Sunday, September 12, 2010
My Sunday, September 12
Although I could have started earlier, since several movies were playing in the 9am-11am timeslot, I decided to try to setup the format of the blog, and take the 10:28 GO train into the city.
1. The Conspirator 12-2:02pm - USA, Robert Redford (Pg 57) PG Gala - Ryerson - 5/5
This was the first movie of the day. The queue was way around the block and I got there by about 11:30, so I decided to wait until all the people had cleared instead of walking half way around the block and then back again. The Ryerson Theater is very large, and they get people in there pretty quickly. The movie was excellent (rating 5/5). It is a true story about a woman on trial for being involved in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln. They showed Abe Lincoln die, and then how he was put on a train between Washington and Chicago(?) The men involved were mostly caught, and also on trial. These men stayed at a boarding house that was run by the woman on trial. The story revolves around the trial and the lawyer that tries to get her a trial. Supposedly 1 year later they passed laws so that the government could not superimpose its opinion on top of the constitution. Her son, who was more involved than she was was found 18 months later, and ended up not dying. 4 people were hanged publicly including this woman. It was an excellent movie and definitely recommended. Redford did not appear pre or post the show -- many were hoping he may, so there was no talk pre or post about the film. The day before I believe he did show up at a screening of this movie.
2. Life, Above All - 3pm-4:46pm, RSA/GER, O Schmitz (Pg 352) PG CWC - 5/5!!
Walked up to the Varsity Theatres from the Ryerson Theater - 20 minutes - in nice weather. This movie was excellent. The plot revolves around kids in South Africa that are orphaned because their parents get sick of AIDS and die, and how the community initially ousted this family - and then took them back in towards the end. The acting and cinematogrophy in this one was well done. The kids speak in their own African language, and none were actors to begin with. The book about this - "Chandra's xxx" was written by a Canadian, it was produced by a German person. The director and producer showed up for a Q&A afterwards, and they talked about the staggering number of people infected by AIDS in Africa, and how the nation is try to overcome the number of children orphaned as a result. In this movie the father/step-father is a drunk, and he ends up down a shaft dead. Initially the baby Sarah dies, of some illness, and it shows the star a 12 year old girl going to the funteral house to buy a casket ... something that a 12 year old would never do here. The mother is distraught, distant, and also gets sick in the film. The 12 year olds closest friend Esther ends up an orphan, and tries to make money prostituting herself with the truck drivers. At one point she gets beat up to an inch within her life, and Chandra helps her, but not without negative reprocussions from the community. This film by far was probably one of my most renowned not blockbuster American type films that was thought provoking, and I would highly recommend it.
3. Beautiful Boy - 630pm-8:10pm - USA, S. Ku (Pg 211) 14A Discovery - Isabel Bader Theatre (5/5)
This was the first film for which I did the RUSH line - and fortunately for me I made it in. While waiting for the film to start the director, screen play writer, and many of the actor's/actresses showed up there. They stand in front of the theater - near to where the RUSH line is. This was also the first time I saw a lot of the people showing up for their screening outside. This was the first time in this particular theater also. Standing behind us in line were a couple of women that knew the screen play writer. He got one ticket which he gave his friend from California, so they too were in the RUSH line. The lady in front of me in line was a volunteer that had worked in the morning and took her voucher to see this film (for every 5 hours they work they get 1 free voucher). She was from Peterborough and comes in for 5 days, works, star-gazes, and stays at a bed & breakfast. She previously came in with a friend -- and said she probably drove her nuts, so now she just comes in on her own. Another lady in line had a card hanging around her neck. She was deemed P&I - press & industry. She worked in Canadian film - so she gets to see the shows for free - however, she must still line up and wait like everyone else -- so that if the theater gets full she can't get in just like everyone else. This film was great!!! Its about a couple with one son. Their lives are a bit estranged. They live in the same house but in different rooms, and initially it talks about the husband wanting to get his own apartment where to live. Their son just went to university, and they are not aware that he is having issues. He was always shy. They talk to him the evening before, and he seemed quiet - although when they show him he is obviously upset. The following morning their son kills 17 people at school - without a real reason "why". The film is from the viewpoint of the parents and what they go through afterwards. It does not try to place blame on the child, the parents, a particular event -- it just tries to show that everyone is human doing the best that they can. There was a Q&A afterwards, where the director, producer and actors were on stage (the guy that played Tony Blair was there and, the actress that plays the mother was also there ... and both were very good both in the film and in the Q&A session). "Tony Blair" - Michael ? earlier on in the evening did pose for many photos and gave people autographs. He was a funny character for the Q&A session as well. A highly recommended movie that makes one think twice about laying blame on the parents for the events that unfolded with their son.
4. Our Day Will Come - 9pm-10:28pm - FRA, R. Gavras (Pg 247) 14A VAN - Varsity 8 (1/5)
This movie started late (thank goodness), because movie 3 started late, and the Q&A took us until about 8:45, so I was not sure I could run back to Varsity quick enough to catch this show. The line up was out in the street - so not to worry! since they had not yet started moving the line up. There were 2 girls and a guy in front of me in the lineup that were seeing the film. They were going to York, and were exchange students from Denmark. They had been invited to the post-party for this film. They were tall, blond, and very Danish looking! The film started at about 9:20am, and the director and 2 of the actors were there. We were warned ahead of time by the guy introducing the film that this would be a "What the heck was this film about" type film. The director had done music videos before but this was his first feature film. His claim to fame was the MIA video he had shot. He also does commercials. This story is about redheads, and how they sometimes don't fit into society or are looked at differently. It was the most bizarre film, and probably the only film I have seen so far that I truly did not like!!! It was bizarre, the guys shave their heads, try to go to Ireland, have some weird scenes involving speeding through aisles in what looks like a Walmart on a moped. Very strange. One of them buys a cross gun ... Well ... it was just a totally weird movie ... is all I can say. There was a Q&A afterwards and someone asked "what was the message of the movie". One of the actors responded "Whatever you want it to be"! The director answers "Confusion". Yes - it was truly confusing ... in my opinion. There was no point, there was no story - you don't know why or how he meets the guy he is with and why they end up with a connection. There are overtones of the one guy being gay, but then he talks of his online girlfriend "Gaelle" who turns out to be a WoW (world of warcraft) online buddy - that is a guy that plays in a roomful of computers and he has body piercings,... Need I go on??? The movie ran late, and I got out of there at about 11:15pm.
I took the subway down from Varsity to catch the 11:43pm train back to Oakville. On the train I talked to a couple that were from the UK, that had been living here for a couple of years. They had seen West is West and loved it. They also saw Africa United and they said that was a good story with a happy feel to it. I will have to watch for those 2 to see if I can squeeze them in.
Got home and crashed right away. This was the first time I got home and my mom had not woken up, after I got home.
All in all I saw 3 movies that I gave 5/5 stars on. Then there was the dud with 1/1 stars!!! It was an overall good day - with no rain, and not too cold, not too hot temperatures.
1. The Conspirator 12-2:02pm - USA, Robert Redford (Pg 57) PG Gala - Ryerson - 5/5
This was the first movie of the day. The queue was way around the block and I got there by about 11:30, so I decided to wait until all the people had cleared instead of walking half way around the block and then back again. The Ryerson Theater is very large, and they get people in there pretty quickly. The movie was excellent (rating 5/5). It is a true story about a woman on trial for being involved in the plot to kill Abraham Lincoln. They showed Abe Lincoln die, and then how he was put on a train between Washington and Chicago(?) The men involved were mostly caught, and also on trial. These men stayed at a boarding house that was run by the woman on trial. The story revolves around the trial and the lawyer that tries to get her a trial. Supposedly 1 year later they passed laws so that the government could not superimpose its opinion on top of the constitution. Her son, who was more involved than she was was found 18 months later, and ended up not dying. 4 people were hanged publicly including this woman. It was an excellent movie and definitely recommended. Redford did not appear pre or post the show -- many were hoping he may, so there was no talk pre or post about the film. The day before I believe he did show up at a screening of this movie.
