negates, its apparent message of social justice.

Many Indians are angered by Slumdog because it tarnishes their perception of their country as a rising economic power and the Third World's beacon of democracy. India's English-language papers, read by its middle classes, have carried bristling reviews of the film that convey an acute sense of wounded national pride. While understandable, these are not defensible. Though at times embarrassingly contrived, most of the film's heartrending scenarios are inspired by a sad, but well-documented reality. Corruption is, indeed, rampant among the police, and many will gladly use torture — though none is probably dim enough to target an articulate, English-speaking man who is a rising media phenomenon. Beggar-makers do round-up abandoned children and mutilate them in order to make them more sympathetic, though it is highly improbable that any such child will ever chance upon a $100 bill, much less be capable of identifying it by touch and scent alone. Indeed, if anything, Boyle's magical tale, with its unconvincing one-dimensional characters, greatly understates the depth of suffering among India's poor. It is near-impossible, for example, that Jamal would emerge from his ravaged life with a dewy complexion and an upper-class accent. Nonetheless, the real problem with Slumdog is not its shallow, impressionistic portrayal of poverty.

The film's real problem is that it grossly minimizes the capabilities, resourcefulness and even the basic humanity of India's slum-dwellers. It is no secret that large chunks of Slumdog are meant to reflect life in Dharavi, the 213-hectare spread of slums at the heart of Mumbai. The film's depiction of the legendary Dharavi, which is home to some one million people, is that of a feral wasteland, with little evidence of order, community or compassion. Other than the children, the "slumdogs," no-one is even remotely well-intentioned. Hustlers, thieves, and petty warlords run amok, and even Jamal's schoolteacher, a thin, bespectacled man who introduces him to The Three Musketeers, is inexplicably callous. This is a place of evil and decay; of a raw, chaotic tribalism.

Yet nothing could be further from the truth. Dharavi teems with dynamism and creativity, and is a hub of entrepreneurial activity, covering industries such as garment manufacturing, embroidery, pottery, and leather, plastics and food processing. It is estimated that the annual turnover from Dharavi's small businesses is between US$50 and $100 million. Dharavi's lanes are lined with cell-phone retailers and cybercafés, and according to surveys by Microsoft Research India, the slum's residents exhibit a remarkably high absorption of new technologies. Governing structures and productive social relations also flourish. The slum's residents have nurtured strong collaborative networks, often across potentially volatile lines of caste and religion. Many cooperative societies work together with grassroots associations to provide residents with essential services such as basic healthcare, schooling and waste disposal, and to tackle thorny issues such as child abuse and violence against women. In fact, they often compensate for the formal government's woeful inadequacy in meeting the needs of the poor. Although it is true that these severely under-resourced self-help organizations have touched only the tip of the proverbial iceberg, it is important to acknowledge their efforts, along with the simple fact that these communities, despite their grinding poverty, have rich, valuable lives, a wealth of internal resources, and a strong tradition of resistance.

Indeed, the failure to recognize this fact has already led to a great deal of damage. Government bureaucrats have concocted many ham-handed, top-down plans for "developing" the slums based on the dangerous assumption that these are worthless spaces. The most recent is the "Dharavi Redevelopment Project" (DRP), which proposes to convert the slums into blocks of residential and commercial high rises. The DRP requires private developers to provide small flats (of about 250 sq. ft. each) to families that can prove they settled in Dharavi before the year 2000. In return for re-housing residents, the developers obtain construction rights in Dharavi. The DRP is being fiercely resisted by slum residents' organizations and human rights activists, who see it an undemocratic and environmentally harmful land-grab scheme (real-estate prices in Mumbai are comparable to Manhattan's).

