Canadian filmmaker Jamie Kastner has launched a fundraiser to support his legal costs in fighting the Ontario Provincial Police against a production order that could force him to surrender the source material for his documentary.
Kastner is the director of “There Are No Fakes,” a 2019 doc that uncovered an art fraud ring that passed off fake paintings as originals by the celebrated Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau, known for his vibrant paintings of the natural world and First Nations mythology.
The eye-opening film revealed there were up to 10 times more Morrisseau forgeries on the market as there were real works, and that the artist’s own nephew may have been complicit in helping to produce the fakes.
The film’s release inspired investigators in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to pursue the case, and in early March, police made eight arrests and 40 charges in addition to seizing 1,000 fake Morrisseau paintings. However, as part of the ongoing investigation,...
Kastner is the director of “There Are No Fakes,” a 2019 doc that uncovered an art fraud ring that passed off fake paintings as originals by the celebrated Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau, known for his vibrant paintings of the natural world and First Nations mythology.
The eye-opening film revealed there were up to 10 times more Morrisseau forgeries on the market as there were real works, and that the artist’s own nephew may have been complicit in helping to produce the fakes.
The film’s release inspired investigators in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to pursue the case, and in early March, police made eight arrests and 40 charges in addition to seizing 1,000 fake Morrisseau paintings. However, as part of the ongoing investigation,...
- 6/27/2023
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
A Canadian documentary maker whose film helped police crack one of the art world’s biggest fraud cases has been forced to surrender his source material to the Ontario Provincial Police as part of a production order.
Jamie Kastner is the director of “There Are No Fakes,” a 2019 documentary that uncovered an art fraud ring that passed off fake paintings as originals by the celebrated Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau, known for his vibrant paintings of the natural world and First Nations mythology. The eye-opening film, which premiered at Hot Docs in Toronto, revealed there were up to 10 times more Morrisseau forgeries on the market as there were real works, and that the artist’s own nephew may have been complicit in helping to produce the fakes.
The film’s release inspired investigators in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to pursue the case, and in early March, police made eight arrests and 40 charges...
Jamie Kastner is the director of “There Are No Fakes,” a 2019 documentary that uncovered an art fraud ring that passed off fake paintings as originals by the celebrated Indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau, known for his vibrant paintings of the natural world and First Nations mythology. The eye-opening film, which premiered at Hot Docs in Toronto, revealed there were up to 10 times more Morrisseau forgeries on the market as there were real works, and that the artist’s own nephew may have been complicit in helping to produce the fakes.
The film’s release inspired investigators in Thunder Bay, Ontario, to pursue the case, and in early March, police made eight arrests and 40 charges...
- 3/21/2023
- by Manori Ravindran
- Variety Film + TV
"This painting is a lie." When it comes to art, what's real and what isn't? Can you tell if an artist is genuine? There Are No Fakes is a feature documentary all about art forgery. The film uncovers never-before-heard details about the largest case of art forgery in history, surrounding the work by indigenous artist Norval Morrisseau. A painting, apparently the work of an iconic native artist, leads the rockstar who buys it into the tragic, brutal world of an art forgery ring in Canada's far north. As a direct result of this documentary's expose, the Thunder Bay police have opened a criminal investigation into the matter. (Still an active case.) The film arrives on VOD this week, for those interested. From the trailer it's hard to figure out exactly what's going on, but that's what makes it intriguing - what is the great mystery behind this art drama. Check it out.
- 3/9/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Works in progress to include ‘Reconstructing Utoya’; new science section includes portrait of Oliver Sacks.
Cph:Dox has unveiled the 26 projects to be presented in its Cph:Forum, its financing and co-production event (March 21-22) that works across creative filmmaking.
The projects are from the likes of established directors such as Maxim Pozdorovkin (Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer), Guy Davidi (5 Broken Cameras), Camilla Nielsson (Democrats), Anna Eborn (Pine Ridge) and Grant Gee (Meeting People is Easy).
Topics range from a family trying to find their own utopia in an organic village; a portrait of Lee Miller; the filmic obsessions of Lars von Trier; and Chinese women trying to find a partner by age 27.
