blogTO:Film Feed

Filmmaker Profile: Ruba Nadda

Tim — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:50:00 -0500

Six months ago her film Cairo Time took the prize as the Best Canadian Feature Film at the Toronto International Film Festival. Since then, it's been picked up by IFC, flirted with a bit of Oscar buzz and won for best Canadian film at the 2009 Film Circuit People's Choice Awards. Now the director, writer and multi-talented filmmaker is working on two thrillers - one set in the Middle East and the other in Georgian Bay.

Read the profile of Ruba Nadda in our special Toronto Filmmakers section.

Filmmaker Profile: Hubert Davis

Tim — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 10:16:43 -0500

With the Academy Award nominated Hardwood and his most recent doc Invisible City both receiving praise from critics and moviegoers alike, Hubert Davis has carved out a reputation for delivering well made documentaries that dig deep into the personal lives of their protagonists. But don't expect him to be screening his latest project at the next Hot Docs. He's taking a bit of a break and working on two dramatic feature films.

Read the profile of Hubert Davis is our special Toronto Filmmakers section.

Teenage Wasteland: Doc Soup Screens Garbage Dreams

Chandra — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 09:03:00 -0500

In Garbage Dreams, the March 17th installment of the Doc Soup screening series, filmmaker Mai Iskander follows three teen boys raised on the outskirts of Cairo - literally in a dump. Their community, the Zaballeen, has an economy that relies entirely on the collection, sorting, washing, and reselling of rubbish... and I thought opportunities were limited as a kid growing up in Northern Ontario.

Filmmaker Profile: Rob Spence

Tim — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 09:10:00 -0500

He first caught our attention back in 2007 with one of the most buzzed about films at Hot Docs. Later, Let's All Hate Toronto went on to be the most-watched documentary ever on CBC NewsWorld. These days, he's been making waves for sticking a camera in one of his eye sockets as part of his Eyeborg Project.

Read the profile of Rob Spence in our special Toronto Filmmakers section.

Filmmaker Profile: Chris Landreth

Tim — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 09:06:00 -0500

This Academy Award winning filmmaker hit the big time when his animated short Ryan picked up the Oscar in 2005. Since then he's gone on to create The Spine and is now working on his first feature film that he hopes will hit theatres within the next four years.

Reads our profile of Chris Landreth in our special Toronto Filmmakers section.

Corey Haim (1971-2010)

Jerrold — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 11:37:00 -0500

Corey Haim, the 80's film heartthrob who was born and raised here in Toronto, has died at the age of 38 in Los Angeles. The New York Times reports that his death is under police investigation, and that a full obituary will follow.

Filmmaker Profile: Clement Virgo

Tim — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:20:00 -0500

From humble beginnings growing up in Regent Park, filmmaker Clement Virgo has gone on to direct TV shows like The Listener and The Wire and feature films including his most recent Poor Boy's Game. Here he talks to us about his next project (he has optioned Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes) and his recent appearance on a Black History Month panel with Lee Daniels and Norman Jewison.

Read the profile of Clement Virgo in our special Toronto Filmmakers section.

Filmmaker Profile: Jamie Travis

Tim — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 08:51:00 -0500

Although he might be best know for directing the music videos Hell and Back in Your Head for Tegan and Sara, Jamie Travis has also created an impressive collection of short films. From The Saddest Boy in the World to his most recent The Armoire, tragedy, humour and mystery assert themselves as common themes.

Read the provide of Jamie Travis in our special Toronto Filmmakers section.

Dylan Reibling and 39 more Toronto filmmakers

Tim — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:30:00 -0500

Along with the launch of our new design yesterday, some of you may have noticed our new Toronto Filmmakers section. In it you'll currently find five profiles of some of our favourite local filmmakers including Dylan Reibling, Ed Gass-Donnelly, Jennifer Baichwal, Larry Weinstein and Shane Belcourt. All photos were taken for blogTO by James Kachan in his studio.

Over the course of the next month or two we'll be unveiling 35 more profiles of some of the other talented individuals who work in film in Toronto. Some you'll definitely recognize, but we also aim to uncover a wealth of up-and-coming talent who you may not be familiar with yet. It's all part of our effort to shine more of a spotlight on what truly is one of the best movie-making and going cities in North America. We hope you like it. And if you have any suggestions for film directors you think we should profile please leave a comment below or email us at editors [at] blogto [dotcom].

World of Comedy Film Festival gets serious about being funny

Chandra — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:05:00 -0500

Leading up to the big Oscar showdown between Kathryn Bigelow and ex-hubbie James Cameron this weekend, the World of Comedy Film Festival is presenting its annual blitz of funny flicks. Sure, humour is a very subjective thing. But whether you're keen on dark, silly, satirical, screwball, animated, romantic, political or sex comedies, World of Comedy should have you covered.

Are Films Really Art? It's a Moot Point at the Reel Artists Film Festival

Chandra — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:03:00 -0500

For its seventh annual run, the Reel Artists Film Festival takes us into the lives and creative processes of leading art world stars, with 13 documentaries in all. Artists like African sculptor El Anatsui, Canadians Alex Colville and Francoise Sullivan, Japanese painter Yoshitomo Nara, and Jean-Michel Basquiat will be profiled on the big screen, from February 24 to February 28. Oh, and the films will be introduced by a who's who of art critics and curators.

It all kicks off this evening, with the Canadian premiere of Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (fresh from Sundance) followed by a big-ticket soiree at the Royal Conservatory, TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning, 273 Bloor Street West.

New to the fest, I asked Ann Webb, Reel Artists Film Festival Founder and Organizer and Executive Director of the Canadian Art Foundation, to fill me in on the festival's mandate and why opening night tickets are so darned expensive.

The Human Rights Watch Film Festival

Chandra — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 09:01:00 -0500

TIFF gets political this week for the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, on from February 24 through March 6, 2010. Every year at about this time, TIFF Cinematheque teams up with a folks from the Human Rights Watch Canada Committee to provide an opportunity for activists and film buffs engage with hard-hitting films.

To sum up what's on for the eleven day run, lemme just say that when I threw on the first preview DVD, I hoped to learn a few things about global justice, social change, women's rights, etc. And I did. But a few movies later, I was blubbering away watching Afghan kids come through a hospital - to have wounds dressed and limbs amputated because they'd brought home landmines to play with (in Back Home Tomorrow).

The Carlton Cinema to be Saved

Tim — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 23:12:00 -0500

A few months ago came news that the Carlton Cinemas would close and on December 6th they did just that. But now comes word that the days of films screening near the corner of Yonge and Carlton is not a thing of the past. Last week, Magic Lantern Theatres, owner of the Rainbow Cinemas theatre chain, purchased the space and plan to refurbish and then re-open it this June.

Keep reading for more details in the just issued news release.

Hot Docs Launches Online Library

Tim — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 22:04:00 -0500

Hot Docs, the annual film festival that showcases some of the best documentaries from around the world, has just launched an online library featuring hundreds of Canadian docs. This includes recent popular docs like Let's All Hate Toronto, Last Call at the Gladstone Hotel and Daddy Tran: Life in 3D to name a few.

Dimitri The Lover Movie Trailer Released

Jerrold — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:51:00 -0500

Dimitri the Lover, perhaps the most misogynistic, attention-seeking, and loathed "man" in Toronto, is going to be the focus of a documentary film produced by Hollywood's Brad Goodman (known for his work on Sacha Baron Cohen's mockumentaries Borat and Brüno).

Yesterday, a teaser version of the movie trailer was announced via Dimitri's Twitter. A former student under Dimitri (who has since stopped attending meetings and prefers to remain anonymous) wrote us: