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Rabu, 23 September 2009

TIFF'09: Selections from Defendor Introduction and Q&A with director Peter Stebbings

The following video clips are from the introduction and Q&A for the screening of Defendor with director Peter Stebbings on Tuesday September 15, 2009 at the Toronto International Film Festival. See my review of Defendor here.

Please note that several of the vids are very dark as only house lights were up during the and Q&A.

TIFF Programmer Jesse Wente introduces Defendor director Peter Stebbings:

Peter Stebbings discusses inspiration and influences for the film:

The Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 10 - 19, 2009 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Minggu, 20 September 2009

TIFF'09 Day 8 - Thursday September 17, 2009

Crazy packed house for The Damned United

Day 8 was all Scotiabank, all the time! Overall I spent a lot of time at that theatre this year, but this was the only day I spent the entire time there. Luckily at one point I had a huge break between films so I escaped for lunch over at Cora's otherwise I may have left the premise at all. I also got to hang out with my buddy Rob as we have 3 of the same films that day, yay! Retrospectively, Day 8 could be renamed 'unknown' day as most of the films I was walking in almost completely blank with little idea on what the film was about, which always makes for an interesting, or surprizing, experience.

To hear all about Day 8 check out my TIFF'09 Vlog for Day 8.

The Damned United
Dir: Tom Hooper (Red Dust)
Cast: Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Jim Broadbent
UK

A fantastic sport film set in late 60's / early 70's following the life of football manager Brian Clough (played by Michael Sheen) and his obsession and involvement with the United Team. I wasn't aware of the history, so it was great to watch it unfold having no idea how things would end up. With the focus strongly set to Brian Clough along with assistant manager Peter Taylor (played by Timothy Spall), the amount of football shown isn't as much as I would have expected but what they work in works really well. In fact, it feels very refreshing take for a sport film as they can often be very formulaic but The Damned United shakes things up. It was a treat to see Timothy Spall play a nice guy character for a change, he really shone in the film. Highly enjoyable and beautiful acted it shares a touching personal journey which makes it a great film for sport and non-sport fans alike.

Kamui poster

Kamui / Kamui Gaiden
Dir: Yoichi Sai (All Under the Moon, Doing Time, Blood and Bones)
Cast: Kenichi Matsuyama, Koyuki, Hideaki Ito, Kaoru Kobayashi, Koichi Sato
Japan

I picked Kamui as a screening selection from the program book image, which is similar to the poster above, along with reading the description only up until I saw the word "ninja" and then put it on the list. After seeing it I am a little stumped for words. Even while taking notes I had to re-write some of my thoughts as things appeared to change a lot during the film and it got to the point I stopped keeping track. The audience was rather sedate and quiet, I found myself stifling laughter at some of the more bizarre moments. It is a pretty twisted journey that feels like it goes all over the place but not anywhere at all at the same time. All that being said it was pretty entertaining overall.

Solomon Kane
Dir: Michael J. Bassett (Deathwatch, Wilderness)
Cast: James Purefoy, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Pete Postlethwaite, Jason Flemyng, Max von Sydow
UK/Czech Republic/France

I took one look at the program book picture and saw the words "creator of Conan" and instantly put Solomon Kane on my Must See list. I was completely unfamiliar with the character therefore I didn't realize it would be set in a time where witchcraft and sorcery were considered evil. Considering I'm not a huge fan of those time periods, so it really had to work of win me over and it did. A compelling personal journey is always a great place to star and James Purefoy did a fantastic job embodying Solomon Kane through the journey and beyond. The film has great action sequences with impressive fighting and fantastic overall visual style. It was a lot of fun and had one of the best Q&A's of the fest to boot!

Bizarre side note: I understand the Witch Hunter class in Warhammer a lot better now!

See selections from Solomon Kane Introduction and Q&A with Michael J. Bassett and James Purefoy

Solomon Kane writer/director Michael J. Bassett and actor James Purefoy

Solomon Kane writer/director Michael J. Bassett and actor James Purefoy

Deliver Us From Evil / Fri os fra det onde
Dir: Ole Bornedal (I Am Dina, Just Another Love Story)
Cast: Lasse Rimmer, Lene Nystrom, Jens Andersen, Pernille Valentin, Mogens Pedersen
Denmark/Sweden/Norway

Picked purely for 'most interesting in timeslot available' I had done almost no research on this film before viewing, but it was getting tons of buzz throughout the festival. Visually stunning with a washed out look fits the tone of the film well, it seems determined to scrub through surfaces to get to the real ugly places underneath. Not only does it go to ugly places and a few isms, the film primarily explores the capacity for humans to be evil. A well told story, or lesson, but not a film for me as I don't need to be reminded that evil is bad, but I realized this relatively early on in the film so I could appreciate the brilliant moments and specular acting from Jens Andersen and Lasse Rimmer while trying to stay unaffected by the violence and hate. The harsh edge and message kept it out of my personal viewing tastes but I know many people who loved it and others that will appreciate it.

