Maple Syrup Massacre is an editorial series where Joe Lipsett dissects the themes, conventions and contributions of new and classic Canadian horror films. Spoilers follow…
It would be disingenuous to suggest that Atom Egoyan’s The Adjuster is a horror film.
Psychological thriller is more apt descriptor, though audiences seeking scary set pieces will walk away unsatisfied. Despite this, The Adjuster has a narrative of thriller tropes, including a large number of psychosexual relationships, characters adopting dual roles (or simply role playing) and an ending that encourages audiences to re-evaluate what they have seen.
Egoyan is one of Canada’s most significant contemporary directors, though internationally his work is known principally in art cinema and film festival circles. In the 90s, Egoyan was a symbol of national pride; he, along with David Cronenberg, was essentially the face of English-language Canadian film. His most famous film is the Sarah Polley-starring The Sweet Hereafter,...
It would be disingenuous to suggest that Atom Egoyan’s The Adjuster is a horror film.
Psychological thriller is more apt descriptor, though audiences seeking scary set pieces will walk away unsatisfied. Despite this, The Adjuster has a narrative of thriller tropes, including a large number of psychosexual relationships, characters adopting dual roles (or simply role playing) and an ending that encourages audiences to re-evaluate what they have seen.
Egoyan is one of Canada’s most significant contemporary directors, though internationally his work is known principally in art cinema and film festival circles. In the 90s, Egoyan was a symbol of national pride; he, along with David Cronenberg, was essentially the face of English-language Canadian film. His most famous film is the Sarah Polley-starring The Sweet Hereafter,...
- 1/30/2024
- by Joe Lipsett
- bloody-disgusting.com
W Tre Davis as Freddy Mills and Max Thieriot as Bode Donovan in ‘Fire Country’ episode 19
A raging fire at a wellness retreat keeps the crew hopping on CBS’s Fire Country season one episode 19. Directed by Lisa Demaine from a script by Joelle Garfinkel, episode 19 – “Watch Your Step” – will air on Friday, April 21, 2023 at 9pm Et/Pt.
Max Thieriot leads the cast as Bode Donovan. Season one’s regulars include Billy Burke as Vince, Kevin Alejandro as Manny, Diane Farr as Sharon, Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela, Jordan Calloway as Jake, and Jules Latimer as Eve.
“Watch Your Step” Plot: The station 42 crew responds to an out-of-control blaze at a wellness retreat, and the third rock crew tries to protect one of their own from a dangerous overdose.
Gabrielle Rose as Opal, Billy Burke as Vince Leone, and Diane Farr as Sharon Leone in the “Watch Your Step” episode
Fire Country...
A raging fire at a wellness retreat keeps the crew hopping on CBS’s Fire Country season one episode 19. Directed by Lisa Demaine from a script by Joelle Garfinkel, episode 19 – “Watch Your Step” – will air on Friday, April 21, 2023 at 9pm Et/Pt.
Max Thieriot leads the cast as Bode Donovan. Season one’s regulars include Billy Burke as Vince, Kevin Alejandro as Manny, Diane Farr as Sharon, Stephanie Arcila as Gabriela, Jordan Calloway as Jake, and Jules Latimer as Eve.
“Watch Your Step” Plot: The station 42 crew responds to an out-of-control blaze at a wellness retreat, and the third rock crew tries to protect one of their own from a dangerous overdose.
Gabrielle Rose as Opal, Billy Burke as Vince Leone, and Diane Farr as Sharon Leone in the “Watch Your Step” episode
Fire Country...
- 4/8/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Film Review: The Holiday Sitter (2022): Boy-Meets-Boy Hallmark Holiday Opus is Plenty Glib and Perky
The Holiday Sitter Review — The Holiday Sitter (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Ali Liebert, written by Greg Baldwin, Tracy Andreen, and Jonathan Bennett, and starring Jonathan Bennett, George Krissa, Chelsea Hobbs, Everett Andres, Mila Morgan, Matthew James Dowden, Gabrielle Rose, Matty Finochio, Amy Goodmurphy, Robert Wisden, Todd Matthews, Bella Leonardo, and Nathan [...]
Continue reading: Film Review: The Holiday Sitter (2022): Boy-Meets-Boy Hallmark Holiday Opus is Plenty Glib and Perky...
Continue reading: Film Review: The Holiday Sitter (2022): Boy-Meets-Boy Hallmark Holiday Opus is Plenty Glib and Perky...
- 12/20/2022
- by David McDonald
- Film-Book
This article contains spoilers for episode 5 of The Stand.
In “Fear and Loathing in New Vegas,” the fifth entry in CBS All Access’ nine-part adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, we get to spend a significant amount of time in Las Vegas, where the demonic Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgard) has established his sinister kingdom.
There are other important plot developments in the course of the episode, such as the aftermath of Teddy Weizak’s (Eion Bailey) murder at the hands of Harold (Owen Teague) and Nadine (Amber Heard) — which they made to look like a suicide — as they construct their destructive plans; Frannie’s (Odessa Young) growing suspicions about Harold and her own plan to do something about it; and the abrupt departure of Mother Abigail (Whoopi Goldberg) as she seeks guidance from God.
But a good amount of time is spent in Flagg’s new version of Sin City,...
In “Fear and Loathing in New Vegas,” the fifth entry in CBS All Access’ nine-part adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand, we get to spend a significant amount of time in Las Vegas, where the demonic Randall Flagg (Alexander Skarsgard) has established his sinister kingdom.
There are other important plot developments in the course of the episode, such as the aftermath of Teddy Weizak’s (Eion Bailey) murder at the hands of Harold (Owen Teague) and Nadine (Amber Heard) — which they made to look like a suicide — as they construct their destructive plans; Frannie’s (Odessa Young) growing suspicions about Harold and her own plan to do something about it; and the abrupt departure of Mother Abigail (Whoopi Goldberg) as she seeks guidance from God.
But a good amount of time is spent in Flagg’s new version of Sin City,...
- 1/14/2021
- by Don Kaye
- Den of Geek
Netflix is not renewing science fiction drama series “Away” for a second season, Variety has confirmed. The cancellation comes just six weeks after the show’s first season was released on Sept. 4.
“Away” stars Hilary Swank as astronaut Emma Green, who leads the first crewed expedition to Mars aboard the spaceship “Atlas,” called the Mars Joint Initiative. Green leads an international crew with members from China, Russia, India and the U.K who are all experts in the field. Tension rises within the crew when some members do not trust Green’s leadership after her response to a problem at the start of the mission. Its first season consisted of 10 episodes.
Besides Swank, main cast members include Josh Charles, Vivian Wu, Mark Ivanir, Ato Essandoh, Ray Panthaki and Talitha Bateman. Recurring cast members are Monique Gabriela Curnen, Michael Patrick Thornton, Martin Cummins, Gabrielle Rose, Brian Markinson, Fiona Fu, Nadia Hatta,...
“Away” stars Hilary Swank as astronaut Emma Green, who leads the first crewed expedition to Mars aboard the spaceship “Atlas,” called the Mars Joint Initiative. Green leads an international crew with members from China, Russia, India and the U.K who are all experts in the field. Tension rises within the crew when some members do not trust Green’s leadership after her response to a problem at the start of the mission. Its first season consisted of 10 episodes.
Besides Swank, main cast members include Josh Charles, Vivian Wu, Mark Ivanir, Ato Essandoh, Ray Panthaki and Talitha Bateman. Recurring cast members are Monique Gabriela Curnen, Michael Patrick Thornton, Martin Cummins, Gabrielle Rose, Brian Markinson, Fiona Fu, Nadia Hatta,...
- 10/20/2020
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Jennie Garth‘s eldest daughter is following in her mom’s acting footsteps.
The BH92010 star and Luca Bella, her 22-year-old daughter with ex-husband Peter Facinelli, will co-star together in Lifetime’s upcoming movie, Your Family or Your Life, the network announced Monday.
Out Nov. 1, the movie follows Dr. Kathy Meyer (Garth) as her world is turned upside down when her husband David (Alexander Carroll) is found dead in their home. Kathy and her daughter April (Bella), suspicious of the suicide note, decide to investigate and soon discover that David had uncovered damaging information exposing a billionaire banker.
Josh Server,...
The BH92010 star and Luca Bella, her 22-year-old daughter with ex-husband Peter Facinelli, will co-star together in Lifetime’s upcoming movie, Your Family or Your Life, the network announced Monday.
Out Nov. 1, the movie follows Dr. Kathy Meyer (Garth) as her world is turned upside down when her husband David (Alexander Carroll) is found dead in their home. Kathy and her daughter April (Bella), suspicious of the suicide note, decide to investigate and soon discover that David had uncovered damaging information exposing a billionaire banker.
Josh Server,...
- 9/30/2019
- by Aurelie Corinthios
- PEOPLE.com
"I wanted to chase the car, but I just didn't have the energy..." He's back!! Universal Pictures has debuted the first official trailer for the next doggie movie coming up this year titled A Dog's Journey, officially the sequel to A Dog's Purpose. Both of these films are based on the books written by W. Bruce Cameron, and are about a dog's soul as it travels between various dogs and families and owners over the years. We've already had one other dog movie this year - A Dog's Way Home - and the title of this one is a bit too similar, even though it's from the "original" dog love book series. A Dog's Journey once again features the voice of Josh Gad as the dog Bailey, and a human cast including Dennis Quaid, Marg Helgenberger, Kathryn Prescott, Betty Gilpin, Peggy Lipton, Luke Kirby, Gabrielle Rose, and Britt Robertson. This...
- 1/29/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Love and suicide. Those are the words director Bruce Sweeney says inspired him to write Kingsway and are very much at the forefront of his dramedy about the dysfunctional Horvat family. And both are treated with humor despite never in a way that belittles their respective import. It’s not about laughing at suicide or those distraught and lost enough to contemplate the act. We smile instead because of our ability to see ourselves in the subject’s heaviness and a tumultuous aftermath that can lead towards a kneejerk self-centered desire to make it personal. That’s what love does. It’s a two-way street wherein we’re just as likely to do everything we can for someone who’s hurting as blame him/her for hurting us as though their troubles aren’t pain enough.
The family member to worry about is Matt (Jeff Gladstone), a semiotics professor riddled with anxiety.
The family member to worry about is Matt (Jeff Gladstone), a semiotics professor riddled with anxiety.
- 9/11/2018
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
Maudie Sony Pictures Classics Director: Aisling Walsh Screenwriter: Sherry White Cast: Sally Hawkins, Ethan Hawke, Kari Matchett, Gabrielle Rose, Zachary Bennett Screened at: Critics’ DVD, NYC, 11/25/17 Opens: June 16, 2017. Streaming October 10, 2017 One might at first wonder why a biopic about a folk artist from a tiny town in Nova Scotia could […]
The post Maudie Movie Review: The year’s most powerful, though understated, performance appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Maudie Movie Review: The year’s most powerful, though understated, performance appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 12/11/2017
- by Harvey Karten
- ShockYa
'Maudie' directed by Aisling Walsh and starring Sally Hawkins, Ethan Hawke,Kari Matchett, Zachary Bennett, Gabrielle Rose and Greg Malone.
Based on a true story, is an unlikely romance in which the reclusive Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke) hires a fragile yet determined woman named Maudie (Sally Hawkins) to be his housekeeper. Maudie, bright-eyed but hunched with crippled hands, yearns to be independent, to live away from her protective family and she also yearns, passionately, to create art. Unexpectedly, Everett finds himself falling in love. 'Maudie' charts Everett's efforts to protect himself from being hurt, Maudie's deep and abiding love for this difficult man and her surprising rise to fame as a folk painter.
'Maudie' opens in Ireland and the UK on August 4th.
