Interviews
Blackbird is a film that explores many themes: parental involvement in the behaviour of their children, bullying in institutions like school and by the court and prison systems in Canada, and identity and determination and how the outward representation of that can be self-detrimental, just to name a few. In the film, Sean (Connor Jessup), a high school student living in a small maritime town dresses like a goth, listens to heavy metal and hides in his room (where the walls are painted black, of course). For these things he is bullied by his classmates and shunned by the town....
Toronto is home to many wonderful cultural events. At any given time in this eclectic city there is guaranteed to be something interesting going on. Summer is especially a busy time with NXNE starting us off in June, followed by Toronto PRIDE, Caribbean Carnival and then The Toronto International Film Festival, one of the largest film festivals in the world. But there are loads of lesser known festivals that offer unique world perspectives, something that this great city is known for. One of the lesser known but fascinating events going on this month is The Toronto International Deaf Film and...
Michelle Nolden is a true renaissance woman. Not only is she a steadily working actress (you might recognize her from the three TV shows she currently has on the go – Saving Hope, Republic of Doyle and Nikita or from movies like Men With Brooms) and filmmaker, she also somehow found the time to co-found Lakeshorts International Short Film Festival with film and television producer (and husband) Chris Szarka. The festival, which runs May 3 and 4, features two evenings of some of the best short films from around the world. On May 3, the focus will be on “Loved...
Opening Saturday, May 4, 2013 at The Royal, ChristCore is a documentary about the Christian hardcore scene, specifically two bands, Messengers and Sleeping Giant, as they tour across the country. Directed by Justin Ludwig, the film offers an unbiased look at Christian youth and how they’ve come to accept a form of music that would seem to clash with their faith. I had the chance to speak with Justin, a self proclaimed atheist, about ChristCore and its effect on his own way of life. At the beginning of the film, Justin shares a bit of his life, and how he...
You may recognize Thomas Dekker mostly from his featured roles in TV fan favourites like Heroes, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles or The Secret Circle, but he’s slowly but surely making his way in the world of film. One of the big screen credits on his steadilly growing acting resume is in Shawn Linden’s Montreal-shot The Good Lie, which opens in Toronto on May 10. In the film he plays Cullen Francis, a young college student who finds out that he was the product of a violent rape. Dekker sat down with Toronto Film Scene to chat about this challenging role....
A conversation with Kirk Marcolina and Matthew Pond, Directors of The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne
At first glance, there’s nothing about Doris Payne that screams “jewel thief”. But this 82-year old African-American woman from West Virginia has in fact stolen at least $2 million in jewels in a career that’s spanned five decades. I recently spoke with directors Kirk Marcolina and Matthew Pond about their new documentary The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne, and their experiences working with Doris to bring her story to the screen. Doris is obviously quite an actor. Were there times when you felt you were taken in by her? Kirk Marcolina: Without a doubt. I feel like every day...
Andrew Moir is a young filmmaker who’s going places. The 2012 grad of the Ryerson University film programme had his short documentary, Just As I Remember, chosen to screen at this year’s Hot Docs Film Festival. The film contrasts the experience of two men battling ALS–Brad is in the early stages of the disease, and Don, who also happens to be Moir’s own Father, is almost completely paralyzed–and how their fight with the disease affects their relationship with their children. It’s a truly unique take on ALS as well as any parent will be able to relate to – all...
lex Winter is no “noob”. Having spent the late ‘90s in BBS and newsgroups (remember those?), he was perfectly positioned to be right in the thick of the technology boom and its resulting legal uproar. Just like the rest of us, however, he was hearing a decidedly one-sided story. It’s obvious that his love of technology stood him in good stead in tackling one of the biggest stories of the century in his latest film, Downloaded, which tells the story of peer-to-peer file sharing pioneer Napster from the inside. Winter originally got involved with Napster creators Shawn Fanning and Sean...
reida Mock is an internationally renowned filmmaker, with accolades aplenty. It’s safe to say that at any given time, she’s got enough projects on her place to keep her busy for years to come. She was in the middle of a number of other projects when she was contacted by a friend of Anita Hill’s who wanted her to send Hill a copy of her film Wrestling with Angles: Playwright Tony Kushner – only the friend didn’t say who the film was going to. “I said, why?” Mock remembers, “She said well this friend of hers is often asked to...
TVO’s second annual documentary competition, this year with a focus on the subject of poverty, drew submissions from all across Ontario. After a jury of Ontario documentarians led by producer/director Shelley Saywell selected five finalists, TVO invited Ontarians to choose the winner via online vote and Craig Allen Conoley’s 4 Kids, which examines poverty through the prose of Just Jamaal, a spoken-word and hip hop artist from Ottawa, emerged as the favourite. As the winner, 4 Kids is set to air on TVO this year and Conoley will be joining Saywell for a day-long mentorship at the Hot Docs Film...
On Friday, April 26, 2013 something is going to happen that hasn’t happened in recent memory: a Canadian film will open that looks and sounds like a big-budget Hollywood movie. It’s called The Colony and it stars Laurence Fishburne and Bill Paxton, two actors not unfamiliar with the world of the Hollywood blockbuster. So how did this happen, you ask? How did Canada get a movie made that might actually be able to play in the big leagues? Director Jeff Renfroe tells Toronto Film Scene that it was originally slated to be a small movie about a group of survivors...
The sad reality about about most coming-of-age films focused on a female protagonist is that they don’t often feature that young woman taking control of her own destiny – especially where her own sexuality is concerned, a fact that Sara St. Onge is all too aware of. “There’s still a lot of stigma that we’re fighting. A woman taking control is still seen as overly aggressive whereas I see it as just, normal. I do think that we’re making progress but we’re up against a lot of stereotypes.” With her debut feature Molly Maxwell, which opens in Toronto on April...