Though perhaps better than razing the slums with bulldozers — which is not, incidentally, an unpopular notion among the city's rich — the DRP is far from a people-friendly plan. It will potentially evict some 500,000 residents who cannot legally prove that they settled in Dharavi prior to 2000, and may destroy thousands of livelihoods by rendering unviable countless household-centred businesses. If forced to move into congested high-rises, for example, the slum's potters and biscuit-makers, large numbers of who are women, will lose the space they need to dry their wares. For the government, however, the DRP will "rehabilitate" Dharavi by erasing the eyesore and integrating its "problem-population" into modern, middle-class Mumbai.

It is ironic that Slumdog, for all its righteousness of tone, shares with many Indian political and social elites a profoundly dehumanizing view of those who live and work within the country's slums. The troubling policy implications of this perspective are unmistakeably mirrored by the film. Since there are no internal resources, and none capable of constructive voice or action, all "solutions" must arrive externally. After a harrowing life in an anarchic wilderness, salvation finally comes to Jamal, a Christ-like figure, in the form of an imported quiz-show, which he succeeds in thanks to sheer, dumb luck, or rather, "destiny." Is it also "destiny," then, that the other children depicted in the film must continue to suffer? Or must they, like the stone-faced Jamal, stoically await their own rescue by a foreign hand? Indeed, while this self-billed "feel good movie of the year" may help us "feel good" that we are among the lucky ones on earth, it delivers a patronizing and ultimately sham statement on social justice for those who are not.

Mitu Sengupta is Assistant Professor in the Department of Politics and Public Administration at Ryerson University. She has also worked as a consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and as an editorial writer in New Delhi, India.

More entries on: Film

October 30, 2008

In conversation with Norman Lofts

Posted by Sarah Gopaul at 08:30 PM ET | Comments (1)

The ninth edition of the Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival wrapped this Sunday, having screened over 100 of the world's best films on a wide range of environmental themes and subjects by Canadian and international filmmakers. Awards were handed out prior to the final screening and Norman Lofts was presented with the Canadian Long Form Award for his documentary Michael Schmidt: Organic Hero or Bioterrorist. The film features the Ontario farmer and raw milk activist who is currently making headlines with his legal battle for the right to sell raw milk and the consumer's right to choose. I had a chance to speak with Lofts a few days later.

First point of business was to congratulate him. "Thank you, thank you," Lofts replied humbly. "It was totally unexpected. I was just sitting there. I didn't realize it was going to happen."

One question that had to be asked was did Lofts have a personal interest in Schmidt's story prior to shooting; i.e. is he a raw milk consumer? "No, I'm not a raw milk consumer. I'm not even a milk consumer. I think I'm the best person to make the film because I don't drink milk." Lofts was actually made aware of the issue the way most other Canadians were - he saw the newspaper article detailing the raid on Schmidt's farm by 25-armed police officers. His shock convinced him to follow the story's developments. "I thought I'm just going to start to follow this story with my camera and see how it unfolds, see if there's a real story here. I started to do that... and I could see that [Michael] was a really interesting, charismatic character and that's what you need to make a story work. So I finally approached him and had that first interview about three weeks after the raid."

That was two years ago. "It's going to be an ongoing story for many years before I think Michael can get anywhere near the goal he is trying to reach. And we'll see what happens to him before that: will he end up in jail; will they shutdown his farm? But I really wanted to get out an initial film and documentary about Michael.

"There is a broader story here. In 45 minutes, you can't get into everything. But it is important that people start to think about the source of their food."

An equally important question addressed an element obviously missing from the documentary. Why did Lofts interview several people from the scientific and medical community who were firmly against the consumption of unpasteurized milk but no one from the same community is shown speaking in favour of it? "Well, that's because it's very difficult to find somebody from the medical and government health unit who will talk about raw milk." Lofts explained that even Schmidt's lawyers failed to find anyone, from the U.S. or Canada, willing to testify at his trial in January. The problem is compounded by the lack of financial support for research into the benefits of raw milk.

