Monthly Archives:
May 2013

Charles Bradley Image: KinoSmith

Charles Bradley is a man with many a story to tell… and has the voice that makes us feel his pain, loss, and love. In Charles Bradley: Soul of America, we come to know the man who, at 62 years-old, is embarking on a musical career.

Director Poull Brien takes us on a journey between past and present. Throughout the film we come to learn about Bradley’s childhood, how his mother moved to New York, leaving him and his siblings behind. Eventually, Bradley and siblings move to New York, where life was not easy. Barely a teen, he ends up on the street, sleeping on subway cars, trying to find his way somehow. He then moves to California and works as a James Brown impersonator for years; this was a means to an end. But one thing is certain, music is always going to be an important part of Bradley’s life.

In comes Daptone Records – the same label who made Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings well-known throughout the world – to assist Bradley in making his musical career not just a distant dream. With help from producer and Grammy-winner Gabriel Roth and musician and label owner Tommy Brenneck (Dunham Records), Bradley leaves his James Brown covers behind and is able to find his own voice.

Throughout the film we see Bradley record his debut album No Time For Dreaming, while still dealing with the everyday struggles of paying the bills, taking care of his ailing mother, and keeping his home. Bradley’s generous nature is apparent in everything he does; from his close relationship to his mother to his interactions with friends, neighbours, and even his audience. Thus, not only do we come to know his story but also his dedication to his passion, music.

So you may be wondering… another documentary about music? Yes, that is correct. However, the film contains a very personal story, as well as, some interviews with Bradley, his friends, and family. But it also adds his music and singing for good measure. Bradley is not only a talented person, without question, but he is also a kind soul… and that is what comes through the film and his music.

Charles Bradley: Soul of America opens in Toronto today, Friday, May 31st, at the Bloor Cinema. The film will have other Canadian releases throughout the year. Visit kinosmith.com for full details.

Image: Eric Farache

I first came across Eric Farache‘s artwork at Hashtag Gallery for their Just My Type Exhibition back in March this year. I like Farache’s Talking Heads series, the interesting ‘tag lines’, and his use of watercolours in his works.

Farache will present more of his works in Quixtopia opening tomorrow, Saturday, May 25th, at loop Gallery. I asked Farache to describe his work for the upcoming show for us, and here is what he shared…

The work is something that I have been working on, running from and returning to since I finished my Masters in 2000. Back then, I was interested in architecture; I wanted to follow a narrative of a product and it just got me turned onto GI Joes from the 1970s, something that I have never really forgot about from my own childhood. 

I started thinking about how dinosaurs become fossils, fossil fuels, petroleum becomes plastic and that is made to look like a person for a kid to love and i never really had the same interest in architecture! I was just obsessed with the anthropomorphic quality of the whole thing. So the style of my show is something that has been growing and evolving in my sketchbooks all along. Add to that the whole coming of age elements of playing with toys and 1970s pornography I would see of my brothers and you have a classic child’s rock opera.

Essentially Quixtopia combines visions from Farache’s boyhood and adulthood, a future where magical creatures and naked ladies could both exist.

Image: loop Gallery – work by Eric Farache

Farache received a Masters in Fine Art from the University of Leeds, and is an Alumni of the Ontario College of Art in Toronto where he lives and works. Trained in classical painting techniques, he has been working in photography for the past 10 years, while maintaining elaborate sketchbooks as part of his artist practice. Quixtopia, is Farache’s second show of larger painted works with loop Gallery.

Joining Farache for this show is fellow loop Gallery member artist, Larry Eisenstein. His collection of works is entitled Negative Capable. Eisenstein’s works incorporate poet John Keat’s interpretation of negative capability to the heart, philosopher Roberto Unger’s to the body, and psychoanalyst Wiflred Bion’s to the mind. Eisenstein is a Toronto-based visual artist who teaches art at Humber College. His work has been placed in private collections across North America.

You can join Farache and Eisenstein in celebrating the exhibition opening tomorrow, May 25th from 2-5 PM. As well, you can learn more about the artists’ work during a Q&A session with moderator, Oleksandr Wlasenko on Saturday, June 8th, at 2 PM.

360 Screenings, the interactive screening series, is back with their fifth event. After four sold-out productions, 360 Screenings is expanding to include two days and three separate screening times on May 31st and June 1st, each offering the same immersive experience.

Not only is 360 Screenings is a fusion of live performance, theatre and film, but each event is held at a secret location, revealed 24 hours prior to the date. I had the pleasure to chat with funders Ned Loach and Robert Gontier, last October, when things were slowly but surely building up. And I also attended their super fun Hallowe’en screening of 28 Days Later; a total blast! Now, Toronto audiences get a chance to join in the fun with these three different screening times.