2. Life, Above All - 3pm-4:46pm, RSA/GER, O Schmitz (Pg 352) PG CWC - 5/5!!
Walked up to the Varsity Theatres from the Ryerson Theater - 20 minutes - in nice weather. This movie was excellent. The plot revolves around kids in South Africa that are orphaned because their parents get sick of AIDS and die, and how the community initially ousted this family - and then took them back in towards the end. The acting and cinematogrophy in this one was well done. The kids speak in their own African language, and none were actors to begin with. The book about this - "Chandra's xxx" was written by a Canadian, it was produced by a German person. The director and producer showed up for a Q&A afterwards, and they talked about the staggering number of people infected by AIDS in Africa, and how the nation is try to overcome the number of children orphaned as a result. In this movie the father/step-father is a drunk, and he ends up down a shaft dead. Initially the baby Sarah dies, of some illness, and it shows the star a 12 year old girl going to the funteral house to buy a casket ... something that a 12 year old would never do here. The mother is distraught, distant, and also gets sick in the film. The 12 year olds closest friend Esther ends up an orphan, and tries to make money prostituting herself with the truck drivers. At one point she gets beat up to an inch within her life, and Chandra helps her, but not without negative reprocussions from the community. This film by far was probably one of my most renowned not blockbuster American type films that was thought provoking, and I would highly recommend it.
3. Beautiful Boy - 630pm-8:10pm - USA, S. Ku (Pg 211) 14A Discovery - Isabel Bader Theatre (5/5)
This was the first film for which I did the RUSH line - and fortunately for me I made it in. While waiting for the film to start the director, screen play writer, and many of the actor's/actresses showed up there. They stand in front of the theater - near to where the RUSH line is. This was also the first time I saw a lot of the people showing up for their screening outside. This was the first time in this particular theater also. Standing behind us in line were a couple of women that knew the screen play writer. He got one ticket which he gave his friend from California, so they too were in the RUSH line. The lady in front of me in line was a volunteer that had worked in the morning and took her voucher to see this film (for every 5 hours they work they get 1 free voucher). She was from Peterborough and comes in for 5 days, works, star-gazes, and stays at a bed & breakfast. She previously came in with a friend -- and said she probably drove her nuts, so now she just comes in on her own. Another lady in line had a card hanging around her neck. She was deemed P&I - press & industry. She worked in Canadian film - so she gets to see the shows for free - however, she must still line up and wait like everyone else -- so that if the theater gets full she can't get in just like everyone else. This film was great!!! Its about a couple with one son. Their lives are a bit estranged. They live in the same house but in different rooms, and initially it talks about the husband wanting to get his own apartment where to live. Their son just went to university, and they are not aware that he is having issues. He was always shy. They talk to him the evening before, and he seemed quiet - although when they show him he is obviously upset. The following morning their son kills 17 people at school - without a real reason "why". The film is from the viewpoint of the parents and what they go through afterwards. It does not try to place blame on the child, the parents, a particular event -- it just tries to show that everyone is human doing the best that they can. There was a Q&A afterwards, where the director, producer and actors were on stage (the guy that played Tony Blair was there and, the actress that plays the mother was also there ... and both were very good both in the film and in the Q&A session). "Tony Blair" - Michael ? earlier on in the evening did pose for many photos and gave people autographs. He was a funny character for the Q&A session as well. A highly recommended movie that makes one think twice about laying blame on the parents for the events that unfolded with their son.
4. Our Day Will Come - 9pm-10:28pm - FRA, R. Gavras (Pg 247) 14A VAN - Varsity 8 (1/5)
This movie started late (thank goodness), because movie 3 started late, and the Q&A took us until about 8:45, so I was not sure I could run back to Varsity quick enough to catch this show. The line up was out in the street - so not to worry! since they had not yet started moving the line up. There were 2 girls and a guy in front of me in the lineup that were seeing the film. They were going to York, and were exchange students from Denmark. They had been invited to the post-party for this film. They were tall, blond, and very Danish looking! The film started at about 9:20am, and the director and 2 of the actors were there. We were warned ahead of time by the guy introducing the film that this would be a "What the heck was this film about" type film. The director had done music videos before but this was his first feature film. His claim to fame was the MIA video he had shot. He also does commercials. This story is about redheads, and how they sometimes don't fit into society or are looked at differently. It was the most bizarre film, and probably the only film I have seen so far that I truly did not like!!! It was bizarre, the guys shave their heads, try to go to Ireland, have some weird scenes involving speeding through aisles in what looks like a Walmart on a moped. Very strange. One of them buys a cross gun ... Well ... it was just a totally weird movie ... is all I can say. There was a Q&A afterwards and someone asked "what was the message of the movie". One of the actors responded "Whatever you want it to be"! The director answers "Confusion". Yes - it was truly confusing ... in my opinion. There was no point, there was no story - you don't know why or how he meets the guy he is with and why they end up with a connection. There are overtones of the one guy being gay, but then he talks of his online girlfriend "Gaelle" who turns out to be a WoW (world of warcraft) online buddy - that is a guy that plays in a roomful of computers and he has body piercings,... Need I go on??? The movie ran late, and I got out of there at about 11:15pm.
I took the subway down from Varsity to catch the 11:43pm train back to Oakville. On the train I talked to a couple that were from the UK, that had been living here for a couple of years. They had seen West is West and loved it. They also saw Africa United and they said that was a good story with a happy feel to it. I will have to watch for those 2 to see if I can squeeze them in.
Got home and crashed right away. This was the first time I got home and my mom had not woken up, after I got home.
All in all I saw 3 movies that I gave 5/5 stars on. Then there was the dud with 1/1 stars!!! It was an overall good day - with no rain, and not too cold, not too hot temperatures.
Sunday, September 19th Films
Sunday, September 19th Films
======================================================================================
======================================================================================
Saturday, September 18th Films
Saturday, September 18th Films
======================================================================================
======================================================================================
Friday, September 17th Films
Friday, September 17th Films
======================================================================================
======================================================================================
Thursday, September 16th Films
Thursday, September 16th Films
======================================================================================
======================================================================================
Wednesday, September 15th Films
Wednesday, September 15th Films
======================================================================================
======================================================================================
Tuesday, September 14th Films
Tuesday, September 14th Films
======================================================================================
======================================================================================
Monday, September 13th Films
Monday, September 13th Films
======================================================================================
======================================================================================
Sunday, September 12th Films
Sunday, September 12th Films
======================================================================================
======================================================================================
Saturday, September 11th Films
==================================================
3 Saturday 11-Sep 11:00am 091111EL Trust (David Schwimmer) (GP) (2:04)
==================================================
Country: USA
Year: 2009
Language: English
Producer: Tom Hodges, Ed Cathell III, Dana Golomb, David Schwimmer, Robert Greenhut, Heidi Jo Markel
Executive Producer: Avi Lerner, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, John Thompson
Screenplay: Andy Bellin, Robert Festinger
Runtime: 104
Programmes:
Safe and sound in their suburban home, Will and Lynn Cameron (Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) used to sleep well at night. When their fourteen-year-old daughter, Annie, made a new friend on-line – a sixteen-year-old boy named Charlie – Will and Lynn didn’t think much of it. But when Annie and Charlie make a plan to meet what happens in the next twenty-four hours changes the entire family forever. Charlie is really a forty-year-old serial pedophile (Chris Henry Coffey) and, once Annie’s rape comes to light, it becomes a touchstone event that reverberates through the entire family.