Based on a true story, is an unlikely romance in which the reclusive Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke) hires a fragile yet determined woman named Maudie (Sally Hawkins) to be his housekeeper. Maudie, bright-eyed but hunched with crippled hands, yearns to be independent, to live away from her protective family and she also yearns, passionately, to create art. Unexpectedly, Everett finds himself falling in love. 'Maudie' charts Everett's efforts to protect himself from being hurt, Maudie's deep and abiding love for this difficult man and her surprising rise to fame as a folk painter.
'Maudie' opens in Ireland and the UK on August 4th.
- 7/17/2017
- by noreply@blogger.com (Flicks News)
- FlicksNews.net
Left to right: Sally Hawkins as Maud Lewis and Ethan Hawke as Everett Lewis. Photo by Duncan Deyoung, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Sally Hawkins gives a winning performance as Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis in the biopic Maudie. Despite suffering from crippling arthritis since childhood, Maud is determined to paint and live life on her own terms, in director Aisling Walsh’s inspiring but frank portrait of a self-taught artist in rural Nova Scotia. Against all expectations, Maud captures the attention of the art world, and achieves fame for her appealing colorful art. The remarkable story is fascinating but much of the film’s appeal comes from Sally Hawkins’ delightful performance as the woman artist who overcame so many obstacles.
In Nova Scotia in 1938, Maud Dawley (Sally Hawkins)is in her early 30s and finds herself shuffled off to live with her stern Aunt Ida (Gabrielle Rose) by her...
Sally Hawkins gives a winning performance as Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis in the biopic Maudie. Despite suffering from crippling arthritis since childhood, Maud is determined to paint and live life on her own terms, in director Aisling Walsh’s inspiring but frank portrait of a self-taught artist in rural Nova Scotia. Against all expectations, Maud captures the attention of the art world, and achieves fame for her appealing colorful art. The remarkable story is fascinating but much of the film’s appeal comes from Sally Hawkins’ delightful performance as the woman artist who overcame so many obstacles.
In Nova Scotia in 1938, Maud Dawley (Sally Hawkins)is in her early 30s and finds herself shuffled off to live with her stern Aunt Ida (Gabrielle Rose) by her...
- 7/14/2017
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Aisling Walsh with Anne-Katrin Titze on costumes by Trysha Bakker for Sally Hawkin's Maudie: "I wanted her not finely dressed, but rather nicely dressed." Photo: Courtney Richards
Aisling Walsh's Maudie, screenplay by Sherry White, with a score by Michael Timmons, stars Sally Hawkins as Canadian Folk Artist Maud Lewis (as in Paul King's Paddington, she holds the world together). Ethan Hawke is her husband Everett with Gabrielle Rose as Maud's Aunt Ida, Zachary Bennett as her brother Charles, and a Katharine Hepburn sounding Kari Matchett as a Peggy Guggenheim-like character named Sandra.
At the Crosby Street Hotel in New York, Aisling and I discussed her work with production designer John Hand, costume choices with Trysha Bakker, the paintings of Maud Lewis and her relationship to Everett, their home, and her family, and what it means to be a Naïve Artist.
Everett (Ethan Hawke) and Maud Lewis...
Aisling Walsh's Maudie, screenplay by Sherry White, with a score by Michael Timmons, stars Sally Hawkins as Canadian Folk Artist Maud Lewis (as in Paul King's Paddington, she holds the world together). Ethan Hawke is her husband Everett with Gabrielle Rose as Maud's Aunt Ida, Zachary Bennett as her brother Charles, and a Katharine Hepburn sounding Kari Matchett as a Peggy Guggenheim-like character named Sandra.
At the Crosby Street Hotel in New York, Aisling and I discussed her work with production designer John Hand, costume choices with Trysha Bakker, the paintings of Maud Lewis and her relationship to Everett, their home, and her family, and what it means to be a Naïve Artist.
Everett (Ethan Hawke) and Maud Lewis...
- 6/10/2017
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Sony Pictures Classics has released a new trailer for its upcoming biopic “Maudie.” The film, which is based on the real-life story of Canadian artist Maud Lewis, hails from director Aisling Walsh (“Fingersmith”). It screened at the Telluride and Toronto film festivals last year, and is now ready for its theatrical release this summer.
Read More: Telluride Review: ‘Maudie’ Is A Paint By Numbers Love Story
Written by Sherry White, “Maudie” takes place in Nova Scotia around the 1930s. It follows an artist (Sally Hawkins) who works as a housekeeper for an orphaned fish peddler (Ethan Hawke), all the while working on her real passion–, painting. Eventually, she becomes one of the most beloved folk artists in her community.
Read More: 50 Movies to See This Summer
Hawkins was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 2014 for her role in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine.” In 2009, she won a Golden Globe for “Happy-Go-Lucky.
Read More: Telluride Review: ‘Maudie’ Is A Paint By Numbers Love Story
Written by Sherry White, “Maudie” takes place in Nova Scotia around the 1930s. It follows an artist (Sally Hawkins) who works as a housekeeper for an orphaned fish peddler (Ethan Hawke), all the while working on her real passion–, painting. Eventually, she becomes one of the most beloved folk artists in her community.
Read More: 50 Movies to See This Summer
Hawkins was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award in 2014 for her role in Woody Allen’s “Blue Jasmine.” In 2009, she won a Golden Globe for “Happy-Go-Lucky.
- 4/5/2017
- by Yoselin Acevedo
- Indiewire
"I've known you for years, Maud, and I'm still trying to figure out what makes you tick." Sony Classics has finally revealed an official Us trailer for the indie biopic Maudie, telling the story of famed Nova Scotia folk painter Maud "Maudie" Lewis. Talented actress Sally Hawkins plays the role of Maudie, a spunky woman with severe arthritis who takes up housekeeper work for a reclusive man. It's there she begins to hone her painting skills, despite barely being able to move her hands, becoming beloved in the community for her positivity and innate talent. The film also tells a love story between Maudie and Everett Lewis, played by Ethan Hawke, a man who is not that easy to love. The cast includes Kari Matchett, Gabrielle Rose, Zachary Bennett, and Billy MacLellan. I caught this film at last year's Telluride Film Festival, and it's a charming, uplifting story of one...
- 4/5/2017
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
After screening in Telluride and Toronto last fall, “Maudie” is finally ready to tell the masses about the life of Canadian artist Maud Lewis. Sally Hawkins stars in the biopic, which was directed by Aisling Walsh, who previously helmed a BBC miniseries adaptation of Sarah Waters’ “Fingersmith” (which also served as the inspiration for Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden”). Watch the trailer below.
Read More: Telluride Review: ‘Maudie’ Is A Paint By Numbers Love Story
The film takes place in Nova Scotia circa the 1930s and finds the desperate artist taking a job working for a fish peddler played by Ethan Hawke. Lewis, one of her country’s most highly regarded folk artists, specialized in small paintings depicting outdoor settings; the small size of her canvases had to do with Lewis’ rheumatoid arthritis.
Read More: Fox Searchlight Acquires ‘A United Kingdom,’ Sony Pictures Classics Picks Up ‘Maudie’
Hawkins received an...
Read More: Telluride Review: ‘Maudie’ Is A Paint By Numbers Love Story
The film takes place in Nova Scotia circa the 1930s and finds the desperate artist taking a job working for a fish peddler played by Ethan Hawke. Lewis, one of her country’s most highly regarded folk artists, specialized in small paintings depicting outdoor settings; the small size of her canvases had to do with Lewis’ rheumatoid arthritis.
Read More: Fox Searchlight Acquires ‘A United Kingdom,’ Sony Pictures Classics Picks Up ‘Maudie’
Hawkins received an...
- 2/20/2017
- by Michael Nordine
- Indiewire
The Maverick Movie Awards just announced their 2016 winners, which include Gabrielle Rose (The Birdwatcher), Mary Testa (The Mother), Branko Tomovic (Red) and KylieRae Condon (Chippy) for their 13th edition. Past winners include great filmmakers and actors as Robert Redford, Sophia Loren, Isabella Rosselini, Tom Berenger, Armand Assante, Justin Timberlake, Peter Coyote to name a few for this prestigous award. Here is the full list of the 2016 award winners and nominees: Features Best Picture 1400 (Winner) Badsville The Barn The Birdwatcher Dumbbells Legend of the Lich Lord Pneuma Restraint Second Honeymoon Silent City Best Documentary All the World in a Design School (Winner) “Charlie Gemora: Uncredited” “Lgbt United” “Power of the River: Expedition to the Heart...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 10/1/2016
- Screen Anarchy
Some familiar faces are coming back to Once Upon a Time. TVLine reports Tzi Ma and Gabrielle Rose will return for season six of the ABC series.Rose plays Prince Charming's (Josh Dallas) mother, Ruth, who last appeared in season four. Meanwhile, Tzi Ma portrays The Dragon on the fantasy drama, which also stars Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, Lana Parrilla, and Colin O’Donoghue.Read More…...
- 9/24/2016
- by TVSeriesFinale.com
- TVSeriesFinale.com
Once Upon a Time Season 6 is ready to shed some more light on a Storybrooke hero’s past.
TVLine has learned exclusively that Gabrielle Rose is set to reprise her role as Charming’s mother, Ruth, who last appeared in one of Season 4’s Frozen flashbacks. As Josh Dallas told us at Comic-Con, with the introduction of the purely Evil Queen, who possesses all of Regina’s past memories, David will come to discover “some things that he thought were truths in his life … maybe weren’t so true.” Hmm.
RelatedOnce Upon a Time Season 6 Preview: Multiple Saviors, a ‘Delicious’-ly Evil Plan,...
TVLine has learned exclusively that Gabrielle Rose is set to reprise her role as Charming’s mother, Ruth, who last appeared in one of Season 4’s Frozen flashbacks. As Josh Dallas told us at Comic-Con, with the introduction of the purely Evil Queen, who possesses all of Regina’s past memories, David will come to discover “some things that he thought were truths in his life … maybe weren’t so true.” Hmm.
RelatedOnce Upon a Time Season 6 Preview: Multiple Saviors, a ‘Delicious’-ly Evil Plan,...
- 9/22/2016
- TVLine.com
Canadian film-maker Connor Gaston’s first feature recently garnered seven Leo Awards in Vancouver honouring the best in British Columbian film, TV and web content.
Marina Cordoni Entertainment (McE) will handle world sales on The Devout, about a man whose faith is tested when he begins to believe his terminally ill child was an Apollo astronaut in a previous life.
Charlie Carrick, Ali Liebert, Gabrielle Rose and David Nykl star alongside four-year old newcomer Olivia Martin. Amanda Verhagen and Gaston produced and Daniel Hogg serve as executive producer.
The Devout has played at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Busan in South Korea,...
Marina Cordoni Entertainment (McE) will handle world sales on The Devout, about a man whose faith is tested when he begins to believe his terminally ill child was an Apollo astronaut in a previous life.
Charlie Carrick, Ali Liebert, Gabrielle Rose and David Nykl star alongside four-year old newcomer Olivia Martin. Amanda Verhagen and Gaston produced and Daniel Hogg serve as executive producer.
The Devout has played at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Busan in South Korea,...
- 6/15/2016
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
The 15th anniversary celebration of the Whistler Film Festival wrapped Sunday night, living up to its title as ‘Canada’s coolest film fest’ by hosting more premieres, filmmakers, industry executives, and celebrities than ever before, including unique experiences from films, music and parties to high adrenaline races.
The Whistler Film Festival’s Pandora Audience Award went to British-American romantic drama "Carol," directed by Todd Haynes from the screenplay by Phyllis Nagy (Variety 10 Screenwriters to Watch class of 2014) starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, which received its Canadian premiere at Whistler. The Wff Audience Award runner-ups were "The Legend of Barney Thomson," character-actor Robert Carlyle's first theatrical feature and directorial debut, which received its North American premiere at the festival, followed by Ricardo Trogi’s mid-life crisis dramedy, Quebec film "Le Mirage," the highest grossing and most popular Canadian film of the year so far. The Wff Audience Award is a non-cash prize presented to the highest-rated film as voted by the audience.