Image courtesy of 360 Screenings

So how does 360 Screenings work? If you’re a fan of surprises, you first order your ticket (here). You can follow the event on their Facebook and / or Twitter pages to find out clues about what the film could be. Oh yes, the film is also kept secret until the actual screening in the second half of the evening. But no worries, you will also receive an email with instructions, directions, and more clues.

On the night of the event, upon arrival, you will soon become part of the set related to the film. You are also highly encouraged to interact and engage with the actors and the familiar scenes which are unfolding around you. Past 360 Screenings have included Ghost, Fight Club, 28 Days Later and Amélie. If you’re looking for new ways to experience film, art, and more, 360 Screenings is the place to be. See you on set!

The 19th edition of NXNE, taking over Toronto June 10-16, has announced even more music, film and comedy programming for this year’s festival.

NXNE Music has confirmed the 2013 line-up will include indie rock group Wintersleep, electronic luminary Dan Deacon, synth popper St. Lucia, the only Canadian date for Villagers, Canadian psych shoegazers No Joy, art rock group Braids, dream pop duo Still Corners, Montreal pair Blue Hawaii, Toronto DJ Ryan Hemsworth, DIY rapper Fat Tony, experimental pop duo Dusted, retro rock trio Shannon and The Clams, psych rock brothers Tonstartssbandht, indie rockers Still Life Still, Gold & Youth of Arts & Crafts, Toronto industrial dance rockers Odonis Odonis, Montreal duo Valleys, synth-pop artist Big Black Delta, grunge rockers Roomrunner, Chad Valley with his vintage pop sounds, noise rock quartet Dope Body, Toronto’s July Talk and electro dance group Bear Mountain.

NXNE Film, in partnership with Hot Docs, will present 30 films, including the world premiere of Filmage: The Story of Descendents/ALL. This documentary, screening Saturday, June 15, chronicles the long history of punk bands ALL and Descendents, and the driving force behind both – drummer Bill Stevenson.

NXNE Film will also screen The Rolling Stones – Charlie Is My Darling – Ireland 1965, an intimate, behind-the-scenes diary of life on the road with the young Rolling Stones, documenting the fan frenzy at their first professionally filmed concert performances; an encore presentation of The National’s Mistaken for Strangers along with the theatrical debut of music video Silver Trembling Hands by The Flaming Lips; and the world premiere of Authentic: Young Rival’s Journey Through Canada, which follows indie rockers Young Rival as the band tours across Canada. Single Film tickets go on sale Thursday, May 16.

NXNE Comedy will present more comics and showcases then ever before, including the lewd Big Jay Oakerson at various NXNE venues and Just for Laughs favourite Dylan Moran on Sunday, June 16 at the Panasonic Theatre. The Canadian Comedy Awards will announce the 2013 nominees on Wednesday, June 12 at Yuk Yuks and the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival will present their Best of the Fest showcase on Friday, June 14 at Measure as part of NXNE Comedy.

With these additions to an already exciting lineup of events, there will be plenty to enjoy at NXNE this year. For detailed information on all other festival events, ticketing info, and more, visit nxne.com. I’d better go work on my schedule right now!

TIFF Bell Lightbox will celebrate Chinese Cinema with a comprehensive exploration of film, art and culture. A Century of Chinese Cinema will feature a major film retrospective of over 80 titles, sessions with some of the biggest names in Chinese cinema, and a free exhibition featuring two internationally acclaimed visual artists. The programme will run from June 5 to August 11, 2013. A veritable who’s who of Chinese cinema will descend on TIFF Bell Lightbox over the course of the series.

I am extremely excited that the Opening Night festivities will include renowned director Chen Kaige introducing his Palme d’Or-winning masterpiece, Farewell My Concubine, one of my absolute favourite films from the 90’s. And one that I will not miss seeing on the big screen.

It will also be a great treat to have cinematographer Christopher Doyle introduce the beloved Chungking Express as well as Comrades: Almost a Love Story. As well as, having producer-director Johnnie To walk audiences through his action-packed career for an In Conversation With… appearance, and have him introduce his films Election and Election II. 

FILM PROGRAMME AND GUEST HIGHLIGHTS

A New China picks up in the wake of the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Major films of the era included sweeping patriotic epics, such as Red Detachment of Women (Xie Jin, 1961), alongside gritty war films such as Shangrao Concentration Camp (Sha Meng, 1951). Meanwhile, an influx of Mainland talent launched a new era in Hong Kong and Taiwan, with such works as the social drama In the Face of Demolition (Li Tie, 1953), and the hit romance, The Winter (Li Han-hsiang, 1969).