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 10 - 19, 2009 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Selasa, 23 September 2008

TIFF'08 Coverage

TIFF'08 Wrap Up

I don't normally do straight-up top 5, 10's or lists by roles category, however this year I was asked for Faves for the 2008 Festvial from TIFFreviews.com and felt compelled to comply and also share my selections:
Best Film - JCVD
Best Actor - Ulrich Thomsen in Fear Me Not / Den du frygter
Best Actress - Carina Caputo in Derrière moi / Behind Me
Best Direction - Rafaël Ouellet for Derrière moi / Behind Me
Best Screenplay - A Film with Me in It
Want to have your say? Fill out a ballot over here at the TIFFReviews.com Awards.

Now back to your regularly schedulled Movie Moxie Festival Wrap Up.

Overall Stand out Films: C'est pas moi, je le jure! / It's not me, I Swear!, Derrière moi / Behind Me, Eden Log, Every Little Step, Fear Me Not / Den du frygter, JCVD, Kisses, The Real Shaolin, The Sky Crawlers, Still Walking / Aruitemo aruitemo, Patrik 1,5 / Patrik, Age 1.5, Pontypool and White Night Wedding / Brúðguminn

Artistic works of wonder: Ashes of Time Redux, Eden Log and The Sky Crawlers

They made my cry dangnabit!: Every Little Step

Standing Ovations (only one this year): C'est pas moi, je le jure! / It's not me, I Swear!

Favourite Program: Tie between Midnight Madness and Vanguard, both have extremely strong programming this year.

Best Experience: The energy in the room during the Chocolate and JCVD screenings

Funnest collective experience: Noting how many pirates were in the crowd for the collective anti-piracy 'Arggggggg!'. It wasn't as heartfelt this year though.

Best Q&A's: Chocolate, Detroit Metal City, The Real Shaolin, Tokyo Sonata, White Night Wedding / Brúðguminn

Weirdest repeated Q&A question: No question but long winded praise for the films - which is lovely in it's own way.

Still has me thinking: Dernier Maquis, One Week and Martyrs

The weird and bizarre: Sauna and Tale 52 / Istoria 52

Most impressive first feature: Winds of September

Weirdest reoccurance: Out of the films I picked, without noticing it at all I picked 5 Japanese family dramas: Still Walking / Aruitemo aruitemo, Achillles and the Tortoise, All Around Us, Toyko Sonata and Vacation

Fullest Screenings: JCVD and Chocolate

Funny moments:
-At the JCVD Midnight Madness screening, the line for the gents washroom was substantially longer than for the ladies. What a feat!
-I was one of the very few women in The Dungeon Masters screening

Wish I hadn't missed: First screenings with people from the films present including Ashes of Time Redux (Wong Kar Wai) and It Might Get Loud (Jimmy Page!). Also, so many films, but I hoped to get more Canadian films on my roster especially those from the Canada First! program. Alas, there is always next year!

The Toronto International Film Festival 2008 ran from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

TIFF'08 Day 10 - Saturday September 13, 2008

Last film of TIFF at the AMC. I wonder if I'll miss it? One great thing about the AMC is that I found regardless of the theatre size or layout I could always find a good seat right before the show - a very important thing! I didn't spend a lot of time in lines this year, opting for either relaxing until the house was open or dashing in from another screening. Day 10 was a pretty awesome day filled with 5 enjoyable films. Only 2 of the filmmakers were in attendance, which isn't bad for the last day of the festival and they were both great Q&A's. Want to hear all about Day 10? Check out my Day 10 Vlog!

The Biggest Chinese Restaurant in the World
Dir: Weijun Chen
Documentary
UK/The Netherlands/Denmark

Reason to See: Sounded like an interesting documentary!

What an astonishing feat to run a restaurant that seats 5,000 diners, has 1000 employees including 300 chefs. The film shows many events that the restaurent hosts as well as focusing on the owner and various members of the staff whom come from different backgrounds and social levels. That is one of the strong themes to the film: success, wealth and social status. The importance on achieving these things is felt very strongly throughout the film. There were lots of interesting stories and great moments, but I think it would have benefitted to have a stronger over arching story told to hold it all together. Also, there were some queasy reactions from audience members regarding food preparation so keep that in mind if you are going to check it out.