Paul Gratton, Director of Programming had this to say about this year’s event: "We were very fortunate to open this year's fest with the Canadian premiere of "Carol," a film we are convinced will be a major contender in this year's awards season race. The festival took off from there, with many sold out screenings, packed and newsworthy industry sessions, and over 450 guests who made a point of trekking out to beautiful Whistler to support their films and talk business with the high-level movers and shakers also in attendance. 2015 represented another step forward towards making Wff the coolest festival in the world. Can't wait 'til next year.”
Total attendance for this year’s fest was 13,233 attendees (a 18% increase over 11,273 in 2014) . This included 7,740 film-screening attendees and 3,533 special event attendees (Signature Series, Music Café, ShortWork Showcase, R-Rated Party, Awards Brunch, L’Oreal Men Expert Bobsleigh Race and Celebrity Challenge Ski Race), in addition to 2,530 Summit attendees. Several of the feature films were at or near capacity, including: "Born to be Blue," "Chasing Bansky," "Forsaken," "How to Plan and Orgy in a Small Town," "Legend,""Legend of Barney Thomson," "Numb," "The Lady in the Van," "the Steps," and "Trumbo."
Designed to facilitate international alliances and financial partnerships, Wff’s industry Summit program presented 30 interactive sessions that addressed a range of issues affecting the film, television, and digital media industry. Overall Summit attendance was at 86% capacity with 2,530 attendees (a 13% increase over 2,231 in 2014) including 855 delegates (on par with 2014). The Whistler Summit directly connects to Wff’s slate of project development programs designed to provide creative and business immersion experiences for 42 Canadian artists including its Feature Project Lab, Praxis Screenwriters Lab, Aboriginal Filmmaker Fellowship, and Music Café. Wff also collaborates with several industry organizations by hosting specific third party initiatives at the Whistler Summit including the Women in the Director’s Chair Industry Immersion, Women in Film & Television Film Market Preparation Mentorship, and the Mppia Short Film Award Pitch with the Motion Picture Production Industry Association and Creative BC. In addition to the
204 scheduled meetings (a 10% increase over 186 in 2014) that took place during the Summit, there was again a notable increase in unscheduled meetings that took place outside of scheduled blocks proving the festival remains an important place for the industry to meet and do business. Industry guests came from Canada, USA, UK, India, and China to participate, and included some of the top talent and executives in the business.
Film met music when Morning Show, one of the ten-featured BC artists from Wff’s Music Café, performed the live score for "He Hated Pigeons." Wff’s Music Café, which expanded to include two showcases over two days and featured five music supervisors, was well received with several deals in the works and over 526 guests in attendance.
Toronto’s first-time feature director Jamie M. Dagg’s "River" dominated Whistler prize-giving, winning for best Canadian feature, Best Director and Best Screenplay in the Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature presented by the Directors Guild of Canada – British Columbia. The jury also awarded French-Canadian actor Paul Savoie with Best Performance in a Borsos Film for his performance in "The Diary of an Old Man," as well as provided honorable mention for Rossif Sutherland’s work in "River" and Laura Abramsen’s roles in "Basic human Needs" and "The Sabbatical." Lastly, Best Cinematography in a Borsos Film, presented by I.A.T.S.E. Local 669, went to cinematographer Dylan Macleod for "He Hated Pigeons," directed by Ingrid Veninger. The Borsos Jury was comprised of three accomplished film industry artists that included the highly versatile director and screenwriter and WFF15 Alumni Carl Bessai ("Rehearsal), beloved actor and director Marc-André Grondin , and award-winning producer extraordinaire, Kim McCraw.
Other Whistler award winners included "Last Harvest" by first-time female director Hui (Jane) Wang that won the World Documentary Award presented by Tribute.ca with honorable mention for Brian D. Johnson’s "Al Purdy Was Here." The Best Mountain Culture Film presented by Whistler Blackcomb went to Anthony Bonello’s "Eclipse." The Canadian ShortWork Award went to "Withheld" directed by Johnathan Sousa, with an honorable mention to Amanda Strong and Bracken Hanuse Corlett’s Mia’. The International ShortWork Award was awarded to "Dissonance" by Germany filmmaker Till Nowak, with Langara College’s Canadian ShortWork Award for Best Screenplay given to Jem Garrard’s "The World Who Came to Dinner." Emily Carr University of Art and Design’s Lawrence Lam won the ShortWork Student Award presented by Capilano University Film Centre for "The Blue Jet," and Maja Aro won the Mppia Short Film Award for "Hoods" presented by Mppia and Creative BC, which consists of a $15,000 cash award plus up to $100,000 in services. The Alliance of Women Film Journalists (Awfj) Eda Awards gave Best Female-Directed Narrative Feature to Valerie Weiss’ "A Light Beneath Their Feet," Best Female-Directed Documentary to Hui (Jane) Wang’s "Last Harvest," with a special mention for Brian D. Johnson’s "Al Purdy Was Here." In addition, Céline Devaux’s "Sunday Lunch" took home the Best Female-Directed Short Award.
Receiving Wff’s Trailblazer Award and Tribute presented by Pandora, British-born Canadian actor, film producer, and film director Kiefer Sutherland discussed his extensive acting career spanning film, stage and television, with CTV Film Critic Jim Gordon , followed by the Western Canadian Premiere of his latest film, "Forsaken." Scottish-born Robert Carlyle , one of the most recognizable actors today, graced the Festival’s red carpet at this year’s Spotlight event as Wff’s Maverick Award honoree and sat down with Jim Gordon to discuss his bold choices that have led to the creation of some of the most dynamic, memorable, and beloved characters of our time before the North American Premiere of his directorial debut, "The Legend the Barny Thomson." One of Canada's hardest working and most accomplished character actors, Bruce Greenwood was the recipient of Wff’s Career Achievement Award, at the World Premiere of his latest film "Rehearsal," directed by admired Wff Alumni Carl Bessai.
The Whistler Film Festival proudly hosted the Variety 10 Screenwriters to Watch for the fourth consecutive year hosted by Variety Vice President and Executive Editor, Steven Gaydos . This year’s slate of screenwriters in attendance included Bryan Sipe ("Demolition"), John Scott III ("Maggie"), Meg LeFauve ("Inside Out"), Mike Le ("Patient Zero"), and Emma Donoghue ("Room"), who also delivered a Master Class for the Wff Praxis Screenwriters Lab participants.
To top it all off, Lauren Lee Smith ("How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town"), Jakob Davies ("The Birdwatcher"), Taylor Russell and Rustin Gresiuk ("Suspension") were recognized as Wff’s Rising Stars sponsored by Ubcp/Actra at this year’s Keynote Filmmaker Luncheon presented by Pacific Northwest Pictures, and all had films premiering at the fest.
Over 400 guests attended the fest with other notable talent in attendance with films premiering at the fest including: actor Rossif Sutherland ("River"), director Jon Cassar ("Forsaken"), actor Callum Keith Rennie ("Born to Be Blue"), director/writer Sandy Wilson ("My American Cousin), actors Aleks Paunovic, Stefanie von Pfetten, Marie Avgeropoulos and Colin Cunningham ("Numb"), actors Chelah Horsdal and Alex Zahara ("Patterson's Wager"), actor Sage Brocklebank ("Suspension"), actors Gabrielle Rose and Camille Sullivan ("The Birdwatcher"), actor Rebecca Dalton ("The Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship"), actor Paul Savoie ("The Diary of an Old Man"), director and founder of the Toronto Film Critics Association Brian D. Johnson ("Al Purdy Was Here"), director and co-founder of World Elephant Day Patricia Sims and co-director Michael Clark ("When Elephants Were Young"), "The Steps" director Andrew Currie and actor Steven McCarthy , and award-winning directors Philippe Lesage ("The Demons") and Ricardo Trogi ("The Miracle"). Veteran director Bruce McDonald attended as a mentor of the Wff Praxis Screenwriters Lab, as well as Canadian actress, writer, filmmaker, comedian, and social activist Mary Walsh , who participated in the Women In The Director’s Chair program and got a standing ovation as Wff’s Keynote Speaker at the Filmmaker Luncheon.
The Whistler Film Festival’s Pandora Audience Award went to British-American romantic drama "Carol," directed by Todd Haynes from the screenplay by Phyllis Nagy (Variety 10 Screenwriters to Watch class of 2014) starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, which received its Canadian premiere at Whistler. The Wff Audience Award runner-ups were "The Legend of Barney Thomson," character-actor Robert Carlyle's first theatrical feature and directorial debut, which received its North American premiere at the festival, followed by Ricardo Trogi’s mid-life crisis dramedy, Quebec film "Le Mirage," the highest grossing and most popular Canadian film of the year so far. The Wff Audience Award is a non-cash prize presented to the highest-rated film as voted by the audience.
Paul Gratton, Director of Programming had this to say about this year’s event: "We were very fortunate to open this year's fest with the Canadian premiere of "Carol," a film we are convinced will be a major contender in this year's awards season race. The festival took off from there, with many sold out screenings, packed and newsworthy industry sessions, and over 450 guests who made a point of trekking out to beautiful Whistler to support their films and talk business with the high-level movers and shakers also in attendance. 2015 represented another step forward towards making Wff the coolest festival in the world. Can't wait 'til next year.”
Total attendance for this year’s fest was 13,233 attendees (a 18% increase over 11,273 in 2014) . This included 7,740 film-screening attendees and 3,533 special event attendees (Signature Series, Music Café, ShortWork Showcase, R-Rated Party, Awards Brunch, L’Oreal Men Expert Bobsleigh Race and Celebrity Challenge Ski Race), in addition to 2,530 Summit attendees. Several of the feature films were at or near capacity, including: "Born to be Blue," "Chasing Bansky," "Forsaken," "How to Plan and Orgy in a Small Town," "Legend,""Legend of Barney Thomson," "Numb," "The Lady in the Van," "the Steps," and "Trumbo."
Designed to facilitate international alliances and financial partnerships, Wff’s industry Summit program presented 30 interactive sessions that addressed a range of issues affecting the film, television, and digital media industry. Overall Summit attendance was at 86% capacity with 2,530 attendees (a 13% increase over 2,231 in 2014) including 855 delegates (on par with 2014). The Whistler Summit directly connects to Wff’s slate of project development programs designed to provide creative and business immersion experiences for 42 Canadian artists including its Feature Project Lab, Praxis Screenwriters Lab, Aboriginal Filmmaker Fellowship, and Music Café. Wff also collaborates with several industry organizations by hosting specific third party initiatives at the Whistler Summit including the Women in the Director’s Chair Industry Immersion, Women in Film & Television Film Market Preparation Mentorship, and the Mppia Short Film Award Pitch with the Motion Picture Production Industry Association and Creative BC. In addition to the
204 scheduled meetings (a 10% increase over 186 in 2014) that took place during the Summit, there was again a notable increase in unscheduled meetings that took place outside of scheduled blocks proving the festival remains an important place for the industry to meet and do business. Industry guests came from Canada, USA, UK, India, and China to participate, and included some of the top talent and executives in the business.
Film met music when Morning Show, one of the ten-featured BC artists from Wff’s Music Café, performed the live score for "He Hated Pigeons." Wff’s Music Café, which expanded to include two showcases over two days and featured five music supervisors, was well received with several deals in the works and over 526 guests in attendance.
Toronto’s first-time feature director Jamie M. Dagg’s "River" dominated Whistler prize-giving, winning for best Canadian feature, Best Director and Best Screenplay in the Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature presented by the Directors Guild of Canada – British Columbia. The jury also awarded French-Canadian actor Paul Savoie with Best Performance in a Borsos Film for his performance in "The Diary of an Old Man," as well as provided honorable mention for Rossif Sutherland’s work in "River" and Laura Abramsen’s roles in "Basic human Needs" and "The Sabbatical." Lastly, Best Cinematography in a Borsos Film, presented by I.A.T.S.E. Local 669, went to cinematographer Dylan Macleod for "He Hated Pigeons," directed by Ingrid Veninger. The Borsos Jury was comprised of three accomplished film industry artists that included the highly versatile director and screenwriter and WFF15 Alumni Carl Bessai ("Rehearsal), beloved actor and director Marc-André Grondin , and award-winning producer extraordinaire, Kim McCraw.
