TIFF UNCUT: Recent Episodes
TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival)
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Best known in cinephile circles for his collaborations with director Richard Linklater in the Before trilogy and BOYHOOD, Ethan Hawke is also no stranger to the Toronto International Film Festival as a writer, director, and actor. His latest directorial effort, SEYMOUR: AN INTRODUCTION, played at TIFF ’15, while he also personified the late jazz trumpeter Chet Baker that year in BORN TO BE BLUE. In 2016, he returned to the Festival for dual appearances in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and MAUDIE. This year at TIFF, the Hawke appears in Paul Schrader’s terse religious drama FIRST REFORMED, playing an ex–military chaplain grieving the death of his son. TIFF UN/CUT has unearthed a career-spanning conversation from 2014 in which the sensitive and soul-searching multi-hyphenate was joined by Jesse Wente, Director of Film Programmes at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Listen as Ethan Hawke tells you the story of his life as an actor, director, screenwriter, novelist, and — first and foremost — film lover.
Sarah Polley began her career in film at the age of four, appearing in the Disney movie ONE MAGIC CHRISTMAS. After her roles in Atom Egoyan’s THE SWEET HEREAFTER, Terry Gilliam’s THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN and Doug Liman's GO gained her attention as an emotionally intuitive and intelligent young actor, she attended the Director’s Lab at the Canadian Film Centre in 2001. Polley’s first feature AWAY FROM HER, an adaption of the Alice Munro short story “The Bear Came over the Mountain,” which she wrote and directed, nabbed her a nomination for “Best Adapted Screenplay” at the 2008 Academy Awards. Her follow-up films, 2011’s TAKE THIS WALTZ and the 2012 documentary STORIES WE TELL (all of which have premiered at TIFF) have cemented the filmmaker as one of Canada’s most indelible auteurs. In this episode of TIFF Un/cut, you’ll hear Sarah Polley interviewed onstage by documentary programmer Thom Powers in a discussion originally conducted for the 2012 Industry Doc Conference when STORIES WE TELL premiered at TIFF. They discuss the knotty complexities of revealing family secrets, how to show many sides of one story, and why documentary is her favourite medium. Sarah Polley’s newest project, a forthcoming miniseries adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1996 novel ALIAS GRACE on which she serves as showrunner and executive producer, will premiere at TIFF ‘17 with the series’ star Sarah Gadon and director Mary Harron in attendance.
Hear from one of our country’s most inspiring artists, who is still making documentaries about her Indigenous community at age 84 At age 84, Alanis Obomsawin is still crafting incisive documentaries about the Indigenous crisis in Canada with over 40 projects to her name in collaboration with the National Film Board. At the heart of her work is the act of listening to other people tell their stories as a way of survival. Her latest work, titled Our People Will Be Healed, is a portrait of the community in one of Manitoba’s largest First Nations populations and will premiere at TIFF ’17. The following audio is a conversation conducted by TIFF Digital Producer Malcolm Gilderdale when Obomsawin’s heartbreaking film We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice played the Festival last year. Hear the filmmaker detail how she first became drawn to telling the stories of her people, why she’s always fought for education, and how being an artist means believing in your own self-worth. You can attend a free screening of her breakthrough 1993 documentary Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance this Sunday, August 27 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, as part of Canada On Screen. Want to hear more inspiring conversations with your favourite filmmakers? Subscribe to TIFF UN/CUT over at iTunes, and please rate and review us!
In 2016, Richard Linklater brought his awesome casual hangout movie — and “spiritual sequel” to DAZED AND CONFUSED — EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! to TIFF Bell Lightbox. After screening the film, Linklater sat down for a talk moderated by Theresa Scandiffio, the Senior Director of TIFF's Adult Learning department. Their conversation spans Linklater’s entire journey in film, from SLACKER, to DAZED AND CONFUSED, to the BEFORE movies, to BOYHOOD, to EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!, viewed through the lens of defining moments. Hear why Linklater is drawn to character-based ensemble films, the joys of working with emerging actors, and the three books every young film lover should read. You can catch a screening of Linklater’s infectious 2003 comedy SCHOOL OF ROCK (written by TIFF '17 filmmaker Mike White) on August 16 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, as part of our TIFF Kids Summer series.
The great Jill Soloway is the creator, writer, director, and executive producer of TRANSPARENT. While Soloway was at TIFF '16 with the show's third season, they delivered a keynote address at the TIFF Industry Conference on the female gaze — which we’ve reproduced here. On this week’s TIFF UN/CUT, Soloway’s keynote address explores the power of the gaze and the ways in which the cis male gaze has historically limited and controlled our view of ourselves and each other. Soloway reclaims the power of the gaze to reflect diverse and important voices while championing protagonism as a means to creative revolution. Jill is currently an ambassador for TIFF’s Share Her Journey campaign, a five-year initiative prioritizing gender parity within the film industry. To find out more about the campaign, please visit http://www.tiff.net/shareherjourney/
This week on TIFF UN/CUT, we hear from Canadian film and art legend Michael Snow. From Flightstop, his iconic collection of life-size Canada Geese sculptures that hang in Toronto's Eaton Centre, to his landmark experimental films La Région Centrale (1971) and Wavelength (1967) (the title of which inspired the Toronto International Film Festival's programme of experimental works, Wavelengths), Snow's work as a visual artist and filmmaker has been celebrated around the world. In this episode, we hear an extended conversation about Snow's early career, his influences, his initial encounters with the medium of film, life as an artist in Europe, Canada, and New York in the late 1950s and early 1960s, his relationship with fellow artist Joyce Wieland, and the interplay in his work between the visual arts, music, and film.
The first wave of Festival announcements has passed, and among the bombshells is the news that honourary Torontonian Guillermo del Toro’s latest film will premiere at TIFF ‘17. THE SHAPE OF WATER is many things — an aquatic love story between a lonely janitor (Sally Hawkins) and an amphibian, an ironic commentary on the American dream, a tribute to star Michael Shannon’s jawline — but fans of the auteur’s creature features and his twisted sense of humour will not be disappointed. Not only has del Toro made a moving ode to old Hollywood cinema, but it is also his most emotional and deftly realized work yet. One of the perks of having the Mexican filmmaker make his home in Toronto is del Toro’s annual Masterclass, held at TIFF Bell Lightbox. 2016 saw him lecture expertly on the work of Luis Buñuel, delivering in-depth analysis on the films Los Olvidados, El Bruto, Nazarin, Virdiana, Susana, and El. This week’s TIFF UN/CUT airs a masterclass conducted while del Toro was deep in production mode for 2015’s Crimson Peak. The topic of conversation is, naturally, Gothic romances, as the cineaste analyzes three films in his identification of the genre’s conventions. In this recording, you’ll hear del Toro do a deep dive into Robert Stevenson’s 1943 adaptation of Jane Eyre, which boasts an impressive pedigree in its cast and crew with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine starring as Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre, a score by Bernard Herrmann, and a script co-written by Brave New World author Aldous Huxley. It’s an engaging and fascination discussion from an auteur who's just as comfortable citing the Brontë sisters as he is breaking down Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series.
George A. Romero, the father of the zombie film and a fiercely independent filmmaker, passed away last week at the age of 77. On this week's episode of TIFF Un/cut, hear an in-depth conversation with Romero conducted by then-TIFF Midnight Madness Programmer Colin Geddes in 2012. From NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, his low-budget 1968 film which made tons of money at the box office and reframed the whole idea of the zombie in the public imagination, all the way through to his final film as director, 2009's SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, Romero's inventiveness and societal awareness were unparalleled. In this episode, you'll hear all about Romero's process of making movies, his take on modern zombie stories, and that time he and a very young Martin Scorsese got into a fight over a copy of a classic opera film.
