Spotlight On
Spring is a time of rebirth and renewal. And spring in Toronto, as it turns out, is also the time for film festivals. Commonly referred to as Inside Out, it is also known as the Toronto LGBT Film Festival. The festival runs from Thursday, May 23 to Sunday, June 2, 2013 and this year marks their 23rd installment. To learn more about the festival, I spoke with Executive Director, Scott Ferguson, about all things Inside Out. The Inside Out Festival began in 1991, as a community festival. It was started by artists and activists. In the 22 years since, the...
It seems bizarre that even now in the second decade of the 21st century, women are still underrepresented in film. At the 2012 Genie Awards, of the five directors nominated, only one of them was a woman. In the 2011 Genies less than a third of the nominees were women. This is no fluke, but simply the status quo. The question is: why? Heather Webb is the Executive Director of the organization Women in Film and Television Toronto, and she suggests that these completely lopsided numbers are caused not only by an inhospitable academic and work environment, based on subtle...
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...
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...
The Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival (Reel Asian) returns to Toronto in 2012 for its 16th consecutive year. This festival edition includes extended programming, international guests and special events and presents the 2nd Annual Richmond Hill Film Festival to bring Reel Asian outside the downtown core. In 1997, with waves of Asian immigration to Canada and a rising population Asian-Canadians, festival co-founders Anita Lee and Andrew Sun identified an untapped market for contemporary Asian cinema in Toronto. And they were right on the money – Reel Asian has grown from a 3-day festival to a 10-day annual event attracting...
Film festivals seem to grow on the trees in Toronto. Every time you turn around, whoa, there’s another one. But the Toronto After Dark Film Festival, an annual showing of horror, sci-fi, action, and cult films is a true Toronto film fest success story. Now entering its seventh year, Toronto After Dark is internationally recognized, has expanded to nine nights with 11 features and 29 shorts, is a showcase for indie video games, and has an expectation of around 10,000 attendees. In short, the Toronto After Dark Film Festival is a big deal, a very big deal. That’s due in...
As you trundle about on Toronto’s subway system for the next two weeks, you might notice something interesting. When you divert your weary commuter eyes up to the nearest TTC screen to find out exactly how long you have have to wait ’til your train arrives, you’ll be greeted with cinema. Yep, the Toronto Urban Film Festival (TUFF) is back. For 10 glorious days from September 7 to September 17, one minute films will be screening every 10 Minutes on 300 screens across the Toronto subway system. Each year, running parallel to Toronto’s mega film festival TIFF, TUFF collects and...
Think what you will about the Canadian film and television industry – love it, hate it, whatever. Here’s what the rest of the world thinks: Canada, Toronto in particular, provides a deep reservoir of industry talent. When you need skilled lighting techs, and grips, and composers, and 3D cinematographers, and every other motion picture position you can think to fill, Canada is a fine place to start. And it is organizations like The Canadian Alliance of Film & Television Costume Arts & Design (CAFTCAD) that make sure that message is know and broadcast far and wide. CAFTCAD was founded in...
Can pornography ever be considered feminist? Most people, even avid porn fans, probably wouldn’t think so given the exploitive nature of a genre that often expects physical perfection from women and doesn’t always concern itself with catering sex scenes towards genuine female satisfaction. Thankfully, local Toronto sex shop Good For Her, thinks differently and is passionate about introducing the idea that pornography doesn’t have to be exploitive or misogynist in order to be enjoyable to both genders. In fact, they contend that pornography can be just as artistic and relevant to mainstream audiences as any other independent film showing at...
Just imagine… you’re hanging out in the backyard with your friends. It’s a beautiful, warm summer night. You’ve got cold beer and hot music playing. Then, against all reason, a movie screen appears and that great movie – the one you meant to see but never got around to – projects on that screen. Sounds like an awesome dream right? Thanks to the Open Roof Festival, Toronto doesn’t have to wake up from that amazing dream because it’s a reality. Now entering its third season, Open Roof Festival is the brain child of four friends who thought, “Hey, what if…?”...
Just imagine how great it would be if there were some magical place in Toronto that regularly churned out talented filmmakers who would eventually go on to create some of Canada’s best film and television. It sounds like something that L. Frank Baum would dream up, but in fact, there is just such a place located at Bayview and York Mills. Situated in a stately and historical mansion surrounded by rolling, green fields, it’s exactly the type of ideal setting that has proven to be an inspiration to scores of Canadian filmmakers for the last 20+ years. You may have...
The Made IN Toronto Film Festival (MINT), a monthly documentary screening series, will be celebrating not only World Water Day on March 22, but also its one year anniversary. While each MINT event includes a film screening, the festival also works to stitch together Toronto’s film, music, and artistic communities around a central theme, and this month is no exception. The event will feature three documentary shorts, the documentary feature film Spoil, panel discussions, a juggler, musicians, and a comedian....