Drama, Family Relations, Crime & Thriller
screening times
Friday September 10 9:30:00 PM ROY THOMSON HALL
Saturday September 11 11:00:00 AM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Sunday September 19 9:00:00 PM Tiff Bell LightBox 1 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
Annie (Liana Liberato) meets a boy on the internet. He’s cute, he’s her age and he really seems to like her. Her parents have no idea. But then the boy confesses that he’s actually a little older than Annie. Still, her parents are in the dark. By the time this “boy” lures Annie to meet him, she is so smitten with the idea of him that his true identity barely matters. Annie’s parents (Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) find themselves facing every parent’s nightmare.
Trust is a potent drama that cuts to the core of contemporary family life. It marks a major breakthrough for David Schwimmer. After directing a string of Friends episodes, a movie for television and the feature Run, Fatboy, Run (which premiered at the Festival in 2007), Schwimmer has emerged as a confident director skilled at handling risky dramatic material with both sensitivity and precision.
Although the subject of online child predators is something audiences have grown familiar with, Trust consistently rises above expectations. Credit goes to Schwimmer and writer Andy Bellin. Here, genre conventions are turned on their head as the film resists predictability to balance nail-biting suspense with heartrending drama.
Owen and Keener are perfectly cast as the grieving parents who react in profoundly different ways, and Viola Davis delivers another groundbreaking turn as the victim’s therapist. But most impressive are the tour-de-force performances by lesser-known actors Liberato and Chris Henry Coffey. In addition to holding her own alongside an all-star ensemble cast, Liberato’s slow-burning self-realization and climactic breakdown are incredibly raw and authentic. As the architect behind the desolation, Coffey gives a shockingly convincing performance that is equally perverse and plausible.
Trust is a harrowing and cautionary tale that should be considered recommended viewing for parents, and for their teenaged children.
director bio
David Schwimmer was born in Queens, New York and studied at Northwestern University near Chicago. Schwimmer’s directing credits include the feature Run, Fatboy, Run (2007). Trust (10) is his second feature film. Television credits include HBO’s Little Britain USA, and movie made for television, Since You’ve Been Gone (98) . He is a co-founder of Lookingglass, where he has directed or acted in many productions including Our Town, West, The Master and Margarita, The Jungle, Eye of the Beholder, The Odyssey, The Idiot, Of One Blood and his and ensemble member Joy Gregory’s adaptation of Studs Terkel’s book RACE.
full credits
Principal Cast: Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Viola Davis, Liana Liberato
Producer: Tom Hodges, Ed Cathell III, Dana Golomb, David Schwimmer, Robert Greenhut, Heidi Jo Markel
Executive Producer: Avi Lerner, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, John Thompson
Cinematographer: Andrzej Sekula
Editor: Douglas Crise
Sound: David Obermeyer
Music: Nathan Larson
Production Designer: Michael Shaw
Canadian Distributor: VVS
International Sales Agent: Nu Image / Millennium Films
Production Company: Nu Image / Millennium Films
==================================================
6:30pm 0911??F4 The Piano in a Factory (DISC) (1:59)
==================================================
Zhang Meng
Country: China
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Producer: Jessica Kam, Choi Gwang-suk
Executive Producer: Kwak Jae-yong
Screenplay: Zhang Meng
Runtime: 119
Programmes:
To fight for custody of his daughter who loves playing the piano, a steel factory worker decides to forge a piano from scratch. An offbeat ballad of friendship and devotion, The Piano in a Factory is an endearing portrait of China in the early 1990s when the certainty of state-run industry begins to falter.
Children, China, Family Relations, Friendship
screening times
Saturday September 11 6:30:00 PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
Sunday September 12 12:30:00 PM AMC 9
Saturday September 18 9:30:00 PM Tiff Bell LightBox 2 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
An offbeat ballad of friendship and devotion, The Piano in a Factory captures the tempo of changing times with quiet wisdom and a tinge of nostalgia.
Steelworker Chen (Wang Qian-yuan) has a passion for music and plays the accordion in a local band with a close group of friends. When his estranged wife (Jang Shin-Yeong) returns one day after years of absence, she demands a divorce and sole custody of their daughter. Chen is at a loss. He doesn’t mind divorcing a woman who has become a stranger, but he can’t bear to part with his daughter. Chen has worked hard to give her a respectable life and has taught her his love of music. When asked if she’d rather stay with her father or go with her mother, the girl gives a practical, devastating answer: she’ll go with whomever can provide her with a piano.
Chen cannot afford such a luxury item, but the piano becomes his last hope to save what little is left of his family. With the help of his loyal friends and the support of his lover – the singer in his band – Chen concocts several plans to fulfill his daughter’s wish, from sneaking her into the local music school at night to drawing a fake piano. He even tries to steal the instrument from the school – anything to keep her near him. Nothing works for long, until Chen looks around his fading steel factory town and hits on the perfect solution.
The Piano in a Factory is an endearing portrait of a moment when the certainty of state-run industry begins to falter. Simple in its measured and assured direction, The Piano in a Factory establishes Zhang Meng as one of the most vibrant voices in Chinese cinema today.
Giovanna Fulvi
director bio
Zhang Meng was born in northeastern China and graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing. As director of the Changchun Film Studio, he made his directorial debut with the feature Lucky Dog (07), followed by his first documentary feature, Mr. Zhang and His Dog (08). The Piano in a Factory (10) is his third feature film.
full credits
Principal Cast: Wang Qian-yuan, Qin Hai-lu, Jang Shin-yeong
Producer: Jessica Kam, Choi Gwang-suk
Executive Producer: Kwak Jae-yong
Cinematographer: Shu Chou
Editor: Gao Bo
Sound: Lee Sang-yu
Music: Young-Mook Oh
Production Designer: Wang Sho
International Sales Agent: Etoile Pictures
Production Company: Liao Ning Studios/Etoile Pictures
==================================================
9:45pm 0911??V7 Sensation (CWC) (1:47)
==================================================
Tom Hall
Country: Ireland
Year: 2009
Language: English
Producer: Katie Holly, Kieron J. Walsh
Screenplay: Tom Hall
Runtime: 107
Programmes:
Sensation details the relationship between Tipperary farmer Donal Duggan and a veteran Kiwi escort. They begin as client and call girl, evolve into something like lovers, then business partners and finally co-defendants.
screening times
Saturday September 11 9:45:00 PM VARSITY 7
Monday September 13 5:30:00 PM AMC 5
Thursday September 16 9:30:00 AM VARSITY 7 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
As is often the case with twenty-six-year-old man-boys, Donal Durkan (Domhnall Gleeson) is sexually unfulfilled. Living on a desolate farm in Tipperary, Ireland with his invalid father, he’s had little-to-no contact with the outside world, let alone the opposite sex. Donal’s mother passed away when he was only a toddler, and other than his dad he has one friend, Karl (Patrick Ryan), who lives on the farm, sponging off of Donal.
Boiling with lust, Donal’s mind is completely preoccupied with images of the nude women featured in the pornographic magazines he keeps buried in a field next to a herd of sheep. His life is pretty uneventful, leading to his overall disenchantment and indifference towards everything around him. Serial masturbation seems to be his one and only pleasure.
Upon returning from a mid-day jaunt to enjoy his stash, Donal discovers that his father has suddenly passed away. Now on his own, Donal attempts to lose his virginity by hiring a prostitute to help him get out of his rut. And so he meets Kim, an aging Kiwi escort. After engaging in a strictly sexual encounter, their relationship soon progresses into a lusty romance, then to a business enterprise between two partners. Through these exploits, Donal and Kim provide each other with a sense of love and belonging that neither experienced beforehand.