Before he created the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, which inspired HBO's award-winning series GAME OF THRONES, George R.R. Martin was a kid growing up in an underserved neighbourhood, selling made-up stories for a penny each, until he raised his prices to a nickel. In this hour-long talk hosted by TIFF Cinematheque director Jesse Wente and recorded at TIFF in 2012 just before GAME OF THRONES' second season launched, Martin talks about how his childhood influenced his creative life, what he learned working in TV before GOT began, and how he built the massive and intricate world of Westeros.
This week on TIFF UN/CUT, hear a master class from the subject of a current retrospective. Something in the Air: The Cinema of Olivier Assayas traces the French auteur’s eclectic catalogue, from his early music videos for electro-pop stars Jacno and Winston Tong, to his documentary portrait of Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien, to his brilliant work in narrative film and his recent career-high collaborations with Kristen Stewart on CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA and PERSONAL SHOPPER, which have brought him even greater acclaim and a whole new audience. This week, you can catch Assayas’ first feature DISORDER, a portrait of France’s mid-’80s post-punk scene (and undoubtedly, a Joy Division reference), as well as his 2002 cyberthriller DEMONLOVER (which sports a score by Sonic Youth!). At the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, where Assayas presented his film SOMETHING IN THE AIR — a youthful and semi-autobiographical portrait of young political activists living in a Parisian suburb in the early ‘70s — the director also participated in an onstage master class moderated by Brad Deane, Senior Manager of TIFF Cinematheque and programmer of the current Assayas retrospective. You’ll hear how Olivier’s screenwriter father made him think twice about making movies early on in his career, which Bresson films blew his mind, and why he never intended to be a film critic for Cahiers du Cinéma.
As Canada celebrates its 150th birthday this weekend, it's time to look back at this country's greatest cinematic achievements. A sizeable amount come from Toronto filmmaker David Cronenberg, who having made 21 features between 1969 and 2014, has received top honours at Cannes, the Berlin Film Festival, and TIFF. In 1999, Cronenberg was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2002, and received Cannes’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. In 2014, after a worldwide exhibit of his film’s artifacts titled David Cronenberg: Evolution was held at TIFF, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada for his contribution as “Canada’s most celebrated internationally acclaimed filmmaker.” He also has the uncanny ability to make car crashes sexy and heads literally explode (the moment in SCANNERS, which inspired Morgan Spurlock to become a filmmaker). In fact, Canadian film would be nothing without his signature Cronenbergian "body horror." To honour a living legend, still making movies at age 74, we've unearthed a 2014 onstage talk between David and his two key collaborators, producer Jeremy Thomas and makeup and special effects designer Stephan Dupuis. You can listen to the full TIFF Uncut podcast below and if you're feeling festive, watch a free screening of Cronenberg's 1983 film VIDEODROME, part of a free Canada on Screen marathon of movies screening July 1 at TIFF Bell Lightbox.
What was Hollywood even like before Laverne Cox? The ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK star has made historic in-roads for the trans population, forever changing the conversation of representation in film and television after becoming the first openly transgendered actor and activist to win an Emmy Award and appear on the cover of Time magazine. In 2014, Laverne Cox came to TIFF for an in-depth "In Conversation With" during Toronto's World Pride Week celebrations, presented by TIFF and the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival. TIFF Un/cut lets you listen to the full discussion below, moderated by Wilson Cruz, Director of Entertainment Industry Partnerships at GLAAD (also known as the actor who played Ricky Vasquez on MY SO-CALLED LIFE).
On this episode of TIFF Un/cut, TIFF Kids short filmmakers Eduardo Bertaina (THE LOUDEST SILENCE), Arvid Klapper (BAKA), and Meloni Poole (TRIGGA) talk to host Chandler Levack about making films for - and starring - children. They discuss the idea that films for kids don’t need to be bouncy or animated (3:50), discuss collaborating with young actors (8:28), good strategies for getting strong performances from children (15:14), establishing a “parent/child” relationship between actors on set (20:20), tackling serious subjects in films aimed at children (22:50), the moment in childhood that makes you want to become a filmmaker (28:13), and the incredible intelligence of children as film viewers (33:35).
In his essay for the TIFF Cinematheque retrospective Not Reconciled: The Films of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet, James Quandt writes that “Even the pair’s non-operatic films feel musically composed and delivered.” It’s an observation which Stanford University’s Erik Ulman echoed in a recent talk he gave at the UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive. “One of the things that attracted me to Straub and Huillet’s work is that they are extraordinarily musical filmmakers,” says the composer and music lecturer, noting how the duo’s deep knowledge of music carries over into the way they compose both their soundtracks and their images. Ulman’s short talk, generously provided to us by our friends at BAM/PFA, is a fascinating introduction to both Straub-Huillet’s essential early films Not Reconciled, Machorka-Muff and The Bridegroom, the Comedienne and the Pimp (screening this Saturday, March 4) and to the team’s cinema in general. Thanks to Erik Ulman and Kathy Geritz, Film Curator at BAM/PFA.
Documentary audiences are growing everyday. With the rise of new exhibition platforms and an increased presence in the theatrical landscape, docs are a powerful medium to reach a wide audience. The activists, the anarchists, the voices of the disenfranchised - these documentarians use the burgeoning cinematic medium as a call to action and to ignite social change. This session was designed for an industry professional audience. Guest Hugh Gibson Guest Alethea Arnaquq-Baril Guest Jamie Kastner Guest Tiffany Hsiung Moderator Sarafina DiFelice
Documentary duo Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier of Mercury Films have collaborated on some of the most commercially successful and visually stunning documentaries in Canadian history, including Watermark and Manufactured Landscapes (selected by TIFF as one of 150 Definitive Works in the Canada on Screen programme). This conversation will explore their expansive body of work, including the upcoming films Man Machine Poem, documenting The Tragically Hip’s historic final tour, and Anthropocene, the third collaboration with renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky. This session was designed for an industry professional audience. Guest Jennifer Baichwal Jennifer Baichwal was born in Montreal and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. Her documentaries The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia (02) and Manufactured Landscapes (06) premiered at the Festival. Her other films include Act of God (09), Payback (12), and Watermark (13). Guest Nicholas de Pencier Nicholas de Pencier is a documentary filmmaker, producer, and director of photography. His cinematography work includes Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles (98), The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachia (02), The Hockey Nomad (03), and Al Purdy Was Here (15), and he also produced the award-winning Manufactured Landscapes (06), Act of God (09), and Watermark (13). Black Code (16) is his directorial debut. Moderator Sean Farnel Sean Farnel is an independent writer, producer, and marketing consultant. He has established himself as a leading curator of documentary media over a 15-year career at the Toronto International Film Festival and Hot Docs, and has collaborated with directors and producers while developing and executing market launch plans.