Lofts is seeking funding to release a sequel to Organic Hero or Bioterrorist, which would encompass Schmidt's trial as well as expand the focus to other issues, such as the summer passing of a law in Quebec that rescinds the 60-day aging period for raw milk cheeses from artisanal producers. "It won't be just another story about the continuing saga of Michael Schmidt."

Lofts is also looking at building on his interest in food documentaries with a more general look at the problems with "sustainable organic nutritious healthy food" or as Michael Pollan says, "real food." With all the recalls and label deception, Lofts poses the question: "Why haven't Canadian consumers turned their backs on industrial food more and embraced real food?"

If you missed Michael Schmidt: Organic Hero or Bioterrorist at Planet in Focus or on CBC Newsworld Tuesday night, "The Lens" will be re-airing it in January, closer to Schmidt's trial date.

More entries on: Film

October 26, 2008

Review: Blue Gold: World Water Wars

Posted by Sarah Gopaul at 03:03 PM ET | Comments (1)

Sam Bozzo's documentary is based on the book "Blue Gold: The Fight to Stop the Corporate Theft of the World's Water" by Maude Barlow and Tony Clarke. Both address the very prevalent and serious issue of global water privatization and deterioration.

The film confronts a lot of concerns that most people may not even be aware of; or, conversely, you may be aware of one problem but unaware it is connected to the world water crisis. For example, developing countries are in debt; to make money to repay their debts, these countries focus their resources on cash crops, draining the water supply that should be feeding the citizens; they then sell their goods well below market value, which does little to improve their situations.

Bozzo introduces several complex ideas and issues throughout the film, while narrator Malcolm McDowell ties the segments together and gives the big picture explanation. Although this is a very informative approach, failing to fully explain certain terms or provide sufficient back-story can sometimes make it difficult to fully grasp the concepts being discussed. It's also curious that Australia is the only largely populated continent not mentioned in the debate.

Nonetheless, it is impossible to miss the gist of what is being said: governments around the world are selling out their populaces by allowing the privatization of their water supplies; corporations, globalization and urbanization continue to be the key offenders; most efforts to move water for current use is shortsighted and does not account for what will happen when this good that no one is renewing runs out; Canada is a water-rich country but the United States is already tapping our supply uncontested.

The concluding message is the simplest. The water wars have begun and lives have been lost. But it's not too late; we can still do something about it.

The Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival runs October 22 through October 26 in Toronto. Over 100 outstanding and compelling films and videos - documentaries and dramatic, animated, and experimental works of all lengths - created by Canadian and international filmmakers on key environmental themes will be screened at the Royal Cinema, Gardiner Museum, The Bata Shoe Museum, Innis College and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Panels, workshops, youth, student and children's programs are also offered. Visit www.planetinfocus.org for full details.

More entries on: Film

October 25, 2008

Review: Addicted to Plastic

Posted by Sarah Gopaul at 02:29 PM ET | Comments (1)

Plastic is everywhere. It sounds like hyperbole but take a look around you right now and you'll quickly realize how true that statement is. Then think of the items you've bought in the last month and all the plastic packaging you discarded. Now think about this: there is no way to organically breakdown plastic.

It's a scary thought but seeing it is horrifying. It is this imagery that haunts you after viewing the film: the ocean is a plastic soup; tons of garbage washes ashore hiding otherwise beautiful beaches daily; and every piece of plastic ever thrown away has survived in some form somewhere (except for the small percentage that has been incinerated).

Ian Connacher's documentary is thought provoking and eye opening. He explores the history of plastic and how it came to dominate our lives. He exposes our society as one with a throwaway culture. He gives witness to warnings that have been whispered in our ears for years. He speaks to men and women who are investigating the effects of plastic on the environment and our health. And each segment is more revealing and provocative than the one before it.

But Connacher also gives viewers solutions and hope that we will not drown in a sea of plastic. While traveling the world, he showcases entrepreneurs who are re-purposing plastic to sell in the marketplace. They make railway ties, purses, fabric, clothes and other products that sell internationally. Others are manufacturing bio-plastic from corn and other naturally occurring elements as a biodegradable alternative. And more simply, there are groups dedicated to physically cleaning up the beaches and the oceans.