Other Whistler award winners included "Last Harvest" by first-time female director Hui (Jane) Wang that won the World Documentary Award presented by Tribute.ca with honorable mention for Brian D. Johnson’s "Al Purdy Was Here." The Best Mountain Culture Film presented by Whistler Blackcomb went to Anthony Bonello’s "Eclipse." The Canadian ShortWork Award went to "Withheld" directed by Johnathan Sousa, with an honorable mention to Amanda Strong and Bracken Hanuse Corlett’s Mia’. The International ShortWork Award was awarded to "Dissonance" by Germany filmmaker Till Nowak, with Langara College’s Canadian ShortWork Award for Best Screenplay given to Jem Garrard’s "The World Who Came to Dinner." Emily Carr University of Art and Design’s Lawrence Lam won the ShortWork Student Award presented by Capilano University Film Centre for "The Blue Jet," and Maja Aro won the Mppia Short Film Award for "Hoods" presented by Mppia and Creative BC, which consists of a $15,000 cash award plus up to $100,000 in services. The Alliance of Women Film Journalists (Awfj) Eda Awards gave Best Female-Directed Narrative Feature to Valerie Weiss’ "A Light Beneath Their Feet," Best Female-Directed Documentary to Hui (Jane) Wang’s "Last Harvest," with a special mention for Brian D. Johnson’s "Al Purdy Was Here." In addition, Céline Devaux’s "Sunday Lunch" took home the Best Female-Directed Short Award.
Receiving Wff’s Trailblazer Award and Tribute presented by Pandora, British-born Canadian actor, film producer, and film director Kiefer Sutherland discussed his extensive acting career spanning film, stage and television, with CTV Film Critic Jim Gordon , followed by the Western Canadian Premiere of his latest film, "Forsaken." Scottish-born Robert Carlyle , one of the most recognizable actors today, graced the Festival’s red carpet at this year’s Spotlight event as Wff’s Maverick Award honoree and sat down with Jim Gordon to discuss his bold choices that have led to the creation of some of the most dynamic, memorable, and beloved characters of our time before the North American Premiere of his directorial debut, "The Legend the Barny Thomson." One of Canada's hardest working and most accomplished character actors, Bruce Greenwood was the recipient of Wff’s Career Achievement Award, at the World Premiere of his latest film "Rehearsal," directed by admired Wff Alumni Carl Bessai.
The Whistler Film Festival proudly hosted the Variety 10 Screenwriters to Watch for the fourth consecutive year hosted by Variety Vice President and Executive Editor, Steven Gaydos . This year’s slate of screenwriters in attendance included Bryan Sipe ("Demolition"), John Scott III ("Maggie"), Meg LeFauve ("Inside Out"), Mike Le ("Patient Zero"), and Emma Donoghue ("Room"), who also delivered a Master Class for the Wff Praxis Screenwriters Lab participants.
To top it all off, Lauren Lee Smith ("How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town"), Jakob Davies ("The Birdwatcher"), Taylor Russell and Rustin Gresiuk ("Suspension") were recognized as Wff’s Rising Stars sponsored by Ubcp/Actra at this year’s Keynote Filmmaker Luncheon presented by Pacific Northwest Pictures, and all had films premiering at the fest.
Over 400 guests attended the fest with other notable talent in attendance with films premiering at the fest including: actor Rossif Sutherland ("River"), director Jon Cassar ("Forsaken"), actor Callum Keith Rennie ("Born to Be Blue"), director/writer Sandy Wilson ("My American Cousin), actors Aleks Paunovic, Stefanie von Pfetten, Marie Avgeropoulos and Colin Cunningham ("Numb"), actors Chelah Horsdal and Alex Zahara ("Patterson's Wager"), actor Sage Brocklebank ("Suspension"), actors Gabrielle Rose and Camille Sullivan ("The Birdwatcher"), actor Rebecca Dalton ("The Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship"), actor Paul Savoie ("The Diary of an Old Man"), director and founder of the Toronto Film Critics Association Brian D. Johnson ("Al Purdy Was Here"), director and co-founder of World Elephant Day Patricia Sims and co-director Michael Clark ("When Elephants Were Young"), "The Steps" director Andrew Currie and actor Steven McCarthy , and award-winning directors Philippe Lesage ("The Demons") and Ricardo Trogi ("The Miracle"). Veteran director Bruce McDonald attended as a mentor of the Wff Praxis Screenwriters Lab, as well as Canadian actress, writer, filmmaker, comedian, and social activist Mary Walsh , who participated in the Women In The Director’s Chair program and got a standing ovation as Wff’s Keynote Speaker at the Filmmaker Luncheon.
- 12/9/2015
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
The 15th anniversary of what's considered ‘Canada's coolest film festival' is rapidly approaching. The 2015 Whistler Film Festival (Wff) will take place December 2 to 6 with new films, special guests, industry connections, great events and time to enjoy on of North America’s premiere mountain resort destinations. Wff has announced its first 18 confirmed films, plus industry and event programming highlights.
The Whistler Film Festival combines an international film competition with a focused industry Summit dedicated to the art and business of filmmaking in the digital age. Featuring over 80 innovative and original films from around the world and opportunities to connect with the people who made them, this year’s fest will be filled with a solid lineup of premieres, honored guests, lively celebrations, and unique industry initiatives.
Wff’s Director of Programming and industry veteran Paul Gratton had this to say about the 2015 lineup confirmed to date: “The Whistler Film Festival continues to be a must-attend event for hip, young, film buffs and emerging filmmakers, and we are pleased to carve out our own unique niche by offering an impressive selection of Canadian premieres. This year's titles cast a wide net in terms of subject matter, and our Summit will complement our film programming by addressing key challenges and opportunities facing the industry this year. WFF15 has something for everyone. "While our final line-up of titles is far from complete, early programming trends suggest a very strong year for female directors and innovative new voices from young directors hoping to find new ways of telling stories and connecting with audiences.”
A great example of innovation will be the World Premiere screening of Daniel Robinson's "Nestor," the first narrative feature ever made by one person, who wrote, produced, directed, edited and stars in this compelling tale of outdoor survival.
Another example of seeking out new narrative approaches, and leading this year's women directors present at Whistler, is Diy queen Ingrid Veninger’s latest "He Hated Pigeons" about a young man pushed to the border of sanity as he steps into manhood. Shot in South America, the film is designed to support a spontaneous live score to be performed during the screening. In other words, each screening will evoke different responses depending on the approach taken by the live musicians accompanying the showing. Other female directed highlights coming to Whistler include the World Premiere of Vancouver filmmaker Melanie Jones' "Fsm," a contemporary study of a female DJ trying to find love in a world of technological innovation and all-night raves.
Continuing its love of quirky musicals, Wff will present the Western Canadian premiere of Jude Klassen’s debut feature film "Love in the Sixth," an unromantic musical comedy of “enviromantic” angst. Another Canadian Premiere is Valerie Weiss' "A Lights Beneath Their Feet," a superb study of the mutually dependent relationship between a young student hoping to leave home for college and her bipolar mother who can't cope with the thought of letting her go. Taryn Manning, Maddie Hasson and Madison Davenport lead the cast. Another moving look at mother/daughter relationships can be found in the World Premiere of Siobhan Devine’s "The Birdwatcher," a family drama about a mother and daughter reconnecting starring WFF14 Rising Star Camille Sullivan and Gabrielle Rose.
Jeremy Lalonde's "How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town," featuring Lauren Holly and Katharine Isabelle; and Sergio Navarretta's "The Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship," set during a mouth-watering winetasting tour of the Niagara region; focus on the challenge of maintaining interpersonal relationships. Darker still is the Canadian Premiere of Josh Hope's "The Life and Death of an Unhappily Married Man," in which a disillusioned young man decides to visit his past to see where it all went wrong. Brian Stockton's "The Sabbatical" is a comedic look at a photography professor's mid-life crisis and a young artist who rekindles the lost spirit of his youth, and Matthew Yim's "Basic Human Needs" follows a young couple whose plans to get out of Regina are thwarted by a missing prophylactic.
BC's own Fred Ewanuick stars as a man who can see two minutes into the future in Vancouver filmmaker O. Corbin Saleken's first feature "Patterson's Wager."
BC based genre specialist Jeffery Lando will be gracing the late night screens with the Western Canadian Premiere of his latest horror work "Suspension." John Ainslie will be unveiling the World premiere of his tense psychological thriller "The Sublet," about a new mother unraveling psychologically after and she and her fiance move into a sublet apartment, featuring Vancouver actress Tianna Nori in the lead.
On the documentary front, Wff will be presenting the North American premiere of Jan Foukal's "Amerika," a lyrical look at a unique Eastern European phenomenon known as 'tramping', as Vancouver-based Barbara Adler takes us on a mission into the mountains and the forests of the Czech Republic where she encounters social dropouts who choose to live what they consider to be a North American back-to-the-wilderness lifestyle. "Last Harvest," from director Jane Hui Wang, is a Canadian documentary feature that looks at an elderly Chinese couple forced to relocate by the government to make way for a mammoth water diversion project. Also, on the international front, Whistler is proud to present the Canadian Premiere of "Blood Cells" by Joseph Bull and Luke Seomore about a lost man wandering through the British countryside, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
As always, Whistler is pleased to feature the best of Quebec cinema, and this year the festival has two titles already lined up. Bernard Emond's "Diary of an Old Man" is a deeply moving adaptation of an Anton Chekov story about an old man fighting feelings of bitterness despite his privileged life as an academic, starring Paul Savoie in a Canada Screen Awards worthy performance. Finally, a haunting look at childhood innocence, at risk from the evils of an outside world is Philippe Lesage's "The Demons" starring Pascale Bussières and Laurent Lucas, about a tight-knit small-town community beset by a child serial killer.
Celebrating its 12th edition in 2015, Wff’s coveted Borsos Award for Best Canadian Feature honors independent vision, original directorial style and the diversity of talent found in Canadian independent film. New for 2015, all Canadian feature films in the festival with Western Canadian premiere status will be included in the Borsos Competition and there is no longer a six film restriction to the number that can compete. An international jury of three will decide on four awards including a $15,000 Cdn prize.
Wff’s slate of special events confirmed to date include the Opening and Closing Galas, Signature Series including the Pandora Tribute and Variety 10 Screenwriters to Watch In Conversation, ShortWork Showdown, Awards Brunch and a grand15th Anniversary Celebration, with more to come.
New for 2015, Wff introduces the L’Oreal Mens Expert Bobsleigh Race on December 3 at the Whistler Sliding Centre, one of the fastest tracks in the world, where celebrities, filmmakers, VIP guests and corporate teams will experience the thrill of a lifetime reaching speeds up to 125 km per hour. And the adrenaline continues to flow with Wff’s annual Columbia Celebrity Challenge on December 5, with corporate teams and festival guests joining the stars of the screen and the stars of the slopes in a fun, guess your time, dual slalom race on Whistler Mountain. Proceeds from these fun-raising” events will support Wff’s annual programs for Canadian artists, including the industry initiatives, labs and festival.
Film meets music at Wff’s Music Café, which has expanded to two days to include an evening showcase on December 4, and daytime showcase and dedicated industry panel on December 5, with the possibility of additional performances during the festival. Up to 10 export-ready British Columbia songwriters and artists from across the musical spectrum will be selected to each play a live 20-minute set and meet with key international music and film executives and delegates attending the festival.