Canada’s impressive legacy of comedic talent led to the creation of enduring classics like SCTV, Kids in the Hall and Trailer Park Boys. Now, a new crop of talented voices have emerged on the Canadian television scene, reinvigorating the reputation of Canada’s comedic resonance at home and abroad. These cutting edge creators are here to discuss the serious business of being funny. This session was designed for an industry professional audience. Guest Jared Keeso Jared Keeso is an award-winning Canadian film and television actor. He had his television breakout role with Smallville (01–11), and also appeared in CBC’s Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story (10), for which he won a Gemini Award for Best Actor, and Bravo’s 19-2 (11–15). He has starred in the features Smokin’ Aces (07), Life as We Know It (10), A Beginner’s Guide to Endings (10), Elysium (13), and Godzilla (14). He also wrote, produced, and starred in the web series sensation Letterkenny Problems (13) on Funny or Die, and recently received a development deal to draft the show’s third season, which was reformatted as Letterkenny (16) for CraveTV and The Comedy Network. Guest Carolyn Taylor Carolyn Taylor is a Toronto-based writer and actor. She has written multiple seasons of This Hour Has 22 Minutes (93– ), for which she earned a Canadian Comedy Award, a Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award, and a Gemini nomination. Taylor has also written sketches and political commentary for CBC's The Hour (05–14) and YTV's That's So Weird (09–12). Her television acting credits include The Gavin Crawford Show (00–03), Sue Thomas F.B.Eye (02–05), Wild Card (03–05), and Queer as Folk (00–05), and she has also appeared in the features 19 Months (02) and Portrait of a Serial Monogamist (16). Taylor is the showrunner for the Baroness von Sketch Show (16), and she has written and acted in five original revues at The Second City. Guest Matt Johnson Matt Johnson was born in Toronto and studied film at York University. His debut feature,The Dirties(13), won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance. His other projects include Operation Avalanche (16) and nirvanna the band the show(16). Guest Jay McCarrol JAY MCCARROL is an accomplished Canadian musician, composer and actor. After co-creating and starring in the hit web series, Nirvana the Band the Show, he has composed music for over 50 film/theater/online projects. He served as the musical director at Second City in Toronto for several years and has written music for countless commercials including national spots for Bell Canada, Tylenol, Budweiser, and Coca-Cola. Brave Shores, a band started with Jay and Stefanie McCarrol, currently have national airplay on radio and television (Much Music). He is currently a co-creator, writer and actor on Nirvanna the Band the Show. Moderator Geoff Macnaughton Geoff Macnaughton was born in Toronto, Ontario. He has a Master's degree in Cinema and Media Studies from York University. He is the Senior Manager of TIFF's Industry team and co-host of the TIFF podcast Well, Nobody’s Perfect.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has made waves with recent changes to the access of Certified Independent Production Funds. These efforts have provided Canadian productions with more flexibility to secure funding and increase quality CanCon — affecting all corners of the industry, including actors, writers, producers, distributors, and broadcasters. We will unpack the terms of the new regulations and look at their impact on the future of independent film and television production in Canada. This session was designed for an industry professional audience. Guest John Bain Guest Dave Forget Guest Ferne Downey Guest Marcia Douglas
Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves is one of the most ambitious – and deliriously-titled – films to come out of Canada in a long, long time. Co-written and directed by the two young Montreal filmmakers Simon Lavoie and Mathieu Denis, the film posits what could have happened after the 2012 Quebec student protests, otherwise known as the “Maple Spring.” It also won the “Best Canadian Feature” award at TIFF '16 and is now screening as part of Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival. During TIFF '16, Lavoie and Denis spoke to TIFF CEO Piers Handling about their cinematic influences, inciting revolution, and creating a new era of Canadian film. http://www.tiff.net/canadas-top-ten/
In a wide-ranging conversation conducted at TIFF '16, experimental filmmakers Kazik Radwanksi and Matias Pineiro talk about their work, their process, and how they've developed their voices over the years. With discussion of working with actors and non-actors alike, the importance of doing work that is not in film in order to stay in touch with life, allowing chance to play a role, and many more insights, it's an invaluable look at the process of two of the most interesting filmmakers working today.
This screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by TIFF Artistic Director, Cameron Bailey, and TiKA The Creator, producer of #Gyalcast. The panel will feature CBC Arts writer Peter Knegt, co-founder of Collective of Black Artists, BaKari Lindsay, and filmmaker and founder of Black Women Film! Canada, Ella Cooper. Media Partner Vice Inc.
LGBTQ activist David France joins us for an extended conversation following a screening of his Oscar-nominated and Peabody Award–winning documentary How to Survive a Plague, and returns after the event for a book signing. This event is co-presented by Penguin Random House Canada.
"After the election, I got all these messages from people saying 'I didn't know what to do with myself. So I went and saw your film.' If people need to seek it out as a place of solace, or as a reminder that we can have empathy, I'm happy that I didn't wait any longer to make it." Moonlight Director, Barry Jenkins, talks about discovering another layer of his film's importance following the American election. See it now at TIFF Bell Lightbox: http://www.tiff.net/films/moonlight
In celebration of his highly anticipated memoir Testimony, legendary songwriter and guitarist Robbie Robertson joins George Stroumboulopoulos for a unique onstage conversation about his life, music, and artistic influences both with The Band and as a solo artist, as well as his collaborations with award-winning musicians and filmmakers such as Ronnie Hawkins, Bob Dylan, and Martin Scorsese.
Following a screening of Julie Taymor's acclaimed The Tempest, Canadian literary icon Margaret Atwood joins award-winning stage director and actress Martha Henry for a discussion of William Shakespeare's original play, Taymor's film adaptation, and Atwood's highly anticipated novel Hag-Seed, a re-telling of The Tempest as part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series.
Debuting at the height of the US-Soviet Space Race, Star Trek offered an alternative to the adversarial ideology then underlying space exploration in the United Federation of Planets. A kind of intergalactic United Nations, the Federation is dedicated to preserving peace between species, ridding the known universe of war, inequality, hunger, and disease, and upholding the values of cooperation, equality, justice and liberty for all. The Federation's utopian balance between principled interventionism and self-determination is embodied in the Prime Directive, which decrees that Starfleet — the combined military, scientific, and exploratory forces of the Federation — must not interfere with either the cultural evolution or internal politics of "pre-warp" civilizations to avoid impacting their independent development. A number of storylines in both series and films centre on threats to the Federation (from both within and outside), the precariousness of peace building, the difficulties of diplomacy, and the need to understand and accommodate cultural difference within a collective. This roundtable discussion on Star Trek, politics, and diplomacy brings together Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, feature-film writer and director Nicholas Meyer (director of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country) and Margaret Weitekamp, space history curator at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, to consider what the series can teach us about geopolitics and peace building.
Since its debut in 1966, Star Trek has inspired people to pursue their passions and dreams in a variety of fields, from science and engineering to technology and the arts. From Martin Cooper, who invented the portable cellular phone in 1973 inspired by Captain Kirk's communicator, to Dr. Mae Jemison, whose admiration of Nichelle Nichols' Lt. Uhura led her to realize her dream to become the first African American woman in space, Star Trek has motivated fans to realize its ideals in their own lives. Beyond inspiring individuals, Trek is used as a teaching tool by educators in courses on law and diplomacy, physics, information studies, and even philosophy and sociology. Its representation of real-world issues through metaphor and analogy engages with complex scientific and philosophical concepts for a mass audience, making the series itself a form of educational inquiry. This roundtable discussion on Star Trek and science education brings together Sonny Kohli, physician and co-founder of Cloud DX, Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, and STEAMLabs co-founder and Managing Director at the Royal Ontario Museum Marianne Mader, to consider how science can inspire art and art can inspire science, and how film and television projects like Star Trek can inspire careers in space, technology, math, arts, and engineering fields.
Premiering three years before Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon, Star Trek helped catalyze the public's curiosity about space travel and the existence of life beyond our planet, representing it not as unattainable fantasy but as a reality that was within our reach. Rooting the Enterprise's voyages within galaxies and constellations that were known to be in existence (the planet Vulcan may have been invented, but the star system it belongs to is entirely real), Star Trek also posited futuristic technologies based on imaginative extrapolations of the universe's physical laws, such as warp speed — a propulsion system that "bends" space-time to enable otherwise impossibly rapid travel across vast distances — and teleportation, which transmutes a person or object into an energy pattern and beams it to another location. While these technologies have yet to be realized (and may never be), the efforts to ground Star Trek in scientific fact has endeared it to the scientific community for decades. To explore the innovative ways in which Star Trek represented space travel and technology, we welcome Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen for a keynote presentation on Star Trek and space. Lt. Col. Hansen was one of two recruits selected in May 2009 through the third Canadian Astronaut Recruitment Campaign. While waiting for a flight assignment, Lt. Col. Hansen works at NASA's Mission Control Center as Capcom, the voice between the ground and the ISS. Join us on this voyage to the Final Frontier!