Connacher tackles a lot of scientific and complex concepts but to his credit, he always ensures comprehension by repeating it in layman's terms. Ultimately, he strikes an ideal balance between threat and hope.

The Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival runs October 22 through October 26 in Toronto. Over 100 outstanding and compelling films and videos - documentaries and dramatic, animated, and experimental works of all lengths - created by Canadian and international filmmakers on key environmental themes will be screened at the Royal Cinema, Gardiner Museum, The Bata Shoe Museum, Innis College and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Panels, workshops, youth, student and children's programs are also offered. Visit www.planetinfocus.org for full details.

More entries on: Film

October 24, 2008

Review: Michael Schmidt: Organic Hero or Bioterrorist

Posted by Sarah Gopaul at 02:48 PM ET | Comments (1)

[Editor's Note: Sarah Gopaul will be reviewing a selection of films from the Planet in Focus film festival over the next few days. She is a regular contributor to popjournalism.ca]

This documentary addresses a very sensitive subject in Canada — should unpasteurized raw milk be regulated and made available to consumers?

Both arguments are very strong. Those in favor of raw milk claim the government is making a personal choice for them by making it illegal to obtain. They also insist it has health benefits. Those against maintain the health risks, especially to children and the elderly, are too great to allow people to be given the choice at all. However, Canada is the only G8 country that enforces an overall ban on the product. Most countries have a doctrine of random inspection and testing. In California, it is even available on supermarket shelves.

Although the focus of the film is Schmidt, documenter Norman Lofts makes some attempt to ensure balance through several opposition interviews with politicians, scientists and victims of illness. On the other side of the fence, Loft interviewed Schmidt's cow share members who claim improvements to their health and farmers in the United States and England who are permitted to legally provide raw milk. He also makes the argument that it may be a matter of "small business versus big business." But in the end, a key segment missing is someone from the scientific or medical community supporting their cause.

In documenting Schmidt's fight for his livelihood, filmmakers capture the many facets of his personality as well. He is not only a farmer but also a leader, a politician and, surprisingly, a conductor for an orchestra.

It is difficult to disagree with either argument but the recent Maple Leaf Foods recall is proof listeria is a risk even with regulation but no one is about to ban lunchmeat.

The Planet in Focus International Environmental Film & Video Festival runs October 22 through October 26 in Toronto. Over 100 outstanding and compelling films and videos - documentaries and dramatic, animated, and experimental works of all lengths - created by Canadian and international filmmakers on key environmental themes will be screened at the Royal Cinema, Gardiner Museum, The Bata Shoe Museum, Innis College and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM). Panels, workshops, youth, student and children's programs are also offered. Visit www.planetinfocus.org for full details.

More entries on: Film

September 05, 2008

Tangled up in the food chain at TIFF

Posted by Graham F. Scott at 06:47 AM ET | Comments (0)

Film still from Food, Inc., premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival

The Toronto International Film Festival revs up today, the annual ten-day celluloid extravaganza/endurance test. Much of the press coverage will be fast-breaking nonsense about Hollywood celebu-bots and in-depth analysis of their restaurant choices. But there are actually some movies about the real world to be had. We'll point out a few of them on the blog as the festival progresses.

The craziness of the modern food industry is something we've talked about before, such as this Q & A with Alberta writer Andrew Nikiforuk, where he argues that disease is simply an inevitable outcome of our inreasingly globalized food system.

Food, Inc., directed by documentarian Robert Kenner and featuring commentary by Michael Pollan and Eric Schlosser, examines how modern food production is playing havoc with us and the environment. The documentary is produced by Participant Media, the politically progressive studio that made An Inconvenient Truth, Charlie Wilson's War, and Murderball.