Wff's Industry Summit will feature three concentrated days of business programs and networking that address the business and future of Canadian film, locally and in the international marketplace, as well as the ever-changing landscape of filmmaking in the digital age. Featuring over 20 interactive sessions, Wff's Summit is designed to provide practical business and creative intel, and foster business collaborations for filmmakers and deal-makers. Offering in-depth conversations, lively debates and critical insight into a broad range of issues vital to the domestic and international film communities while addressing crossing borders and platforms, Whistler is the place to be, connect and deal this December. 1,000 delegates are expected to attend.
The Whistler Summit directly connects to Wff’s slate of project development programs designed to provide creative and business immersion experiences for Canadian artists including the Feature Project Lab, Praxis Screenwriters Lab, Aboriginal Filmmaker Fellowship and Music Café. Wff also collaborates with several industry organizations by hosting specific third party initiatives at the Whistler Summit including the Variety 10 Screenwriters to Watch, Women in the Directors Chair Industry Immersion, Women in Film & Television Film Market Preparation Mentorship, and the Mppia Short Film Award Pitch with the Motion Picture Production Industry Association and Creative BC. Application details and information for all Wff industry and project development programs are available at whistlerfilmfestival.com.
The Whistler Film Festival combines an international film competition with a focused industry Summit dedicated to the art and business of filmmaking in the digital age. Featuring over 80 innovative and original films from around the world and opportunities to connect with the people who made them, this year’s fest will be filled with a solid lineup of premieres, honored guests, lively celebrations, and unique industry initiatives.
Wff’s Director of Programming and industry veteran Paul Gratton had this to say about the 2015 lineup confirmed to date: “The Whistler Film Festival continues to be a must-attend event for hip, young, film buffs and emerging filmmakers, and we are pleased to carve out our own unique niche by offering an impressive selection of Canadian premieres. This year's titles cast a wide net in terms of subject matter, and our Summit will complement our film programming by addressing key challenges and opportunities facing the industry this year. WFF15 has something for everyone. "While our final line-up of titles is far from complete, early programming trends suggest a very strong year for female directors and innovative new voices from young directors hoping to find new ways of telling stories and connecting with audiences.”
A great example of innovation will be the World Premiere screening of Daniel Robinson's "Nestor," the first narrative feature ever made by one person, who wrote, produced, directed, edited and stars in this compelling tale of outdoor survival.
Another example of seeking out new narrative approaches, and leading this year's women directors present at Whistler, is Diy queen Ingrid Veninger’s latest "He Hated Pigeons" about a young man pushed to the border of sanity as he steps into manhood. Shot in South America, the film is designed to support a spontaneous live score to be performed during the screening. In other words, each screening will evoke different responses depending on the approach taken by the live musicians accompanying the showing. Other female directed highlights coming to Whistler include the World Premiere of Vancouver filmmaker Melanie Jones' "Fsm," a contemporary study of a female DJ trying to find love in a world of technological innovation and all-night raves.
Continuing its love of quirky musicals, Wff will present the Western Canadian premiere of Jude Klassen’s debut feature film "Love in the Sixth," an unromantic musical comedy of “enviromantic” angst. Another Canadian Premiere is Valerie Weiss' "A Lights Beneath Their Feet," a superb study of the mutually dependent relationship between a young student hoping to leave home for college and her bipolar mother who can't cope with the thought of letting her go. Taryn Manning, Maddie Hasson and Madison Davenport lead the cast. Another moving look at mother/daughter relationships can be found in the World Premiere of Siobhan Devine’s "The Birdwatcher," a family drama about a mother and daughter reconnecting starring WFF14 Rising Star Camille Sullivan and Gabrielle Rose.
Jeremy Lalonde's "How to Plan an Orgy in a Small Town," featuring Lauren Holly and Katharine Isabelle; and Sergio Navarretta's "The Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship," set during a mouth-watering winetasting tour of the Niagara region; focus on the challenge of maintaining interpersonal relationships. Darker still is the Canadian Premiere of Josh Hope's "The Life and Death of an Unhappily Married Man," in which a disillusioned young man decides to visit his past to see where it all went wrong. Brian Stockton's "The Sabbatical" is a comedic look at a photography professor's mid-life crisis and a young artist who rekindles the lost spirit of his youth, and Matthew Yim's "Basic Human Needs" follows a young couple whose plans to get out of Regina are thwarted by a missing prophylactic.
BC's own Fred Ewanuick stars as a man who can see two minutes into the future in Vancouver filmmaker O. Corbin Saleken's first feature "Patterson's Wager."
BC based genre specialist Jeffery Lando will be gracing the late night screens with the Western Canadian Premiere of his latest horror work "Suspension." John Ainslie will be unveiling the World premiere of his tense psychological thriller "The Sublet," about a new mother unraveling psychologically after and she and her fiance move into a sublet apartment, featuring Vancouver actress Tianna Nori in the lead.
On the documentary front, Wff will be presenting the North American premiere of Jan Foukal's "Amerika," a lyrical look at a unique Eastern European phenomenon known as 'tramping', as Vancouver-based Barbara Adler takes us on a mission into the mountains and the forests of the Czech Republic where she encounters social dropouts who choose to live what they consider to be a North American back-to-the-wilderness lifestyle. "Last Harvest," from director Jane Hui Wang, is a Canadian documentary feature that looks at an elderly Chinese couple forced to relocate by the government to make way for a mammoth water diversion project. Also, on the international front, Whistler is proud to present the Canadian Premiere of "Blood Cells" by Joseph Bull and Luke Seomore about a lost man wandering through the British countryside, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
As always, Whistler is pleased to feature the best of Quebec cinema, and this year the festival has two titles already lined up. Bernard Emond's "Diary of an Old Man" is a deeply moving adaptation of an Anton Chekov story about an old man fighting feelings of bitterness despite his privileged life as an academic, starring Paul Savoie in a Canada Screen Awards worthy performance. Finally, a haunting look at childhood innocence, at risk from the evils of an outside world is Philippe Lesage's "The Demons" starring Pascale Bussières and Laurent Lucas, about a tight-knit small-town community beset by a child serial killer.
Celebrating its 12th edition in 2015, Wff’s coveted Borsos Award for Best Canadian Feature honors independent vision, original directorial style and the diversity of talent found in Canadian independent film. New for 2015, all Canadian feature films in the festival with Western Canadian premiere status will be included in the Borsos Competition and there is no longer a six film restriction to the number that can compete. An international jury of three will decide on four awards including a $15,000 Cdn prize.
Wff’s slate of special events confirmed to date include the Opening and Closing Galas, Signature Series including the Pandora Tribute and Variety 10 Screenwriters to Watch In Conversation, ShortWork Showdown, Awards Brunch and a grand15th Anniversary Celebration, with more to come.
New for 2015, Wff introduces the L’Oreal Mens Expert Bobsleigh Race on December 3 at the Whistler Sliding Centre, one of the fastest tracks in the world, where celebrities, filmmakers, VIP guests and corporate teams will experience the thrill of a lifetime reaching speeds up to 125 km per hour. And the adrenaline continues to flow with Wff’s annual Columbia Celebrity Challenge on December 5, with corporate teams and festival guests joining the stars of the screen and the stars of the slopes in a fun, guess your time, dual slalom race on Whistler Mountain. Proceeds from these fun-raising” events will support Wff’s annual programs for Canadian artists, including the industry initiatives, labs and festival.
Film meets music at Wff’s Music Café, which has expanded to two days to include an evening showcase on December 4, and daytime showcase and dedicated industry panel on December 5, with the possibility of additional performances during the festival. Up to 10 export-ready British Columbia songwriters and artists from across the musical spectrum will be selected to each play a live 20-minute set and meet with key international music and film executives and delegates attending the festival.
Wff's Industry Summit will feature three concentrated days of business programs and networking that address the business and future of Canadian film, locally and in the international marketplace, as well as the ever-changing landscape of filmmaking in the digital age. Featuring over 20 interactive sessions, Wff's Summit is designed to provide practical business and creative intel, and foster business collaborations for filmmakers and deal-makers. Offering in-depth conversations, lively debates and critical insight into a broad range of issues vital to the domestic and international film communities while addressing crossing borders and platforms, Whistler is the place to be, connect and deal this December. 1,000 delegates are expected to attend.
The Whistler Summit directly connects to Wff’s slate of project development programs designed to provide creative and business immersion experiences for Canadian artists including the Feature Project Lab, Praxis Screenwriters Lab, Aboriginal Filmmaker Fellowship and Music Café. Wff also collaborates with several industry organizations by hosting specific third party initiatives at the Whistler Summit including the Variety 10 Screenwriters to Watch, Women in the Directors Chair Industry Immersion, Women in Film & Television Film Market Preparation Mentorship, and the Mppia Short Film Award Pitch with the Motion Picture Production Industry Association and Creative BC. Application details and information for all Wff industry and project development programs are available at whistlerfilmfestival.com.
- 9/7/2015
- by Peter Belsito
- Sydney's Buzz
Didn't cry your eyes out enough when the adaptation of If I Stay hit theaters earlier this year? Well, you're in luck then as Fox has revealed details on the film's blu-ray release. Come inside to learn more!
If only they offered to sell this in a bundled deal with a box of Kleenex...that's just good marketing people! The film hit's blu-ray on November 18, 2014 and you can check out all the details on what comes in the package, below:
Live for love and music this holiday season with the ultimate If I Stay fan experience on the Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD Combo and DVD November 18 from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Based on The New York Times best-selling young adult novel by Gayle Forman, director R.J. Cutler’s If I Stay is a must-have gift for fans and young adults alike this holiday season.
“Chloë Grace Moretz...
If only they offered to sell this in a bundled deal with a box of Kleenex...that's just good marketing people! The film hit's blu-ray on November 18, 2014 and you can check out all the details on what comes in the package, below:
Live for love and music this holiday season with the ultimate If I Stay fan experience on the Blu-ray + DVD + Digital HD Combo and DVD November 18 from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. Based on The New York Times best-selling young adult novel by Gayle Forman, director R.J. Cutler’s If I Stay is a must-have gift for fans and young adults alike this holiday season.
“Chloë Grace Moretz...
- 10/7/2014
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Jordan Maison)
- Cinelinx
Yesterday, ABC finally served up the new,official synopsis/spoilers for their upcoming "Once Upon A Time" episode 2 of season 4. The episode is entitled, "White Out," and it sounds like things will get extremely dramatic and suspenseful as Elsa puts Emma in a life threatening situation, and more! In the new, 2nd episode press release: "While desperately trying to find her sister Anna, Elsa is going to get startled by Emma and accidentally traps them both inside an ice cave with the frozen temperature placing Emma's life in peril. Regina, depressed over her likely breakup with Robin Hood, is going to seclude herself away from the town and Henry, which saddens her son. And with the townspeople considering Mary Margaret their leader, she is going to face her first leadership task in trying to re-start a generator and restore the town’s electricity after Elsa freezes and damages the power lines.
- 9/30/2014
- by Eric
- OnTheFlix
The Chloë Grace Moretz starrer “If I Stay” is out in theaters now! The film, which also stars Mireille Enos, Jamie Blackley, Joshua Leonard, Liana Liberato, Aisha Hinds and Stacy Keach, is a drama in which a girl has to make the most difficult decision a person could make. The film is directed by R.J. Cutler with the screenplay by Shauna Cross, based on the novel by Gayle Forman. The cast also includes Jakob Davies and Gabrielle Rose. The film is presented by New Line Cinema, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures. Here’s more about the film. “Mia Hall (Moretz) thought the hardest decision [ Read More ]
The post Tons of Stills from If I Stay Released, Film Now in Theaters appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Tons of Stills from If I Stay Released, Film Now in Theaters appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 8/22/2014
- by monique
- ShockYa
Mia Hall (Chloë Grace Moretz) thought the hardest decision she would ever face would be whether to pursue her musical dreams at Juilliard or follow a different path to be with the love of her life, Adam (Jamie Blackley).