For the fifth year, the Forum projects are eligible for the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of $18,400 €15,000 for the event’s best pitch. Kickstarter provides guidance and promotional support for the Forum projects as well.
More than 150 attending decision makers will include European broadcasters such as...
Cph:Dox has unveiled the 26 projects to be presented in its Cph:Forum, its financing and co-production event (March 21-22) that works across creative filmmaking.
The projects are from the likes of established directors such as Maxim Pozdorovkin (Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer), Guy Davidi (5 Broken Cameras), Camilla Nielsson (Democrats), Anna Eborn (Pine Ridge) and Grant Gee (Meeting People is Easy).
Topics range from a family trying to find their own utopia in an organic village; a portrait of Lee Miller; the filmic obsessions of Lars von Trier; and Chinese women trying to find a partner by age 27.
For the fifth year, the Forum projects are eligible for the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of $18,400 €15,000 for the event’s best pitch. Kickstarter provides guidance and promotional support for the Forum projects as well.
More than 150 attending decision makers will include European broadcasters such as...
- 2/8/2018
- by Wendy Mitchell
- ScreenDaily
Victim or Villain? Kastner’s Paradoxical Docu Goes Far, Not Nearly Far Enough
Coming across as a sort of hybrid between what one might find on the History Channel and a true crime serial, Jamie Kastner indicts the system that condemned Ishmail Muslim Ali with The Skyjacker’s Tale — an attention grabbing docu that oozes with dramatic vibrancy and intrigue.
Continue reading...
Coming across as a sort of hybrid between what one might find on the History Channel and a true crime serial, Jamie Kastner indicts the system that condemned Ishmail Muslim Ali with The Skyjacker’s Tale — an attention grabbing docu that oozes with dramatic vibrancy and intrigue.
Continue reading...
- 7/8/2017
- by Matthew Roe
- IONCINEMA.com
Chinese neo-noir to open in autumn.
Strand Releasing has acquired all Us rights to Liu Jian’s Have A Nice Day which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The animated neo-noir feature is set in a small town in Southern China as a young driver steals a bag containing $1m to save his fiancee’s failed plastic surgery.
The deal was done between Jon Gerrans of Strand Releasing and Tanja Meissner of the film’s international sales agent Memento Films International.
“We are very excited that Have A Nice Day is coming out theatrically in the Us, Strand is...
Strand Releasing has acquired all Us rights to Liu Jian’s Have A Nice Day which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The animated neo-noir feature is set in a small town in Southern China as a young driver steals a bag containing $1m to save his fiancee’s failed plastic surgery.
The deal was done between Jon Gerrans of Strand Releasing and Tanja Meissner of the film’s international sales agent Memento Films International.
“We are very excited that Have A Nice Day is coming out theatrically in the Us, Strand is...
- 6/22/2017
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
From award-winning Canadian filmmaker Jamie Kastner comes the feature-length documentary, “The Skyjacker’s Tale,” which gives audiences unprecedented access to one of the USA’s top five most wanted fugitives – Ishmael Muslim Ali (formerly Labeet) – who lives in Cuba. Called The… Continue Reading →...
- 3/21/2017
- by shadowandact
- ShadowAndAct
On September 6th, 1972, five politically motivated Virgin Islanders murdered eight people at the Rockefeller-owned Fountain Valley Golf Course on the island of Saint Croix. Dubbed the Fountain Valley Massacre, the killings put the entire island on lockdown, and after a contentious trial, all five of the defendants were convicted. But on New Years Eve 1984, the group’s ostensible leader Ishmael Muslim Ali (formerly Labeet) hijacked an American Airlines plane and took asylum in Cuba where he still resides today. Now, award-winning director Jamie Kastner goes in depth into the murders, the subsequent trial, and the hijacking in his new documentary “The Skyjacker’s Tale,” which also features Ali’s first interview ever about the catastrophic events. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.
Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’
Kastner is best known for...
Read More: Tiff Reveals First Slate of 2016 Titles, Including ‘Magnificent Seven,’ ‘American Honey,’ ‘La La Land’ and ‘Birth of A Nation’
Kastner is best known for...