Nigeria has long been Africa's largest producer of film, and the second largest producer in the world. As TIFF's 2016 City to City programming reveals, Nigerian cinema in is in the midst of a contemporary new wave, with established and emerging directors, producers, talent, and crew creating rich cinematic storytelling. Guests for this discussion include: Mo Abudu - CEO, EbonyLife TV Funa Maduka - Content Stategist Wendy Mitchell - Film Programme Manager, British Council
Jonathan Olsberg is the Chairman of Olsberg-SPI, and a seasoned strategic adviser of many public and private media organizations. For over 25 years his company has helped screen agencies around the world to develop sustainable and viable independent film businesses. In this keynote speech, taken from TIFF's 2016 Industry Conference, Jonathan talks about how he see's film production driving the expansion of other creative industries, and why film's contribution to cultural capital needs to be recognized.
Canadian filmmakers Max Mcabe-Lokos and Bruce MacDonald worked together on the TIFF 13 film The Husband. Today they interview each about their new films at TIFF (McCabe-Lokos' short film Ape Sodom and MacDonald's road trip comedy Weirdoes) and talk about why they make movies.
You might know filmmaker Morgan Spurlock from the time he only ate McDonalds for several months, or the time he tried to captured Bin Laden. Here, he's joined by his producing partner Jeremy Chilnick to discuss his new Midnight Madness documentary Rats, which is about exactly what it sounds like.
An in-depth panel moderated by Patrick McGuire, Head of Content at VICE Canada, and featuring Loc Dao (Chief Digital Officer of the National Film Board of Canada), Yelena Rachitsky (Creative Producer and Head of Education, Oculus Story Studio), Ryan Oliver (Lead Producer, Developer-Owner, Pinnguaq Technology Inc.), and Ana Serrano (Chief Digital Officer, Canadian Film Centre). Patrick McGuire Head of Content, VICE Canada Patrick McGuire is a journalist and documentary producer who is currently Vice Canada's Head of Content. As Vice launched their Canadian TV network VICELAND this year, Patrick has been overseeing original television production as well as the brand's the youth-targeted digital and print journalism, which spans a network of 10 online channels and a monthly print magazine. He is also the producer of Vice Canada's first VR project, Cut-Off. Yelena Rachitsky Creative Producer and Head of Education at Oculus Story Studio Yelena Rachitsky is a Creative Producer at Oculus, pushing forward the efforts on creative outreach initiatives as well as sourcing and producing experiences for the Oculus platform. Prior to Oculus, she was the Creative Producer of the annual Future of Storytelling (FoST) Summit, an invitation-only event that gathers top executives, marketers, creatives, and technologists with the vision and influence to change how people communicate and tell stories in the digital age. Rachitsky is also a consultant for the Sundance Film Festival’s New Frontier program and spent four years in the documentary division at Participant Media, working on Food, Inc. and Waiting for Superman. Loc Dao Chief Digital Officer, National Film Board of Canada Loc Dao is co-founder of the groundbreaking NFB Digital and CBC Radio 3 studios and Chief Digital Officer of the National Film Board of Canada. The combination of his experience in digital strategy, editorial, web development, content production and architecting large-scale internet delivery systems brings a rare multi-dimensional approach that pushes the boundaries of what can be done with story, form and platform. Dao has received over 60 awards, including Canada's Top Digital Producer for 2011 at the Digi Awards, nine Webby Awards, two New York Festivals Grand Prizes, three Online Journalism Awards, a Prix Italia, the FWA Site of the Year 2012 and a Cannes Cyber Lion. His NFB credits include the interactive documentaries Bear 71, Welcome to Pine Point, Circa 1948, Waterlife, The Last Hunt and Cardboard Crash VR which have been credited with inventing the new form of the interactive documentary. Ana Serrano Chief Digital Officer, Canadian Film Centre Ana Serrano is the Chief Digital Officer of the CFC and Founder of CFC Media Lab, the world-renowned institute for interactive storytelling created in 1997. Most recently, she launched Canada's first digital entertainment accelerator, IDEABOOST, and serves as its Managing Director. To date, Serrano has directed the development of over 130 digital media projects and mentored over 50 start-ups. She has received numerous awards from the digital media, film, and theatre industries in both Canada and the US, including a Digital Media Trailblazing Award in 2015 from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Ryan Oliver Lead Producer, Developer, and Owner at Pinnguaq Ryan Oliver is Lead Producer and Developer of Pinnguaq Technology Inc. Based in Toronto, Iqaluit and Vancouver, Pinnguaq — which means “play” in Inuktitut — creates unique and exciting experiences that push the boundaries of cultural expression and technology. Focusing on film, virtual reality, gaming, education and app development, they combine a passion for culture and technology in projects that seek to both stimulate and entertain.
Ivan Reitman joins us for a conversation on women in comedy, and the backlash against Ghostbusters 3.
Award-winning novelist, memoirist and scholar André Aciman considers Eric Rohmer's influence on his own work in this introduction to the great French filmmaker's exquisite tale of erotic obsession and moral suspense. This is part of our Film Programme Dangerous Liaisons: The Films of Eric Rohmer. Our first retrospective in 20 years dedicated to the French New Wave master, whose films find the elusive nexus of sparkling wit, philosophical profundity, and erotic obsession. For more check out 3 Things You'll Get from From Films By Eric Rohmer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Dcu_qdMg2E or visit us at tiff.net
Celebrated writer and director Catherine Hardwicke discusses her journey from production designer to award-winning filmmaker of Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown, and Twilight, as well as her trailblazing advocacy work for gender parity in the film industry. This event is co-presented with Film Fatales Toronto. tiff.net
In collaboration with THE VERGE. Supported by: Anne-Marie Canning In July, we are delving into the incredible power of VR to put people in other people's lives. And also the challenges and questions that come with that power. Storytellers are only beginning to explore the potential for virtual reality to put people inside other perspectives — and other lives. In our second POP, you'll get the chance to experience some of the best work that's been done to date, and also to question the limits of the technology and the ethical questions it raises. From escapist fun (take a drive around Mars! Wander an alien world!) to crushing and immersive VR documentaries to a one-of-a-kind room-scale augmented reality experience, you will leave this installation with some new views on things. ROSS MILLER CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING EDITOR, THE VERGE Ross Miller is a cofounder and Managing Editor of The Verge. For over a decade, he has covered technology, gaming, entertainment, and all aspects of modern storytelling. He has followed virtual reality since early 2012 when John Carmack showed him a very early Oculus Rift prototype. He honestly didn't get it at the time. He's also really bad at writing bios, especially in the third person. ADI ROBERTSON SENIOR REPORTER, THE VERGE Adi Robertson is a Senior Reporter for The Verge. She has followed virtual reality since the original Oculus Rift’s unveiling in 2012, and her work includes a definitive oral history of VR, along with coverage of the medium’s science, technology, and culture. Besides VR, she also writes about video games, biohacking, science fiction, policy, and gender. SPEAKERS KATE PARSONS CO-FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, FLOAT Kate Parsons is a video artist and educator living in Los Angeles. Kate created FLOAT with co-founder Ben Vance as the collaborative arm of their two practices: Art and Interactivity. Together, the artists work with musicians, animators and filmmakers to form immersive visual music pieces. Much of Kate's practice involves the marriage of the visual and the aural, working with musicians and dancers to create inventive audio-visual experiences. She obtained her M.F.A. in Media Arts from UCLA in June of 2015, where her graduate studies involved research into the myriad ways humans mourn and express grief. BEN VANCE CO-FOUNDER/DIRECTOR, FLOAT & CREATOR/DIRECTOR, BUFFALO VISION AND GLITCH CITY Ben Vance is a director and creative collaborator who explores emerging technology, art and design. He has worked with Electronic Arts, independent game studios, galleries, VR startups, and with hummingbirds on back patios surrounded by succulents. He is a founding member of Glitch City, an LA-based art / tech / game collective, FLOAT with co-founder Kate Parsons, and Buffalo Vision, his company specializing in games and interactive VR. His current focus is exploring VR as a unique and paradigm-shifting medium. JEN COSTA SOUND DESIGNER/PRODUCER Jen is a lifelong video game, comics, and film fan. She is interested in the way these mediums provide innovative experiences that can help push the boundaries of traditional storytelling. These interests have led Jen to creative sound production in media industries from radio, TV and film to video games. She currently works as a freelance sound designer in games as well as a producer at Uken Games. She is a proud member of Dames Making Games and an enthusiastic member of the Toronto gaming community. PATRICK OSBORNE DIRECTOR/ANIMATOR Patrick is an accomplished animator who won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2014 for his directorial debut, Disney's Feast. He is known for his animation work on films such as Wreck-It Ralph and Bolt. He directed Pearl, which is featured at POP 02, for Google's Spotlight Stories. Dames Making Games Funktronic Labs Henry Faber, New Tropics/Gamma Space Collaborative Studio Josh Randall
