Columns
The U.S. has the Oscars. Canada has the Genies (now known as the Canadian Screen Awards). But Québécois filmmakers, while technically part of Canada and thus eligible for the Genies – er, Canadian Screen Awards – have their own annual awards, the Jutra Award (or Prix Jutra or La Soirée des Jutra, take your pick). The Jutra Award debuted in 1999 and was designed to honor the movers and shakers in and behind mainly Francophone cinema in Québec. Winners not only get kudos, but also a sharp, modish statue designed by sculptor Charles Daudelin. I know what you Genie (let’s...
If you polled a bunch of true film lovers about what their dream job would be, it’s safe to say that a good number of them might answer “film festival programmer”. Well, not only does Elizabeth Muskala get to actually live that dream each and every day in her role as Director of TIFF Kids, she also has the privilege of getting to help shape a whole new generation of cinemaniacs. This includes overseeing everything from TIFF Kids International Film Festival each April, to the upcoming TIFF Next Wave as well as cool new initiatives like the digiPlaySpace. TFS was...
What is it about a movie that makes a lasting impression? Characters? Effects? Plot? The emotions it evoked at the time? The people you were with? Perhaps simply the weather? I hold a special place in my heart for the moves I loved as a child. I think most people do, to a certain extent. When I see the majority of the kids’ films today I find myself sighing deeply in an “oh, they don’t make “˜em like they used to” kind of way. Technology aside I got to thinking; do they really not make children’s movies so great anymore,...
Certain phrases strike terror into the hearts of movie lovers the world over. Perhaps it’s lines like ‘from the producers of…’, meaning that they couldn’t get the director of that movie you loved, but they did get the producers. Maybe just seeing someone’s name on a poster is enough to send you screaming from the room. The one that always bothers me is ‘From the beloved children’s classic…’ This seems like it’s just setting you up for disappointment, and many times that’s the result. This month, we’re going to take a look at some of the worst adaptations in the...
There’s no doubt that the experience of re-watching a film you loved as a child can sometimes be disappointing for an adult. It’s not as funny as you remember, the acting isn’t as good and the effects look downright primitive. It’s something universal that we’ll probably all go through at some point in our movie watching careers. This is especially true for people who grew up in the ’80s, when kid cinema was on the rise in Canada…more than likely a result of the tax shelter era. Kids, you see, aren’t always so particular about what they watch so making...
Most Canadians who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s, whether they like it or not, probably have a story about the first time they saw one of Sullivan Entertainment’s productions. Whether it was the ubiquitous Anne of Green Gables (and its sequels), its spin-off Road to Avonlea (which launched Sarah Polley’s acting career) or Sunday night staple Wind at My Back, there’s no doubt that Sullivan Entertainment made an industry out of wholesome Canadian family entertainment. Founded in 1981 by Trudy Grant, current President and Executive Producer, Sullivan Entertainment really began to flourish when the company’s Director and creative...
Roald Dahl is the coolest. As adults, we can learn a lot from kids ““ and Roald Dahl not only knew this, but he acknowledged it through his stories of ordinary children overcoming any and all obstacles. Through his books, and the movie adaptations that followed, Dahl’s young protagonists shine with innate kindness, wisdom, and resilience. Roald Dahl writes whimsy and dark humour better than anyone. Fantastical stories about witches, telekinesis, and candy factories serve as a backdrop for real stories about death, neglect, and poverty. Dahl expertly walks the fine line between horrible and hilarious so few are able...
Last month, while standing in an interminable holiday rush line at Shopper’s Drug Mart, I was confronted by one of those stand-up cardboard displays meant to tempt a last second impulse buy. The cynicism with which I would typically greet such a crass commercial come on instantly melted away when I saw what the come on was for – the stop-motion animated classic Holiday specials of the late ’60s and early ’70s of creative team Arthur Rankin, Jr. and Jules Bass. With DVDs on offer of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, The Little Drummer Boy, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa...
The story of Ralphie, his family and his quest for a BB gun has become part of the Christmas time lexicon. Its old-timey setting, feel and subject matter make some nostalgic for a simpler time while others want to set their DVD players on fire. This month TFS Editor-in-Chief Trista DeVries and reviewer Will Brownridge discuss A Christmas Story, its place in some people’s hearts and whether or not the film is Essential Canadian Cinema. Will: First, this happens to be one of those movies that I can’t understand when people don’t like it. It’s so perfect, how could it...
As we’re all getting geared up to dodge fireballs falling out of the sky or surf that mega-wave that’s set to engulf the earth on December 21, why not pick up a few handy tips from some of the many films that have explored the idea of what the end of the world might be like? Not only is TIFF Bell Lightbox offering up the chance for you to commiserate with a cinema full of other doomsday weirdos (I mean that lovingly) with their Countdown to Armageddon retrospective - running from December 14 until the end – but TFS...
TFS Essentials is a column we do every month that brings you a film or an element of filmmaking that we feel is “essential”. Somehow during our November pitch meeting I managed to get saddled with a column in which I talk about Christmas movies. Now, it is important to note that I am not a big fan of Christmas. My family is fairly fractured and when we get together, it’s basically just to exchange presents (read: things we do not need to give one another but do so anyway because it is the custom). We barely see each other...
In compiling a list of creepy Christmas classics, ones mind tends to go right for Black Christmas. I would include it in this list, but it’s already been covered so well, right here at Toronto Film Scene, that I’m going to skip it and offer up some alternatives. There’s certainly no shortage of horror films set at Christmas, it’s just that many of them aren’t very good. This was a lesson I learned when I attempted to watch a Christmas-themed horror film every day for a month. There were some incredible films among that list though, and these are the...
