Award Winners

0 Comments POSTED: September 19, 2009 22:22 | By: Jesse Wente

This year's Canadian award winning movies were announced earlier today. You can read the official press release here.

Congrats to all the film makers for there amazing work this year. It's one of the joys of programming to see a film early in its existence and then see it go on to play to crowds and win awards.

This was one of the strongest years for Canadian cinema since I've been doing this, and now the challenge is to top it next year.

See you then.

Sweeney gets Excited.

0 Comments POSTED: September 17, 2009 12:56 | By: Jesse Wente

Excited director Bruce Sweeney have a funny and revealing interview to the National Post today. Check it out.

The movie is very funny, but also emotional and sexy - comparisons to Woody Allen are not far off. The world premiere is tonight, one of the last really big Canadian movies to bow at this year's TIFF.

George Ryga's Hungry Hills Trailer

0 Comments POSTED: September 16, 2009 16:00 | By: Jesse Wente

One of the coolest discovers this year is George Ryga's Hungry Hills. It makes its world premiere tonight. It's a gothic revenge Western, adapted from theclassic Canadian novel.

Check out the trailer.

Apologies

0 Comments POSTED: September 14, 2009 14:47 | By: Jesse Wente

I would like to personally apologize to Adam Wilson for an incorrect posting that appeared on this blog this past weekend. Adam is featured in the film Suck and was incorrectly identified by our blogger. We truly regret this error and have removed the posting. We will also no longer be publishing posts from this blogger. We are thrilled that Adam is here in support of the film and hope this error will not sour his festival experience.

Again, my deepest apologies.

Jesse

A Canadian Superhero Arrives

0 Comments POSTED: September 13, 2009 16:43 | By: Jesse Wente

A true Canadian superhero arrived last night - no, it wasn't Wayne Gretzky - it was Defendor! The world premiere of the only Canadian superhero movie I can remember occurred last night in front of a sold out crowd at the Varsity 8. Writer and director Peter Stebbings (pictured talking on mic) has crafted a thrilling, funny and clever movie that is about our cultural need for superheroes, and how we often find them in unexpected places. Woody Harrelson was on hand last night along with Elias Koteas, Kat Dennings, Michael Kelly and many others. The crowd loved it, and the party afterwards was even more insane - the roof of a parking garage, turned into an entertainment circus, complete with talk show set, VIP tent, and golf cart chauffeur service.

As a guy who grew up in East York dreaming of a cool Canadian superhero, it was a dream-come-true type of evening.

More to come tonight, and then, there's always day 5.....

Canadian cinema profiled

0 Comments POSTED: September 9, 2009 11:29 | By: Jesse Wente

In case you missed it, here is a great article from the front cover of the Globe and Mail Arts section this morning that gives an overview of the Canadian programming at TIFF this year.

Carcasses reviews

0 Comments POSTED: September 8, 2009 14:51 | By: Jesse Wente

One of my favorite films at the festival this year is the latest from Denis Côté, who also happens to be one of my favorite filmmakers. Carcasses is a beautiful and haunting film that blends fact and fiction. It's been receiving high praise from critics including the following:

Eye Weekly

Now Magazine

Globe and Mail

Don't miss this one!

Canadian Film Picks: Stacey Donen

0 Comments POSTED: September 8, 2009 12:49 | By: Jesse Wente

Stacey Donen, Artisitic Director of the Whistler Film Festival sent me his picks for the Canadian films this year. Stacey schooled me in programming at TIFF a few years ago, so he's a guy everyone should listen too. He also manages one of the major post-production facitilites in the city over at the Royal Cinema, which also shows some excellent movies throughout the year. Check out what Stacey will be seeing at TIFF this year.

"some of the Canadian films Stacey is looking forward to seeing:

LA DONATION - the final chapter of Bernard Emond's underrated and uncompromising trilogy.

THE TROTSKY - to follow the career of one of Canada's most intriguing new talents - Jacob Tierney.

PETROPOLIS: AERIAL PERSPECTIVES ON THE ALBERTA TAR SANDS - Peter Mettler just may be, to me, the most important Canadian filmmaker of his generation.

EXCITED - because Bruce Swenney is really sexy!"

Year of the Carnivore clips

0 Comments POSTED: September 7, 2009 15:43 | By: Jesse Wente

Check out these clips for the Canada First! opening night film Year of the Carnivore.

clips

Cairo Time Trailer

0 Comments POSTED: September 4, 2009 21:32 | By: Jesse Wente

Toronto director Rubba Nadda returns to the festival this year with the lovely Cairo Time.