In collaboration with THE VERGE. Supported by: Anne-Marie Canning In July, we are delving into the incredible power of VR to put people in other people's lives. And also the challenges and questions that come with that power. Storytellers are only beginning to explore the potential for virtual reality to put people inside other perspectives — and other lives. In our second POP, you'll get the chance to experience some of the best work that's been done to date, and also to question the limits of the technology and the ethical questions it raises. From escapist fun (take a drive around Mars! Wander an alien world!) to crushing and immersive VR documentaries to a one-of-a-kind room-scale augmented reality experience, you will leave this installation with some new views on things. ROSS MILLER CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING EDITOR, THE VERGE Ross Miller is a cofounder and Managing Editor of The Verge. For over a decade, he has covered technology, gaming, entertainment, and all aspects of modern storytelling. He has followed virtual reality since early 2012 when John Carmack showed him a very early Oculus Rift prototype. He honestly didn't get it at the time. He's also really bad at writing bios, especially in the third person. ADI ROBERTSON SENIOR REPORTER, THE VERGE Adi Robertson is a Senior Reporter for The Verge. She has followed virtual reality since the original Oculus Rift’s unveiling in 2012, and her work includes a definitive oral history of VR, along with coverage of the medium’s science, technology, and culture. Besides VR, she also writes about video games, biohacking, science fiction, policy, and gender. SPEAKERS PAUL RAPHAËL CO-FOUNDER/CREATIVE DIRECTOR, FELIX & PAUL STUDIOS Paul is a filmmaker and visual artist based in Montreal. With a combined passion for cinematic storytelling, visual effects and technology, he teamed up with collaborator Félix Lajeunesse and created award-winning stereoscopic 3D films, multimedia installations and commercials presented across the world. The two directors founded Felix & Paul Studios, now recognized as a pioneer and key player in the fast-growing industry of virtual reality content. LISA JACKSON FILMMAKER Lisa Jackson comes from a documentary background and her work has played at festivals internationally — including the Berlinale, SXSW, London BFI, HotDocs, and Edinburgh — and been broadcast on CBC, CTV, TMN, Bravo!, Knowledge, SCN, and APTN. Jackson’s films have garnered numerous awards and in 2012 the ReelWorld Festival named her a Trailblazer. She is Anishinaabe, has a BFA in Film Production from Simon Fraser University, has completed the Canadian Film Centre’s Directors’ Lab, and works in both fiction and documentary. She is the Director Mentor for the National Screen Institute's Aboriginal Documentary Training Program. ALEX WILLIAMS FILMMAKER Alex Williams is a Toronto-based multi-disciplinary artist, working in documentary and narrative film, theatre, and still photography. His most recent film, The Pass System, is an investigative documentary into an illegal segregationist practice of the Canadian government that has played widely in festivals and communities across Canada, and was broadcast on CBC and APTN. Alex teaches video design at the National Theatre School of Canada, is a member of Canadian Actor’s Equity Association, the Documentary Organization of Canada. He is President of the artist-run centre Charles Street Video, and sits on the boards of Indigenous Theatre Company Article 11, and the Toronto Media Arts Centre (TMAC).
In collaboration with the FADER and supported by: Anne-Marie Canning. This past June we explored the intersection of VR, music and art with a pop-up installation at TIFF Bell Lightbox that was filled with beauty, delight and surprises (like moss-covered headsets that we're pretty sure will show up on Paris runways soon). Along with the exhibition we invited Industry experts, creatives, and artists to talk on the past, present, and future of virtual reality. MODERATOR: JOSEPH PATEL VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT + CREATIVE AT THE FADER Joseph Patel is Vice President of Content + Creative at The FADER, leading the award-winning publication through international expansion and development of award-winning programming. Patel has produced a content slate that includes documentaries, scripted shorts, music videos, festival livestreams and social videos. SPEAKERS IN THIS PANEL: JON RIERA CO-FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF COMBO BRAVO Jon Riera is the co-founder, executive producer and creative director of Combo Bravo, a company specializing in 360 video and virtual reality production. He has a keen interest in traditional cinema and a passion for the camera. He's an award-winning film maker in narrative and music video content, and is a practicing cinematographer and freelance director. With a keen hunger for arts and culture from all over the world, Riera has been able to translate those experiences into visual storytelling. CONNOR ILLSLEY CO-FOUNDER, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER AND TECHNICAL DIRECTOR OF COMBO BRAVO Connor Illsley is the co-founder, executive producer and technical director of Combo Bravo, a company specializing in 360 video and virtual reality production. A long time collaborator with business partner Jon Riera, Illsley specializes in postproduction, editorial, and sound design. He graduated from Sheridan College in 2013 with a degree in Media Arts, and has since freelanced for some of the top production houses and agencies throughout Toronto. KAREN VANDERBORGHT VIDEO ARTIST, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER, DOP, EDITOR Karen Vanderborght studied at the LUCA School of Arts in Brussels and never lost that typical Belgian imaginative touch. Her cross-platform career stretches from curating the Brussels underground media art scene to creating documentary content for Canadian broadcasters. She picked up a wide range of technical skills, capturing the story alive as a DP, letting the tale testify as an editor, and boldly running with it as a producer and director. Unafraid to code and play with interactive tools, Vanderborght embraces new technologies to take content to spaces where it has never gone before. SPECIAL THANKS: Dames Making Games Funktronic Labs Henry Faber, New Tropics/Gamma Space Collaborative Studio Josh Randall
In collaboration with the FADER and supported by: Anne-Marie Canning. This past June we explored the intersection of VR, music and art with a pop-up installation at TIFF Bell Lightbox that was filled with beauty, delight and surprises (like moss-covered headsets that we're pretty sure will show up on Paris runways soon). Along with the exhibition we invited Industry experts, creatives, and artists to talk on the past, present, and future of virtual reality. MODERATOR: JOSEPH PATEL VICE PRESIDENT OF CONTENT + CREATIVE AT THE FADER Joseph Patel is Vice President of Content + Creative at The FADER, leading the award-winning publication through international expansion and development of award-winning programming. Patel has produced a content slate that includes documentaries, scripted shorts, music videos, festival livestreams and social videos. SPEAKERS IN THIS PANEL: ADAM ROBEZZOLI PARTNER, NEW TROPICS Adam Robezzoli is the founding member of Attract Mode and a co-founder at LA Game Space. He is also half of New Tropics, a Canadian/American company he runs along with Henry Faber, which built the VR project Light Spirit. ERSIN HAN ERSIN DIRECTOR, MARSHMALLOW LASER FEAST Ersin Han Ersin is a visual artist and director who is focused on the interaction between virtual spaces, light and body, and the tension between real and synthesized experiences. He has designed, directed, and collaborated with the likes of New Movement Collective Nest, Imogen Heap - "Me the Machine," and Marshmallow Laser Feast on In the Eyes of The Animals. Han’s work has been exhibited around the world including the Lisbon Triennial, Istanbul Design Biennale, Sundance Film Festival, and at showcases in London, New York, and Shanghai. In addition to producing commissioned art projects, Han also works as Director at the technology-driven art collective Marshmallow Laser Feast. HENRY FABER VR CONSULTANT Henry Faber is a consultant focused on fostering creative, inclusive, collaborative communities. He is also the co-curator of TIFF's summer POP series. SPECIAL THANKS: Dames Making Games Funktronic Labs Henry Faber, New Tropics/Gamma Space Collaborative Studio Josh Randall
Whisky expert Heather Greene joins us for a screening of Ken Loach's award-winning caper comedy and discusses the role that whisky has played in the history of cinema. This concludes our Food on Film Series for 2016. For more information on other upcoming series, visit tiff.net
Following our free screening of Sean Baker's Tangerine, we were honoured to welcome star Mya Taylor — who this year became the first transgender actress to win a major film prize when she took home an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female — for an onstage conversation. For more events like these and information on our upcoming Higher Learning's visit http://tiff.net/summer2016-series
Stage director and Olivier Award–winning actor Kathryn Hunter takes us behind the scenes of Julie Taymor's innovative production of Shakespeare's immortal fantasy. For more information on this series and more visit tiff.net/books
Cheryl Strayed joins us for a screening of Wild, part of TIFF's 2016 Books on Film Series and reflects on Jean-Marc Vallée's acclaimed adaptation of her best-selling 2012 memoir.
