NFB
Much as it is with all kinds, genres, and flavors of film making, Toronto (and Canada in general), is ripe with animation talent. However, as in other areas of film making, animators face the same Canadian disparity between production and distribution, between output and demand. Or rather, animators face those disparities when feeding content down the tried-and-true entertainment channels of festivals, theatrical releases, and television. But what if the Canadian animation community is uniquely geared to exploiting newer and more direct distribution channels? TFS recently sat down with Mike Valiquette, Director of Development at Smiley Guy Studios, publisher of Canadian...
I have long held the belief that there are a lot of companies raking in a ton of money on the back of breast cancer, simply because women make most of the buying decisions and, well, you have to have breasts to have breast cancer. So when I saw the listing for Pink Ribbons, Inc. in the TIFF program book this year I actually squealed with joy and the film did not disappoint me. Taking a funny and gently provocative look at the issue of cause marketing, it challenges the viewer to dissect their own buying decisions and, hopefully ask...
I have long held the belief that there are a lot of companies raking in a ton of money on the back of breast cancer, simply because women make most of the buying decisions and, well, you have to have breasts to have breast cancer. So when I saw the listing for Pink Ribbons, Inc. in the TIFF program book this year I actually squealed with joy and the film did not disappoint me. Taking a funny and gently provocative look at the issue of cause marketing, it challenges the viewer to dissect their own buying decisions and, hopefully ask...
Yesterday morning, appropriately enough in the Royal Ontario Museum’s Biodiversity Gallery, the Planet In Focus Film Festival announced the line-up of films that will make up the 11th annual incarnation of this uplifting and critically-minded festival on environmental issues. The festival will run from the 13th to the 17th of October this year at various venues around Toronto. Not only was my interest piqued by the sounds of lots of interesting films and videos, but I also got to see a real live barn owl (pictured here with trainer Meghan Woodworth). He was super cute, and you too can go...
The Cinema Studies Students Union (CINSSU), as part of their Free Films on Campus series, is putting on a free program of NFB classics this Friday, September 24th. Now you can always, and may already have seen catch these shorts on DVD or YouTube, but you won’t often get the chance to watch them on 35 mm film! There will also be a guest speaker from the NFB to present the films....
One of the most frequently observed aspects of technologies that record moving images is their uncanny ability to bring back the past, to make the past seem present in front of the viewer. All sorts of metaphysical issues abound here: nostalgia, ‘reality’, duration, the passage of time, aging, mortality, and along with these, the notion of cultural eras, trends, fashions, revolutions in thought and art. Yes, I’m being quite lofty here, but to be honest, these are exactly the kinds of thoughts that went through my head as I watched Aldo Erdic’s short film Circa 1977: The Diodes (2009) at...
After it’s successful debut at the recent Hot Docs festival, the NFB feature length documentary, The Socalled Movie, will begin a run at the Royal Cinema this Friday, June 11th. This film, from director Garry Beitel, has been called a ‘kaleidoscopic portrait’ of Montreal musician Josh Dolgin (aka ‘Socalled’), and is made up of 18 short segments about Dolgin and his creative process. ...
It’s not too late to cast your vote for your favourite short in the National Film Board of Canada’s 6th Short Film Contest–Cannes 2010. Voting, which opened May 4 and closes May 17, is quick and easy to do online at the NFB site. The contest, organized by the NFB in collaboration with the Cannes Short Film Corner and in association with YouTube, invites voters to choose their favourite title from a list of ten short films created by young filmmakers from all over the world, including Canada. All ten titles are finalists selected earlier this year by short-film expert,...
The Arctic Circle: On Thin Ice is a hard-hitting exploration of the ways in which climate-change is affecting the land and animals in Canada’s far north. Presented under National Film Board’s (NFB) Green Screens Program, On Thin Ice opens May 5 at NFB’s Toronto Mediatheque location for a free one-night-only screening. The 43-minute documentary comes from Wally Longul and Takashi Shibasaki, the same talented directors who created The Arctic Circle: Battle for the Pole, which ran in April on Mediatheque’s big screen. Doc fans who saw that earlier film will not want to miss this follow-up title....
In an effort to make NFB films more accessible to the public, the National Film Board’s (NFB) Toronto Mediatheque is giving visitors, who come to use the location’s state-of-the-art digital viewing stations, free access to its collection of 5,500-plus films. Starting Saturday, May 1, NFB is permanently dropping the $2-per-day fee it previously charged visitors (12 years old and over) to use the stations for viewing films. The renowned collection includes everything from top-notch documentaries and innovative animations to classic shorts and Oscar-winning favourites. New titles, such as Paul Gross’ Passchendaele and Guy Maddin’s Night Mayor, are added weekly....
