Over time, I’ve grown to appreciate short films more and more, and since their opportunities for theatrical release are so limited, I’m always glad to see shorts popping up in interesting places. For the past few years, Air Canada has sponsored the enRoute Film Festival, in which shorts by emerging Canadian filmmakers are featured on the seat-back entertainment systems on Air Canada flights. But it can’t rightly be called a festival unless there are awards and a big public screening, right?
So on October 20, there will be a free public screening of the shortlisted nominees for the fest’s awards. It will take place from 7:00–8:00pm at the Scotiabank Theatre here in Toronto. You can get an idea of the quality of the nominated films by visiting the web site, where many of the films are streaming. In addition to being able to see the films on the big screen, several members of the jury will be present, including actors Remy Girard and Lisa Ray and director Deepa Mehta.
Tagged as:
shorts
Though there’s scarcely any mention of it online, I’ve just been notified about a monthly screening series of Finnish and Icelandic films that takes place at the NFB Mediatheque (150 John St.). Tickets for the Icelandic films are $8, while the Finnish ones screen for free. All screenings begin at 7:00pm. Here’s the schedule for the 2009–2010 series:
- Wednesday September 30 — Opening Reception at 6:00pm, followed by White Night Wedding (Bruðguminn) (Iceland, 2008, Baltasar Kormakur)
- Wednesday October 28 — Bad Boys (Pahat Pojat) (Finland, 2003, Aleksi Makela)
- Wednesday November 25 — Country Wedding (Sveitabrúðkaup) (Iceland, 2008, Valdís Óskarsdóttir) (review)
- Wednesday January 27 — Brothers (Broidit) (Finland, 2003, Esa Illi)
- Wednesday February 24 — Quiet Storm (Veðramót) (Iceland, 2007, Gudny Halldórsdóttir)
- Wednesday March 31 — For the Living and the Dead (Eläville ja kuolleille) (Finland, 2005, Kari Paljakka)
- Wednesday April 28 — Selection of Icelandic short films
If you’re a fan of Nordic cinema, and why wouldn’t you be, put these dates in your calendar right now and maybe I’ll see you at one of the screenings.
Nordic Nights is presented by the Finnish and Icelandic consulates in Toronto as well as the Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto.
Tagged as:
finland,
iceland,
nfb
The Age of Stupid (Director: Franny Armstrong): I’ve been following the story of this film for more than a year now and was glad to finally be able to see it last night at the Canadian premiere. The Age of Stupid is unique because the creators have used the Internet to crowdfund the making of the film, and they’re doing the same thing to distribute and promote it. This Huffington Post article applauds the filmmakers for engaging with the audience directly and using social media tools to accomplish a lot on a limited budget. Even if they film was simply mediocre, the amount of work they’ve put into spreading the word will contain lessons for many filmmakers trying to get their films seen without the backing of a major studio. Luckily, the film is far from mediocre.
Essentially an environmental documentary, what sets The Age of Stupid apart is its clever framing device and brilliant editing. Pete Postlethwaite stars as the archivist, a lone figure watching over a collection of the earth’s greatest treasures in a building high above the Arctic sea. The year is 2055 and he’s looking back at video evidence of the environmental degradation that we could have avoided. As he accesses and moves clips around his screen, he wonders mournfully why we didn’t do anything to avoid this catastrophe. In this way, director Franny Armstrong can show us several different documentary threads within a (science) fictional framework. The editing is slick and the way in which some of the segments are ordered makes for a powerful and thought-provoking viewing experience.
For instance, one of the threads follows Indian entrepreneur Jeh Wadia as he attempts to launch a low-cost airline in India. He sees his mission as beneficial, allowing all Indians access to cheap air travel. But in some of the other segments, we learn that the greatest contributor to greenhouse gases is air travel. It’s going to be very difficult to convince people in the developing world to give up things that we have taken for granted for many years. Another affecting story is that of French mountain guide Fernand Pereau, who has watched the glaciers in the French Alps melt over the past fifty years. His mournful 82-year-old face has seen a lot of “progress” and as he says, we know quite well how to profit from the earth, but not to protect it.
Even those who are working for change are coming up against obstacles. Piers Guy is working to expand the use of wind power turbines in the UK, but he faces opposition everywhere from people who don’t want the turbines to “spoil the view.” His frustration is palpable and is being played out all over the world. In fact, the film itself doesn’t really offer a lot of solutions, but it does do a good job of expressing the all-encompassing nature of the problem. Luckily, the filmmakers have partnered with many organizations who are working for change, and have established another website, NotStupid.org which will serve as a constantly evolving resource for action.