Swordsmen, Gangsters and Ghosts: The Evolution of Chinese Genre Cinema highlights the genre films that first brought Chinese cinema to the international stage, including the wuxia (swordplay) films that date back to China’s earliest filmmaking days. The genre came alive again in the late 1940s with Wong Fei-hung: The Whip That Smacks the Candle (Wu Pang, 1949), and flourished through the 1960s and 1970s, with films like A Touch of Zen (King Hu, 1969), and Bruce Lee’s international ascendance in Fist of Fury (Lo Wei, 1972). Guns and gangsters also became a Hong Kong trademark, beginning with the long-neglected masterpiece, The Story of a Discharged Prisoner (Patrick Lung Kong, 1967), which was remade as John Woo’s landmark 1986 A Better Tomorrow. More recently, a new generation has reinvigorated the genre with films like Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, 2002); this being my absolute favourite from actor Andy Lau.

New Waves looks at the moment when Chinese film dominated the international art- film scene. The work ranges from the Hong Kong New Wave exemplified by Ann Hui (Boat People, 1982) and Tsui Hark (Peking Opera Blues, 1986); to the new generation of Taiwanese masters led by Hou Hsiao-hsien (A City of Sadness, 1989) and Edward Yang (A Brighter Summer Day, 1991); and the Mainland’s Fifth Generation directors, including Zhang Junzhao (One and Eight, 1983) and Chen Kaige (Yellow Earth, 1984; Farewell My Concubine, 1993).

EXHIBITIONAn important component of the programme is the main gallery exhibition. It will run from June 7 to August 11 in an exhibition curated by TIFF’s Noah Cowan and Shanghai-based curator Davide Quadrio.

Looks like I’ll be spending a lot of time at TIFF Bell Lightbox this summer. Out of the many films screening as part of this programme, here are a few that I am hoping not to miss:

One-Armed Swordsman (Chang Cheh, 1967)
Fist of Fury (Lo Wei, 1972)
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Lau Kar-leung, 1978)
Drunken Master (Yuen Woo-ping, 1978)
Infernal Affairs (Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, 2002)
A Better Tomorrow (John Woo, 1986)
The Time to Live and the Time to Die (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1985)
The Story of Qiu Ju (Zhang Yimou, 1992)
Farewell My Concubine (Chen Kaige, 1993)
Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai, 1994)
In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
Still Life (Jia Zhangke, 2006)

For information on the films, guests and events that are part of A Century of Chinese Cinema visit tiff.net/century. Tickets for the film programmes go on sale May 21 at 10AM for TIFF Members and May 27 at 10AM for non-members. Ticket packages are also available: Martial Arts & Gangsters 6-Pack and Melodrama and New Women 6-Pack. Admission to the exhibition is free.

Image: FLIP Publicity

Making their Toronto debut is Russia’s most exciting ballet company, Eifman Ballet St. Petersburg, with their latest masterpiece, Rodin, a new ballet inspired by the remarkable life and art of French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Rodin is dedicated to the life and creative work of the great sculptor and his apprentice, lover and muse, Camille Claudel. For 15 years Rodin and Claudel worked together quite closely. After their break up, Claudel’s mental health deteriorated. She eventually spent 30 years in a mental hospital.

Visionary choreographer Boris Eifman has created a contemporary performance where dance and sculpture come together and find an unprecedented camaraderie in a modern ballet of love, lust and jealousy. Using the versality of body language, Eifman presents the world of human passions that Rodin and Claudel achieved through their works. A ballet where the dancers literally turn into the sculptor’s material, Rodin is a tale of artistic innovation and the price of genius that comes with it.

To turn a moment, frozen in stone, into an irrepressible stream of sensuous body movements; to capture the human spirit as brilliantly as Rodin and Claudel did in bronze and stone, was Eifman’s intention in creating Rodin.

Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival‘s mission “to challenge attitudes and change lives through the promotion, production and exhibition of queer film” is one of the reasons I attend and support this festival. Year after year, they bring us some interesting, moving, funny, and poignant films from around the globe. This year is no different…

As I usually try to do, I’ve compiled a list of films that I’m hoping you’ll take in.

Opening Night – Thursday, May 23rd
IN THE NAME OF – Małgośka Szumowska (Poland)
Father Adam (Andrzej Chyra) is the spiritual head of a small parish in rural Poland where he also oversees a centre for troubled teenage boys. He leads with a stern hand and a sympathetic ear, earning the respect of his charges. Against this backdrop, his personal temptations emerge.