- 9/6/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
A selection of films from the 2016 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival has been unveiled, with films by Jim Jarmusch, Maren Ade, Tom Ford, Paul Verhoeven, Damien Chazelle, and many more.Opening NIGHTThe Magnificent Seven (Antoine Fuqua)GALASDeepwater HorizonArrival (Denis Villeneuve)Deepwater Horizon (Peter Berg)The Headhunter's Calling (Mark Williams)The Journey Is the Destination (Bronwen Hughes)Jt + The Tennessee Kids (Jonathan Demme)Lbj (Rob Reiner)Lion (Garth Davis)Loving (Jeff Nichols)A Monster Calls (J.A. Bayona)Planetarium (Rebecca Zlotowski)Queen of Katwe (Mira Nair)The Rolling Stones of Olé Olé Olé!: A Trip Across Latin America (Paul Dugdale)The Secret Scripture (Jim Sheridan)Snowden (Oliver Stone)Strange Weather (Katherine Dieckmann)Their Finest (Lone Scherfig)A United Kingdom (Amma Astante)Special PRESENTATIONSLa La LandThe Age of Shadows (Kim Jee-woon)All I See Is You (Marc Forster)American Honey (Andrea Arnold)American Pastoral (Ewan McGregor)Asura: The City of...
- 8/12/2016
- MUBI
After a promising initial line-up, the Toronto International Film Festival has delivered more titles with their full Canadian slate. Among the line-up is Xavier Dolan‘s It’s Only the End of the World, Bruce MacDonald‘s new feature Weirdos, Deepa Mehta‘s Anatomy of Violence, as well as Two Lovers and a Bear, starring Tatiana Maslany and Dane DeHaan, which we have the first trailer for today.
We said in our review from Cannes, “Kim Nguyen’s Two Lovers and a Bear is a film that suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. Like an indie playlist stuck on constant shuffle, unapologetically reveling in a sort of manic unclassifiable genre. This isn’t always necessarily a bad thing, but, for some reason, Nguyen’s scattershot tonal shifts — which hop between a romance on the rocks; a self-serious study of grieving; and a surreal buddy comedy — can prove quite jarring.
We said in our review from Cannes, “Kim Nguyen’s Two Lovers and a Bear is a film that suffers from a bit of an identity crisis. Like an indie playlist stuck on constant shuffle, unapologetically reveling in a sort of manic unclassifiable genre. This isn’t always necessarily a bad thing, but, for some reason, Nguyen’s scattershot tonal shifts — which hop between a romance on the rocks; a self-serious study of grieving; and a surreal buddy comedy — can prove quite jarring.
- 8/4/2016
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
A heavyweight roster of world premieres from the leading lights of Canada’s film industry will grace the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
New work from Deepa Mehta, Bruce McDonald and Chloé Robichaud are among the Canadian features set to receive their world premieres, while Xavier Dolan and Kim Nguyen earn North American premieres for their latest films following their Cannes debuts.
Wednesday’s announcement included the slate of Canadian short films, the festival’s four Rising Stars, and participants in the Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada Pitch This! programmes.
Talent Lab alumnus Andrew Cividino is named the 2016 Len Blum Resident. The film-maker will take up residency at the Festival Tower for three months later this year and receive one-on-one script consultations with screenwriter Blum, mentoring from Tiff’s industry and programming teams, and support from Tiff partners.
Cividino will work on his screenplay, We Ate the Children Last, a feature...
New work from Deepa Mehta, Bruce McDonald and Chloé Robichaud are among the Canadian features set to receive their world premieres, while Xavier Dolan and Kim Nguyen earn North American premieres for their latest films following their Cannes debuts.
Wednesday’s announcement included the slate of Canadian short films, the festival’s four Rising Stars, and participants in the Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada Pitch This! programmes.
Talent Lab alumnus Andrew Cividino is named the 2016 Len Blum Resident. The film-maker will take up residency at the Festival Tower for three months later this year and receive one-on-one script consultations with screenwriter Blum, mentoring from Tiff’s industry and programming teams, and support from Tiff partners.
Cividino will work on his screenplay, We Ate the Children Last, a feature...
- 8/3/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
A heavyweight roster of world premieres from the leading lights of Canada’s film industry will grace the Toronto International Film Festival next month.