Check out the trailer.

More coming.

Defendor Trailer

1 Comments POSTED: September 3, 2009 12:38 | By: Jesse Wente

Check out the trailer for Defendor.

Trailer.

Yes, it's fianlly happened - a Canadian superhero movie. And it didn't even involve Puck!

Suck Trailer

0 Comments POSTED: September 3, 2009 06:58 | By: Jesse Wente

Check out the trailer for Rob Stefaniuck's rock and roll vampire flick "Suck".

Trailer.

Then, check out the music video.

Music video.

Vampires and Alice Cooper are a perfect fit!

JW

Movies for Sale

0 Comments POSTED: September 11, 2008 11:25 | By: Jesse Wente

As if the festival wasn't already going well enough - packed houses (thanks to the world's greatest audience), great movies, thrilled film makers, but the business side of the fest also has picked up. Maximum Films, one of the big time companies in Canada, has picked up the worldwide rights to Cameron Labine's outrageous debut comedy, Control Alt Delete. You can read all about it here. The premiere last night was a wild event. There's still a chance to see it twice - Friday and Saturday - the shows are mostly sold out, but there's always the rush.

I'm sure this won't be the last Canadian movie to be snapped up.

See you in the theatre.

A Visit to the Top of the City

1 Comments POSTED: September 9, 2008 12:19 | By: Jesse Wente

Last night I had one of those "only at TIFF" moments. After hosting a raucus and emotional screening of Charles Officer's stirring debut Nurse.Fighter.Boy I headed over to one of the city's finer hotels to escort a few of the filmmakers from Before Tomorrow to their first journey up the CN Tower. The Igloolik based trio of Carol Kunuk, Madelaine Puijuq Ivalu and Susan Avingaq (pictured) enjoyed the view before heading over to the filmmaker's dinner, where they then got to schmooze with the likes of Kari Skogland (Fifty Dead Men Walking), Patricia Rozema, Warren Sonoda (Cooper's Camera), Malcolm Rogge (Under Rich Earth), and Terry Miles and Kristine Cofsky (When Life Was Good). The second screening of their film is tonight - and it should not be missed.

See you in the theatre.

A brief encounter with greatness

0 Comments POSTED: September 7, 2008 09:14 | By: Jesse Wente

Last night, after an emotional screening of Rodrigue Jean's moving Lost Song there was a party held at one of the local festival hotspots. There, Rodrigue, one of this country's best filmmakers, introduced me to two cinematic geniuses, thus causing this supposed experienced broadcast professional to lose his ability to form a coherent sentence. The Dardenne brothers, who are here with their latest piece of awesome Le Silence de Lorna (pictured), were gracious and polite in meeting this starry eyed programmer. It's in these moments that I wish life was scripted, because I'm pretty sure I would have said something better than - "I love your movies" - I mean c'mon, who doesn't? Hopefully I'll have something better to say next time I meet heroes of mine.

See you in the theatre.

One to Watch

0 Comments POSTED: September 6, 2008 11:44 | By: Jesse Wente

Charles Officer's debut feature Nurse.Fighter.Boy. is among the contenders for surprise hit at this year's TIFF listed in today's Globe and Mail. It's certainly on my list. Great performances, beautiful visuals and a keen sense of the city really elevate this movie.

See you in the theatre.

Author as Actor

0 Comments POSTED: September 2, 2008 13:29 | By: Jesse Wente

When was the last time the author of a book, that's been turned into a movie starred in that movie? I didn't have an answer for that one either. But that's exactly what's happened in Down to the Dirt.

This debut feature from Justin Simms is the latest film to continue the Rowdyman tradition of raucous Newfoundland characters, and it's based on the hit novel from Joel Thomas Hynes. Hynes plays his central character Keith Kavanagh with a ferocity rarely seen - it's clear he has a deep understanding of who Kavanagh is - it's the type of performance that could have only been possbile by someone so intimately familair with the role.

It's rare we get a movie from Newfoundland at the fetival, let alone one as accomplished and gripping as this one. It's also got a killer soundtrack by Mark Bragg, which may finally bring his awesome music to a wider audience.

See you in the theatre.

Two trailers for a great movie

0 Comments POSTED: August 31, 2008 08:59 | By: Jesse Wente

There are two different trailers for Philippe Falardeau's latest piece of awesomeness called C'est pas moi je le jure!

