They're Canadian ... and sexy
Our homegrown filmmakers are thinking carnal thoughts at this year's film festival
Wednesday August 3, 2005
By - Peter Howell - Movie Critic -The Toronto Star
Canadian filmmakers are set to make a strong statement at this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and many of them have sex on their minds.
Well-known Canadian directors are returning to the festival in greater numbers than last year, easing concerns that the domestic industry had fallen into a lull.
A decision by the festival to eliminate its long-standing Perspective Canada program may have contributed to the feeling.
Yesterday's unveiling of the Canadian slate at the fest proved such fears groundless.
New works by Allan King, Sturla Gunnarson, Clement Virgo, Thom Fitzgerald and Bernard Émond bring some name recognition to the Canadian contingent, along with already announced new films by David Cronenberg (A History of Violence), Atom Egoyan (Where the Truth Lies) and Deepa Mehta (Water).
There will also be a retrospective of the films of NFB ace Don Owen, whose 1964 teen drama Nobody Waved Good-bye is a landmark of Canadian cinema.
Owen was on hand to receive a big hand, and he said he's excited to be at this year's festival. He's interested in all the films and he's also "looking forward to the groovy parties."
The veterans will be joined by an eager flock of newcomers, who sent submissions to a record high, with 220 features and 513 shorts being screened by red-eyed TIFF programmers.
The list was culled to 100 films confirmed to date for the festival, of which 26 are features (19 of them world premieres) and 44 are shorts.
Films from the west and Quebec were judged to be particularly strong this year.
And if there's one recurring theme amongst the incredible variety of offerings, it would have to be sex, said Steve Gravestock, TIFF's associate director of Canadian special projects.
"I can tell you that we saw many films concerning sexual awakenings, family relationships, loss of memory, creativity, romantic relationships ... and sexual awakenings," he told a press conference at the Metropolitan Hotel, which was jammed with filmmakers anxious to hear the TIFF slate.
One film in particular might convince Torontonians that they have a very sexy city, Gravestock said. It's Clement Virgo's Live With Me, which is based on the sexually explicit novel of the same name, written by Virgo's wife, Tamara Faith Berger.
"It's almost like the whole city is enveloped and obsessed with sexuality," Gravestock said of the film. "It's a very sensual world."
Another sexy offering is Amnon Buchbinder's Whole New Thing, starring newcomer Aaron Webber as a 13-year-old raised in the wilds of Nova Scotia by hippie parents who believe in casual nudity and free love.
The film is co-written by Daniel MacIvor, who also co-stars along with Rebecca Jenkins, Callum Keith Rennie and Robert Joy.
Family relations of a different kind are the preoccupation of Louise Archambault's Familia, which has been chosen to open the Canada First! program for emerging filmmakers. It features a Quebec mother and daughter, played by Sylvie Moreau and Mylène, who are struggling to understand themselves and each other.
A pleased Archambault told the press gathering Familia is about "a cycle of behaviours" involving children trying to change recalcitrant parents.
"How do you change behaviour that is non-desirable behaviour of your parents? Good luck!"
The quest for change is also the theme of veteran Toronto documentarian Allan King, whose new work Memory for Max, Claire, Idea and Company can be seen as a companion piece to his acclaimed 2003 festival offering Dying at Grace.
Dying at Grace was about people at the end of their lives, while Memory views elderly people who suffer from memory loss, which, for many, is a fate worse than death. King, who was at the press conference, said his film is a way of addressing his own fears about aging, but also about changing attitudes.
"I smelled a rat as soon as I got into the subject of Alzheimer's and dementia because everything I touched suggested very bad medicine and very bad analysis of the disorders. There's a terror around the whole subject, which is seriously disabling care for people who are aging and having memory problems," King said.
"I think the film will change attitudes to that, if people can get over their fear of losing their minds and what that means. The fact is, people don't lose their identity, they don't lose their feelings. In fact, they're heightened."
