Toronto’s NFB Mediatheque (150 John St.) presents French-language films (with English subtitles) the first Thursday of each month, in partnership with Alliance Française de Toronto, le Bureau du Québec à Toronto, Cinéfranco, the Consulate General of France in Toronto and Théâtre Français de Toronto. Each film screens with one of the NFB’s acclaimed shorts preceding it, and tickets are a ridiculously cheap $6 for adults and $4 for students, seniors, NFB and Alliance Française members. Check out this upcoming schedule:
Thursday March 4, 2010 at 7:30pm
Persepolis (Directors: Vincent Paronnaud and Marjane Satrapi. 2007, France, 96 minutes.)
Winner, Jury Prize, 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
The poignant story of a young girl in Iran during the Islamic Revolution, based on the award-winning graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi.
preceded by
Conte de quartier (Director: Florence Miailhe. 2006, NFB, 16 minutes.)
A crazy day in a neighbourhood under reconstruction: seven characters and a rag doll are swept up in a dizzying chain of events.
Thursday April 1, 2010 at 7:30pm
L’âge de Tènébres (Days of Darkness) (Director: Denys Arcand. 2007, Canada, 104 minutes.)
Nominee, Best Motion Picture, 2008 Genie Awards.
Stuck between dream and reality, a civil servant reinvents himself as a celebrity, escaping from his quiet and desperate life.
preceded by
L’ondée (Rains) (Director: David Coquard-Dassault. 2008, NFB, 8 min.)
Jury Special Mention, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, 2009.
Everyone seeks refuge as a sudden rainstorm is unleashed on a city.
Thursday May 4, 2010 at 7:30pm
Entre les murs (The Class) (Director: Laurent Cantet, . 2008, France, 128 min.)
Winner, Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival, 2008.
A well-intentioned teacher’s classroom ethics are put to the test when his students begin to challenge his methods.
preceded by
Train en folie (Runaway) (Director: Cordell Barker, 2009, NFB, 9 min.)
Winner, Petit Rail d’Or for Best Short Film, Cannes International Film Festival, 2009
One of Canada’s Top Ten Films of 2009 (Short Films)
Happy passengers have a great time on a crowded train, oblivious to the unknown fate that awaits them around the bend.
Tagged as:
france,
nfb,
quebec
Sorry for the short notice, but just found out about this today (hat tip to my friend Judy Gombita). The University of Toronto is holding a weeklong series of events entitled, “Confession and the Cinema of Uninhibition” featuring films, lectures and a roundtable discussion of the work of Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin, who will be in attendance at all events. Here’s the schedule:
- Tuesday 12 January, 7:00pm, Innis College Town Hall — “May I Blow my Bugle Now? My Life in Clips” (Illustrated lecture by Guy Maddin on his major influences and favourite films)
- Wednesday 13 January, 7:00pm, Innis College Town Hall — “Machine Gun Lullabies and Short Sleep” (Guy Maddin illuminates the short film as an artistic form)
- Thursday 14 January, 7:00pm, Innis College Town Hall — My Winnipeg (Film screening with live narration by Guy Maddin)
- Friday 15 January, 3:00pm, Jackman Humanities Building Room 100 — Roundtable Discussion of Guy Maddin’s films, chaired by Kay Armatage (Cinema Studies Institute)
- Friday 15 January, 7:00pm, Innis College Town Hall — Brand Upon the Brain (Film screening with Guy Maddin in person)
All events are free and open to the public. The series is sponsored in part by U of T’s excellent Cinema Studies Student Union (CINSSU)
Tagged as:
canada,
guymaddin,
winnipeg
I’ve been paying a lot more attention to short films over the past few years, and I’m exited to have found a really excellent resource for finding and seeing these bite-sized gems of cinema.
Short of the Week is a fabulous site where short films are presented, reviewed and discussed. Not only is it attractively designed, but the curators have done a great job in presenting a variety of great work, both animated and live-action. Short films are difficult to see in the same way as we consume traditional films (theatrically and on DVD) so it only makes sense to present them online, and this site, established in 2007, has been amassing a great collection. The short reviews are also well-written and informative. I’ve made Short of the Week a regular stop on my film surfing, and so should you.
While we’re on the subject of shorts, I held an event for a few friends last weekend that I hope will develop into a regular series. Shorts That Are Not Pants featured a mixed programme of recent short films mostly screened from issues of Wholphin:
- El ataque de los robots de nebulosa-5 (The Attack of the Robots from Nebula-5) (Dir. Chema Garcia Ibarra, Spain, 6 minutes)
- Land of the Heads (Dir. Cédric Louis and Claude Barras, Canada, 6 minutes)
- Isabelle au bois dormant (Sleeping Betty) (Dir. Claude Cloutier, Canada, 9 minutes)
- Love You More (Dir. Sam Taylor-Wood, UK, 15 minutes)
- Glory at Sea (Dir. Benjamin Zeitlin, USA, 25 minutes)
- Two Cars, One Night (Dir. Taika Waititi, New Zealand, 12 minutes)
- Tørt og kjølig (Cold and Dry) (Dir. Kristoffer Joner, Norway, 12 minutes)
- Smafúglar (2 Birds) (Dir. Rúnar Rúnarsson, Iceland, 15 minutes)
- New Boy (Dir. Steph Green, Ireland, 11 minutes)
The two that generated the most discussion were Glory at Sea and Smafúglar (2 Birds), which didn’t surprise me at all. They were the two most dramatic films in the programme, and I look forward to more great work, of whatever length, from both directors.
Tagged as:
shorts
Thanks to the Japan Foundation, the Bloor Cinema will be hosting free screenings of recent Japanese films this week. Here’s the lineup:
- Wednesday, December 9, 7:00 pm — The Stars Converge (2003)
- Thursday, December 10, 7:00 pm — Women in the Mirror (2002)
- Saturday, December 12, 7:00 pm — The Milk Woman (2005)
- Sunday, December 13, 4:30 pm — Dog in a Sidecar (2007)
All screenings are FREE and no RSVP is required. I recommend showing up at least 30 minutes early, though, in order to get a seat.
More information about each of the films
Tagged as:
bloorcinema,
japan
The National Film Board celebrates International Animation Day (October 28th) with Get Animated!, a weeklong series of free screenings and animation workshops across Canada. From October 23–31, check out events happening near you. In Toronto, events will take place at the NFB Mediatheque (150 John Street).
In the Animation Feast programme, I loved Land of the Heads, which I saw last month at the Montreal World Film Festival, and Cordell Barker’s prize-winning Runaway. And in the International Showcase, Skhizein (review) is a can’t-miss. It’s also available in the current issue of Wholphin (#9).
I recently received a copy of the gorgeous NFB animation compilation Animation Express on Blu-ray, which contains many of the films being featured. Watch for a review soon!
Tagged as:
animation