Food is on everyone's radar right now, which is why it's timely that our September-October issue, on newsstands very soon, includes a feature on the failure of a sustainable bison farm in Saskatchewan, and the string of policy failures that helped kill it. Writer Margaret Webb recently published her book Apples to Oysters: A Food Lover's Tour of Canadian Farms. Check back here soon when the feature is available online, or — here comes the hard sell — pick up a copy of the new issue on your local newsstand.

More entries on: Film

May 31, 2008

Burma benefit, short shorts and a fest on the Rock

Posted by annette at 09:22 PM ET | Comments (0)

Yes, it really is June already. So go ahead, check out the June Film Club Newsletter.

If you're in the Toronto area, mark this coming Wednesday on your calendar: there's going to be a special benefit screening of Mystic Ball to support Burmese cyclone victims at 7pm at The Bloor Cinema. It's just $10, and director Greg Hamilton will be in attendance.

Other June film highlights include the Worldwide Short Film Festival (also in Toronto), a special screening of Regeneration (a project commissioned by the Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre to mark its 40th anniversary) in Calgary, and the Nickel Independent Film Festival in St. John's.

More entries on: Film

March 12, 2008

Torture and hypocrisy

Posted by derek at 03:00 PM ET | Comments (1)

On December 5, 2002, Dilawar, a young Afghan taxi driver, was arrested, handed over to US troops and taken to Bagram Air Force Base for interrogation. 5 days later he was dead. In his five days in that dungeon, he was hooded, chained to the ceiling of his cell, and beaten repeatedly. His legs were so badly injured that they were described as "pulpified" - like they had been crushed by a truck. Dilawar's story is an example of what can happen to people in places like Afghanistan who are simply judged to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

What happened to Dilawar is unique only in the sense that we know about it - the story of his torture and murder was made into a film, Taxi to the Dark Side, which recently won the Academy Award for best feature documentary. But as numerous horror stories from Bagram, Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo show, these crimes have become routine.

I was inspired to post this today because of the US State department's release of a worldwide report on human rights, in which they criticize other countries over violations like violence, humiliating treatment, and yes, torture. It is galling hypocrisy, hypocrisy without limit.

PHOTO THINKFILM

More entries on: Film | From the intern desk | Global politics | Human rights

February 06, 2008

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten

Posted by derek at 01:35 PM ET | Comments (0)

Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, a recently-released film about the Clash front man who died in 2002, opens with a young and fierce looking Strummer in the recording studio. Headphones on, he starts spitting out the lyrics to White Riot: "An' everybody's doing / just what they're told to / an' nobody wants / to go to jail! / white riot - I wanna riot! / white riot - a riot of our own!" After a few verses acapella, the soundtrack slams in. The effect is jarring and exhilarating, kind of like hearing the Clash for the very first time.

At the Edinburgh Fringe Festival two summers ago, I saw a play called Being Joe Strummer. The play tells the story of two friends growing up together, being politicized by anti-fascist struggles, the rise of Thatcherism, and most of all, by The Clash. As they get older, they, like all of us, face many different pulls - towards a "secure" life, "realistic" politics and the like. But Joe Strummer's music is always there, acting as a powerful "bullshit detector" - buzzing them warnings about the lies they tell themselves to make their lives a little easier.

It's this kind of influence that makes The Future is Unwritten a gotta-see for all of Joe's fans. As the film shows, Strummer knew that to change the world, you had to live in it and engage with it, even if this meant a loss of some mythical "purity." Of course this engagement is fraught with dangers and pitfalls - As the man himself used to warn us, "he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

Recounting how the Clash eventually collapsed, sending Strummer into a self-described "wilderness period" before his redemptive return near the end of his life with the Mescalaros, The Future is Unwritten is a loving tribute to a man for whom art had to mean something, in this world, despite the messiness involved.

