FILM | The 1000th Tower
The National Film Board has embarked on an intriguing long-term multimedia documentary project called Highrise, which when completed will tell the stories of the millions of apartment dwellers all over the world. From Canada to India to China and Nigeria, the global population is becoming rapidly urbanized, leading to crowded cities where the only direction left to build is up. The highrise has become a new centre of community, and in some cases can stand as a mini-city unto itself, complete with shopping centres, gyms, and restaurants. Toronto's contribution to Highrise is The 1000th Tower, a web documentary shot by six citizens from their perspective of vertical living. The documentary will be unveiled tonight in a ceremony hosted by Mayor David Miller showcasing photos from the project, followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers and Highrise director Katerina Cizek.
City Hall, 100 Queen Street West, Free, 6 pm

FILM | Zoom Student Film Festival
Seeing art made by really young people is a dangerous proposition. You might go into it expecting an "aww how cute" reaction, but you might just walk out muttering to yourself about how it's so unfair how much talent these little turds have and feeling that at the tender age of 27 you've already wasted your life. So brace yourself if you plan to attend the fourteenth annual Zoom Student Film Festival, you might just be blown away. Originally the brainchild of a group of students from Earl Haig Secondary School, since 1997 the festival has expanded into an international showcase for films made by youth all over the world. A panel of judges will pick winning filmmakers in an array of categories and give them Zoom awards, which should tide them over til they pick up that first Genie four years from now.
Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor Street West $10, 7:30 pm

PARTY | Press Pass VI
Normally an industry party like this wouldn't be worth writing about, but by my estimation roughly three quarters of the city are either writers, bloggers, photographers, or some combination of the three. That means Press Pass, Dundas West's regular journo jamboree, is the go-to destination for aspiring and practicing members for the fifth estate alike, especially those who like dive bars and drinking til they embarrass themselves in front of their peers. Your host for the evening is ArtStarsTv's Nadja Sayej, a woman who seems to have mastered the modern art of creating and covering a story at the same time. Cleverly-named cocktails, a DJ spinning CanCon from an iPod, and a roomful of clever people making sarcastic editorial remarks about each other in their heads. Doesn't get much closer to a real newsroom than that.
Press Club, 850 Dundas Street West, Free, 8 pm

THEATRE | Dream Guardians: the Blockhead Universe
Long before Banksy had pop culture freaks scouring Toronto back alleys in search of his work, Danilo McDowell-McCallum was spreading his own graffiti art all over the city. His murals can still be found across Toronto, but by now he's moved off the street and into the gallery. Today he opens a new show at 52 McCaul called Dream Guardians: the Blockhead Universe, an exhibition of surreal oil on wood paintings exploring the quest to achieve our inner desires. Blending spiritual images with sci-fi themes, McDowell-McCallum has created a style that is distinctly his own and one that will be familiar to anyone who's spent time walking around the downtown core. The show opens tonight with a reception with the artist in attendance. Show runs til June 5.
52 McCaul, 52 McCaul Street, Free, Reception tonight 7 pm, Gallery hours Wednesday to Saturday 12 pm - 5 pm

FOOD | Fetzer Great Beginnings Appetizer Challenge
Remember when cooking used to be about the food? Somewhere along the way gourmet kitchens became the culinary equivalent of the Wild West and nowadays you can't be a respected chef unless you've shot down your peers in some sort competitive cooking battle. Blame those Japanese guys from Iron Chef, I guess. Tonight as part of the Salut Wine and Food Festival three of Toronto's top cuisiniers vie for supremacy in the latest round of foodie fighting with the Fetzer Appetizer Challenge. Matt Rosen of Four Restaurant will square off against Relais Chateaux's Jonathan Gushue and Senses' Patrick Lin to see who can create the best wine and appetizer pairing. The audience will taste the results and vote for the winner.
Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street, $65, 6:30 pm

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Photo: "Magic" by archoneus, member of the blogTO Flickr Pool.