The one and only one screening I went to at the Cumberland for TIFF'08 was on Day 10, the venue was barely used for public screenings.

Chocolate director Prachya Pinkaew (centre)

Chocolate
Dir: Prachya Pinkaew (Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior, The Protector/ Tom yum goong)
Cast: Jija Yanin, Hiroshi Abe, Pongpat Wachirabanjong, Ammara Siripong
Thailand

Reason to See: Martial arts action flick with a female protagonist from the director of Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior? That's essential viewing folks!

Chocolate was one of the highest anticpated films to see this year. I wave very close to going to the Midnight screening of the film but knowing it was the closing night of the festival I had a feeling I might not make it. Turns out the afternoon screening felt just as crazy as a midnight one with what felt like every seat in the house taken (I was in the front row, centre and the entire row was full) and cheers, hollars and applause throughout the film during the action sequences. I knew it would be high flying, kneecap smashing fun and it sure did deliver. It was fantastic to see a woman kick some major butt in an action film and I was very impressed by Jija Yanin performance.

My only concern was I really hope no one got hurt during the filming, but the trailer (shows the basic premise and lots of the action shots) does indicate no stunt double and real injuries.

Highlights from the Introduction and Q&A with director Prachya Pinkaew:
-They found Jija Yanin as a Tae Kwan Do instructor, she trained for 3 years for this film and is 23 years old.
-Director Prachya Pinkaew is producing Ong Bak 2 which Tony Jaa is directing and starring in.
-See Video selections from the Chocolate Intro and Q&A here

Eden Log director Franck Vestiel

Eden Log
Dir: Franck Vestiel
Cast: Clovis Cornillac
France

Reason to See: I'll go to any SciFi at TIFF. I specifically saved this for the last day so I would have it to look forward to (along with Chocolate)

I love the look and feel of Eden Log, a film where the view spends a lot of time in the dark - visually and storywise. When the light does shine we are treated to a world of blue, black, white and silver which is beautiful. The film is highly drentched in the world of science fiction but we are let into this world very slowly and often left to fill in the blanks ourselves, which I loved. Visually stunning with strong performance this was one of my favourties of the festival.

Highlights from Intro and Q&A with director Franck Vestiel:
-selections of the film were shot in a quarry
-at times there was a huge temperature difference between the actor and the outside temperature
-at one point it was thought to do the film with no dialogue
-there were mixed feelings from the audience, some felt it was too video game like (I disagree)
-the film was concurrently shot in French and English (festival showed French version)
-it has been picked up for US distribution by Magnet
-see the Introduction to the Eden Log screening here

The Secret of Moonacre
Dir: Gabor Csupo
Cast: Dakota Blue Richards, Ioan Gruffudd, Natascha McElhone, Juliet Stevenson, Tim Curry
UK/Hungary/France

Reason to See: This falls under my 'try something new this year' category. Going to a family film was definitely a new festival experience!

Well, this certainly was trying something new for me as I don't normally go to family/kids films and it was one of the few audiences where I didn't feel amongs my peers. But I became charmed over by them and by the film. It's was exciting to see a fantasy based film with a young female protagonist (Dakota Blue Richards from The Golden Compass) in this tale or adventure and magic. It is a film that I would have loved to see as a child but even as an adult it brought a smile to my face.

See also: The Secret of Moonacre DVD Review

All Around Us
Dir: Ryosuke Hashiguchi
Cast: Tae Kimura, Lily Franky, Mitsuko Baisyo, Susumu Terajima, Akira Emoto
Japan

Reason to See: This was the only thing in the timeslot that interested me and I needed to get one more film in. I wasn't sure if I would be able to get through it as it was a late screening on the final night.

This year at TIFF was a year of seeing Japanese family dramas and All Around Us is one of the five that I saw and it was beautiful. I was most than slightly hesistant to see a 2 1/2 hr film up til just about midnight on the final day but I'm so glad that I did. Their is a beautiful sense of personal intimacy shown in this film that follows a couple throughout many years of thier lives. They don't always seem to like each other a lot, but they sure do know each other. It feels like it should be bittersweet, but it is much sweeter than than. It was the perfect film to close the festival with, I'm sure glad I saw it.

One of the odder product placements, the TIFF popcorn and water for sale... on wheels!