PHOTO: WWW.JOESTRUMMERTHEMOVIE.COM

More entries on: Cultural industries | Film | From the intern desk

January 23, 2008

Persepolis

Posted by derek at 03:30 PM ET | Comments (0)

Oscar nominations are out! In keeping with the spirit of the event, I would like to personally thank the Academy for its inclusion of the powerful and timely Persepolis, which has been nominated in the Best Animated Feature category.

The hand-drawn cartoon, directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, is adapted from Satrapi's graphic novel of the same name. Autobiographical in nature, the film tells the story of Marjane, growing up as a little girl in Iran just as a revolution against the hated Shah regime is beginning to sweep the country. Through the story of her exile and return, we learn about how today's Iran came to be - a history full of dashed hopes and personal and grand tragedies.

Persepolis is the perfect antidote for the current political climate that depicts people from the Middle East as mindless fanatics. The film is deeply humanizing, recounting how a people's hopes for joy and love and respect and fun came to be smothered, but not extinguished, by theocratic rule.

PHOTO DIAPHANA FILMS

More entries on: Cultural industries | Film | From the intern desk | Religion

December 09, 2007

Racial tension in Halifax, fantasy worlds and a chance to win a new book

Posted by annette at 12:13 PM ET | Comments (0)

This Magazine's December Film Club Newsletter is now up here.

This month's edition includes a chance to win a copy of the new book "Reel Asian: Asian Canada on Screen." It's a collection (with lots of pictures) examining East and Southeast Asian Canadian contributions to independent film and video.

December film highlights include two highly anticipated releases from directors Clement Virgo and Denys Arcand.

Virgo's new film, Poor Boy's Game, is about a white boxer in Halifax who brutally beats a black man. After being released from a stint in jail for the crime, the black community is still angry and challenges him to fight a prominent black boxer in search of vengeance. The white boxer is trained by his victim's father, played by Danny Glover.

Meanwhile, Arcand's L'Age des tenebres opens in Quebec this month. It's the last installment in the loose trilogy that began with Le Declin de l'empire americain and Les Invasions barbares. It follows a man who escapes his mundane reality by getting lost in his fantasy world.

More entries on: Film

September 28, 2007

Dallaire's desperate dispatch

Posted by annette at 04:23 PM ET | Comments (0)

This Magazine's October Film Club Newsletter is now up here.

The much-anticipated Shake Hands with the Devil opens today. It recounts Romeo Dallaire's fruitless struggle to secure more UN troops to help stop the Rwandan genocide.

On a much lighter note, the 8th annual Darryl's Hard Liquor & Porn Film Festival hits Toronto's Bloor Cinema on Saturday, October 13. The fully licensed event features porn-themed shorts under four minutes.

More entries on: Film

August 03, 2007

Do the Robot

Posted by annette at 09:58 AM ET | Comments (0)

This Magazine's August Film Club Newsletter is now up here.

Highlights include a special Toronto run of Run Robot Run!, a new comedy set in the future about an office drone who declares war on a handsome robot that stole his job, and the theatrical release of A Stone's Throw, a drama set in Nova Scotia that debuted at last year's Toronto International Film Festival.

Speaking of which, TIFF is just around the corner. This year's Canada First lineup includes Canadian films like Young People F*cking, Amal, This Beautiful City and Walk All Over Me.

More entries on: Film

July 03, 2007

Polley's heartbreak goes on; Toronto sucks in Montreal

Posted by annette at 10:36 AM ET | Comments (0)

July's Film Club newsletter is now up here.

While July is a bit of a slow month for new Canadian releases, Away from Her is still going strong. It's Sarah Polley's directorial debut about a woman suffering from Alheimer's disease who forgets her husband, the love of her life. Bring the tissues.

If you're in the Montreal area around July 12 - 22, you can catch some of Comedia, Just for Laughs' comedy film festival. This year's highlights include a showcase, the Best of Comedia, hosted by Marlon Wayans, and special screenings of Mr. Bean's Holiday and Canada's own Let's All Hate Toronto.