Take a dash of Hal Ashby’s Being There and Harold and Maude, combined with the bleaker sensibility of Todd Solondz’s Happiness and you get the darkly comedic tone of Tom Hall’s Sensation. In a country where sexual material was often repressed (a large number of nudie magazines, including Playboy, were banned in Ireland until the late eighties), Hall uses today’s internet era to make provocative statements about Ireland’s modern-day sex trade industry and, by extension, the shifting balance of power between men and women.
Michèle Maheux
director bio
Tom Hall was born in Dublin. He attended Sandford Park School and briefly studied film at the Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design. In 1995, he co-founded High-Hat Productions. His first feature film as co-writer and director was November Afternoon (97), which he followed up with Park (99) and the short film Zonad (03). Sensation (10) is his latest feature.
full credits
Principal Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Luanne Gordon, Patrick Ryan, Kelly Campbell, Owen Roe
Producer: Katie Holly, Kieron J. Walsh
Cinematographer: Benito Strangio
Editor: Nathan Nugent
Sound: Robbie Flanagan, Dan Birch
Music: John Carney
Production Designer: Tamara Conboy
Production Company: Bl!nder Films/Riverpark Films
3 Saturday 11-Sep 11:00am 091111EL Trust (David Schwimmer) (GP) (2:04)
==================================================
Country: USA
Year: 2009
Language: English
Producer: Tom Hodges, Ed Cathell III, Dana Golomb, David Schwimmer, Robert Greenhut, Heidi Jo Markel
Executive Producer: Avi Lerner, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, John Thompson
Screenplay: Andy Bellin, Robert Festinger
Runtime: 104
Programmes:
Safe and sound in their suburban home, Will and Lynn Cameron (Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) used to sleep well at night. When their fourteen-year-old daughter, Annie, made a new friend on-line – a sixteen-year-old boy named Charlie – Will and Lynn didn’t think much of it. But when Annie and Charlie make a plan to meet what happens in the next twenty-four hours changes the entire family forever. Charlie is really a forty-year-old serial pedophile (Chris Henry Coffey) and, once Annie’s rape comes to light, it becomes a touchstone event that reverberates through the entire family.
Drama, Family Relations, Crime & Thriller
screening times
Friday September 10 9:30:00 PM ROY THOMSON HALL
Saturday September 11 11:00:00 AM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Sunday September 19 9:00:00 PM Tiff Bell LightBox 1 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
Annie (Liana Liberato) meets a boy on the internet. He’s cute, he’s her age and he really seems to like her. Her parents have no idea. But then the boy confesses that he’s actually a little older than Annie. Still, her parents are in the dark. By the time this “boy” lures Annie to meet him, she is so smitten with the idea of him that his true identity barely matters. Annie’s parents (Clive Owen and Catherine Keener) find themselves facing every parent’s nightmare.
Trust is a potent drama that cuts to the core of contemporary family life. It marks a major breakthrough for David Schwimmer. After directing a string of Friends episodes, a movie for television and the feature Run, Fatboy, Run (which premiered at the Festival in 2007), Schwimmer has emerged as a confident director skilled at handling risky dramatic material with both sensitivity and precision.
Although the subject of online child predators is something audiences have grown familiar with, Trust consistently rises above expectations. Credit goes to Schwimmer and writer Andy Bellin. Here, genre conventions are turned on their head as the film resists predictability to balance nail-biting suspense with heartrending drama.
Owen and Keener are perfectly cast as the grieving parents who react in profoundly different ways, and Viola Davis delivers another groundbreaking turn as the victim’s therapist. But most impressive are the tour-de-force performances by lesser-known actors Liberato and Chris Henry Coffey. In addition to holding her own alongside an all-star ensemble cast, Liberato’s slow-burning self-realization and climactic breakdown are incredibly raw and authentic. As the architect behind the desolation, Coffey gives a shockingly convincing performance that is equally perverse and plausible.
Trust is a harrowing and cautionary tale that should be considered recommended viewing for parents, and for their teenaged children.
director bio
David Schwimmer was born in Queens, New York and studied at Northwestern University near Chicago. Schwimmer’s directing credits include the feature Run, Fatboy, Run (2007). Trust (10) is his second feature film. Television credits include HBO’s Little Britain USA, and movie made for television, Since You’ve Been Gone (98) . He is a co-founder of Lookingglass, where he has directed or acted in many productions including Our Town, West, The Master and Margarita, The Jungle, Eye of the Beholder, The Odyssey, The Idiot, Of One Blood and his and ensemble member Joy Gregory’s adaptation of Studs Terkel’s book RACE.
full credits
Principal Cast: Clive Owen, Catherine Keener, Viola Davis, Liana Liberato
Producer: Tom Hodges, Ed Cathell III, Dana Golomb, David Schwimmer, Robert Greenhut, Heidi Jo Markel
Executive Producer: Avi Lerner, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short, Boaz Davidson, John Thompson
Cinematographer: Andrzej Sekula
Editor: Douglas Crise
Sound: David Obermeyer
Music: Nathan Larson
Production Designer: Michael Shaw
Canadian Distributor: VVS
International Sales Agent: Nu Image / Millennium Films
Production Company: Nu Image / Millennium Films
==================================================
6:30pm 0911??F4 The Piano in a Factory (DISC) (1:59)
==================================================
Zhang Meng
Country: China
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Producer: Jessica Kam, Choi Gwang-suk
Executive Producer: Kwak Jae-yong
Screenplay: Zhang Meng
Runtime: 119
Programmes:
To fight for custody of his daughter who loves playing the piano, a steel factory worker decides to forge a piano from scratch. An offbeat ballad of friendship and devotion, The Piano in a Factory is an endearing portrait of China in the early 1990s when the certainty of state-run industry begins to falter.
Children, China, Family Relations, Friendship
screening times
Saturday September 11 6:30:00 PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4
Sunday September 12 12:30:00 PM AMC 9
Saturday September 18 9:30:00 PM Tiff Bell LightBox 2 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
An offbeat ballad of friendship and devotion, The Piano in a Factory captures the tempo of changing times with quiet wisdom and a tinge of nostalgia.
Steelworker Chen (Wang Qian-yuan) has a passion for music and plays the accordion in a local band with a close group of friends. When his estranged wife (Jang Shin-Yeong) returns one day after years of absence, she demands a divorce and sole custody of their daughter. Chen is at a loss. He doesn’t mind divorcing a woman who has become a stranger, but he can’t bear to part with his daughter. Chen has worked hard to give her a respectable life and has taught her his love of music. When asked if she’d rather stay with her father or go with her mother, the girl gives a practical, devastating answer: she’ll go with whomever can provide her with a piano.
Chen cannot afford such a luxury item, but the piano becomes his last hope to save what little is left of his family. With the help of his loyal friends and the support of his lover – the singer in his band – Chen concocts several plans to fulfill his daughter’s wish, from sneaking her into the local music school at night to drawing a fake piano. He even tries to steal the instrument from the school – anything to keep her near him. Nothing works for long, until Chen looks around his fading steel factory town and hits on the perfect solution.
The Piano in a Factory is an endearing portrait of a moment when the certainty of state-run industry begins to falter. Simple in its measured and assured direction, The Piano in a Factory establishes Zhang Meng as one of the most vibrant voices in Chinese cinema today.
