RESFEST Hits Toronto

Looking for a feast of the unusual and the curious? RESFEST's collection of experimental but accessible shorts, music videos and cosmopolitan culture is bringing its Canadian tour to Toronto from October 27th to 30th. The programs promise a unique mix of street culture documentaries, original short films and music video programs in addition to guest speakers, parties, and live music.

Prepare yourself for innovative and ingenious scenes polished with a cutthroat sensibility. The French short film Flesh might not be something you'd want to take your mother to but this fusion of porn and terrorism certainly forces you to re-evaluate the aftermath of 9/11.

This year's keynote speaker is surreal digital artist and photographer Charlie White who will present a multimedia exploration of his work on October 29th. White's art has been described as a contrast between "the strange and familiar", but that scarcely encapsulates his fascinating sharp-edged deviant work. Disturbing but fascinating.

Two prominent documentaries will also be scheduled for this year's RESFEST. Just For Kicks is the Canadian premiere of a film that explores contemporary sneaker culture from its roots in the 70's New York street styles to today's multi-billion dollar industry promoted by sports and hip-hop stars.

Fernando Mereilles' feature length doc, Ginga, will also be shown. It's an in-depth look into the Brazilian adulation of soccer, an infatuation that reaches the level of hard-core religious fanaticism. Imagine the Canadian love of hockey plus the American devotion to football multiplied by 185 million (pop. of Brazil) and you'll have some idea of the crazed hold that soccer has upon Brazilian society.

Other programs include two music video programs, "Cinema Electronica" and "Videos that Rock", which will include new videos by artists such as Arcade Fire, The Flaming Lips, Chemical Brothers, RJD2 and Lemon Jelly. Additionally, there will be a retrospective of alt-rocker Beck's videos spanning his career from "Loser" to the recent "Girl". The cherry on the music video sundae is a collection of videos by Traktor, the Scandinavian video collective group.

RESFEST will take place at the Royal Cinema (608 College St.). Tickets for individual programs cost $10 but a bargain is being offered in a $75 all-access pass which includes all screenings and parties. "Shorts One" opens the schedule on Oct. 27 at 7pm followed by Ginga at 9 and the opening night party featuring Daedelus is at 10. Other events continue through the weekend.

Check back with blogTO for updates!

C.White's photo from wired.com
football fanatic pic from webodessit.com