New work from Deepa Mehta, Bruce McDonald and Chloé Robichaud are among the Canadian features set to receive their world premieres, while Xavier Dolan and Kim Nguyen earn North American premieres for their latest films following their Cannes debuts.
Wednesday’s announcement included the slate of Canadian short films, the festival’s four Rising Stars, and participants in the Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada Pitch This! programmes.
Talent Lab alumnus Andrew Cividino is named the 2016 Len Blum Resident. The film-maker will take up residency at the Festival Tower for three months later this year and receive one-on-one script consultations with screenwriter Blum, mentoring from Tiff’s industry and programming teams, and support from Tiff partners.
Cividino will work on his screenplay, We Ate the Children Last, a feature...
New work from Deepa Mehta, Bruce McDonald and Chloé Robichaud are among the Canadian features set to receive their world premieres, while Xavier Dolan and Kim Nguyen earn North American premieres for their latest films following their Cannes debuts.
Wednesday’s announcement included the slate of Canadian short films, the festival’s four Rising Stars, and participants in the Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada Pitch This! programmes.
Talent Lab alumnus Andrew Cividino is named the 2016 Len Blum Resident. The film-maker will take up residency at the Festival Tower for three months later this year and receive one-on-one script consultations with screenwriter Blum, mentoring from Tiff’s industry and programming teams, and support from Tiff partners.
Cividino will work on his screenplay, We Ate the Children Last, a feature...
- 8/3/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The Toronto International Film Festival has announced an additional selection of feature picks — all falling under the banner of Canadian-made films, appropriately enough — along with their Tiff Rising Stars group, the recipient of the Len Blum Residency and a selection of Canadian shorts. Major programming standouts including Xavier Dolan’s Cannes Grand Prix winner “It’s Only the End of the World” and Nathan Morlando’s Cannes debut “Mean Dreams.” Other films of note include April Mullen’s “Below Her Mouth” and Kim Nguyen’s Dane DeHaan-starring “Two Lovers and a Bear.”
This year’s Tiff Rising Stars — four Canadian actors who will take part in a series of specialized programming organized by Tiff’s Industry team — include Jared Abrahamson, Grace Glowicki, Mylène Mackay and Sophie Nélisse. Additional international Rising Stars will be announced in the coming weeks.
Screenwriter and filmmaker Andrew Cividino is the 2016 Len Blum Resident. Cividino,...
This year’s Tiff Rising Stars — four Canadian actors who will take part in a series of specialized programming organized by Tiff’s Industry team — include Jared Abrahamson, Grace Glowicki, Mylène Mackay and Sophie Nélisse. Additional international Rising Stars will be announced in the coming weeks.
Screenwriter and filmmaker Andrew Cividino is the 2016 Len Blum Resident. Cividino,...
- 8/3/2016
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
When filmmaker Jamie Kastner approached Bravo producer Charlotte Engel about making a documentary about the playwright Harold Pinter, Engel (rightly?) responded, “Nobody gives a shit about Harold Pinter anymore, how about a film on disco?” Kastner said, “Ok.” And The Secret Disco Revolution was born. What arises is Kastner’s examination of the disco movement as he muses (along with the interviewees) on whether this movement was sheer frivolity or an actual revolution.
By 1969, amidst race riots and the Stonewall raid, the civil rights and gay pride movements were in nascent form seeking more exposure and traction. R&B music was becoming overly politicized, too preachy and not very fun. And women were beginning to celebrate the female orgasm. Thus, as narrator Peter Keleghan puts it, the “masterminds” created disco.
Read more...
By 1969, amidst race riots and the Stonewall raid, the civil rights and gay pride movements were in nascent form seeking more exposure and traction. R&B music was becoming overly politicized, too preachy and not very fun. And women were beginning to celebrate the female orgasm. Thus, as narrator Peter Keleghan puts it, the “masterminds” created disco.
Read more...
- 6/28/2013
- by John Keith
- JustPressPlay.net
Might what we know as Disco actually contain hidden meanings, despite attempts by "revisionists" to re-shape it as as a misunderstood culture of protest? Through interviews with the likes of Gloria Gaynor, The Village People, Kool and the Gang, and others, along with a goldmine of stock footage and speculative reenactments, The Secret Disco Revolution presents a comical investigation into disco and its "mysterious longevity." A glittery pop journey into the moral-political-aesthetic soul of Disco, the most famously flakey pop form that will not die. From the current “silent disco” craze to evergreen concert queen Donna Summer, filmmaker Jamie Kastner bops verite-style from...