Giovanna Fulvi
director bio
Zhang Meng was born in northeastern China and graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing. As director of the Changchun Film Studio, he made his directorial debut with the feature Lucky Dog (07), followed by his first documentary feature, Mr. Zhang and His Dog (08). The Piano in a Factory (10) is his third feature film.
full credits
Principal Cast: Wang Qian-yuan, Qin Hai-lu, Jang Shin-yeong
Producer: Jessica Kam, Choi Gwang-suk
Executive Producer: Kwak Jae-yong
Cinematographer: Shu Chou
Editor: Gao Bo
Sound: Lee Sang-yu
Music: Young-Mook Oh
Production Designer: Wang Sho
International Sales Agent: Etoile Pictures
Production Company: Liao Ning Studios/Etoile Pictures
==================================================
9:45pm 0911??V7 Sensation (CWC) (1:47)
==================================================
Tom Hall
Country: Ireland
Year: 2009
Language: English
Producer: Katie Holly, Kieron J. Walsh
Screenplay: Tom Hall
Runtime: 107
Programmes:
Sensation details the relationship between Tipperary farmer Donal Duggan and a veteran Kiwi escort. They begin as client and call girl, evolve into something like lovers, then business partners and finally co-defendants.
screening times
Saturday September 11 9:45:00 PM VARSITY 7
Monday September 13 5:30:00 PM AMC 5
Thursday September 16 9:30:00 AM VARSITY 7 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
As is often the case with twenty-six-year-old man-boys, Donal Durkan (Domhnall Gleeson) is sexually unfulfilled. Living on a desolate farm in Tipperary, Ireland with his invalid father, he’s had little-to-no contact with the outside world, let alone the opposite sex. Donal’s mother passed away when he was only a toddler, and other than his dad he has one friend, Karl (Patrick Ryan), who lives on the farm, sponging off of Donal.
Boiling with lust, Donal’s mind is completely preoccupied with images of the nude women featured in the pornographic magazines he keeps buried in a field next to a herd of sheep. His life is pretty uneventful, leading to his overall disenchantment and indifference towards everything around him. Serial masturbation seems to be his one and only pleasure.
Upon returning from a mid-day jaunt to enjoy his stash, Donal discovers that his father has suddenly passed away. Now on his own, Donal attempts to lose his virginity by hiring a prostitute to help him get out of his rut. And so he meets Kim, an aging Kiwi escort. After engaging in a strictly sexual encounter, their relationship soon progresses into a lusty romance, then to a business enterprise between two partners. Through these exploits, Donal and Kim provide each other with a sense of love and belonging that neither experienced beforehand.
Take a dash of Hal Ashby’s Being There and Harold and Maude, combined with the bleaker sensibility of Todd Solondz’s Happiness and you get the darkly comedic tone of Tom Hall’s Sensation. In a country where sexual material was often repressed (a large number of nudie magazines, including Playboy, were banned in Ireland until the late eighties), Hall uses today’s internet era to make provocative statements about Ireland’s modern-day sex trade industry and, by extension, the shifting balance of power between men and women.
Michèle Maheux
director bio
Tom Hall was born in Dublin. He attended Sandford Park School and briefly studied film at the Dun Laoghaire College of Art and Design. In 1995, he co-founded High-Hat Productions. His first feature film as co-writer and director was November Afternoon (97), which he followed up with Park (99) and the short film Zonad (03). Sensation (10) is his latest feature.
full credits
Principal Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Luanne Gordon, Patrick Ryan, Kelly Campbell, Owen Roe
Producer: Katie Holly, Kieron J. Walsh
Cinematographer: Benito Strangio
Editor: Nathan Nugent
Sound: Robbie Flanagan, Dan Birch
Music: John Carney
Production Designer: Tamara Conboy
Production Company: Bl!nder Films/Riverpark Films
Friday, September 10th Films
==================================================
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (SP) (1:48)
==================================================
Country: Hong Kong
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Producer: Andrew Lau, Gordon Chan
Executive Producer: John Chong, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Guoli
Screenplay: Cheung Chi Sing, Gordon Chan, Lui Koon Nam, Frankie Tam
Runtime: 106
Programmes:
In 1920s Shanghai, hero Chen Zhen single-handedly avenges his mentor’s death by killing all the Japanese at a dojo in Hongkou, only to be showered with bullets while making his legendary flying kick. Now, years later, Chen Zhen, who is believed dead, returns in disguise to infiltrate a criminal empire and to dismantle the evil collusion that plagues the country.
China, Action, History
screening times
Thursday September 9 9:30:00 PM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Friday September 10 12:00:00 PM RYERSON
Saturday September 18 9:00:00 AM VARSITY 8 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
Chen Zhen, first brought to life by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury, is not only a cultural hero and symbol of Chinese strength and pride, but a character who redefined Chinese martial arts cinema, propelling it to its Golden Age. Donnie Yen, one of the finest martial artists of his generation, first portrayed Chen in a 1995 television series and now returns to the role under the assured guidance of Andrew Lau. By uniting history, suspense and dazzling action sequences, Lau reinvents the well-known tale of one man’s stand to defend a nation’s dignity, transforming it into a highly entertaining action epic.
Presumed dead after single-handedly defeating all the Japanese fighters at the Hongkou Dojo to avenge his master, Chen Zhen joins the Labour Corps during the First World War. Deciding to return home to defend his country, he arrives in Shanghai disguised as a wealthy businessman named Qi. He quickly befriends the notorious mafia boss Mr. Liu (Anthony Wong), owner of the nightclub Casablanca, and Kiki (Shu Qi), the club’s star hostess. With the rapid expansion of Japanese influence in China, the military releases a death list, sending Shanghai into complete panic. As assassinations become rampant in the city, Chen disguises himself as the Masked Warrior to protect those who have been targeted.
Yen’s magnificent Chen is no longer the boastful youth that Lee immortalized, but a man filled with regret and responsibility. Lau, who draws memorable performances from the supporting cast, expertly handles the complex relationship between camaraderie, trust and love. The grandeur of Shanghai is recreated with sets that are nothing less than breathtaking.
While this latest adaptation of Chen Zhen is grand in scale and ambition, it is still anchored to its legendary hero, whose passion for his homeland is at the heart of the film.
Giovanna Fulvi
director bio
Andrew Lau was born in Hong Kong. He joined Shaw Brothers Studios after graduating from high school and has served as cinematographer on dozens of films, including City on Fire (87) and Wong-kar Wai’s As Tears Go By (88) and Chung King Express (co-cinematographer, 94). He made his directorial debut with Against All (90) and was nominated for numerous Hong Kong Film Awards before gaining international recognition with the award-winning Infernal Affairs (co-director, 02) – which was remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed (06) – and its two sequels. His other films as director include The Stormriders (98), The Duel (00), Initial D (05), Daisy (06), The Flock (07) and Legend of the Fist – The Return of Chen Zhen (10).
full credits
Principal Cast: Donnie Yen, Shu Qi, Anthony Wong, Huang Bo
Producer: Andrew Lau, Gordon Chan
Executive Producer: John Chong, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Guoli
Cinematographer: Andrew Lau
Editor: Azrael Chung
Sound: Kinson Tsang
Music: Chan Kwong Wing
Production Designer: Eric Lam
Canadian Distributor: Well Go USA, Inc.
International Sales Agent: Media Asia Distribution Ltd.
Production Company: Basic Pictures c/o Media Asia Films Ltd. Basic Pictures c/o Media Asia Films Ltd. Basic Pictures c/o Media Asia Films Ltd.