But what should have been a carefree family drive changes everything in an instant, and now her own life hangs in the balance. Caught between life and death for one revealing day, Mia has only one decision left, which will not only decide her future but her ultimate fate.
Also starring are Mireille Enos and Joshua Leonard as Mia’s parents, Kat and Denny, and Stacy Keach as Gramps. Rounding out the main cast are Jakob Davies as Mia’s little brother, Liana Liberato as her best friend, Gabrielle Rose as Gran, and Aisha Hinds as Nurse Ramirez.
R.J. Cutler (“The September Issue,” TV’s “Nashville”) directed the film from a...
But what should have been a carefree family drive changes everything in an instant, and now her own life hangs in the balance. Caught between life and death for one revealing day, Mia has only one decision left, which will not only decide her future but her ultimate fate.
Also starring are Mireille Enos and Joshua Leonard as Mia’s parents, Kat and Denny, and Stacy Keach as Gramps. Rounding out the main cast are Jakob Davies as Mia’s little brother, Liana Liberato as her best friend, Gabrielle Rose as Gran, and Aisha Hinds as Nurse Ramirez.
R.J. Cutler (“The September Issue,” TV’s “Nashville”) directed the film from a...
- 8/12/2014
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
At some point in the creation of Carl Bessai’s Sisters & Brothers, someone (probably Bessai) chose to give the film’s visuals a comic book aesthetic without it ever becoming clear how that was in any way relevant to the subject matter at hand. It’s the first of many tonally inconsistent factors that make Sisters & Brothers such a mess, but when compared to the lackluster writing that feels like something a film school student should have rewritten half a dozen times more before committing it to screen, it’s clearly not the film’s biggest problem. The film’s only strength is a few talented actors thrown into a mix with others that can barely emote at all (Glee's Cory Monteith) or who are the epitome of over acting (Gabrielle Rose), but all of them are wasted on a film that can’t decide what it wants to be.
- 9/23/2013
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
Sneak Peek images and footage from writer/director Terry Miles' new 'dramady' feature "Cinemanovels", starring Lauren Lee Smith and Jennifer Beals:
"...'Grace' (Smith) had not spoken to her recently deceased father, the fabled Québécois filmmaker 'John Laurentian', in years. So even she's surprised when, on a trip to pick up some of his belongings, she offers to help put together a retrospective of his work.
"Not only has she not seen any of it (their rift was spectacularly traumatic), she knows nothing about curating. She's also a shut-in who rarely ventures outside the condo she shares with her husband, 'Ben' (Ben Cotton). Grace struggles along fitfully, dozing off while watching her father's movies (all of them involving love triangles), and discussing her inertia with her confidante, 'Clem' (Beals).
"Then she meets 'Adam' (Kett Turton), a neighbour who's an expert on all things Laurentian and offers to help her out.
"...'Grace' (Smith) had not spoken to her recently deceased father, the fabled Québécois filmmaker 'John Laurentian', in years. So even she's surprised when, on a trip to pick up some of his belongings, she offers to help put together a retrospective of his work.
"Not only has she not seen any of it (their rift was spectacularly traumatic), she knows nothing about curating. She's also a shut-in who rarely ventures outside the condo she shares with her husband, 'Ben' (Ben Cotton). Grace struggles along fitfully, dozing off while watching her father's movies (all of them involving love triangles), and discussing her inertia with her confidante, 'Clem' (Beals).
"Then she meets 'Adam' (Kett Turton), a neighbour who's an expert on all things Laurentian and offers to help her out.
- 9/1/2013
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
Stars: Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, Richard de Klerk, Alexia Fast, Gabrielle Rose, Benjamin Ratner | Written by Arne Olsen | Directed by Carl Bessai
A Groundhog Day-esque action drama, Repeaters is one of those films that will fly under the radar of many despite its impressive pedigree. Penned by Arne Olsen, who has one hell of a writing CV having worked on Red Scorpion, Cop and a Half and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie amongst many others, the film follows three troubled youths – Kyle, Sonia and Mike – at a drug-rehab center who, following an electric shock, end up repeating the same day over and over again. The trio quickly embrace their new gift, having all the fun they could ever want which includes committing crimes without any fear of reprisals. However once the fun starts to get a little too dangerous Kyle and Sonia decide they want to use their “gift” to help people,...
A Groundhog Day-esque action drama, Repeaters is one of those films that will fly under the radar of many despite its impressive pedigree. Penned by Arne Olsen, who has one hell of a writing CV having worked on Red Scorpion, Cop and a Half and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie amongst many others, the film follows three troubled youths – Kyle, Sonia and Mike – at a drug-rehab center who, following an electric shock, end up repeating the same day over and over again. The trio quickly embrace their new gift, having all the fun they could ever want which includes committing crimes without any fear of reprisals. However once the fun starts to get a little too dangerous Kyle and Sonia decide they want to use their “gift” to help people,...
- 4/4/2013
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
If you have a problem...if no one else can help...
If you keep an eye on our Spotlight section you might recall that a few months ago we brought you articles about two indie movies for which funds were being raised by crowdsourcing. This week we received a new ‘concept’ trailer for one of those, The Ferret Squad, which we present below.
The Ferret Squad, which is still looking for funding, will be directed by Vancouver filmmaker Alison Parker, who previously shot a short film on a similar theme called Jake and Jasper: A Ferret Tale. That earlier production was about the friendship that develops between Jake Tyler (Connor Stanhope, who played a young Lex Luthor in Smallville) and a furry friend called Jasper after the boy’s mother dies.
Jake and Jasper’s small but accomplished cast also features Andrew Jackson (whose credits include Stargate Sg-1, Andromeda, Warehouse 13...
If you keep an eye on our Spotlight section you might recall that a few months ago we brought you articles about two indie movies for which funds were being raised by crowdsourcing. This week we received a new ‘concept’ trailer for one of those, The Ferret Squad, which we present below.
The Ferret Squad, which is still looking for funding, will be directed by Vancouver filmmaker Alison Parker, who previously shot a short film on a similar theme called Jake and Jasper: A Ferret Tale. That earlier production was about the friendship that develops between Jake Tyler (Connor Stanhope, who played a young Lex Luthor in Smallville) and a furry friend called Jasper after the boy’s mother dies.
Jake and Jasper’s small but accomplished cast also features Andrew Jackson (whose credits include Stargate Sg-1, Andromeda, Warehouse 13...
- 12/17/2012
- by Michael Simpson
- CinemaSpy
"Once Upon a Time" treads a difficult line this week as it intersperses multiple storylines in both the fairytale and real worlds. The result is mixed. In the fairytale world, Emma (Jennifer Morrison) and Snow (Ginnifer Goodwin) are looking for a portal back to the real world. Snow hopes to use the magic cupboard in which Emma escaped the curse, so they travel to her castle with Mulan (Jamie Chung) and a slightly-unlikeable Aurora (Sarah Bolger). Along the way, they battle ogres (well, one ogre), Aurora's desire for revenge, the evil Cora and their own inner demons. But the cupboard is destroyed and the two are left looking for another solution. In the Enchanted Forest's past, Prince Charming's (Josh Dallas) mother, Ruth (Gabrielle Rose), is mortally wounded just as she meets her ...
- 10/23/2012
- GeekNation.com
I’m Gonna Wreck It: Sweeney’s Latest a Meek Exercise In Neo Noir
Canadian filmmaker Bruce Sweeney returns with his latest, Crimes of Mike Recket, a police procedural neo-noir black comedy that attempts to use the current economic crises as impetus for a good guy turned bad scenario, one who makes poor moves to rectify his mounting debt. There’s a certain degree of playfulness at work here, with Sweeney giving us a rehash of those old B noir narratives from the forties and fifties, replete with a protagonist making unbelievably dumb decisions to fix his current economic situation. But despite this and all around enjoyable performances, there’s simply not much to get worked up about in this tale that ends up being more derivative than it perhaps meant to be.
Mike Recket (Nicholas Lea) is a failed real estate agent in a huge amount of debt, which...
Canadian filmmaker Bruce Sweeney returns with his latest, Crimes of Mike Recket, a police procedural neo-noir black comedy that attempts to use the current economic crises as impetus for a good guy turned bad scenario, one who makes poor moves to rectify his mounting debt. There’s a certain degree of playfulness at work here, with Sweeney giving us a rehash of those old B noir narratives from the forties and fifties, replete with a protagonist making unbelievably dumb decisions to fix his current economic situation. But despite this and all around enjoyable performances, there’s simply not much to get worked up about in this tale that ends up being more derivative than it perhaps meant to be.
Mike Recket (Nicholas Lea) is a failed real estate agent in a huge amount of debt, which...
- 9/12/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Crimes of Mike Reket
Directed by Bruce Sweeney
2012, Canada, 80 minutes
Intelligent and uncomfortable comedy is so rare at the box office anymore—or so rarely talked about, anyway. Crimes of Mike Reket fits into that mould. Not well, though—this film doesn’t fit into any one mould very well, and I mean that in a good way. Aside from being darkly funny in an absurd manner, Bruce Sweeny’s newest film is also a whodunit undone, a cop film distinctly soft boiled, and an emotional drama that is palatably unfunny. Contradictory? Certainly. The neat thing is, though, it works.
One of the best things about Crimes of Mike Reket is that it is inoffensively but identifiably Canadian. This is what I mean: too many Canadian films (and TV series, and books, and songs . . .) approach ‘being Canadian’ in a Dudley Do-Right, maple syrup-caricature sort of way. It’s either that,...
Directed by Bruce Sweeney
2012, Canada, 80 minutes
Intelligent and uncomfortable comedy is so rare at the box office anymore—or so rarely talked about, anyway. Crimes of Mike Reket fits into that mould. Not well, though—this film doesn’t fit into any one mould very well, and I mean that in a good way. Aside from being darkly funny in an absurd manner, Bruce Sweeny’s newest film is also a whodunit undone, a cop film distinctly soft boiled, and an emotional drama that is palatably unfunny. Contradictory? Certainly. The neat thing is, though, it works.
One of the best things about Crimes of Mike Reket is that it is inoffensively but identifiably Canadian. This is what I mean: too many Canadian films (and TV series, and books, and songs . . .) approach ‘being Canadian’ in a Dudley Do-Right, maple syrup-caricature sort of way. It’s either that,...
- 9/12/2012
- by Dave Robson
- SoundOnSight
The 37th Toronto International Film Festival® will roll out the red carpet for hundreds of guests from the four corners of the globe in September. Filmmakers expected to present their world premieres in Toronto include: Rian Johnson, Noah Baumbach, Deepa Mehta, Derek Cianfrance, Sion Sono, Joss Whedon, Neil Jordan, Lu Chuan, Shola Lynch, Barry Levinson, Yvan Attal, Ben Affleck, Marina Zenovich, Costa-Gavras, Laurent Cantet, Sally Potter, Dustin Hoffman, Francois Ozon, David O. Russell, David Ayer, Pelin Esmer, Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Andy Wachowski, Andrew Adamson, Michael McGowan, Bahman Ghobadi, Ziad Doueiri, Alex Gibney, Stephen Chbosky, Eran Riklis, Edward Burns, Bernard Émond, Zhang Yuan, Michael Winterbottom, Mike Newell, Miwa Nishikawa, Margarethe Von Trotta, David Siegel, Scott McGehee, Gauri Shinde, Goran Paskaljevic, Baltasar Kormákur, J.A. Bayona, Rob Zombie, Peaches and Paul Andrew Williams.
Actors expected to attend include: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bill Murray, Robert Redford,...
Actors expected to attend include: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Chan, Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Bill Murray, Robert Redford,...
- 8/21/2012
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Big congrats to all the Leo nominees this year!
The nominations were announced earlier today. Sanctuary, Arctic Air, Endgame and Blackstone are up for Best Dramatic Series and all five films nominated for Best Feature Length Drama have familiar faces in them: Daydream Nation (Luke Camilleri, Calum Worthy, Genevieve Buechner), Doppelgänger Paul (Ben Cotton), Marilyn (Ryan Robbins), Sisters & Brothers (Kacey Rohl, Michael Eklund, Ben Cotton), and The Odds (Calum Worthy).