A 2006 Hot Docs Film Festival Interview with Werner Herzog. This Friday sees the return of the director with his new film Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World playing 9:45pm at TIFF Bell Lightbox. For tickets visit: http://boxoffice.hotdocs.ca/WebSales/pages/info.aspx?evtinfo=50928~edeed7b8-5598-4ac6-994a-ca71bc407bc4&epguid=1982376d-17a7-4bb4-9959-f38bb053d10d&
Ridley Scott and Yaphey Kotto from our 2003 TIFF Dialogues event screening the director's cut. We bring his film back to the big screen April 7th at TIFF Bell Lightbox. For tickets visit http://tiff.net/winter2016-cinematheque/tiff-cinematheque-special-screenings-winter-2016/alien
Film scholar Sara Saljoughi discusses the role of women in Kiarostami's oeuvre and the film’s confrontation with "the look" in post-revolutionary Iranian cinema. For more information on TIFF Cinemathque saluting the Iranian master with this deluxe retrospective, check out The Wind Will Carry Us: The Films of Abbas Kiarostami. http://tiff.net/winter2016-cinematheque/the-wind-will-carry-us-the-films-of-abbas-kiarostami
Tatiana Maslany, TIFF Rising Stars alumna and critically acclaimed star of television's Orphan Black, joins Toronto International Film Festival Artistic Director Cameron Bailey for an onstage conversation about her diverse film career and rapid rise to stardom. Tatiana Maslany was born in Regina. Her starring role in Grown Up Movie Star (10) won her the World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Acting at the Sundance Film Festival. Selected as a TIFF Rising Star at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, Maslany went on to earn best performance awards at the 2012 Whistler International Film Festival and the 2013 ACTRA Awards for her role as a troubled teenager in Picture Day (12). Her feature credits also include Violet & Daisy (11), The Vow (12), Blood Pressure (12), Cas and Dylan (14), and Woman in Gold (15). She has garnered numerous accolades for her role on the critically acclaimed Canadian sci-fi series Orphan Black (13–), including Critics' Choice Television Awards and Canadian Screen Awards for best lead actress in a drama series, as well as Golden Globe, Emmy, and SAG Award nominations. Maslany's upcoming feature work includes a starring role opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in Stronger (16), based on a memoir by a Boston Marathon bombing survivor; Oscar-nominated director Kim Nguyen's Two Lovers and a Bear (16) alongside Dane DeHaan; and The Other Half (16).
Irish-Canadian co-production Room, the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival’s People's Choice Award winner, has been building momentum as one of the strong award contenders of the year. Find out from the team behind the powerful film on the road to bring this novel to life and how Canada played an important role in its success.
Kiefer Sutherland joins Festival Artistic Director Cameron Bailey for an intimate discussion about his stellar career, from his formative years in Toronto and his breakout role in Daniel Petrie's acclaimed Canadian film The Bay Boy, through Hollywood stardom and his Golden Globe-, Emmy- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winning work on television's 24, to his acclaimed performance in Forsaken, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September. Kiefer Sutherland was born in England and raised in Toronto. A film star since the 1980s, he gained his most recent international acclaim for his lead role as Jack Bauer on television’s 24 (06-10), winning a Golden Globe, an Emmy, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for best actor in a drama series. He reprised the role in the miniseries 24: Live Another Day (14). Sutherland has been acting professionally since he was a teenager and made his lead debut in Daniel Petrie’s feature The Bay Boy (84), which earned him a Genie Award nomination for best actor. His many other film credits include Stand By Me (86), The Lost Boys (87), Young Guns (88), 1969 (88), Flatliners (90), A Few Good Men (92), The Vanishing (93), The Three Musketeers (93), A Time to Kill (95), Phone Booth (03), The Sentinel (06), Lars von Trier’s Melancholia (11), Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist (12), and, alongside Donald Sutherland, Forsaken (15), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. His extensive voice work includes the English version of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes (14) and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (15), from the bestselling videogame franchise. Category
Chef David Chang of the restaurant Momofuku sits down with us to talk about Ang Lee's 1994 film Eat Drink Man Woman and discuss all things food, film, and culture. Now in its fifth season, Food on Film brings together chefs, food experts and film lovers to enjoy the best in culinary cinema and conversation. Host Naomi Duguid welcomes celebrated guests from the culinary world to discuss the intersections of cinema, culture and gastronomy. Check it out at http://tiff.net/winter2016-series/food-on-film-1
As part of the fourth national poll for Canadian Open Vault: The All-Time Top Ten, Guy Maddin provided an introduction to his film My Winnipeg, and disscused a desire to mythologize his prairie hometown through a blurring of fact and fiction. This event was held on July 19, 2015 at TIFF Bell Lightbox and was hosted by Steve Gravestock, Senior Programmer, Festival Programming, TIFF. To learn more about our upcoming events at TIFF Bell Lightbox and to access the Higher Learning Digital Resource Hub, including bibliographies, filmographies, and additional resources associated with this event, visit http://www.tiff.net/higherlearning
Following a screening of his Cannes-winning film The Missing Picture, Rithy Panh discussed his approach to the representation of suffering under the Khmer Rouge regime. Co-presented with Visible Evidence, with the support of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Consulate General of France in Toronto, the Asian Institute at the University of Toronto, the Dr. David Chu Program in Asia Pacific Studies and the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, this Higher Learning event was held on August 20, 2015 at TIFF Bell Lightbox and was hosted by Deirdre Boyle, Associate Professor in the School of Media Studies at The New School in New York. To learn more about our upcoming events at TIFF Bell Lightbox and to access the Higher Learning Digital Resource Hub, including bibliographies, filmographies, and additional resources associated with this event, visit http://www.tiff.net/higherlearning
Digital Is So Fragile | RICK PRELINGER on the future of film by TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival)
John Landis (director of National Lampoon's Animal House, The Blues Brothers, and An American Werewolf in London) joins us for an extended introduction and post-screening discussion of this Harryhausen classic, which includes some of the stop-motion master's greatest creations.