There's the very French version from the official website. I like this one - it gives you a fuller glimpse of the story of the movie than this shorter, mostly silent version. That one really catches the mischievous spirit of the movie.

I love all of Falardeau's films, but this is easily his most accessible, yet it still contains all of his typical social insight. It premieres Friday and then opens in Quebec later in the month. Sure to be an award favorite later on - don't miss it now.

See in the theatre.

Talking movies....

1 Comments POSTED: August 29, 2008 10:28 | By: Jesse Wente

I've been talking a lot about movies in the past couple of days. This week, all the programmers gathered at Piers Handling's house for our annual pre-fest bbq and gab fest - our one real chance before the insanity to get togother and share our discoveries and revel in our mutual love of cinema - or just gossip, it can go either way. Then, I had to record two TIFF previews over at CBC Radio - next week it's CBC television.

All this talk is rejuvenating. Talking about our movies reminds us of why we fell for them in the first place. I remember watching Un été sans point ni coup sûr for the first time, and how I couldn't help but see myself and my father in its depiciton of the first year the Montreal Expos played ball. My Dad and I love baseball - the Blue Jays first, being from Toronto, the Cubs second (my Dad's from Chicago) and the Expos third. The film's touching in just the right sort of way, and will make you long for the days of Rusty Staub and Mack Jones. It also has one of the best performances by Roy Dupuis I've ever seen. After all the years of Canadian hockey movies, it's wonderful to finally see a Canadian baseball movie.

See you in the theatre.

A Beautiful and Emotional Song

0 Comments POSTED: August 22, 2008 10:28 | By: Jesse Wente

On our annual trip to Montreal this year, we had a very full schedule - many movies a day, followed by meetings (actually more like dinner and drinks) with media and filmmakers - in other words, lots of fun while working hard. It was about the middle of our trip when we saw one of the most emotionally gripping films I've seen in sometime, Rodrigue Jean's Lost Song.

It so affected me that I still think of it today. Lost Song is an almost painfully intimate look at the dissolving relationship of a married couple coping with the birth of their first child. They're so unprepared for the challenges of parenthood that they haven't even named the baby when they head to the country. Their isolation physically, but also romantically and emotionally has truly tragic results.

Lost Song is so beautifully made it's almost painful to watch, but it's also an important movie about post-partum depression, a subject not often discussed in such a frank and striking manner. Bring your tissues to this screening - I know I wish I'd had mine that day in Montreal.

Loving Memories

0 Comments POSTED: August 18, 2008 13:51 | By: Jesse Wente

Every year when we start going through movies, you begin by waiting for that moment. That moment when you see the first truly great movie of the year. This year, that moment for me was when I first watched La mémoire des anges, which is unlike any movie I've seen this year.

As it begins, you're not totally sure what it is exactly you're seeing - it's certainly Montreal, but different times, different styles. But as the film goes on, it begins to wash over you - a sense of nostalgia, and then of wonder, as you begin to recognize where all these different scenes come from. La mémoire des anges is not only a singualr work and an important re-imagining of Canada's cinematic legacy, it may also be the basis for the most intellectual drinking game ever. How many of the more than 100 NFB source films can you spot? What about the scene in the picture (right)?

Director Luc Bourdon watched more than 1000 films to find these scenes and then arranged them in a way that begs us to reintrpret their meaning, as well as bask in what was some of the finest cinema this country has ever produced. Through these scenes a portrait of the country's cinematic language is drawn, alongside a transportive landcape of Montreal through the ages. This is one movie to add to your own memories.

And so it begins....

0 Comments POSTED: August 14, 2008 16:33 | By: Jesse Wente

Having finally returned from my annual hinterland hiatus (does Muskoka count as hinterland?) the festival is now fast approaching. With only scant weeks to go, it's time to start talking movies.

Let's start with Canada First! It's a rather diverse program this year, animation, drama, comedy, you name, we've got it.

The film that, rather naturally struck me as soon as we saw it is the stunning Before Tomorrow. Produced by the team that brought Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner and The Journals of Knud Rasmussen to TIFF, this is an amazing film about two Inuit elders who can see the future from a remote island where they dry fish with one of their grandchildren. Visually breathtaking (pictured), the film's also deeply emotional and intimate. Created by a women's film making collective, it's a stunning achievement, especially considering it's the first feature film made by this group.