Sisters & Brothers nabbed 12 nominations, Hamlet (with Peter Wingfield) and Marilyn have eight each, Sunflower Hour (with Kacey Rohl and Ben Cotton) has seven, Donovan's Echo (with Hiro Kanagawa) has six, Daydream Nation and Doppelgänger Paul five each, The Odds has four, and Everything and Everyone (with Ryan Robbins) and Hannah's Law (with Ryan Kennedy and John Pyper-Ferguson, to be aired in June) scored two each.
On the TV side, Sanctuary is way ahead of the pack with 18 nominations, followed by...
The nominations were announced earlier today. Sanctuary, Arctic Air, Endgame and Blackstone are up for Best Dramatic Series and all five films nominated for Best Feature Length Drama have familiar faces in them: Daydream Nation (Luke Camilleri, Calum Worthy, Genevieve Buechner), Doppelgänger Paul (Ben Cotton), Marilyn (Ryan Robbins), Sisters & Brothers (Kacey Rohl, Michael Eklund, Ben Cotton), and The Odds (Calum Worthy).
Sisters & Brothers nabbed 12 nominations, Hamlet (with Peter Wingfield) and Marilyn have eight each, Sunflower Hour (with Kacey Rohl and Ben Cotton) has seven, Donovan's Echo (with Hiro Kanagawa) has six, Daydream Nation and Doppelgänger Paul five each, The Odds has four, and Everything and Everyone (with Ryan Robbins) and Hannah's Law (with Ryan Kennedy and John Pyper-Ferguson, to be aired in June) scored two each.
On the TV side, Sanctuary is way ahead of the pack with 18 nominations, followed by...
- 5/2/2012
- by fanshawe
- CapricaTV
One long and chaotic round of updates coming up.
Alessandra Torresani will make an apperance in the next episode of Warehouse 13, called "Shadows." It airs on Monday, September 12 at 9 pm. (Husbands premieres a day later, on Sept. 13.) Spoiler TV has the promotional photos. Teaser and clip embedded at the end of the post.
Ron Moore and Matt Roberts have a new project in the works. From Deadline:
ABC has bought drama pitch Hangtown, from Battlestar Galactica developer/executive producer Ron Moore and Caprica writer Matt Roberts. Sony Pictures TV, where Moore is under an overall deal, is producing. Described as a Western with a procedural overlay, Hangtown is set in the early 1900s in a frontier town that’s begun rapidly expanding with the coming of the railroad. It centers on three characters: the Marshal, a Matt Dillon/Clint Eastwood type who prefers to solve crimes by his...
Alessandra Torresani will make an apperance in the next episode of Warehouse 13, called "Shadows." It airs on Monday, September 12 at 9 pm. (Husbands premieres a day later, on Sept. 13.) Spoiler TV has the promotional photos. Teaser and clip embedded at the end of the post.
Ron Moore and Matt Roberts have a new project in the works. From Deadline:
ABC has bought drama pitch Hangtown, from Battlestar Galactica developer/executive producer Ron Moore and Caprica writer Matt Roberts. Sony Pictures TV, where Moore is under an overall deal, is producing. Described as a Western with a procedural overlay, Hangtown is set in the early 1900s in a frontier town that’s begun rapidly expanding with the coming of the railroad. It centers on three characters: the Marshal, a Matt Dillon/Clint Eastwood type who prefers to solve crimes by his...
- 9/4/2011
- by fanshawe
- CapricaTV
The independent Canadian film Amazon Falls, directed by Katrin Bowen, will be released for a short period of time in Montreal on July 1.
The film will be available at the Parallèle Movie Theatre from July 1 to 3.
Bowen's first feature film, which was made with a budget of $60,000, tells the story of a fading B-movie starlette named Jana (April Telek). She dreams to become a famous Hollywood star. However, she's getting closer to her fourties and personal income gets smaller. Will she leave her acting dream behind?
The film also stars Anna Mae Routledge, Gabrielle Rose, Zak Santiago, Benjamin Ratner, Matty Finochio, Tom Braidwood, Alexandra Staseson, William B. Davis, Drew Scott and J.D. Scott.
The DVD release date of the film has yet to be announced.
The film will be available at the Parallèle Movie Theatre from July 1 to 3.
Bowen's first feature film, which was made with a budget of $60,000, tells the story of a fading B-movie starlette named Jana (April Telek). She dreams to become a famous Hollywood star. However, she's getting closer to her fourties and personal income gets smaller. Will she leave her acting dream behind?
The film also stars Anna Mae Routledge, Gabrielle Rose, Zak Santiago, Benjamin Ratner, Matty Finochio, Tom Braidwood, Alexandra Staseson, William B. Davis, Drew Scott and J.D. Scott.
The DVD release date of the film has yet to be announced.
- 6/29/2011
- by anhkhoido@gmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Carl Bessai's Repeaters will be released in select Canadian theatres on April 22 after a presence at the latest Vancouver International Film Festival.
The story revolves around drug addicts at a rehab centre who fight their inner demons and live the same day over and over again. While each have some degree of volition and are able to use this day to play out fantasies seemingly with no long term consequences, none has power to change the truth that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday. Ultimately, all are forced to make choices that will affect not only their lives but the lives of everyone around them.
The film stars Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, Richard de Klerk, Benjamin Ratner, Gabrielle Rose, Teach Grant, Anja Savcic and Emily Perkins.
The story revolves around drug addicts at a rehab centre who fight their inner demons and live the same day over and over again. While each have some degree of volition and are able to use this day to play out fantasies seemingly with no long term consequences, none has power to change the truth that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday. Ultimately, all are forced to make choices that will affect not only their lives but the lives of everyone around them.
The film stars Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, Richard de Klerk, Benjamin Ratner, Gabrielle Rose, Teach Grant, Anja Savcic and Emily Perkins.
- 4/15/2011
- by anhkhoido@gmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
The Sweet Hereafter (1997) Direction: Atom Egoyan Cast: Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, Bruce Greenwood, Tom McCamus, Gabrielle Rose, Alberta Watson, Caerthan Banks, Maury Chaykin Screenplay: Atom Egoyan; from Russell Banks' novel Oscar Movies Ian Holm, Sarah Polley, The Sweet Hereafter By Dan Schneider of Cosmoetica: Some films are well crafted but lifeless. Others err by believing they can too readily make an audience care for a character just by having a traumatic situation beset him early on. Director and screenwriter Atom Egoyan's 1997 drama The Sweet Hereafter suffers from both maladies. Though not a bad film, it certainly isn't a great film, either — much less "the best film of the year" as Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan claimed. Foremost among the film's flaws is Egoyan's disoriented narrative based on Russell Banks' novel of the same name. Since I’ve not read the book, I don't know to...
- 3/29/2011
- by Dan Schneider
- Alt Film Guide
Year: 2010
Director: Carl Bessai
Writer: Arne Olsen
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Marina Antunes
Rating: 7 out of 10
When it comes to making movies, Carl Bessai knows what he’s doing. The prolific filmmaker pumps them out on average of one per year and this year he’s outdone himself with not one but two films. One is a family comedy titled Fathers&Sons (a must for fans of dysfunctional family comedies) and the second of the duo and Bessai’s first foray into genre film making, is Repeaters, a film many have compared to Groundhog Day based on the premise alone but which has much more in common with Bessai’s previous films than with the comedic classic.
Kyle, Sonia and Weeks are in rehab, counting through the days (and steps) until it’s all over. Today is Step 9: making amends. The group gets their day passes and...
Director: Carl Bessai
Writer: Arne Olsen
IMDb: link
Trailer: link
Review by: Marina Antunes
Rating: 7 out of 10
When it comes to making movies, Carl Bessai knows what he’s doing. The prolific filmmaker pumps them out on average of one per year and this year he’s outdone himself with not one but two films. One is a family comedy titled Fathers&Sons (a must for fans of dysfunctional family comedies) and the second of the duo and Bessai’s first foray into genre film making, is Repeaters, a film many have compared to Groundhog Day based on the premise alone but which has much more in common with Bessai’s previous films than with the comedic classic.
Kyle, Sonia and Weeks are in rehab, counting through the days (and steps) until it’s all over. Today is Step 9: making amends. The group gets their day passes and...
- 10/13/2010
- QuietEarth.us
The votes have been cast and the ballots counted for tonight come the Second Annual Reaper Awards, a collaboration between Home Media Magazine and Dread Central. For fans who asked for up-to-date coverage, we will be live blogging the awards show right here on this page.
So make sure to come back here this evening starting at approximately 8:00 pm Pacific Time. Just hit the Refresh button to see new updates. We'll also be reminding folks from the @dreadcentral Twitter account.
Best of Show
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (review)
Cav Distributing/1428 Films
Directed by Daniel Farrands, Andrew Kasch
Starring Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Wes Craven, John Saxon, Renny Harlin
Never Sleep Again – The Elm Street Legacy isn’t just a tribute to an enduring and innovative series of horror films, it’s also a beautiful gift to the fans. Not just another documentary, it’s now the...
So make sure to come back here this evening starting at approximately 8:00 pm Pacific Time. Just hit the Refresh button to see new updates. We'll also be reminding folks from the @dreadcentral Twitter account.
Best of Show
Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (review)
Cav Distributing/1428 Films
Directed by Daniel Farrands, Andrew Kasch
Starring Heather Langenkamp, Robert Englund, Wes Craven, John Saxon, Renny Harlin
Never Sleep Again – The Elm Street Legacy isn’t just a tribute to an enduring and innovative series of horror films, it’s also a beautiful gift to the fans. Not just another documentary, it’s now the...
- 10/12/2010
- by kwlow
- DreadCentral.com
The trailer of one of Canadian director Carl Bessai's latest films, Fathers & Sons, is now online.
This film is a spin-off of the film Mothers and Daughters , a comedy that deals with the relation some women have with their mom. In Fathers & Sons, women are replaced by men, and mothers, by fathers.
Here's the description of the story according to the studio behind the film, Raven West:
A middle-aged Jewish man meets his father for the first time at the funeral of his mother. A south-asian accountant introduces his white fiance to his father - a gay, bollywood choreographer. A recently bankrupted wall street broker has come home to borrow money from his music teacher father, and four brothers gather at the paternal home to pay their last respects and to collect their inheritance.
The film stars Stephen Lobo, Manoj Sood, Tyler Labine, Vincent Gale, Hrothgar Mathews, Tom Scholte,...
This film is a spin-off of the film Mothers and Daughters , a comedy that deals with the relation some women have with their mom. In Fathers & Sons, women are replaced by men, and mothers, by fathers.
Here's the description of the story according to the studio behind the film, Raven West:
A middle-aged Jewish man meets his father for the first time at the funeral of his mother. A south-asian accountant introduces his white fiance to his father - a gay, bollywood choreographer. A recently bankrupted wall street broker has come home to borrow money from his music teacher father, and four brothers gather at the paternal home to pay their last respects and to collect their inheritance.
The film stars Stephen Lobo, Manoj Sood, Tyler Labine, Vincent Gale, Hrothgar Mathews, Tom Scholte,...
- 10/6/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
J.J. Abrams' mad science procedural continues its core story, but takes its time getting anywhere with it...
Fringe presents its viewers with the same demographic quandary as its spiritual antecedent The X-Files: are you drawn in more by the season-spanning story arc or by the 'freak-of-the-week' episodes? As with the adventures of Mulder and Scully, you can be damn sure that the 'one-off' episodes are kept well away from the top and tail of any season of Fringe, and here at the start of season three, we're knee-deep in as much character development as action. And a long way from home.
The opening credits have gone red again, so we're mostly back in the parallel dimension this episode. Not-Olivia has crossed over to our dimension without suspicion to join increasingly- lovable (and very mad) scientist Walter and his long-suffering 'I'm not from around here, am I?' son Peter.