- 6/28/2013
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
There's a brain-frying moment in writer-director Jamie Kastner's flawed, mildly entertaining documentary The Secret Disco Revolution in which members of the Village People vehemently deny that double entendres run rampant in songs like "In the Navy" and "Ymca." "They were just party songs," insists the exasperated Construction Worker. "There was no innuendo." Group delusion turns mean-spirited when the Native American sniffs, "Those guys [songwriter-producer Henri Belolo and the group's late impresario, Jacques Morali] couldn't write a double entendre." Cut to Belolo explaining that the late, openly gay Morali definitely and pointedly worked to bring post-Stonewall liberated queer maleness to the mainstream with his most popular creation. That moment crackles in the film,...
- 6/27/2013
- Village Voice
Screen Media Films has acquired U.S. theatrical rights to Jamie Kastner’s “The Secret Disco Revolution.” The company plans a June theatrical release. Gloria Gaynor, Village People, Kool and the Gang, Kc and the Sunshine Band and more appear in the documentary about the birth of disco in the ’70s and the part the music movement played in the liberation of gays, blacks and women. The movie includes footage and classic songs of the era such as “Boogie Fever," “Macho Man," “I Will Survive” and “It’s Raining Men.” Read More: Tiff Capsule Review: 'The Secret Disco Revolution' Kastner also wrote and produced the project. “For anyone that grew up with disco this film will transport you back in time while filling in the blanks to what you didn’t even realize was happening around you," said Screen Media Films president Suzanne Blech. “If you weren’t around at the.
- 11/19/2012
- by Jay A. Fernandez
- Indiewire
So it turns out that disco was actually a revolutionary tool that ended the oppression of women and black and gay people in the Us. Who knew?
I like disco as much as the next person, which is to say I like it at night, in moderate helpings, and only when accompanied by spirits. Disco has long been the musical genre to caricature rather than savour, best enjoyed in the background on hazy nights out rather than as a legitimate musical experience. So presented with the opportunity to sit through a two-hour disco documentary at the London film festival, I was a bit circumspect.
But from the first bar of that sour-sweet high-octane disco beat, I was hooked. This is because The Secret Disco Revolution is no ordinary history lesson about the 70s craze. Rather than simply charting the rise and fall of disco to a thumping soundtrack, the film...
I like disco as much as the next person, which is to say I like it at night, in moderate helpings, and only when accompanied by spirits. Disco has long been the musical genre to caricature rather than savour, best enjoyed in the background on hazy nights out rather than as a legitimate musical experience. So presented with the opportunity to sit through a two-hour disco documentary at the London film festival, I was a bit circumspect.
But from the first bar of that sour-sweet high-octane disco beat, I was hooked. This is because The Secret Disco Revolution is no ordinary history lesson about the 70s craze. Rather than simply charting the rise and fall of disco to a thumping soundtrack, the film...
- 10/26/2012
- The Guardian - Film News
The Liberation Army: Disco Still Sucks with this Commentary Track
Proposed as more than just a dance and lifestyle craze, but as a coming out party for minorities, Secret Disco Revolution dates disco before it was called disco, musically timelines its mutation and its death in a chronological order with some of the main players in the short lived era. Despite the fact that many of the docs’ subjects concur with the notion that there was nothing political about the music, helmer Jamie Kastner’s soft and fluffy approach and a line-up of talking heads without much insight does a disservice to what is a fairly bold thesis statement.
Shaped with an academia approach and a laughable, oddly confectioned cartoony manifesto, it’s via an assortment of dull talking heads, stock footage, and concert/video assemblage we come to learn that African Americans, women and gay men were at the...
Proposed as more than just a dance and lifestyle craze, but as a coming out party for minorities, Secret Disco Revolution dates disco before it was called disco, musically timelines its mutation and its death in a chronological order with some of the main players in the short lived era. Despite the fact that many of the docs’ subjects concur with the notion that there was nothing political about the music, helmer Jamie Kastner’s soft and fluffy approach and a line-up of talking heads without much insight does a disservice to what is a fairly bold thesis statement.