==================================================
3:00pm 091015RY Cirkus Columbia (SP) (1:53)
==================================================
Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina
Year: 2010
Language: Bosnian
Producer: Cedomir Kolar, Marc Baschet, Amra Bakšic Camo, Mirsad Purivatra
Screenplay: Danis Tanovic
Runtime: 113
Programmes:
After twenty years of exile, a husband returns to his hometown in Herzegovina to settle some scores with his ex-wife, armed with a new Mercedes, a sexy new girlfriend and a mangy black cat.
screening times
Friday September 10 3:00:00 PM RYERSON
Sunday September 12 9:30:00 AM AMC 6
Friday September 17 8:00:00 PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
With this sharp comic drama set on the eve of war, director Danis Tanovic makes a triumphant return to his homeland following his Academy Award®-winning film No Man’s Land.
After years of communist rule, things seem to have settled down in the small town in southern Herzegovina where Lucija and her son Martin live a quiet life. That is until Divko, Lucija’s estranged husband of twenty years, rolls into town with a slick Mercedes, a sexy young girlfriend, loads of cash and a mangy, black cat named Bonny. Having once fled to Germany, Divko is back and looking to settle some scores in this satirical battle of the sexes.
His first order of business is to pay the local police to throw his ex-wife and teenaged son out of their home. Never one to back down, Lucija proceeds to dump buckets of scalding water onto the heads of the bumbling policemen and with that, a whole new conflict in the Balkans is unleashed. Although Divko’s tactic of throwing money at every problem seems to succeed at first, his luck soon takes a turn for the worse when his beloved Bonny goes missing, his girlfriend’s eyes start to wander and rumblings of war reach the small town. Divko, Lucija and Martin must decide what matters most: pride or survival.
Adapting the debut novel by Croatian journalist Ivica Ðikic, Tanovic draws on a superb local cast, reuniting two of the finest actors of the former Yugoslavia – Miki Manojlovic as Divko and Mira Furlan as Lucija – who previously starred alongside each other in Emir Kusturica’s 1985 Palme d’Or winning When Father Was Away on Business.
Examining the end of a marriage and the beginning of a new era in the Balkans, Cirkus Columbia charts the rise of nationalism and fascism, and the emergence of love and forgiveness with beautiful pathos and masterful sensitivity.
Michèle Maheux
director bio
Danis Tanovic was born in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and studied music, engineering and film there before war broke out in 1992. He left Sarajevo to study directing at L’Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle et des Techniques de Diffusion (INSAS) in Brussels. His documentary shorts include Portraits d’artistes pendant la guerre (94), L’Aube (96) and Ça ira (98). No Man’s Land (01), his first feature, screened as a Gala presentation at the Festival and won the Academy Award® for best foreign language film in 2002. His other films include a segment in the omnibus film 11’09’01 (02) and the features L’Enfer (05), Triage (09) and Cirkus Columbia (10).
full credits
Principal Cast: Miki Manojlovic, Boris Ler, Mira Furlan, Jelena Stupljanin, Mario Knezovic, Milan Strljic
Producer: Cedomir Kolar, Marc Baschet, Amra Bakšic Camo, Mirsad Purivatra
Cinematographer: Walther van den Ende
Editor: Petar Marcovic
Sound: Dirk Bombay
Production Designer: Dusko Milavec, Sanda Popovac
International Sales Agent: Match Factory
Production Company: A.S.A.P Films, 2006 d.o.o.
==================================================
5:30pm 0910??A3 How I Ended This Summer (CWC) (2:04)
==================================================
Kak ya provel etim letom
Alexei Popogrebsky
Country: Russia
Year: 2010
Language: Russian
Producer: Roman Borisevich, Alexander Kushaev
Screenplay: Alexei Popogrebsky
Runtime: 124
Programmes:
Two meteorologists are isolated on an artic island. When the two-way radio transmits some bad news that requires a middleman, it’s up to the young intern to inform his veteran colleague. Only problem is, he never seems to find the right time.
Crime & Thriller Environment Russia
screening times
Friday September 10 5:30:00 PM AMC 3
Sunday September 12 2:45:00 PM VARSITY 7
Saturday September 18 9:30:00 AM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 11 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
At times feeling more like a natural phenomenon than a man-made movie, How I Ended This Summer is ruled by the changeable weather. An exploration of human fragility in the frigid north, director Alexei Popogrebsky’s latest feature shows us that natural elements may not be the biggest threat to human life in the frozen tundra of northeastern Siberia. This blustery, suspenseful film evokes all the majesty and danger of an unreliable landscape with a fascinating history.
Everything is quiet on the arctic island of Chukotka until the arrival of a mysterious message. Meteorological technician Sergei (Sergei Puskepalis) is busy taking his usual radioactive readings, when inexperienced intern Pavel receives shocking news on his two-way radio. They had hoped to hear from the rescue ship intended to take Sergei home and enable Pavel, who longs for a break from notating the bleak winter sky, to embark on some semblance of a real adventure. But now the temperature is the last thing on Pavel’s mind.
It rests on his shoulders to pass the contents of this message on to Sergei, but for one reason or another – not the least of which is his own bewilderment and denial – the right opportunity never presents itself. Now Pavel no longer has trouble occupying his time. His days are spent devising tricks to keep Sergei from knowing the truth.
Popogrebsky was inspired to write the film by the diaries of N.V. Pinegin, who accompanied Russian explorer Georgio J. Sedov on his ill-fated attempt to reach the North Pole in 1912. The diaries provided a window into the mind of a man trapped in a world of ice. With the help of Pavel Kostomarov’s artfully textured cinematography, the frozen wasteland takes on a life of its own, threatening to swallow Pavel’s sanity unless the rescue mission gets there first. Too bad their scheduled salvation is postponed for another year.
Dimitri Eipides
director bio
AlexeiPopogrebsky was born in Moscow and graduated with a degree in psychology fromMoscow University. He made his first short, TrickyFrog, a documentary co-directed with Boris Khlebnikov, in 1997. The pair wenton to co-direct the feature Koktebel(03), which screened at the Festival. Since then, Popogrebsky has directed thefeatures Simple Things (07) and HowI Ended This Summer (10).
full credits
Principal Cast: Grigory Dobrygin, Sergei Puskepalis
Producer: Roman Borisevich, Alexander Kushaev
Cinematographer: Pavel Kostomarov
Editor: Ivan Lebedev
Sound: Vladimir Golovnitski
Music: Dmitry Katkhanov
Production Designer: Gennady Popov
Canadian Distributor: Film Movement
International Sales Agent: Bavaria Film International
Production Company: KOKTEBEL Film Company
==================================================
8:00pm 091020A0 What I Most Want (DI) (1:16)
==================================================
Country: Argentina
Year: 2010
Language: Spanish
Producer: Santiago Castagnino, Delfina Castagnino
Executive Producer: Ivan Eibuszyc
Screenplay: Delfina Castagnino
Runtime: 76
Programmes:
Maria's four-year relationship is coming to an end while Pilar's father has recently passed away. Though their losses are of a very different nature, the two friends find comfort in each other’s company. Maria stays with Pilar in the Argentine Patagonia and the two women share wine and lake visits as the confront their future.
First Time Feature, Latin America, Women, Friendship
screening times
Friday September 10 8:00:00 PM AMC 10
Saturday September 11 2:15:00 PM AMC 10
Saturday September 18 1:00:00 PM AMC 9 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
What I Most Want, Delfina Castagnino’s stunning feature film debut, is a heartfelt and sincere portrayal of two young women experiencing profound bereavement. Shot in Bariloche, in the Argentine Patagonia, the film is embedded in the natural world, providing the necessary physical space for the characters to contemplate their present and future.