Fringe presents its viewers with the same demographic quandary as its spiritual antecedent The X-Files: are you drawn in more by the season-spanning story arc or by the 'freak-of-the-week' episodes? As with the adventures of Mulder and Scully, you can be damn sure that the 'one-off' episodes are kept well away from the top and tail of any season of Fringe, and here at the start of season three, we're knee-deep in as much character development as action. And a long way from home.
The opening credits have gone red again, so we're mostly back in the parallel dimension this episode. Not-Olivia has crossed over to our dimension without suspicion to join increasingly- lovable (and very mad) scientist Walter and his long-suffering 'I'm not from around here, am I?' son Peter.
- 9/24/2010
- by admin@shadowlocked.com (Roman Kowal)
- Shadowlocked
We attended a great party September 13 @ Toronto's Queen Street West rock venue "The Bovine Sex Club", as Vancouver-based director Katrin Bowen, celebrated the Canada First Tiff screening of her debut feature "Amazon Falls".
The film is described as Bowen's take on her personal 'B-movie' experiences, as a performer in Los Angeles, "...unapologetically exposing the grit behind the glitz of fame..."
Cast includes April Telek as 'Jana', William B Davis as 'Calvin', Zak Santiago as 'Aron', Anna Mae Routledge as 'Li', Ben Ratner as 'Derek',
Tom Braidwood as 'Tommy' and Gabrielle Rose as 'Margaret'.
"...'Jana' is a fading B-movie actress who was famous for her roles in Amazon movies playing a variety of pre-'Xena' warrior-princesses. Nearing 40 she is desperately trying to keep her leg in the B-movie game and decides to pursue her fading career with a zealous fervor. But new roles are elusive and the clock is ticking. Will she...
The film is described as Bowen's take on her personal 'B-movie' experiences, as a performer in Los Angeles, "...unapologetically exposing the grit behind the glitz of fame..."
Cast includes April Telek as 'Jana', William B Davis as 'Calvin', Zak Santiago as 'Aron', Anna Mae Routledge as 'Li', Ben Ratner as 'Derek',
Tom Braidwood as 'Tommy' and Gabrielle Rose as 'Margaret'.
"...'Jana' is a fading B-movie actress who was famous for her roles in Amazon movies playing a variety of pre-'Xena' warrior-princesses. Nearing 40 she is desperately trying to keep her leg in the B-movie game and decides to pursue her fading career with a zealous fervor. But new roles are elusive and the clock is ticking. Will she...
- 9/14/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
In April, we saw the first images of the upcoming Canadian thriller Repeaters. Now, we get to see a new poster and a first trailer.
This film shot in Mission, B.C. was directed by Carl Bessai (Normal).
The story revolves around drug addicts at a rehab centre who fight their inner demons and live the same day over and over again. While each have some degree of volition and are able to use this day to play out fantasies seemingly with no long term consequences, none has power to change the truth that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday. Ultimately, all are forced to make choices that will affect not only their lives but the lives of everyone around them.
The film stars Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, Richard de Klerk, Benjamin Ratner, Gabrielle Rose, Teach Grant, Anja Savcic and Emily Perkins. A release should take place in 2011.
This film shot in Mission, B.C. was directed by Carl Bessai (Normal).
The story revolves around drug addicts at a rehab centre who fight their inner demons and live the same day over and over again. While each have some degree of volition and are able to use this day to play out fantasies seemingly with no long term consequences, none has power to change the truth that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday. Ultimately, all are forced to make choices that will affect not only their lives but the lives of everyone around them.
The film stars Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, Richard de Klerk, Benjamin Ratner, Gabrielle Rose, Teach Grant, Anja Savcic and Emily Perkins. A release should take place in 2011.
- 9/2/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Now available on DVD, from Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada, the Regina Sakatchewan-lensed Canadian drama "Hungry Hills" from director George Ryga,stars Keir Gilchrist ("United States of Tara"), John Pyper Ferguson ("Brothers and Sisters") and Gabrielle Rose ("Mothers & Daughters").
"...In 1954 after two years in a home for boys, 'Snit Mandolin' (Gilchrist), returns home to his seemingly unhinged and reclusive aunt 'Matilda' (Rose).
"Defeated by a community that still shuns him, confronted by the impossibility of surviving on his aunt's farm, Snit falls in with 'Johnny Swift' (Alexander De Jordy), another 'outcast'.
Johnny makes moonshine and sells it through a local bootlegger. The boys work together and become fast friends. And Snit finds first love with a free-spirited local girl, 'Robin' (Alexia Fast).
"But their adventure is interrupted by the enigmatic and unpredictable 'Roy Kane' (Pyper-Ferguson), the district's private cop, who took Snit away two years ago and will now use the...
"...In 1954 after two years in a home for boys, 'Snit Mandolin' (Gilchrist), returns home to his seemingly unhinged and reclusive aunt 'Matilda' (Rose).
"Defeated by a community that still shuns him, confronted by the impossibility of surviving on his aunt's farm, Snit falls in with 'Johnny Swift' (Alexander De Jordy), another 'outcast'.
Johnny makes moonshine and sells it through a local bootlegger. The boys work together and become fast friends. And Snit finds first love with a free-spirited local girl, 'Robin' (Alexia Fast).
"But their adventure is interrupted by the enigmatic and unpredictable 'Roy Kane' (Pyper-Ferguson), the district's private cop, who took Snit away two years ago and will now use the...
- 7/30/2010
- by Michael Stevens
- SneakPeek
The First Week End Club, a movie club that organizes screenings of Canadian films in Toronto and Vancouver, announced that a group test screening will be organized in Vancouver. The film you’ll get to see is Repeaters, the next film by Canadian director Carl Bessai.
The story of Repeaters - which was shot in Mission, B.C. - revolves around drug addicts at a rehab centre who fight their inner demons and live the same day over and over again. While each have some degree of volition and are able to use this day to play out fantasies seemingly with no long term consequences, none has power to change the truth that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday. Ultimately, all are forced to make choices that will affect not only their lives but the lives of everyone around them.
The film star Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, Richard de Klerk,...
The story of Repeaters - which was shot in Mission, B.C. - revolves around drug addicts at a rehab centre who fight their inner demons and live the same day over and over again. While each have some degree of volition and are able to use this day to play out fantasies seemingly with no long term consequences, none has power to change the truth that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday. Ultimately, all are forced to make choices that will affect not only their lives but the lives of everyone around them.
The film star Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, Richard de Klerk,...
- 6/3/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Canadian director Katrin Bowen announced on the blog of her next film, Amazon Falls, that its production is over. Besides, the film should be in film festivals.
It tells the story of Jana (April Telek), a B-movie actress. She has made a name for herself by playing "pre-Xena warrior-princesses". However, even though Jane is getting closer to her forties, she still believes that acting in B-movies is the job she deserves. As new roles become rare for her, will Jana throw the towel or keep fighting?
Other stars of the film include William B. Davis, Gabrielle Rose, Adrian Holmes, Lisa Marie Caruk, Gary Chalk, Zak Santiago, Anna Mae Routledge, Tom Braidwood, Benjamin Ratner, Matty Finochio and Alexandra Staseson.
Finally, no release date has been confirmed for this film that was shot in Burnaby, Vancouver (both are cities from British Columbia, Canada) and Los Angeles. Nonetheless, here's a behind the scene clip of the film.
It tells the story of Jana (April Telek), a B-movie actress. She has made a name for herself by playing "pre-Xena warrior-princesses". However, even though Jane is getting closer to her forties, she still believes that acting in B-movies is the job she deserves. As new roles become rare for her, will Jana throw the towel or keep fighting?
Other stars of the film include William B. Davis, Gabrielle Rose, Adrian Holmes, Lisa Marie Caruk, Gary Chalk, Zak Santiago, Anna Mae Routledge, Tom Braidwood, Benjamin Ratner, Matty Finochio and Alexandra Staseson.
Finally, no release date has been confirmed for this film that was shot in Burnaby, Vancouver (both are cities from British Columbia, Canada) and Los Angeles. Nonetheless, here's a behind the scene clip of the film.
- 5/29/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
Yesterday, the nominees for the 2010 Leo Awards were announced. The objective of this award is to celebrate all the things that have been done in the film and television industry of the Prairies and the province British Columbia along with people who are based in these regions. Furthermore, foreign TV series and films that are produced in Canada's West are also included in the party. Obviously, this is not the full list of nominees. In fact, this is the presentation of the nominees for dramatic TV series, feature films, comedy series and web series.
Feature Length Drama
Best Feature Length Drama:
* A Shine Of Rainbows
* Alice
* Cole
* Excited
* The Thaw
Best Direction in a Feature Length Drama:
* Vic Sarin - A Shine Of Rainbows
* Carl Bessai - Cole
* Bruce Sweeney - Excited
* Mark A. Lewis - The Thaw
Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Drama:
* Vic Sarin, Chatherine Spear and...
Feature Length Drama
Best Feature Length Drama:
* A Shine Of Rainbows
* Alice
* Cole
* Excited
* The Thaw
Best Direction in a Feature Length Drama:
* Vic Sarin - A Shine Of Rainbows
* Carl Bessai - Cole
* Bruce Sweeney - Excited
* Mark A. Lewis - The Thaw
Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Drama:
* Vic Sarin, Chatherine Spear and...
- 5/4/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
If you want to see director Atom Egoyan at the peak of his shape, watch The Sweet Hereafter. The film tackles many depressing subjects. However, while it leaves some questions unanswered, Egoyan makes the whole story stand on one leg with a graceful illustration of the pain that strikes the characters.
The story is centred on Mitchell Stevens (Ian Holm), a lawyer. He's trying to recruit residents of a small Canadian community in a class action suit against the makers of a bus. In fact, the latter went off the road and sank into an icy lake. Besides, the few who managed to survived are Nicole Burnell (Sarah Polley), a young student, and the bus driver (Gabrielle Rose).
Obviously, Mitchell doesn't see this as an opportunity to make money. As he tries to recruit the inhabitants of the small town into a class action suit, Mitchell sees that they're hit...
The story is centred on Mitchell Stevens (Ian Holm), a lawyer. He's trying to recruit residents of a small Canadian community in a class action suit against the makers of a bus. In fact, the latter went off the road and sank into an icy lake. Besides, the few who managed to survived are Nicole Burnell (Sarah Polley), a young student, and the bus driver (Gabrielle Rose).
Obviously, Mitchell doesn't see this as an opportunity to make money. As he tries to recruit the inhabitants of the small town into a class action suit, Mitchell sees that they're hit...
- 4/24/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
A few days ago, the first images of the film Repeaters were uploaded on the film's official Facebook fan page. For the moment, this film from Canadian director Carl Bessai (Normal) is in post-production.
The film is a paranormal drama penned by Arne Olsen (Here's to Life!) and was shot in Mission, B.C.
The story revolves around drug addicts at a rehab centre who fight their inner demons and live the same day over and over again. While each have some degree of volition and are able to use this day to play out fantasies seemingly with no long term consequences, none has power to change the truth that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday. Ultimately, all are forced to make choices that will affect not only their lives but the lives of everyone around them.
The film star Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, Richard de Klerk, Benjamin Ratner,...
The film is a paranormal drama penned by Arne Olsen (Here's to Life!) and was shot in Mission, B.C.
The story revolves around drug addicts at a rehab centre who fight their inner demons and live the same day over and over again. While each have some degree of volition and are able to use this day to play out fantasies seemingly with no long term consequences, none has power to change the truth that tomorrow will be the same as yesterday. Ultimately, all are forced to make choices that will affect not only their lives but the lives of everyone around them.
The film star Dustin Milligan, Amanda Crew, Richard de Klerk, Benjamin Ratner,...
- 4/15/2010
- by anhkhoido@hotmail.com (Anh Khoi Do)
- The Cultural Post
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