The film also uses animation to take on such wide-ranging topics as resource wars and consumerism. I can see this being a must-see for students, and much less dry than An Inconvenient Truth. Even the title hints at the ample humour in the film, even if it is just to reiterate how stupid our behaviour has been. I’m also impressed that the filmmakers have made a huge effort to have the film shown in every country in the world. In fact, the Global Premiere is taking place over two days, September 21st and 22nd. This guarantees worldwide media coverage and might even help the issue of climate change reach critical mass in the collective consciousness of the humans on an ailing Planet Earth.
Note: Last night’s Canadian premiere was sponsored by the Climate Action Network who recommended that people sign the petition at KyotoPlus.ca. Another good resource is tck tck tck. The film will have its first public screening in Toronto on Saturday October 3rd at 6:30 at the Royal Cinema as part of the inaugural M.U.C.K. (Movies of Uncommon Knowledge) Film Festival.
Official site of the film
(9/10)
Tagged as:
climatechange,
environment
Well, I should clarify. Good news for fans of Icelandic cinema, that is. If you’re a cinema buff from Iceland, this post may only be of interest to a subset of you.
In any case, despite being underwhelmed by the two Icelandic films screened at this year’s TIFF, I remain a huge fan of the films and directors of this tiny island nation. One of the highlights of my trip to Reykjavik last September was being present at two receptions hosted by the Icelandic Film Centre in which my wife and I were wined and dined and able to mingle with some of the actors and directors of this intimate fraternity. So I was very happy to find two new (or new to me) sites that focus on the cinema of Iceland.
Iceland Cinema Now has some official support from the Icelandic Film Centre, the Association of Icelandic Film Producers and the Icelandic Film School, so I expect it will be more a source of news rather than any critical opinions. For that, I’ll be consulting Iceland On Screen, a blog written by UK native Ben Hopkins. He’s reviewing all kinds of Icelandic films and I’m looking forward to diving into his archives. His recent interview with Icelandic film critic Ásgrímur Sverrisson was particularly interesting. Since Iceland is such a small community, it can be difficult to maintain critical distance when a lot of the filmmakers are your friends.
Since one of the major hurdles to greater exposure for Iceland’s films is the general unavailability of DVDs, I’m glad to see that Iceland Cinema Now is in the process of setting up an online store. Hopefully, there will be a good selection of films with English subtitles available, though I suspect anyone in North America may require a region-free DVD player.
Tagged as:
iceland
Air Doll (Kûki ningyô) (Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda): The premise of Air Doll seems silly at best, salacious at worst: an inflatable sex doll comes to life. In the hands of another director, the resulting film would probably have been a standard sex comedy. But Kore-eda, whose previous TIFF appearances have been with thoughtful films like Still Walking and Nobody Knows, turns the film into an absolutely captivating meditation on what it means to be human.
One morning, Nozomi, a “sex substitute”, finds that she has acquired a heart. Puzzled, she dresses herself in the maid’s outfit her owner has bought for her, and ventures out. By mimicking the speech and actions of her neighbours, she learns to fit in, and she soon lands a job working at a video store, where she begins to fall in love with her co-worker. Casting the wonderful Bae Doo Na (Linda Linda Linda, The Host) was a stroke of genius. Her wide-eyed wonder at everything in the world is beautiful to watch, and the scenes of her joyfully discovering everything around her put a big smile on my face.
Though she is “owned” by a lonely waiter, he doesn’t realize what has happened and eventually buys a replacement doll. One of the big themes of the film is the idea of substitution and replacement, that in a big and impersonal city like Tokyo, it’s easy to feel unimportant. Kore-eda assembles a supporting cast of neighbourhood characters who are all struggling with loneliness; the old man who sits on the park bench, the single father of a young daughter, the middle-aged hotel clerk worried that a younger woman will soon replace her, the bulimic young woman who refuses to work on her parents’ apple farm. Unfortunately, our interactions with these characters is fleeting, giving a climactic scene near the end a little less impact than I think it should have. As well, a few narrative threads are confusing which momentarily pulls us out of this lovely fable.
Bae Doo Na is absolutely fearless in her performance, whether she’s naked physically or emotionally. When the joy of discovery inevitably gives way to the pain of rejection and “replacement,” I was never less than mesmerized by her performance and her beauty. The film takes a turn for the tragic, as might be expected, but the ending is actually somewhat upbeat, and throughout, Kore-eda powerfully reminds us that we are not meant to be alone in this world. Visually beautiful and with a beating emotional heart, just like Nozomi, Air Doll is definitely a film I’m eager to catch again soon.
(9/10)
Tagged as:
#tiff09,
japan