The Toronto International Film Festival 2008 runs from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Senin, 22 September 2008

TIFF'08 Day 9 - Friday September 12, 2008

I spend the majority of the day at the Varsity, which is unusual for the fest so far as most films I've seen have been at Scotiabank or AMC. One nice thing about the Varsity is there are a fair number of places to get food & coffee/tea and there is also an Indigo close. Unfortunately it's a venue that has a lot of lines ups ending up outside - good thing it wasn't too rainy! For more on Day 9 you can check out my Vlog from Day 9.

Empty Nest actor Ines Efron and director Daniel Burman

Empty Nest / El Nido vacío
Dir: Daniel Burman
Cast: Oscar Martínez, Cecilia Roth, Arturo Goetz, Inés Efron, Eugenia Capizzano
Argentina/Spain/France/Italy

Reason to See: I actually mistook this film for Radio Love which I saw on Day 8. Sometimes that happens when you are looking at hundreds of titles - good thing it only happened once!

Following the lives of a couple after their daughter has flow the coop, Empty Nest shows us the blending inner and outer worlds of Leonardo played by Oscar Martínez. I found such a duality in the film as it deals with change and maturing but always retains whimsical notions. There is also magical realism at play, which I took literally and therefore sometimes left confused. But, I rolled with it as I wanted to see where the journey would lead. Overall, it didn't quite resonate with me but it did have a unique storytelling style.

Martyrs director Pascal Laugier

Martyrs
Dir: Pascal Laugier
Cast: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Begin, Robert Toupin
France/Canada

Reason to See: I wasn't very interested in seeing this as it seem to be a huge over the top violent film a la Hostel and such. Then I saw this article over at Twitch by Todd Brown which stated : "...you could argue that Martyrs is an anti-exploitation exploitation film". That got me interested.

I think Martyrs easily qualifies as the most disturbing film of the festival, a woman fainted at the screening I attended and during the midnight showing one girl apparently 'lost her popcorn'. It was the film I was most hesitant about seeing due to the violence and depiction of traumatic events. I was pleasantly surprized to see that it was not a film that just shows violence for violence sake but comments to the effects of violence as well as possible motivations. Don't get me wrong, a lot of it is sick and twisted and extremely hard to watch. But, it also makes philosophical points and delves into darker side of human nature and all the while serves as a phenomenal horror film. Quite a feat.

Highlights of Q&A with director Pascal Laugier:
-even the director himself says he has a hard time watching the film
-if the film does not effect you in some way, it isn't doing it's job
-apparently at the Midnight showing of the film an audience member felt the need to 'educate' the audience by mentioning Michael Heneke. Pascal Laugier said during this screening that Martyrs is like an anti-Funny Games
-See video selections from Martyrs Intro and Q&A

Universalove director Thomas Woschitz

Universalove
Dir: Thomas Woschitz
Cast: Anica Dobra, Daniel Plier, Sascha Migge, Erom Cordeiro, Kyoichi Komoto
Austria/Luxembourg

Reason to See: Universalove looked avant garde and it's also an exploration of love, given that I often go for heavier films I thought this would be a good way to fit in some balance.

Set in various cites around the globe Universalove is a visually stunning film with a beautiful texture. The stories it follows were different than I had anticipated thinking that as an exploration of the themes of love but many were tragic. Going with the intention to see something a lighter and uplifting didn't quite work out, but it was a refreshing change of pace to see a film that was experimental and challenged assumptions.

Highlights of Q&A with director Thomas Woschitz:
-the film and soundtrack by Naked Lunch were created together, not separately
-the film had 24 shooting days between December 2007 and March 2008, every city had 4 days of prep and 4 days of shooting
-it was shot on Super 16

Pontypool director Bruce McDonald

Pontypool
Dir: Bruce McDonald (Highway 61, Roadkill, Hard Core Logo)
Cast: Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, Georgina Reilly, Hrant Alianak
Canada

Reason to See: Bruce McDonald horror film in small town Ontario. It was a must see from the moment I heard about it.

Fantastic film, one of my favourites of the festival by far. Pontypool is a smart-minded, rough around the edges, all out think tank of a horror film. Fantastic performances from the entire cast although I did particularly enjoy Stephen McHattie's gritty yet earnest portrayal of local DJ Grant Mazzy. I dare not say more, and if you are sensitive to spoilers I'd recommend not reading up on the film as it is very plot heavy. If you are a fan of horror films with a strong story, you will love Pontypool. I know I did.