Shaped with an academia approach and a laughable, oddly confectioned cartoony manifesto, it’s via an assortment of dull talking heads, stock footage, and concert/video assemblage we come to learn that African Americans, women and gay men were at the...
- 9/13/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Dead as disco – the term is a statement that a trend was over, and deserved to be. Yet disco memories are alive enough to inspire “The Secret Disco Revolution,” which exhumes the music and style from dance records of the 1970’s and follows the genre’s short life up to the “Disco Sucks” gathering at Comiskey Park in Chicago in 1979 that blew up disco records. The archival vault is huge, full of music and footage. Now there’s also plenty of academic research on the phenomenon. It’s all there in Jamie Kastner’s documentary. Disco is traced to the Swing Kids, who were Germans expressing their opposition to the Nazis by dancing to jazz. That’s a stretch. But it’s credible, as we’re told, that Donna Summer’s “Love to Love You, Baby,” was “the musical expression of the feminist critique of three-minute sex,” and that the...
- 9/11/2012
- by David D'Arcy
- Indiewire
Above: Ernie Gehr's Auto-Collider Xv.
The vast bulk of Tiff's 2012 has been announced and listed here, below. We'll be updating the lineup with the previous films announced, as well as updating links to specific films for more information on them in the coming days. Of particular note is that the Wavelengths and Visions programs have been combined to create what is undoubtedly the most interesting section of the festival. Stay tuned, too, for our own on the ground coverage of Tiff.
Galas
A Royal Affair (Nikolai Arcel, Demark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany)
Argo (Ben Affleck, USA)
The Company You Keep (Robert Redford, USA)
Dangerous Liaisons (Hur Jin-ho, China)
Emperor (Peter Webber, Japan/USA)
English Vinglish (Gauri Shinde, India)
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Shola Lynch)
Great Expectations (Mike Newell, UK)
Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, UK)
Inescapable (Ruba Nadda, Canada)
Jayne Mansfield's Car (Billy Bob Thorton, USA/Russia)
Looper (Rian Johnson,...
The vast bulk of Tiff's 2012 has been announced and listed here, below. We'll be updating the lineup with the previous films announced, as well as updating links to specific films for more information on them in the coming days. Of particular note is that the Wavelengths and Visions programs have been combined to create what is undoubtedly the most interesting section of the festival. Stay tuned, too, for our own on the ground coverage of Tiff.
Galas
A Royal Affair (Nikolai Arcel, Demark/Sweden/Czech Republic/Germany)
Argo (Ben Affleck, USA)
The Company You Keep (Robert Redford, USA)
Dangerous Liaisons (Hur Jin-ho, China)
Emperor (Peter Webber, Japan/USA)
English Vinglish (Gauri Shinde, India)
Free Angela & All Political Prisoners (Shola Lynch)
Great Expectations (Mike Newell, UK)
Hyde Park on Hudson (Roger Michell, UK)
Inescapable (Ruba Nadda, Canada)
Jayne Mansfield's Car (Billy Bob Thorton, USA/Russia)
Looper (Rian Johnson,...
- 8/22/2012
- MUBI
Might what we know as Disco actually contain hidden meanings, despite attempts by revisionist to re-shape it as as a misunderstood culture of protest? Through interviews with the likes of Gloria Gaynor, The Village People, Kool and the Gang and others, along with a goldmine of stock footage and speculative reenactments, The Secret Disco Revolution presents a comical investigation into disco and its "mysterious longevity." The Canadian-produced feature documentary was directed by Jamie Kastner; it'll premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month. Cheekily fun and intellectually absorbing, Jamie Kastner’s meticulously researched documentary...
- 8/15/2012
- by Tambay A. Obenson
- ShadowAndAct
In the last major update for the Toronto International Film Festival 2012 slate, they’ve announced their Canadian features. The line-up includes Sarah Polley’s upcoming documentary Stories We Tell, coming off her Take This Waltz this summer (which also premiered at Tiff). The other major films include two we’ve seen at Cannes,one being Brandon Cronenberg‘s Antiviral, which premiered alongside his father’s Cosmopolis. We disliked it (full review), saying it came off as an “an amateurish, high-budget student film.” The other major title is Xavier Dolan‘s Laurence Anyways, which we loved (full review), calling it a major step forward for the filmmaker. Check out the rest of the titles below, which I’m sure will include many discoveries.