http://tiff.net/education/events/robe... Following a screening of Johnny Stecchino, Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi discussed their shared lifetime of work for the Higher Learning audience of postsecondary students and faculty. Co-presented with the Italian Contemporary Film Festival and in partnership with the University of Toronto, this Higher Learning event was held on June 5, 2015 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Visit the Higher Learning Digital Resource Hub to learn more about our upcoming events at TIFF Bell Lightbox and to access bibliographies, filmographies and additional resources associated with this event. http://www.tiff.net/education/events
In this talk, Rick Prelinger, Founder of the Prelinger Archives and Associate Professor of Film & Digital Media at UC Santa Cruz, sets out a number of possible visions for the future of archives, and discusses some of the innovations that many cultural heritage institutions have already begun to experiment with today.
http://tiff.net/education/events/past-present-future-visualization Chris Edwards, CEO of The Third Floor, described the humble beginnings of previsualization, a digital form of storyboarding that renders lighting, camera placement and movement to allow filmmakers to visually experiment and conceptualize complex effects. Panelists included: CEO of The Third Floor Chris Edwards; visual effect supervisor at Spin VFX Wes Sewell; and John Helliker, director of SIRT (Screen Industries Research and Training Centre) and Film and Television professor at Sheridan College, who moderated. In partnership with Sheridan College, Ryerson University, CILECT, and Adobe, this Higher Learning event was held on February 15, 2015 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. To learn more about our upcoming events at TIFF Bell Lightbox and to access the Higher Learning Digital Resource Hub visithttp://www.tiff.net/higherlearning
Following the screening of short films directed by each panelist, the discussion explored the processes behind the work of three Cuban women filmmakers as they navigate their experiences as immigrants while trying to maintain a sense of collective Cuban identity. Panelists included: cinematographer, photographer and director Heidi Hassan; award winning actress Yanay Penalba,; and director Tamara Segura. The panel was moderated by Zaira Zarza, a cultural studies doctoral candidate at Queen’s University whose current research focuses on post-2000 Cuban diasporic cinemas. In collaboration with Zarza’s Roots and Routes: Cuban Diasporic Cinemas of the 21st Century project, this Higher Learning event was held on April 2, 2015 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. To learn more about our upcoming events at TIFF Bell Lightbox and to access the Higher Learning Digital Resource Hub visithttp://www.tiff.net/higherlearning
This conversation is taken from Natalie's career spanning sit down with TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey on September 9 2015 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto.
Part four of our Horizontal Case Study — which unpacks the 2014 Festival selection Spring — explores the mixed-model of distribution, and how it maximizes both online and theatrical release strategies. This case study takes one independent film property from last year’s Official Selection and analyzes that film’s creative, financing, marketing and distribution. Sessions in this case study series include Managing the Directorial Collaboration (Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead), Structuring the Co Production with Italy (Luca Legnani), A New Niche Of Genre-bending Film (Nate Bolotin, Raffaella Del Vecchio), and The Modern Distribution Model (Tim League, Janet Brown).
Part three of our Horizontal Case Study of the 2014 Festival selection Spring examines the unique strategy the filmmakers employed when marketing their outside-the-box concept film — a supernatural twist on Before Sunrise. This case study takes one independent film property from last year’s Official Selection and analyzes that film’s creative, financing, marketing and distribution. Sessions in this case study series include Managing the Directorial Collaboration (Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead), Structuring the Co Production with Italy (Luca Legnani), A New Niche Of Genre-bending Film (Nate Bolotin, Raffaella Del Vecchio), and The Mixed Distribution Model (Tim League, Janet Brown).
How does the creative team pull together all the finishing touches? How do these concepts manifest differently in TV vs Film? Some of the most acclaimed showrunners in the business lead a panel discussion on the rise and mastery of their craft, and the nuances of the creator process.
Join expert technologists and creatives as we discuss the impact of Atmos on the creative process and their work using the Festival selection Hyena Road as a case study. Dolby Atmos technology ‘pushes’ sound to a place in a 3D space, giving the audience the feeling of an immersive sound world. This session explores storytelling and how to use sound to build a world and transport an audience.
Working in China can be a mystery for everyone involved. Learn from these seasoned professionals as they discuss their journey entering and navigating the Chinese market. Guests will reflect on how they established themselves and developed the valuable relationships that have propelled their desirability as producing partners for Chinese projects.
What we see on screen and behind the scenes often formulates the ideas and principles that we use to contextualize our daily realities. Too often, we are presented with representations in which stories of diversity are either stereotyped or totally absent. How can we change this? Top entertainment creators and executives will discuss how technology, entertainment and media should promote narratives that feature underrepresented demographics, creating new onscreen and behind the scenes realities.
This panel discussion featured different perspectives from Canada's Top Ten Film Festival guests on what makes a film Canadian and was held on January 10, 2014 at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Panelists included: University of Alberta film scholar and Canada's Top Ten Film Festival panelist Liz Czach, Senior Programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival Steve Gravestock, and Canada's Top Ten Film Festival guests, directors Jeff Barnaby (Rhymes for Young Ghouls) and Alan Zweig (When Jews Were Funny). Visit the Higher Learning Digital Resource Hub to learn more about our upcoming events at TIFF Bell Lightbox and to access bibliographies, filmographies and additional resources associated with this event.
The Grand Budapest Hotel's lead graphic designer Annie Atkins joins post-secondary students and faculty for a behind-the-scenes look at some of Grand Budapest's unique graphic design elements. See more at http://tiff.net/higherlearning
Hitting a new high this year with her critically acclaimed performance in the official Festival selection I Smile Back, actor, activist, author, producer, and no-holds-barred comedian Sarah Silverman joins us for a far-ranging onstage conversation that will explore her inspiring and dizzyingly diverse career. Irreverent and incisive, iconoclastic and hilarious, Sarah Silverman grew to prominence as a no-holds-barred comedian, a fearless master of taboo-busting social satire. Yet beyond the boundaries of stand-up comedy, Silverman has proven herself a propulsive cultural force on numerous fronts. From her early appearances on Saturday Night Live and Mr. Show with Bob and David to her concert film Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic and sitcom The Sarah Silverman Program, she has been a singular onscreen presence — with multiple Emmy nominations and two wins to show for it. She is a shrewd producer, an outspoken activist, and a gifted writer. Her memoir The Bedwetter: Stories of Courage, Redemption, and Pee was entertaining, articulate, revealing, and audacious. (The book's solemn afterword is attributed to God.) As an actor, Silverman has revealed an emotional and tonal range that few who admire her comic chops would likely have foreseen. In Sarah Polley's Take This Waltz, Silverman gave an arresting performance as a recovering alcoholic. On the television series Masters of Sex, she has a highly memorable recurring role as a lesbian trying to lead a fulfilling romantic life. Now, in Adam Salky's stunning feature I Smile Back, screening at this year's Festival, Silverman stars as a seemingly contented middle-class suburban wife and mother who struggles secretly with depression, substance abuse, and dangerous compulsions. The role affords Silverman the opportunity to show the wealth of creativity, craft, and candidness at her disposal as she imbues her character with a disarming rawness and humanity. And this onstage conversation with Silverman is our opportunity to explore in-depth her dizzyingly diverse and inspiring career.