See a selection from Pontypool Q&A here

Achilles and the Tortoise
Dir: Takeshi Kitano (Takeshis', Glory to the Filmmaker!)
Cast: Beat Takeshi, Kanako Higuchi, Yurei Yangi, Kumiko Aso, Akira Nakao, Reo Yoshioka
Japan

Reason to See: Seeing Takeshi Kitano's 2 previous films in this trilogy in the yesteryears of TIFF I couldn't pass up the opportunity to finish the journey I had begun.

Trying to describe a film by Takeshi Kitano normally feels like an exercise in futility as all the ones I've seen had a strong non sensical nature to them. I was surprized to find that Achilles and the Tortoise has a strong narrative to it. I had a mixed reaction to this as I don't mind one bit landing in the world of the bizarre and sometimes I'm more comfortable there then somewhere where things make sense. In this film, we journey through the life of trying artist Machisu. It's a fascinating exploration into what art is, whose opinion about art matters, why we create it and what it brings or takes from us. The paintings featured in the film are artwork from Takeshi Kitano himself.

The Toronto International Film Festival 2008 runs from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Minggu, 21 September 2008

TIFF'08 Day 8 - Thursday September 11, 2008

Day 8 was another great day at the festival, and for the four films I saw all of the filmmakers were in attendance - I love that! There was also a fair amount of running around between theatres and one really tight turn around due to a lengthy Q&A. Want to hear all about Day 8? Check out the TIFF'08 Vlog for Day 8.

Sauna director Antti-Jussi Annila

Sauna
Dir: Antti-Jussi Annila (Jade Warrior)
Cast: Ville Virtanen, Tommi Eronen, Viktor Klimenko, Sonja Petäjäjärvi
Finland

Reason to See: The picture in the program book was what hooked me. It looked like a combination between Gladiator and Night Watch / Nochnoi Dozor.

Beautiful and dark horror drama, Sauna takes us back to 1595 to follow a group as they define the Russian/Finnish border. It's amazing that the atmosphere of the period created is so rich, you can feel the weariness of the length of the journey, you wonder about any odd sound or blurred image, everything feels so full and so creepy. It is one of the scarier films I saw at the festival although the tension and horror is achieved in a paced, graceful manner. That being said I certainly jumped in my seat a few times. It also was more than just a scarefest, as it pondered questions about life, change and relationships. All in all an amazing feat.

The majority of the Q&A with director Antti-Jussi Annila makes references to specific plot points and theme therefore it would be a spoiler to share. He did respond to an audience comment regarding the translation and subtitles, which you can see here.

Winds of September director Tom Shu-Yu Lin

Winds of September
Dir: Tom Shu-Yu Lin
Cast: Rhydian Vaughan, Chang Chieh, Wang Bo-Chieh, Sheng Wei-Nian
Taiwan

Reason to See: The program picture was again the reason that got me out to the film as well as the fact that in Toronto we don't see many films from Taiwan in regular release.

Beautiful coming of age film set in Taiwan following nine students through a year of high school. Delightful in moments of fun and full of vigor but also tactful with more serious issues that deftly shows how the world changes as we gather more and more experiences. I loved seeing all the different relationships between the group of friends, it really captured that dynamic very well. Quite a gem.

Highlights from the introduction and Q&A with director Tom Shu-Yu Lin:
-A lot of people from the audience moved to sit in the front seats during the Q&A - always a good sign!
-About 80% of the film is autobiographical in terms of content
- The film A Brighter Summer Day / Gu ling jie shao nian sha ren shi jian (Edward Yang) is the film that made Tom Shu-Yu Lin want to become a filmmaker
- The credits are really long as he included each and every extras name in the credits
-I was surprized to find out that the Taiwan films are stuggling in the market in Taiwan due to the huge amount of competition from Western films
-see video selections of the introduction and Q&A here

The Dungeon Masters editor Christine Khalafi and director Keven McAlester

The Dungeon Masters
Dir: Keven McAlester
Documentary on D&D Dungeon Masters
USA

Reason to See: I always want to see films on gaming, being a gamer myself.

The Dungeon Masters focuses on three Dungeon and Dragons (D&D) Dungeon Masters whom have played the role-playing game for many years. It's interesting to see that the paper, pencil & dice style game is still alive and well. I find it odd that the most consistent thing people say about the film seems to be that it doesn't make fun of the people that play. It that really what people were expecting? During the Q&A it was noted that the film is an opportunity for non gamers to see what this world is like, but I had hoped for more that that from the film. There were so many things that I had wished they had covered, like showing people play or what the dynamic and community of a group of gamers is like - however that wouldn't be possible as the focus is on three DMs (which I always hear GM in my head as in Game Master), whom of course, don't play together as they run their own campaigns. It also would have been interested to see more on the contrast of their role in the game as a leadership role, and what is different about that in their day to day life. We do get to see a lot of their day to day life, mostly surrounding struggles with the exception of when they are gaming or go to conventions. I really wanted more from this film. I look forward to the day where a gamer makes a gaming film!