Antiviral Brandon Cronenberg, Canada/USA North American Premiere
Syd March is an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans.
Antiviral Brandon Cronenberg, Canada/USA North American Premiere
Syd March is an employee at a clinic that sells injections of live viruses harvested from sick celebrities to obsessed fans.
- 8/8/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Toronto – On July 31st, the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival announced its second wave of features and documentaries to be added to this year’s already promising lineup.
The ‘Midnight Madness’ programme, which showcases up and coming genre films, will return for a second year, with The Raid winning the inaugural audience choice award in 2011.
Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes says that the audience should expect “everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc-eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-snapping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”
Returning for its fourth edition this year is the ‘City to City’ programme, which puts a spotlight on filmmakers working and living in a certain city, introducing audiences to local independent films from around the world. This year’s city of choice is Mumbai.
Artistic Director Cameron Bailey says, “Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely...
The ‘Midnight Madness’ programme, which showcases up and coming genre films, will return for a second year, with The Raid winning the inaugural audience choice award in 2011.
Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes says that the audience should expect “everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc-eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-snapping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”
Returning for its fourth edition this year is the ‘City to City’ programme, which puts a spotlight on filmmakers working and living in a certain city, introducing audiences to local independent films from around the world. This year’s city of choice is Mumbai.
Artistic Director Cameron Bailey says, “Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely...
- 8/1/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
Toronto – On July 31st, the 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival announced its second wave of features and documentaries to be added to this year’s already promising lineup.
The ‘Midnight Madness’ programme, which showcases up and coming genre films, will return for a second year, with The Raid winning the inaugural audience choice award in 2011.
Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes says that the audience should expect “everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc-eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-snapping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”
Returning for its fourth edition this year is the ‘City to City’ programme, which puts a spotlight on filmmakers working and living in a certain city, introducing audiences to local independent films from around the world. This year’s city of choice is Mumbai.
Artistic Director Cameron Bailey says, “Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely...
The ‘Midnight Madness’ programme, which showcases up and coming genre films, will return for a second year, with The Raid winning the inaugural audience choice award in 2011.
Tiff Programmer Colin Geddes says that the audience should expect “everything from outrageous horror comedies to mock-doc-eco-apocalypse thrillers, featuring trans-dimensional bugs, lewd Catholic priests, meat monsters and dog-snapping psychopaths that will animate the Ryerson Theatre when the clock chimes 12.”
Returning for its fourth edition this year is the ‘City to City’ programme, which puts a spotlight on filmmakers working and living in a certain city, introducing audiences to local independent films from around the world. This year’s city of choice is Mumbai.
Artistic Director Cameron Bailey says, “Mumbai’s cinema today is entirely...
- 7/31/2012
- by Justin Li
- SoundOnSight
The 2012 Toronto International Film Festival line-up got another boost with today's announcement of the Midnight Madness, Vanguard and Documentary selections which include films from the likes of Barry Levinson, Don Coscarelli, Rob Zombie, Martin McDonagh, Ben Wheatley, Michel Gondry and Alex Gibney and include titles such as Aftershock, Dredd, Seven Psychopaths, Pusher, Sightseers, The We and the I, The Gatekeepers, Finding Nemo 3D, Hotel Transylvania and a Cinemateque selection that includes Alfred Hitchcock's Dial M For Murder, Roman Polanski's Tess and Roberto Rossellini's Stromboli. Considering Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master was recently added to the official selection as a Special Presentation I am going to have my hands full when it comes to screenings, but I will definitely make sure to catch McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths, which is one of my most anticipated films of the year. Otherwise, the schedule will determine which ones I check out. The...