Satuday, May 25th
UNA NOCHE – Lucy Molloy (UK/Cuba/USA)
This is the debut feature by director Mulloy. Trapped inside the desperate repression of Havana, volatile and young Raul dreams of escaping to Miami. When he is accused of assaulting a Western tourist, he decides it is time to attempt his flight. Working both as a social issue film and as a gripping thriller, Una Noche focuses on one sweltering day and follows it through to its shocking climax.

VALENTINE ROAD – Marta Cunningham (USA)
This powerful, thoughtful and tragic documentary tells the story of the 2008 killing of Lawrence “Larry” King, a diminutive grade eight student who wore makeup and heels to his southern California middle school. After Larry publicly declared a Valentine’s crush on 14-year-old classmate Brandon McInerney, Brandon shot Larry point-blank in the back of the head in the school’s computer lab.

**This film also played at Hot Docs a few weeks ago, and it made it to my top 10 list. It’s a film that will create all types of reactions, and rightly so.

Sunday, May 26th
G.B. F. – Darren Stein (USA)
When a hook-up app mishap outs the unassuming Tanner (Michael J. Willet, The United States of Tara) as Northgate High’s first openly gay student, the uneasy truce between the school’s trio of clique queens dissolves into comic chaos as each battles to acquire the season’s hot new accessory – the Gay Best Friend.

Monday, May 27th
WILL YOU STILL LOVE ME TOMORROW – Arwin
This is a whimsical romantic comedy that centres on two Taiwanese couples who are trying to navigate the rocky road of love amid emotional and sexual upheaval. Optician Weichung is married to office clerk Feng. The couple have one child and Feng yearns to have another. But Weichung is restless and unfulfilled—and he’s not the only one.

Closing Night – Sunday, June 2nd
I STAND CORRECTED – Andrea Meyerson (USA)
This documentary focuses on the true story of jazz bass virtuoso, Jennifer Leitham, formerly known as John Leitham, who risked everything to be her true self when she transitioned publicly during the height of her career. The film is an intimate study of Leitham’s life and explores the fears she wrestled with as she rose through the ranks of the jazz world, and celebrates the joy she discovered after embracing her female identity.

ALICE WALKER: BEAUTY IN TRUTH – Pratibha Parmar (USA/UK)
Poet/author/feminist/civil rights movement activist Alice Walker finds herself in a firestorm of controversy. Wedged between the crosshairs of two struggles, sexism and racism, Walker retreats to what she does best – write. Award-winning director, Pratibha Parmar, crafts a marvellously captivating portrait that delicately peels back layer upon layer, delivering deeply into the art and soul of one of the most socially transformational writers of our times.

These are but a few of the vast list of films at this year’s festival. There are also some very interesting short film programmes as well. For full details, go to the festival’s website.

First in Toronto in 2011 with a sold-out run at the Sony Centre, Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes gang return next week with a concert that features Warner Bros.’ classic cartoons on a gigantic screen, with live accompaniment by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, in the production conducted and created by Emmy-Award winner George Daugherty.

More than 20 years after the original Bugs Bunny on Broadway was first debuted, proved to be a record-setting hit, and was performed with virtually every major symphony orchestra in North America and around the world, Daugherty and his team created this sequel, Bugs Bunny At The Symphony, a newly christened version of a show that had already reinvented a new genre for symphony orchestras.

Bugs Bunny At The Symphony is a celebration of the Looney Tunes moniker, a name that stands at the forefront of the Golden Age of American animation with their equally famous scores by Carl Stalling, played live under the direction of the concert’s creator, George Daugherty. This unique combination of animation and music brings audiences young and old together for a fun-filled presentation of Looney Tunes favourites like “What’s Opera, Doc?” and “The Rabbit of Seville” – two cartoons that top virtually every published list of “The World’s Funniest Cartoons,” – plus, 20 other classic Looney Tunes shown either in full, or in excerpts.

I missed Bugs Bunny on Broadway in Toronto back in 2011 and certainly do not want to miss it again this time around! And like many of you, I grew up watching Looney Tunes and that was probably my first exposure to classical music and opera actually. Do not miss this opportunity to catch Bug and pals on a big screen and with a live symphony nontheless!

Documentary films can serve the purpose of raising awareness about a particular topic, issue, or idea. Liz Marshall‘s The Ghosts In Our Machine is one that achieves this and more.