Maria (Maria Villar) visits her friend Pilar (Pilar Gamboa) who has recently lost her father and lives alone in Bariloche. While Pilar is coming to terms with her loss, Maria too is mourning the loss of love she once had with her boyfriend. Escaping the trap of Buenos Aires, she finds the trip south providing the necessary change to realize that her relationship is coming to an end. And there’s a local boy, Diego (Esteban Lamothe), who offers Maria a wonderful distraction from her problems.
As Maria and Pilar spend their days visiting markets and lakes, cooking dinners and drinking wine, they struggle to accept the changes that their new circumstances demand. Drawing closer together more through shared experience than direct conversation, their companionship brings them both strength and comfort. The film observes key moments in their time together, each captured with beauty and simplicity.
The Argentine Patagonia is a present character in the film, provoking strikingly different responses from the urban Maria and from Pilar, more at ease in the natural world. Expertly shot and wholly original, What I Most Want signals the emergence of yet another unique voice from Argentina.
Diana Sanchez
director bio
Delfina Castagnino was born in Buenos Aires. She received a master’s degree in cinematographic direction from the Buenos Aires Cinema Foundation, where she worked in the editorial department and later became a professor. As an editor, she has worked on Lisandro Alonso’s The Dead (04) and Phantom (06), as well as Carola Gliksberg’s Later On (08) and Matías Piñeiro’s They All Lie (09). What I Most Want (10) is her first feature film.
full credits
Principal Cast: Pilar Gamboa, María Villar, Esteban Lamothe, Leonardo Castañeda
Producer: Santiago Castagnino, Delfina Castagnino
Executive Producer: Ivan Eibuszyc
Cinematographer: Soledad Rodríguez
Editor: Delfina Castagnino
Sound: Rodrigo Sánchez Mariño, Andrés P. Estrada
Music: Maxi Trusso
Production Designer: Iván Eibuszyc
Production Company: CASTAGNINOS
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (SP) (1:48)
==================================================
Country: Hong Kong
Year: 2010
Language: Mandarin
Producer: Andrew Lau, Gordon Chan
Executive Producer: John Chong, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Guoli
Screenplay: Cheung Chi Sing, Gordon Chan, Lui Koon Nam, Frankie Tam
Runtime: 106
Programmes:
In 1920s Shanghai, hero Chen Zhen single-handedly avenges his mentor’s death by killing all the Japanese at a dojo in Hongkou, only to be showered with bullets while making his legendary flying kick. Now, years later, Chen Zhen, who is believed dead, returns in disguise to infiltrate a criminal empire and to dismantle the evil collusion that plagues the country.
China, Action, History
screening times
Thursday September 9 9:30:00 PM VISA SCREENING ROOM (ELGIN)
Friday September 10 12:00:00 PM RYERSON
Saturday September 18 9:00:00 AM VARSITY 8 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
Chen Zhen, first brought to life by Bruce Lee in Fist of Fury, is not only a cultural hero and symbol of Chinese strength and pride, but a character who redefined Chinese martial arts cinema, propelling it to its Golden Age. Donnie Yen, one of the finest martial artists of his generation, first portrayed Chen in a 1995 television series and now returns to the role under the assured guidance of Andrew Lau. By uniting history, suspense and dazzling action sequences, Lau reinvents the well-known tale of one man’s stand to defend a nation’s dignity, transforming it into a highly entertaining action epic.
Presumed dead after single-handedly defeating all the Japanese fighters at the Hongkou Dojo to avenge his master, Chen Zhen joins the Labour Corps during the First World War. Deciding to return home to defend his country, he arrives in Shanghai disguised as a wealthy businessman named Qi. He quickly befriends the notorious mafia boss Mr. Liu (Anthony Wong), owner of the nightclub Casablanca, and Kiki (Shu Qi), the club’s star hostess. With the rapid expansion of Japanese influence in China, the military releases a death list, sending Shanghai into complete panic. As assassinations become rampant in the city, Chen disguises himself as the Masked Warrior to protect those who have been targeted.
Yen’s magnificent Chen is no longer the boastful youth that Lee immortalized, but a man filled with regret and responsibility. Lau, who draws memorable performances from the supporting cast, expertly handles the complex relationship between camaraderie, trust and love. The grandeur of Shanghai is recreated with sets that are nothing less than breathtaking.
While this latest adaptation of Chen Zhen is grand in scale and ambition, it is still anchored to its legendary hero, whose passion for his homeland is at the heart of the film.
Giovanna Fulvi
director bio
Andrew Lau was born in Hong Kong. He joined Shaw Brothers Studios after graduating from high school and has served as cinematographer on dozens of films, including City on Fire (87) and Wong-kar Wai’s As Tears Go By (88) and Chung King Express (co-cinematographer, 94). He made his directorial debut with Against All (90) and was nominated for numerous Hong Kong Film Awards before gaining international recognition with the award-winning Infernal Affairs (co-director, 02) – which was remade by Martin Scorsese as The Departed (06) – and its two sequels. His other films as director include The Stormriders (98), The Duel (00), Initial D (05), Daisy (06), The Flock (07) and Legend of the Fist – The Return of Chen Zhen (10).
full credits
Principal Cast: Donnie Yen, Shu Qi, Anthony Wong, Huang Bo
Producer: Andrew Lau, Gordon Chan
Executive Producer: John Chong, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Guoli
Cinematographer: Andrew Lau
Editor: Azrael Chung
Sound: Kinson Tsang
Music: Chan Kwong Wing
Production Designer: Eric Lam
Canadian Distributor: Well Go USA, Inc.
International Sales Agent: Media Asia Distribution Ltd.
Production Company: Basic Pictures c/o Media Asia Films Ltd. Basic Pictures c/o Media Asia Films Ltd. Basic Pictures c/o Media Asia Films Ltd.
==================================================
3:00pm 091015RY Cirkus Columbia (SP) (1:53)
==================================================
Country: Bosnia & Herzegovina
Year: 2010
Language: Bosnian
Producer: Cedomir Kolar, Marc Baschet, Amra Bakšic Camo, Mirsad Purivatra
Screenplay: Danis Tanovic
Runtime: 113
Programmes:
After twenty years of exile, a husband returns to his hometown in Herzegovina to settle some scores with his ex-wife, armed with a new Mercedes, a sexy new girlfriend and a mangy black cat.
screening times
Friday September 10 3:00:00 PM RYERSON
Sunday September 12 9:30:00 AM AMC 6
Friday September 17 8:00:00 PM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 2 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
With this sharp comic drama set on the eve of war, director Danis Tanovic makes a triumphant return to his homeland following his Academy Award®-winning film No Man’s Land.
After years of communist rule, things seem to have settled down in the small town in southern Herzegovina where Lucija and her son Martin live a quiet life. That is until Divko, Lucija’s estranged husband of twenty years, rolls into town with a slick Mercedes, a sexy young girlfriend, loads of cash and a mangy, black cat named Bonny. Having once fled to Germany, Divko is back and looking to settle some scores in this satirical battle of the sexes.
His first order of business is to pay the local police to throw his ex-wife and teenaged son out of their home. Never one to back down, Lucija proceeds to dump buckets of scalding water onto the heads of the bumbling policemen and with that, a whole new conflict in the Balkans is unleashed. Although Divko’s tactic of throwing money at every problem seems to succeed at first, his luck soon takes a turn for the worse when his beloved Bonny goes missing, his girlfriend’s eyes start to wander and rumblings of war reach the small town. Divko, Lucija and Martin must decide what matters most: pride or survival.
Adapting the debut novel by Croatian journalist Ivica Ðikic, Tanovic draws on a superb local cast, reuniting two of the finest actors of the former Yugoslavia – Miki Manojlovic as Divko and Mira Furlan as Lucija – who previously starred alongside each other in Emir Kusturica’s 1985 Palme d’Or winning When Father Was Away on Business.