Health issues are also a concern for Halifax helmer Thom Fitzgerald, who made The Hanging Tree, one of the star offerings of the 1997 festival. He's back with Three Needles, an AIDS epidemic drama set in China, South Africa and Canada, and starring Lucy Liu, Chlöe Sevigny, Stockard Channing, Sandra Oh and Olympia Dukakis.
Another returning festival veteran is Toronto's Sturla Gunnarson (Rare Birds), whose Beowulf & Grendel delves into the legend of the epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf. It's based on ancient Scandinavian folklore and was a major influence on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The power of myth is also the guiding force behind Michael Mabbott's comedy The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico, a mockumentary about a charismatic but troublesome country rocker, played by real-life musician Matt Murphy, frontman and guitarist for Super Friendz, a now-defunct Halifax band. Guy Terrifico has a wealth of cameos from Ronnie Hawkins, Kris Kristofferson, Levon Helm and other music stars who play along with the gag.
The film debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, in March, and Murphy said it was a great experience to play a character not unlike fabled country-rocker Gram Parsons. But it's possible he did too good a job.
"I'm kind of concerned because there's a part in the movie where people chant, `Hump the drum!'" Murphy said.
"It happened already when we were in the Austin. We showed the film and when we went to play, I got up and sang five songs and people were already saying, `Hump the drum!'"
Guy Terrifico already has a Canadian distribution deal through Odeon Films, said director Mabbott, and he's hoping to land a stateside one at the festival, if not before.
Quebec's Bernard Émond energized the Toronto and Cannes festivals with his previous dramas La Femme qui boit and 20h17 rue Darling. He's back with his latest work, La Neuvaine, which is billed as "a masterful and moving exploration of personal faith."
Also announced yesterday was Postcards from TIFF, a series of vignettes from past festivals that have been collected to honour the fest on the occasion of its 30th birthday.
The video postcards will screen on Rogers TV and at the TIFF box office.
For more information on TIFF's Canadian slate and other festival offerings, call 416-968-FILM or visit the website.
Back to articles
Our homegrown filmmakers are thinking carnal thoughts at this year's film festival
Wednesday August 3, 2005
By - Peter Howell - Movie Critic -The Toronto Star
Canadian filmmakers are set to make a strong statement at this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and many of them have sex on their minds.
Well-known Canadian directors are returning to the festival in greater numbers than last year, easing concerns that the domestic industry had fallen into a lull.
A decision by the festival to eliminate its long-standing Perspective Canada program may have contributed to the feeling.
Yesterday's unveiling of the Canadian slate at the fest proved such fears groundless.
New works by Allan King, Sturla Gunnarson, Clement Virgo, Thom Fitzgerald and Bernard Émond bring some name recognition to the Canadian contingent, along with already announced new films by David Cronenberg (A History of Violence), Atom Egoyan (Where the Truth Lies) and Deepa Mehta (Water).
There will also be a retrospective of the films of NFB ace Don Owen, whose 1964 teen drama Nobody Waved Good-bye is a landmark of Canadian cinema.
Owen was on hand to receive a big hand, and he said he's excited to be at this year's festival. He's interested in all the films and he's also "looking forward to the groovy parties."
The veterans will be joined by an eager flock of newcomers, who sent submissions to a record high, with 220 features and 513 shorts being screened by red-eyed TIFF programmers.
The list was culled to 100 films confirmed to date for the festival, of which 26 are features (19 of them world premieres) and 44 are shorts.
Films from the west and Quebec were judged to be particularly strong this year.
And if there's one recurring theme amongst the incredible variety of offerings, it would have to be sex, said Steve Gravestock, TIFF's associate director of Canadian special projects.
"I can tell you that we saw many films concerning sexual awakenings, family relationships, loss of memory, creativity, romantic relationships ... and sexual awakenings," he told a press conference at the Metropolitan Hotel, which was jammed with filmmakers anxious to hear the TIFF slate.