It's of course, particular meaningful to see this film for me, since, as an Aboriginal person, I seldom see movies like this made anywhere, let alone in Canada. Before Tomorrow is an indication of how for Aboriginal film making has come, not just in Canada, but around the world, and it show's real progress in terms of how the medium is being used. This is new cinematic language being created, and it displays the potential of cinema for the telling of Aboriginal stories in a distinctly indigenous manner. I can hardly wait for the screening.

After watching 200 or so movies...

0 Comments POSTED: July 22, 2008 14:36 | By: Jesse Wente

After watching 200 or so movies, the final selection is complete and this year?s Canadian features were announced last week at a gala press conference.

This year we saw an amazing diversity of movies during our selection process, and that?s reflected in the final films, which include movies from Newfoundland, B.C. and Nunavut, and more female filmmakers than we?ve ever had in our program before.

There are many highlights this year, and you?ll be hearing a lot more about them in the coming weeks, but to start I thought I?d kick off by introducing this years Canada First opening night film, the remarkable Edison and Leo. Opening night is always a tough choice for us - there are always a lot of good first time feature filmmakers to choose from, and we want to make sure crowd gets a movie that they?ll remember. Well, let me tell you, no one will forget Edison and Leo. This is the first feature length stop motion animated movie ever produced in Canada. It?s a twisted fairy tale about an inventor and the son he accidently electrifies. It?s sort of like Wallace and Gromit meets Frankenstein. The animation is so gorgeous it almost made me vomit - in a good way - when you see the scene you?ll know what I mean. Edison and Leo is directed by Neil Burns, and it?s one of the most utterly unique experiences we had screening movies this summer, and I think you?ll agree after opening night.

So much more to say, but luckily, lots of space to say it. Look back here for more updates on films, posts from filmmakers, and of course, all the buzz once the festival actually gets going. Make sure to check out all the other TIFF blogs, as they?re the only place to find the real behind the screen news of what?s really happening at the world?s greatest film festival.

DAY 6

0 Comments POSTED: September 11, 2007 07:31 | By: Jesse Wente

TIFF07 may be officially half over, but today will be the busiest yet. On hand are world premieres of 3 Canadian movies, including Ed Gass-Donnelly's debut feature, the gripping urban drama, This Beautiful City. The film is the latest example of a cinematic shift towards the city as setting, a change from Canadian cinema's past obsession with the loss of rural culture.

It's one of the most assured debuts I've seen in a while.

Also premiering today is Robert Cuffley's comic noir Walk All Over Me, starring Canadian screen sirens Leelee Sobieski (pictured) and Tricia Helfer. It's a film with bondage and gangsters - did I mention Tricia Helfer? - what more could you ask for?

The final premeire is for Leonard Farlinger's neo-Western, All Hat. Mixing genre conventions with the modern economic reality of rural life, the movie never fails to surprise.

I can't go without mention the North American premiere's of two big Canadian films, Clement Virgo's emotional Poor Boy's Game. A boxing film that focuses on the underlying racial tension that so often goes unspoken of in our society, it features two remarkable performances by Rossif Sutherland and Danny Glover (pictured).

And finally, one of the best movies of the year, Bernard Émond's masterfulContre toute espérance. As emotionally enthralling as any film I've seen this year, the film is a meditation on faith in the globalized world. Powered by two astonishing performances by Guylaine Tremblay (pictured)and Guy Jodoin. This is a must see on Day 6. See you on Day 7.

DAY 5

0 Comments POSTED: September 10, 2007 08:27 | By: Jesse Wente

Halfway there, and the fun has just started. I spent the day yesterday with Ariel Dorfman, Lt-General Romeo Dallaire, four prison guard/cowboys,and Tom Cavanagh. That's the type of line-up that could only occur at TIFF.

Today, no cowboys sadly, however we do have the premiere of one of the most assured debuts by a director I've seen in a long time, Stéphane Lafleur's amazing Continental, un film sans fusil.

Equal parts absurd and insightful, this is one of the funniest and most poignant movies I've seen all year.

Lafleur is a filmmaker to watch, and this is chance to see where an artist begins.

Also premiering tonight is TIFF veteran Carl Bessai's (Unnnatural and Accidental, Emile) new film, the emotional Normal. Powered by a great cast, the movie examines grief, guilt and tragedy from the inside out. It might be Bessai's best movie yet. Plus I'm hoping to meet Carrie-Anne Moss (pictured). See you on Day 6!

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