You can check out a blog by the latter's protagonist, Mr. Toronto (above), here.

More entries on: Film

April 29, 2007

Sarah Polley, paranoia and festivals galore

Posted by annette at 06:04 PM ET | Comments (0)

This Magazine's May Film Club Newsletter is now up here.

May highlights include Sarah Polley's directorial debut with Away From Her, based on an Alice Munro short story and starring Gordon Pinsent and Julie Christie.

Civic Duty also opens next month. It's about a man who becomes paranoid about terrorism after watching too much -- gasp! -- cable news.

May will be a busy month for film festivals, including the Toronto Jewish Film Festival; Inside Out Toronto Lesbian & Gay Film and Video Festival; and the Yorkton Short Film Festival. The latter takes place in scenic Yorkton, Saskatchewan.

More entries on: Film

March 31, 2007

Pet zombies and suburban sprawl

Posted by annette at 03:43 PM ET | Comments (0)

This Magazine's April Film Club Newsletter is now up here.

Try to check out Fido while you still can. The fun zombie flick was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival. A lot of money has been poured into promoting it -- let's help it break even!

Radiant City (see above photo) opens across Canada in early April. Billed as "an entertaining and startling new film on 21st century suburbanites," the doc has already received a lot of positive reviews.

More entries on: Film

February 28, 2007

Mmm, Canadian Cinema....

Posted by annette at 10:03 AM ET | Comments (7)

This Mag's March Film Club newsletter is now out. You can check it out here. And, as always, if you'd like to receive the monthly email newsletter, email me at filmclub[at]thismagazine.ca, with "subscribe" in the subject line.

March highlights include the release of Fido, a horror/comedy about a boy and his pet zombie, and Congorama, a Genie-winning French comedy about a Belgian inventor who goes to Quebec in search of his biological family.

More entries on: Film

November 27, 2006

Film Club: Back with a vengeance

Posted by annette at 10:13 PM ET | Comments (0)

After a bit of a break, This Magazine's Film Club is back -- now as a monthly dose instead of weekly. Check out our December 2006 newsletter, now posted here. And, of course, you can sign up to receive the Film Club Newsletter by emailing filmclub[at]thismagazine.ca.

Highlights include December events like the Whistler Film Festival, RESFEST Toronto, and a special Montreal Massacre anniversary screening of Deepa Mehta's film Let's Talk About It. Also, info on upcoming Canadian films set to hit theatres soon, including Monkey Warfare starring Don McKellar.

Please feel free to tip me off about upcoming Canadian film releases/ festivals/ screenings by emailing me at filmclub[at]thismagazine.ca.

More entries on: Film

November 03, 2006

Ahem...

Posted by mason at 12:53 AM ET | Comments (3)

Sorry, Sarah Polley, I have a new girlcrush.

More entries on: Film

October 19, 2006

Streets to screens

Posted by mason at 10:34 AM ET | Comments (0)

Time to give you Film Clubbers a fix while we get the club back up and running (expect a return in November, by the way). If you're in or around the Toronto area, the Toronto Public Space Committee's Streets to Screens project has two Canadian premieres this Thursday for their Transit Tales night. The first is Contested Streets: Breaking New York City Gridlock, an effort to explore how best to reclaim New York's public space from the tyrrany of the car. The film looks to London, Paris and elsewhere for ideas, and surely has some lessons for sprawling, auto-centric Canadian cities. The second film is a short called A Conversation with Enrique Penalosa, in which the former mayor of Bogota, Columbia, is asked about his commitment to making his city more bicycle-friendly. Following the screening will be a panel discussion on issues around gridlock.

Screenings will take place at Toronto's Bloor Cinema at 7 p.m.

More entries on: Film

---

 Subscribe to the feed

---

Blog This Must-Reads

---

---

---

Blog This Archives

May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004
September 2004
August 2004
July 2004
June 2004
March 2000

---