It was early afternoon on Friday, May 23rd 2014. I walked into TIFF Bell Lightbox, knots in my stomach, my eyes still welling with tears. “Just take a deep breath,” I kept telling myself. “You’ll be fine.” Up the escalator I rode, around the corner, and into the lavish Luma lounge. I approached the table, …
Taiwan’s Hsiao-hsien Hou has often spoken of his admiration for Japanese master Yasujirō Ozu. In the 1993 documentary Talking with Ozu, attached to the Criterion edition of Tokyo Story and featuring such commentators as Claire Denis and Aki Kaurismäki, he compares the man’s work to that of a mathematician: one that observes and studies in a detached, clinical fashion. Often, returning to …
While Mirrormask has become something of a cult movie, Dave McKean is still better known for his work in illustration than his directorial efforts in film. McKean’s groundbreaking style consistently raised the bar in comic art; his contribution to the 1989 release of Arkham Asylum, written by Grant Morrison, helped change our understanding of the artform. McKean’s style seemed uniquely suited to the mind space of an asylum, his layered mixed media style reflective of thoughts and emotions in conflict. Perhaps his best known work is his contributions to the cover art for Neil Gaiman’s iconic Sandman series, once again cementing the phantasmagoric quality of McKean’s work. His collaboration with Gaiman highlighted the obscured landscape of nightmares which he frightfully recreated through superimposition, collage and drawing.
Charulata Written and directed by Satyajit Ray India, 1964 Adopting an understated approach, Satyajit Ray tells the story of Charulata the young and beautiful wife of an older man, Bhupati Dutta, who is the editor of a political newspaper. Centered on her restless days and introspective nature, the film takes place almost exclusively within the …
Miss Judy Directed by Eyal Tavor Israel, 2011 Judy Feld Carr, third from the right, with her family Judy Feld Carr is a Toronto housewife, mother of six. She is a musicologist and a president at her local synagogue. But what many people may not know is that, for 28 years, she’s been helping Syrian …
Dir. Robbie Hart, Luc Côté (2010, Canada, 104 min.) Turning 32 asks an impossible but fascinating question: what parts of growing up are universal? A sequel to the 1992 television series Turing 16, this film reconnects with the principal characters of that series and traces the direction of their lives. It jumps back and forth …
Starting on October 20th, Toronto will host films by and about indigenous peoples from around the world in one of the coolest film festivals this city has to offer – imagineNATIVE. The program is packed with narrative features, documentaries, and shorts by indigenous people from Canada, the USA, Australia, Greenland, New Zealand, Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil, …
Once more, Toronto After Dark has proven why it stands out in a city full of film festivals. Fans were treated to a wild ride full of Old Ones, exorcisms, ninjas, pot brownies, demons, centurions, robogeisha, and a human centipedes. Here are some notes from the festival: – The horror-comedy is picking up speed and …
Out of the Cineplex in Toronto This past weekend, Toronto added yet another film festival to its crowded scene. Each weekend for the rest of August, Open Roof Films will screen films atop the Amsterdam Brewery. Each screening will be something of a party; filmgoers can expect a band, a Q&A, and an after party. …