Pam Grier introduces Quentin Tarantino's worshipful homage to her action-hero past. Pam Grier is a film, stage and television actor, author, and philanthropist. Best known for her performances in the early '70s features Coffy, Foxy Brown, and Sheba Baby, she later starred in the Quentin Tarantino's Jackie Brown, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. She was the first black woman to appear on the cover of Ms. Magazine, was named as one of Ebony Magazine's "100 Most Fascinating Women of the 20th Century," and the recipient of the Career Achievement Award at the 34th Annual Chicago International Film Festival.
The Martian Press Conference at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015 featuring cast and crew including: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels, Michael Peña, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sean Bean, Kate Mara, Mackenzie Davis, author Andy Weir and director Ridley Scott. Things you will learn about: Matt Damon's time at a Turkish bath with one of his castmates; the giant wall that the U.S. is building to keep out Canadians (Mackenzie Davis gets to stay in the States because of her powerful friends); how that Donald Glover fall happened; Michael Peña's claim to be the first Mexican in space (seriously, he wants you to remember that); and some very low-tech methods for making Hollywood stars look like they're floating. There are so many interesting people on this panel you will never be bored.
Our Brand is Crisis Press Conference at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015 featuring cast and crew including: Sandra Bullock, Zoe Kazan, producer George Clooney, writer Peter Straughan and director David Gordon Green. Things you will learn: What age Sandra Bullock lost her virginity; Where the final quote in the film originated; That the main role was originally written for a man;
Demolition Press Conference at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015 featuring cast and crew including: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper, Judah Lewis, writer Bryan Sipe and director Jean-Marc Vallée. Things you will learn: Jake Gylenhaal describes the techniques used by Jean-Marc Vallée in shooting Demolition and the effect that it had on him as an actor; The origins of the title from writer Bryan Sipe; Jake doesn't do shoutouts.
LEGEND Press Conference at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015 featuring cast and crew including: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning and director Brian Helgeland. Things you will learn: Tom Hardy is here to talk about LEGEND. Tom Hardy is not here to talk about The Revenant. Or his sex life, obviously; Emily Browning overthinks a lot of things in her life, but preparing for a role is not one of them; recreating '60s London required a whole bunch of stitching different locations together, as well as replacing hip-hop parties with churches; Brian Helgeland doesn't believe every legend about the Krays, but this is his LEGEND about them; Tom has crooked teeth.
The people who finance movies speak a different language. Learn how to speak “finance-ese,” and get a leg up on building relationships and working with financiers. Speakers: Charles King (Founder and CEO, MACRO), Tara Parker (Partner, Entertainment Group, Goodmans LLP), John Vandervelde (Co-Founder, The Entertainment and Media Finance Group Inc.) and moderator Adam Leipzig (COO, CreativeFutures)
How is data being used to determine script decisions? Is this the future of creative development, or are we diminishing the importance of the human touch in generating the emotional response? In this expert panel session, some of the most knowledgeable futurists in the industry will explore the role and future of data in entertainment. Speakers: Gary Faber (CEO at ERM Research), Michael Gottwald (Producer and Partner, Court 13 and Field Office Films), Evette Vargas (CEO and Co-Founder, Executive Producer, Digital-Reign), Jack Zhang(Founder, Green Light Essentials), Renee Robinson( Industry Programmer, TIFF)
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, co-directors of last year’s Festival hit Spring, offer a candid session on the collaborative process, from creative and financing, to marketing and distribution. This case study takes one independent film property from last year’s Official Selection and analyzes that film’s creative, financing, marketing and distribution. Sessions in this case study series include Managing the Directorial Collaboration (Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead), Structuring the Co Production with Italy (Luca Legnani), A New Niche Of Genre-bending Film (Nate Bolotin, Raffaella Del Vecchio), and The Mixed Distribution Model (Tim League, Janet Brown).
Using the case study of Festival selection Ninth Floor, this session will examine the delicate role of music in story-telling. We will discuss the creative process, what a composer can (or cannot!) do for a film, and the difference between music and sound design. In Collaboration With the Screen Composers Guild of Canada.
BLACK MASS Press Conference at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015 featuring cast and crew including: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton, Rory Cochrane, Jesse Plemons, Kevin Bacon, Dakota Johnson, Julianne Nicholson, Peter Sarsgaard, David Harbour and director Scott Cooper
HIGH RISE Press Conference at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015 featuring cast and crew including: Tom Hiddleston, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, producer Jeremy Thomas and director Ben Wheatley. Things you will learn: The casts interpretation of the original book this film is based on; The cast explains how working with Ben Wheatley is different than working with any other director; Tom Hiddleston has never to his knowledge eaten dog; Ben Wheatley loves ABBA.
Part two of our Horizontal Case Study — which unpacks the 2014 Festival selection Spring — outlines the process of working with Italian co-producers. This case study takes one independent film property from last year’s Official Selection and analyzes that film’s creative, financing, marketing and distribution. Sessions in this case study series include Managing the Directorial Collaboration (Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead), Structuring the Co Production with Italy (Luca Legnani), A New Niche Of Genre-bending Film (Nate Bolotin, Raffaella Del Vecchio), and The Mixed Distribution Model (Tim League, Janet Brown).
ROOM Press Conference at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015 featuring cast and crew including: Brie Larson, Jacob Tremblay, Joan Allen, author Emma Donoghue and director Lenny Abrahamson. Things you will learn: Emma Donaghue's reasoning for where the location of the book is set; How Brie Larson prepared for the role and the effects it had on her; How Jacob Tremblay was cast for the role.
The annual Golden Globe Awards, presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, celebrates the best in motion pictures and television; and largely sets the standard of what the broad cinephile public comes to understand as ‘acclaim’ within the industry. The Association views, interviews, and reports on over 300 films each year all around the world in preparation for the Awards. With insight on some of the most talked-about films campaigns of the year, Lorenzo Soria, President of the HFPA will address trends emerging in marketing and exhibition, and what this means for the success of a film’s campaign towards the Awards Season. Speaker: Lorenzo Soria (President, Hollywood Foreign Press Association)
CITY TO CITY: LONDON Press Conference at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015 featuring directors: George Amponsah(The Hard Stop), Michael Caton-Jones(Urban Hymn), Elaine Constantine (Northern Soul), David Farr (The Ones Below), Tom Geens (Couple in a Hole) and Paul Katis (Kilo Two Bravo). Things you will learn: This mix of filmmakers have a compelling and divided opinion on the class structure that still remains in London.
ANOMALISA - Indiewire @ The Festival featuring Charlie Kaufman, Duke Johnson, Rosa Tran and moderated by Eric Kohn Things you will learn: Charlie Kaufman's motivation for making this film that took over two years of production; This film was made possible through Kickstarter; Charlie Kaufman discusses the difficulties in getting projects funded due to the current state of the industry.
MAN DOWN Press Conference at the Toronto International Film Festival 2015 featuring cast and crew including: Shia LaBeouf, Kate Mara, writer Adam Simon and director Dito Montiel. Things you will learn: Adam Simon actually wrote the feature while he was living on the street; Shia LaBeouf discusses taking home elements of the characters they portray; Kate and Shia have no idea about what is going to happen to the future of our world.
WHERE TO INVADE NEXT - Indiewire @ The Festival with director Michael Moore and moderated by Anne Thompson Things you will Learn: The reasons Michael Moore made this film; He is shy, introverted and wishes someone else could make these films sometimes; Michael puts it quite simple "Things get better when women are at table".
SON OF SAUL - Indiewire @ The Festival with director László Nemes Things you will learn: Director László Nemes had some real difficulties in getting this WWII holocaust drama into production, but this acted as further motivation to have it made; He discusses how a range of people have interpreted the film differently, from holocaust survivors; He loves film and discusses using it for Son of Saul and it's effect on both the production but also the crew.