Examining the end of a marriage and the beginning of a new era in the Balkans, Cirkus Columbia charts the rise of nationalism and fascism, and the emergence of love and forgiveness with beautiful pathos and masterful sensitivity.
Michèle Maheux
director bio
Danis Tanovic was born in Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and studied music, engineering and film there before war broke out in 1992. He left Sarajevo to study directing at L’Institut National Supérieur des Arts du Spectacle et des Techniques de Diffusion (INSAS) in Brussels. His documentary shorts include Portraits d’artistes pendant la guerre (94), L’Aube (96) and Ça ira (98). No Man’s Land (01), his first feature, screened as a Gala presentation at the Festival and won the Academy Award® for best foreign language film in 2002. His other films include a segment in the omnibus film 11’09’01 (02) and the features L’Enfer (05), Triage (09) and Cirkus Columbia (10).
full credits
Principal Cast: Miki Manojlovic, Boris Ler, Mira Furlan, Jelena Stupljanin, Mario Knezovic, Milan Strljic
Producer: Cedomir Kolar, Marc Baschet, Amra Bakšic Camo, Mirsad Purivatra
Cinematographer: Walther van den Ende
Editor: Petar Marcovic
Sound: Dirk Bombay
Production Designer: Dusko Milavec, Sanda Popovac
International Sales Agent: Match Factory
Production Company: A.S.A.P Films, 2006 d.o.o.
==================================================
5:30pm 0910??A3 How I Ended This Summer (CWC) (2:04)
==================================================
Kak ya provel etim letom
Alexei Popogrebsky
Country: Russia
Year: 2010
Language: Russian
Producer: Roman Borisevich, Alexander Kushaev
Screenplay: Alexei Popogrebsky
Runtime: 124
Programmes:
Two meteorologists are isolated on an artic island. When the two-way radio transmits some bad news that requires a middleman, it’s up to the young intern to inform his veteran colleague. Only problem is, he never seems to find the right time.
Crime & Thriller Environment Russia
screening times
Friday September 10 5:30:00 PM AMC 3
Sunday September 12 2:45:00 PM VARSITY 7
Saturday September 18 9:30:00 AM SCOTIABANK THEATRE 11 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
official description
At times feeling more like a natural phenomenon than a man-made movie, How I Ended This Summer is ruled by the changeable weather. An exploration of human fragility in the frigid north, director Alexei Popogrebsky’s latest feature shows us that natural elements may not be the biggest threat to human life in the frozen tundra of northeastern Siberia. This blustery, suspenseful film evokes all the majesty and danger of an unreliable landscape with a fascinating history.
Everything is quiet on the arctic island of Chukotka until the arrival of a mysterious message. Meteorological technician Sergei (Sergei Puskepalis) is busy taking his usual radioactive readings, when inexperienced intern Pavel receives shocking news on his two-way radio. They had hoped to hear from the rescue ship intended to take Sergei home and enable Pavel, who longs for a break from notating the bleak winter sky, to embark on some semblance of a real adventure. But now the temperature is the last thing on Pavel’s mind.
It rests on his shoulders to pass the contents of this message on to Sergei, but for one reason or another – not the least of which is his own bewilderment and denial – the right opportunity never presents itself. Now Pavel no longer has trouble occupying his time. His days are spent devising tricks to keep Sergei from knowing the truth.
Popogrebsky was inspired to write the film by the diaries of N.V. Pinegin, who accompanied Russian explorer Georgio J. Sedov on his ill-fated attempt to reach the North Pole in 1912. The diaries provided a window into the mind of a man trapped in a world of ice. With the help of Pavel Kostomarov’s artfully textured cinematography, the frozen wasteland takes on a life of its own, threatening to swallow Pavel’s sanity unless the rescue mission gets there first. Too bad their scheduled salvation is postponed for another year.
Dimitri Eipides
director bio
AlexeiPopogrebsky was born in Moscow and graduated with a degree in psychology fromMoscow University. He made his first short, TrickyFrog, a documentary co-directed with Boris Khlebnikov, in 1997. The pair wenton to co-direct the feature Koktebel(03), which screened at the Festival. Since then, Popogrebsky has directed thefeatures Simple Things (07) and HowI Ended This Summer (10).
full credits
Principal Cast: Grigory Dobrygin, Sergei Puskepalis
Producer: Roman Borisevich, Alexander Kushaev
Cinematographer: Pavel Kostomarov
Editor: Ivan Lebedev
Sound: Vladimir Golovnitski
Music: Dmitry Katkhanov
Production Designer: Gennady Popov
Canadian Distributor: Film Movement
International Sales Agent: Bavaria Film International
Production Company: KOKTEBEL Film Company
==================================================
8:00pm 091020A0 What I Most Want (DI) (1:16)
==================================================
Country: Argentina
Year: 2010
Language: Spanish
Producer: Santiago Castagnino, Delfina Castagnino
Executive Producer: Ivan Eibuszyc
Screenplay: Delfina Castagnino
Runtime: 76
Programmes:
Maria's four-year relationship is coming to an end while Pilar's father has recently passed away. Though their losses are of a very different nature, the two friends find comfort in each other’s company. Maria stays with Pilar in the Argentine Patagonia and the two women share wine and lake visits as the confront their future.
First Time Feature, Latin America, Women, Friendship
screening times
Friday September 10 8:00:00 PM AMC 10
Saturday September 11 2:15:00 PM AMC 10
Saturday September 18 1:00:00 PM AMC 9 Note: indicates Premium Screening.
What I Most Want, Delfina Castagnino’s stunning feature film debut, is a heartfelt and sincere portrayal of two young women experiencing profound bereavement. Shot in Bariloche, in the Argentine Patagonia, the film is embedded in the natural world, providing the necessary physical space for the characters to contemplate their present and future.
Maria (Maria Villar) visits her friend Pilar (Pilar Gamboa) who has recently lost her father and lives alone in Bariloche. While Pilar is coming to terms with her loss, Maria too is mourning the loss of love she once had with her boyfriend. Escaping the trap of Buenos Aires, she finds the trip south providing the necessary change to realize that her relationship is coming to an end. And there’s a local boy, Diego (Esteban Lamothe), who offers Maria a wonderful distraction from her problems.
As Maria and Pilar spend their days visiting markets and lakes, cooking dinners and drinking wine, they struggle to accept the changes that their new circumstances demand. Drawing closer together more through shared experience than direct conversation, their companionship brings them both strength and comfort. The film observes key moments in their time together, each captured with beauty and simplicity.
The Argentine Patagonia is a present character in the film, provoking strikingly different responses from the urban Maria and from Pilar, more at ease in the natural world. Expertly shot and wholly original, What I Most Want signals the emergence of yet another unique voice from Argentina.
Diana Sanchez
director bio
Delfina Castagnino was born in Buenos Aires. She received a master’s degree in cinematographic direction from the Buenos Aires Cinema Foundation, where she worked in the editorial department and later became a professor. As an editor, she has worked on Lisandro Alonso’s The Dead (04) and Phantom (06), as well as Carola Gliksberg’s Later On (08) and Matías Piñeiro’s They All Lie (09). What I Most Want (10) is her first feature film.
full credits
Principal Cast: Pilar Gamboa, María Villar, Esteban Lamothe, Leonardo Castañeda
Producer: Santiago Castagnino, Delfina Castagnino
Executive Producer: Ivan Eibuszyc
Cinematographer: Soledad Rodríguez
Editor: Delfina Castagnino
Sound: Rodrigo Sánchez Mariño, Andrés P. Estrada
Music: Maxi Trusso
Production Designer: Iván Eibuszyc
Production Company: CASTAGNINOS
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)