Highlights from Q&A with director Keven McAlester and editor Christine Khalafi:
-the three Dungeon Masters depicted in the film have not seen it yet, as it was finished only days before it screened at the festival
-they talked to about 30 people when trying to choose the subjects for the film, and ended up choosing the first three people they spoke to
-shooting started in May 2006 and the it was shot in three large sections
-they toyed with the idea of a narrator but one of the dungeon masters explained aspects of the game so well so they went with that
-there was general commentary from audience & filmmaker regarding how playing D&D is not that much different than other hobbies like being a collector or participating in fantasy football

Tokyo Sonata director Kiyoshi Kurosawa (centre)

Tokyo Sonata
Dir: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Cast: Teruyuki Dagawa, Kyoko Koizumi, Haruka Igawa, Yu Koyanagi, Kai Inowaki
Japan/The Netherlands/Hong Kong/China

Reason to See: I hadn't yet see any of Kiyoshi Kurosawa films yet and wanted to see what this would bring!

Wow, what a lovely and heart wrenching film Tokyo Sonata is. It is a family drama with parents and two sons and follows them through their trials and tribulations of daily life. Sounds so simple but its beauty is in the complexity of actions, reactions and inactions that effect the family as a whole. It shows a vast emotional range and is sensitive as well as tough, and there sure were some tough moments. I was very impressed by this film and look forward to exploring more of Kiyoshi Kurosawa filmography.

Highlights from Intro and Q&A with director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
-with reference to previous films being all horror films, Kiyoshi Kurosawa said that he always adds an element of hope to his films but found that with the horror films people didn't usually see this
-during the introduction he mentioned to the audience he hoped they could relate on one of the four characters and during the Q&A someone asked him whom he related to the most. He said it was a good question and that no one had asked it before, his response was he relates to all of the characters to different aspects of himself
-many of the questions were content related so I can't share them here but I have to say I was very impressed by all of the eloquent answers Kiyoshi Kurosawa provided. One of the best Q&A's of the festival
-see a video selection of the introduction here

Packed house for Tokyo Sonata

The Toronto International Film Festival 2008 runs from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Poll Results: Overall, my TIFF'08 Experience Was….

Wow, results on this one are quite different than last year where 66% of us thought it was amazing. I know I still had a great time but there were definitely changes I wasn't happy with. We shall see what next year brings.

53% Satisfying, will be a regular thing
23% Amazing! I'll be first in queue next year
15% Ok, will consider revisiting
7% Not a great year for me

The Toronto International Film Festival 2008 ran from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Sabtu, 20 September 2008

TIFF'08 Day 7 - Wednesday September 10, 2008

Day 7 was a trip all around the world including a trek through Canada. From historical to modern day, tales of love, longing and those lost and forgotten...

See and hear all about Day 7 on my Day 7 Vlog!

Ashes of Time Redux
Dir: Wong Kar Wai
Cast: Leslie Cheung, Brigitte Lin, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Carina Lau, Tony Leung Ka Fai, Jacky Cheung, Charlie Young
Hong Kong/China

Reason to See: I'll see anything by Wong Kar Wai, he is one of my favourite directors.

This film is a Redux of the 1994 Ashes of Time / Dung che sai duk with enhanced cinematography and soundtrack. I was almost leery to see it considering I hadn't seen the original but I'm so glad that I did as it quickly became one of my favourites of the festival. The film itself follows numerous stories of love, loss and revenge most of which are told to a swordsman for hire. Although the stories are fascinating in it of themselves, it is how the stories are told that makes the film magical. Rich visuals that play with colour, light and framing heighten the emotional content that pushes the tales from a film to an experience. Absolutely brilliant.

The only disappointment for me with Ashes of Time Redux was being at this screening as opposed to the one two days earlier that had director Wong Kar Wai in attendance. I truly can't believe I missed that opportunity.

Tale 52 director Alexis Alexiou

Tale 52 / Istoria 52
Dir: Alexis Alexiou
Cast: Giorgos Kakanakis, Serafita Grigoriadou
Greece

Reason to See: I honestly can't remember. I figure it must have fit nicely into my schedule.

