Toronto Film Scene

Noam Kaufman

About Noam Kaufman

Noam Kaufman is a cinephile by day, concert-goer by night. He cherishes doumentaries and foreign films, which enable him to indulge his dual love of reading and watching simultaneously. If he isn't at a concert hall or movie theater, you might be able to find him at York University, where he occasionally moonlights as a student.

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Last entries by Noam Kaufman

25 Jul 2012

Toronto For Rent: where have all the video stores gone?

The answer to the inevitable question, “where have all the video stores gone?” is: crushed by Netflix, everyone. Okay, fine. Maybe we shouldn’t create a second Remembrance Day. But it’s difficult to explain to those who grew up in the post-90s digital age just what the classic video store meant...

Archived in Columns Issue 3 Volume 7: July 2012 - Pornography as Art Toronto for Rent
16 Jul 2012

Movies with staying power: a look at what makes a classic porn

By now, it’s likely you’ve already hungrily devoured our feature covering the Golden Age of Geek Porn, as well as many other articles detailing our love and respect for the pornographic genre – in which case, you have already accepted pornography as a legitimate entry in critical film discussion, unashamedly...

Archived in Articles Cover Cover Stories Issue 3 Volume 7: July 2012 - Pornography as Art
30 May 2012

Oscar-nominated shorts worth revisiting

To the casual observer, conventional wisdom dictates that short films must be easier to write, produce and create than feature films; shorter running time means less money required, less time, and most importantly, less ideas that need to be generated. In short (pun intended), less effort required, right? …Right? Well,...

Archived in Articles Issue 3 Volume 5: May 2012 - Short Films Other Articles
24 Apr 2012

Review: The Job – Hot Docs 2012

Didier Cros‘ biting documentary The Job is essentially The Apprentice on steroids; ten unemployed hopefuls enter a board room expecting a job interview, only to find that they are to be pitted against each other in a series of gruelling challenges, with a minimum wage job waiting at the end...

Archived in Festivals Hot Docs
13 Apr 2012

Review: Le tableau – TIFF Kids 2012

Questions of social stratification, class injustice, racism, and existential uncertainty abound in Jean-Francois Laguionie’s animated feature Le tableau (The Painting),a children’s film – yes, that’s right – whose plain, unadorned title belies the artistic beauty that saturates each and every one of its 76 minutes. While not exactly perfect, Le...

Archived in Festivals Other Festivals
09 Feb 2012

At Home Film Festival: Genie Gems

f there’s one definitive conclusion that could be reached by observing the interactions of people from Toronto and Montreal, it’s that we here in Canada love us a good old-fashioned friendly rivalry. Most would be quick to point to hockey as the main source of antagonism – somewhere along the...

Archived in At Home Film Festival Columns Issue 3 Volume 2: February 2012 - Awards
06 Feb 2012

Community First! An interview with emerging film composer Isaias Garcia

Much like the sweeping film scores he composes, York University music student Isaias Garcia opens our discussion with a bang. “The film industry’s in transition”, he says, referring specifically to the next generation of filmmakers, artists, and engineers currently entering the field. “Students are leaving film school and entering the...

Archived in Articles Cover Stories Issue 3 Volume 2: February 2012 - Awards
17 Dec 2011

Review: Dragonslayer

Skateboarding culture has undergone something of a paradigm shift in recent years. Once the sole property of the gritty, rebellious punk-rockers of the 1980′s, the sport has since inched closer to mainstream consciousness, no doubt aided by the family-friendly Tony Hawk video-game franchise, and the popularization of the X-Games on...

Archived in Independent & Repertory Reviews

Last Comments by Noam Kaufman

This week from Grolsch Film Works

5 Reasons Why Christopher Nolan Is Hollywood’s Greatest Director

The Dark Knight Rises is without a doubt the most anticipated major release of 2012. In a little over ten years, Christopher Nolan has gone from exciting indie filmmaker (Following…

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