- 7/31/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
In terms of documentary film servings in the fall (pre Idfa in November), in the hands of Thom Powers, Tiff’s former Real to Reel section now simply known as Tiff Docs is the equivalent to riding the gravy train. To be housed at the new spanking brand new Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, this year’s docu items included such names/titles as Ken Burns and what looks to be the Telluride preemed The Central Park Five, Julien Temple’s London – The Modern Babylon, Marina Zenovich’s sequel Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out, another hot topic subject for Alex Gibney with Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God and an exec produced item from Errol Morris with Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act of Killing side by side with with the latest from Crossing the Line helmer Daniel Gordon (9.79*) and Operation Filmmaker helmer Nina Davenport (First Comes Love). Here...
- 7/31/2012
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Following up an already stellar initial line-up, the Toronto International Film Festival 2012 has announced additional sections including Midnight Madness, Documentaries and Vanguard. When the clock strikes 12, some titles one will be able to see include the highly anticipated Seven Psychopaths, from In Bruges director Martin McDonagh. There’s also the world premiere of the horror anthology The ABCs of Death, as well as Dredd and Eli Roth‘s Aftershock and new films from Rob Zombie and Barry Levinson.
The documentary section brings new films from Alex Gibney, Ken Burns and an interesting one titled How to Make Money Selling Drugs, featuring interviews with 50 Cent, Eminem and more. Rounding out the Vanguard section is many titles screened elsewhere, including the excellent documentary on The Shining, Room 237, as well as the next from Kill List director Ben Wheatley, Sightseers (Cannes review). We also have Luis Prieto‘s Pusher remake, and Michel Gondry...
The documentary section brings new films from Alex Gibney, Ken Burns and an interesting one titled How to Make Money Selling Drugs, featuring interviews with 50 Cent, Eminem and more. Rounding out the Vanguard section is many titles screened elsewhere, including the excellent documentary on The Shining, Room 237, as well as the next from Kill List director Ben Wheatley, Sightseers (Cannes review). We also have Luis Prieto‘s Pusher remake, and Michel Gondry...
- 7/31/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
Telefilm Canada and the Rogers Group of Funds have confirmed the names of the feature-length documentary projects that will receive funding support under the 'Theatrical Documentary Program' in 2009-2010. Participating filmmakers will receive funding support for the production or post-production stage of their project, as the goal of the Program is to broaden both the slate and audiences for Canadian feature-length documentaries produced for commercial screening in Canada, while jointly financing a number of French- and English-language projects likely to be successful in Canada and abroad. "Through this program, we are looking to attract new audiences in theatres for Canadian documentaries by providing support at crucial stages so projects can be commercially viable," said Michel Pradier, Director of Project Financing, Telefilm Canada. "The feature films selected this year testify once again to Canadian documentary filmmakers' spirit of innovation and creativity." Launched in 2005-2006 as a one-year pilot project, the public-private...
- 12/13/2009
- HollywoodNorthReport.com
Telefilm Canada and the Rogers Group of Funds have announced the names of the feature-length documentary projects that will receive funding support under the 'Theatrical Documentary Program' in 2009-2010.
Participating filmmakers will receive funding support for the production or post-production stage of their project, as the goal of the Program is to broaden both the slate and audiences for Canadian feature-length documentaries produced for commercial screening in Canada, while jointly financing a number of French- and English-language projects likely to be successful in Canada and abroad.
"Through this program, we are looking to attract new audiences in theatres for Canadian documentaries by providing support at crucial stages so projects can be commercially viable," said Michel Pradier, Director of Project Financing, Telefilm Canada.
"The feature films selected this year testify once again to Canadian documentary filmmakers' spirit of innovation and creativity."
Launched in 2005-2006 as a one-year pilot project, the public-private...
Participating filmmakers will receive funding support for the production or post-production stage of their project, as the goal of the Program is to broaden both the slate and audiences for Canadian feature-length documentaries produced for commercial screening in Canada, while jointly financing a number of French- and English-language projects likely to be successful in Canada and abroad.
"Through this program, we are looking to attract new audiences in theatres for Canadian documentaries by providing support at crucial stages so projects can be commercially viable," said Michel Pradier, Director of Project Financing, Telefilm Canada.
"The feature films selected this year testify once again to Canadian documentary filmmakers' spirit of innovation and creativity."
Launched in 2005-2006 as a one-year pilot project, the public-private...
- 12/5/2009
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
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