Tale 52 is a gripping drama that mixes in genres of romance and thriller. I found it spooky, intriguing and mystifying. The story centres on a newly formed relationship that seems to change over time. I will admit that I was confused at many parts during the film, but that made it a very engaging experience. It felt very mysterious and had a great sense of tension throughout. Even though there is a repetitive nature to the film, I would gladly see it again.

Highlights from the Q&A with director Alexis Alexiou:
-There was definitely a split opinion in the audience between those who were confused or wanted an explanation and those who "got it" but the director said that it he doesn't think that it is important to know what actually happened (I agree with this!)
-it was shot on 60mm blown up to 35, which is where the budget went
-the apartment it was filmed in is 100 square meters and smaller than it appears on screen, which made shooting very difficult

One Week director Michael McGowan

One Week
Dir: Michael McGowan (Saint Ralph)
Cast: Joshua Jackson, Liane Balaban, Campbell Scott
Canada

Reason to See: It's Canadian and a Gala presentation.

This was my one and only Gala pick of the year, I didn't see it on it's Gala screening but a showing at the AMC in one of the larger theatres and it was packed! Aptly described as a love letter to Canada, this film is just that. It feels like home whether you are from near or far and regardless if have visiting the places along the way or not. Filled with Canadian references from Tim Horton's to Kalendar's it's a delight to see cancon on the screen as we follows Ben on his personal journey through his own life and Canada itself.

Highlights from the Q&A with director Michael McGowan:
-Mongrel will distribute the film in Canada in March 2009
-shooting took 5 weeks total, 3 weeks on the road & 2 weeks in Toronto
-Saint Ralph (the directors previous film) was most successful in Japan, which he described as a Spinal Tap moment
It was a very entertaining Q&A and I wish I could share more but the rest of the questions pertained to very specific moments in the film and it would be spoilerville to put them up.

From second from left in, Radio Love director Leonardo de Armas, actors Jorge Luis González and Beatriz Rico

Radio Love
Dir: Leonardo de Armas
Cast: Beatriz Rico, Jorge Luis González, Amauri Rolando Reinoso
Spain

Reason to See: I picked Radio Love to balance out some of the heavier selections, with the logic of a romantic comedy would make for a nice break.

Set up as a comedy and personal journey of a 36 year old woman whom feels like the clock is ticking, I was looking forward to lot of giggles and exploration. I felt so close to really enjoying this film but many of the devices used I didn't buy into. I didn't believe someone who works in fashion but not being very fashion forward, or ever that the main character was supposed to be considered anything but gorgeous. The explorations of 'self-enlightenment' were mostly used for comedic effect which was also disappointing, however should not have been a surprize. There were strong performances in the film and it did have some great moments.

The Toronto International Film Festival 2008 runs from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Rabu, 17 September 2008

Selections from Martyrs Intro and Q&A

The following video clips are from the screening of Martyrs on Saturday September 13, 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Director Pascal Laugier speaks of inspiration, process and what horror films and the horror genre means to him, Colin Geddes discusses his and others reaction to the film (spoilers in terms of film content/timeline):

Director Pascal Laugier discusses the make up artist for the film, the late Benoît Lestang.

See my review of Martyrs here.

The Tor onto International Film Festival 2008 ran from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Eden Log Introduction with director Franck Vestiel

The following video clip is from the screening of Eden Log on Saturday September 13, 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Midnight Madness programmer Colin Geddes introduces Eden Log director Franck Vestiel:

See my review of Eden Log here.

The Toronto International Film Festival 2008 ran from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Selections from Winds of September Introduction and Q&A

The following video clips are from the screening of Winds of September on Thursday September 11, 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Director Tom Shu-Yu Lin introduces the film:

Director Tom Shu-Yu Lin responds to and audience question regarding if the cast was comprised on non actors, as well as discusses the casting process:

See my review of Winds of September here.

The Toronto International Film Festival 2008 ran from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Selections from Pontypool Q&A

The following video clip is from the screening of Pontypool on Friday September 12, 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival. See director Bruce McDonald speak about the process and intentions of the film, including creating the tone & style (includes spoilers of content and setting):

See my review of Pontypool here.

The Toronto International Film Festival 2008 ran from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

TIFF'08 Day 6 - Tuesday September 9, 2008

Day 6 was my late start day of the fest with the first film at 12:15pm at Scotiabank - what bliss to sleep in just a wee bit! After that I headed on up to AMC for the rest of the day. Highlights of the day were two awesome Q&As. First, the Kisses Q&A featured not only the director, but also both young actors whom charmed and amused the audience. Then at Toronto Stories there was oodles of cast and crew in attendance for the World Premiere of the four part film.

