Festivals
It seems strange to be making announcements for this year’s imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival which doesn’t start its run until October. However, passes go on sale today and some parts of the line up have already been confirmed, so really, it’s never too early to get excited about film programming! Running from October 19th to 23rd, this international festival celebrates the work of Indigenous peoples from around the globe....
There are days when I really love my job. Yesterday was one of them. I arrived at the hotel at around 9:30. I was far from the first there, but nowhere near the last. I checked in at the media desk, grabbed a plate of delicious fruit and pastry and hunkered down in the second row. There I sat, waiting patiently as the room filled up with people — and excitement. Shortly after 10:00 am, Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey made their way to the stage and it began: TIFF made their first announcement of the year....
Already an established figure in the Japanese independent film scene, the comedy filmmaker Devi Kobayashi made his Canadian premiere at the 2011 Shinsedai Cinema Festival. Kobayashi writes, directs, composes for, and acts in all of his work. Two of his films, Mariko Rose the Spook and Hikari were screened....
In Wandering Home, Yasuyuki Tsukahara (Tadanobu Asano) is a former photojournalist whose career in war-torn countries has traumatized him emotionally to the extent that he has spiralled deep into alcohol addiction. At the beginning of the film, his alcoholism is at a life-threatening stage, and a visit to the hospital reveals that he might never have another chance to stop drinking. Tsukahara enters a mental hospital, and begins his struggle against his addiction, while at the same time trying to reconnect with his estranged family. The story is based on the real-life memoirs of the photographer Yutaka Kamoshida....
If you ever find yourself feeling like those quarter-life-crisis indie comedy-dramas have nothing more to offer, Sawako Decides is capable of proving that there’s a lot more that a filmmaker can tap into as far as this subject is concerned. Written and directed by Yuya Ishii, this film can be enjoyed on a variety of levels – as an idiosyncratic comedy, as a satire of the contemporary Japanese society, or as an exploration of a character....
Kid Commotion – directed by Torajiro Saito, a comedy filmmaker beloved in Japan in the 1930s and 40s – was definitely a treat at the 2011 Shinsedai Cinema Festival, as well as a fascinating piece of history. This 33-minute slapstick adventure is a rare example of a 1930s Japanese film, because most of these early films have been lost, discarded, or improperly stored....
Toronto International Body Image Film and Arts Festival, Bite Me!, opens doors and airs out stereotypes at the National Film Board Mediatheque July 4-10, 2011. Bite Me! uses creative media to sort through issues related to identity and body image in order to inform, challenge, and redefine standard thinking surrounding these matters....
Coming up from June 20th to 25th is the 7th annual ReelHeART film festival. Touting themselves as “International, Independent and Anti-Niche,” and “the filmmaker’s film festival” they’ll be showing more than 90 films over the festival’s 6 days. ReelHeART’s program will feature some of the best independent film from 30 different countries around the world, giving both emerging and established filmmakers a forum to show off their art....