One film in particular might convince Torontonians that they have a very sexy city, Gravestock said. It's Clement Virgo's Live With Me, which is based on the sexually explicit novel of the same name, written by Virgo's wife, Tamara Faith Berger.
"It's almost like the whole city is enveloped and obsessed with sexuality," Gravestock said of the film. "It's a very sensual world."
Another sexy offering is Amnon Buchbinder's Whole New Thing, starring newcomer Aaron Webber as a 13-year-old raised in the wilds of Nova Scotia by hippie parents who believe in casual nudity and free love.
The film is co-written by Daniel MacIvor, who also co-stars along with Rebecca Jenkins, Callum Keith Rennie and Robert Joy.
Family relations of a different kind are the preoccupation of Louise Archambault's Familia, which has been chosen to open the Canada First! program for emerging filmmakers. It features a Quebec mother and daughter, played by Sylvie Moreau and Mylène, who are struggling to understand themselves and each other.
A pleased Archambault told the press gathering Familia is about "a cycle of behaviours" involving children trying to change recalcitrant parents.
"How do you change behaviour that is non-desirable behaviour of your parents? Good luck!"
The quest for change is also the theme of veteran Toronto documentarian Allan King, whose new work Memory for Max, Claire, Idea and Company can be seen as a companion piece to his acclaimed 2003 festival offering Dying at Grace.
Dying at Grace was about people at the end of their lives, while Memory views elderly people who suffer from memory loss, which, for many, is a fate worse than death. King, who was at the press conference, said his film is a way of addressing his own fears about aging, but also about changing attitudes.
"I smelled a rat as soon as I got into the subject of Alzheimer's and dementia because everything I touched suggested very bad medicine and very bad analysis of the disorders. There's a terror around the whole subject, which is seriously disabling care for people who are aging and having memory problems," King said.
"I think the film will change attitudes to that, if people can get over their fear of losing their minds and what that means. The fact is, people don't lose their identity, they don't lose their feelings. In fact, they're heightened."
Health issues are also a concern for Halifax helmer Thom Fitzgerald, who made The Hanging Tree, one of the star offerings of the 1997 festival. He's back with Three Needles, an AIDS epidemic drama set in China, South Africa and Canada, and starring Lucy Liu, Chlöe Sevigny, Stockard Channing, Sandra Oh and Olympia Dukakis.
Another returning festival veteran is Toronto's Sturla Gunnarson (Rare Birds), whose Beowulf & Grendel delves into the legend of the epic Anglo-Saxon poem Beowulf. It's based on ancient Scandinavian folklore and was a major influence on Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
The power of myth is also the guiding force behind Michael Mabbott's comedy The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico, a mockumentary about a charismatic but troublesome country rocker, played by real-life musician Matt Murphy, frontman and guitarist for Super Friendz, a now-defunct Halifax band. Guy Terrifico has a wealth of cameos from Ronnie Hawkins, Kris Kristofferson, Levon Helm and other music stars who play along with the gag.
The film debuted at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, Texas, in March, and Murphy said it was a great experience to play a character not unlike fabled country-rocker Gram Parsons. But it's possible he did too good a job.
"I'm kind of concerned because there's a part in the movie where people chant, `Hump the drum!'" Murphy said.
"It happened already when we were in the Austin. We showed the film and when we went to play, I got up and sang five songs and people were already saying, `Hump the drum!'"
Guy Terrifico already has a Canadian distribution deal through Odeon Films, said director Mabbott, and he's hoping to land a stateside one at the festival, if not before.
Quebec's Bernard Émond energized the Toronto and Cannes festivals with his previous dramas La Femme qui boit and 20h17 rue Darling. He's back with his latest work, La Neuvaine, which is billed as "a masterful and moving exploration of personal faith."
Also announced yesterday was Postcards from TIFF, a series of vignettes from past festivals that have been collected to honour the fest on the occasion of its 30th birthday.
The video postcards will screen on Rogers TV and at the TIFF box office.
For more information on TIFF's Canadian slate and other festival offerings, call 416-968-FILM or visit the website.
Back to articles