Want to hear all about Day 6? Check out my Vlog for Day 6!

Kisses director Lance Daly

Kisses
Dir: Lance Daly
Cast: Shane Curry, Kelly O'Neill
Ireland/Sweden

Reason to see: I found the premise fascinating.

Kisses is a touching tale of two kids that try to make a go at a better life from a pretty low starting point. But their lack of life skills in this particular endeavour is made up with a lot of guts and fierce loyalty. The film features two incredible performances by the young leads Shane Curry and Kelly O'Neill which bring to life the troubled twosome of Dylan and Kylie. The film was short at 72 minutes but it fits the tone perfectly. Quite a gem.

Highlights from the Intro and Q&A with director Lance Daly and actors Shane Curry & Kelly O'Neill
-See a selection from the Q&A where director Lance Daly describes why he wanted to tell this story
-There was quite the lively reaction to whether or not the audience would prefer to see the film with English subtitles (it's in English but with strong Irish accents). About 10% of the audience would want subtitles, but around 60% or more said to leave it as is. When released on DVD it will have optional subtitles but director Lance Daly mentioned before the screening to just relax into the film and the you will become accustomed to the accent (I agree with this).
-Regarding the casting, it was explained that they had saw thousands of kids but they took the worst behaved of the lot and then from that found that Kelly was the only one who could deal with Shane and vice versa. It was also noted that the two had great chemistry
- In response to whether the film was scripted as it had such a freshness to it, the dialogue was scripted but what we see is peppered with stuff that happened naturally as well. Also, scenes could have between 50-60 takes.

Kisses director Lance Daly, actors Kelly O'Neill and Shane Curry

24 City / Er Shi Si Cheng Ji
Dir: Jia Zhang-ke
China

Reason to see: I had heard good things about this film and sounded like it had an interesting pace.

In all honestly I don't think it would be fair to review this film as I was a wee bit tired at the screening and may have missed just a bit here and there. I did find it compelling and was strongly interested in the memories described by subjects regarding the personal connection to Factory 420, which produced aviation and aeronautical equipment for years but remained a military secret. I did often find myself pondering if the film was a documentary or commentary and after further investigation it appears to be both which is a fascinating approach. It had a haunting tone and fierce nostalgia have cemented my interest and hope to see this one again someday.

Toronto Stories filmmakers

Toronto Stories
Dirs: Sook-Yin Lee, Sudz Sutherland, David Weaver, Aaron Woodley
Cast: Toka Murphy, Tygh Runyan, Sook-Yin Lee, Carly Pope, Joris Jarksy, K.C. Collins, Gil Bellows, Ricardo Hoyos, Samantha Weinstein
Canada

Reason to see: I'm a Torontonian through and through. This was a must-see from the get go.

One of the things I love most about Toronto Stories was its ability to capture the different tones, styles and locations of Toronto. We Torontonians are very aware that we live in a multicultural mecca, but it is so great to see this reflected on the screen and through the stories told in this film. I was most impressed by 'The Brazilian' set in Kensington Market and featuring Tygh Runyan and Sook-Yin Lee out of the series of stories but they all had wonderful moments.I would also note the stand out performance by Gil Bellows which really brought the film home.

Toronto Stories Q&A:
Check out these vids from the Introduction and Q&A.

Toronto Stories easily was the film with the most representation out of the entire festival:

A Film with Me In It
Dir: Ian FitzGibbon
Cast: Dylan Moran, Mark Doherty, Amy Huberman, Keith Allen, David Doherty
Ireland

Reason to see: Films about films pique my interest.

Wow, I was not expecting this film to be so dark and so funny. It rivals Forever, Never, Anywhere from TIFF'07 as one of the darkest comedies I have ever seen. The audience just ate it up though, they were really having a ball following this band of down on their luck filmmaker hopefuls. It really pushed the envelope when it came to humour and managed to be flippant and suave at the same time. As I'm not a huge fan of dark comedies, I was a bit mystified that I continued to laugh throughout which can partly be attributed to being in a packed house of laughing festival goes but moreso to the strong performances by Mark Doherty and Dylan Moran. So much of the film was completely over the top but Dylan Moran's delivery always brought the film together perfectly.

Now that is a lot of stickered screenings!

The Toronto International Film Festival 2008 runs from September 4-13/08 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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