The film focuses on the work of photographer Jo-Anne McArthur and the non-human animals she photographs. follows Marshall follows McArthur over the course of a year as she photographs several animal stories in parts of Canada, 
the U.S. and in Europe. The stories are a way for us to think about the social issue of animal rights. It also asks us to consider if these non-human animals are sentient beings deserving of rights, or if are they property to be owned and used, within the context of our unsatiable consumer driven world?

During the film’s premiere at Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, I had the pleasure of chatting with filmmaker Liz Marshall. She shared some details about her process in making this film, as well as, other relevant aspects of the animal rights issue.

HM: How did the idea of focusing on Jo-Anne McArthur’s photography work come to be?

Liz Marshall (LM): I wanted to make a film about animal and our treatment towards animals. I did not want it to be just an ‘issue’ film, so I was looking for an angle to tell this story. I took notice of Jo-Anne’s photographic work and wanted to feature her images in the film. She agreed right away. When I began working on the film in the Fall of 2010, I realised Jo-Anne would make a great central story. By getting to know Jo-Anne and her work, it would be a great entry for people who may not know about the animal rights movement.

HM: What was it like to be ‘on the ground’ with Jo-Anne? And has she seen the final product?

LM: I’m used to working on films and people who work in the Human Rights arena, but this is an entirely different experience. It makes you realise how animals are reduced to ingredients, and it also reminds you that it happens in urban societies which we inhabit. This is all around us. Following Jo-Anne allowed me to film how she sees the world through her images.

She’s also seen the film and loves it! She feels really honoured. The film has certainly elevated her work to a new level; it’s getting noticed.

HM: I notice there is hardly any voice overs in the film. Was this something you had planned from the beginning?

LM: Yes, my ideas was to make a character-driven, verité, observational film. There is a thesis at the beginning and at the end, which bookends the story. In the beginning, we hear scientists define what ‘sentience’ means. We are all sentient; we feel, we are conscious… all animals are. This brings up the moral question of the film: “Are animals properties for humans to use or are they sentient beings?” At the end of the film, experts discuss the idea of property vs. sentience.This emerging social movement still needs more attention but it is morally significant.

HM: What’s next for this film?

LM: It is essential that projects like this one get seen. You have to be proactive as a filmmaker and get ‘on the ground’ with regards to promoting your film. The film has been picked up by IndieCAN Entertainment and will have a theatrical release at the end of May.

From the audience’s response during Hot Docs, this film will certainly be noticed and create lots of dialogue around the topic of animal rights. If you missed the film during the festival, no worries, there are some companion pieces on its website. You can learn more about this social movement; as well, you can find out more about living a “Ghost Free” lifestyle. And even more interesting is the interactive piece with Jo-Anne McArthur, which includes several chapters. Plenty of information to peruse and become more informed.

The Ghosts In Our Machine will have its theatrical release in Toronto at the Carlton Cinema. It will screen from May 31st through June 6th.

The reason I find this film interesting and why I suggest others see it is because it raises awareness, as Marshall agreed. It raises awareness about animal rights, about the work of Jo-Anne McCarthur, and others who support this social movement. This is one of the reasons why I enjoy watching documentaries during and after Hot Docs…it’s about learning.

Image: Toronto Masque Theatre

Toronto Masque Theatre presents two masques drawn from two traditions: a Baroque classic from the West, John Blow’s Venus and Adonis (1683) and a reimagining of an ancient tale from the East, The Lesson of Da Ji (2013), by Alice Ping Yee Ho and librettist Marjorie Chan.

Masque is a fusion of music, dance and theatre. Toronto Masque Theatre is one of the few companies in the world devoted to this form which flourished in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.

Venus and Adonis
Commissioned by Charles II and written by John Blow, this gorgeous, sensual masterpiece of the courtly masque features some of the most sublime music ever written. It tells how Venus fell in love with the mortal youth Adonis. While the goddess struggles with her amorous entanglements her son, Cupid, receives his own comic, romantic education. Told with a surprisingly feminist slant it tells us how we should “seize the day” in our pursuit of true love. Featuring Baroque dance choreographed by the acclaimed Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière.

The Lesson of Da Ji
Toronto Masque Theatre commissioned Alice Ping Yee Ho and Marjorie Chan to create a new masque inspired by the true story of the Shang Dynasty concubine Da Ji, and the King who enacted a tasty revenge on her secret lover. In Ho and Chan’s version, Da Ji takes guquin music lessons from a young nobleman named Bo Yi. Chan has provided a rich and inventive script which drives to a surprising and powerful climax while Ho’s gorgeous music will blend eastern and western instruments, including the guquin that Da Ji learns to play. It will feature a performance by traditional Peking Opera dancer William Lau.

Image: Toronto Masque Theatre

Under the Artistic Direction of Larry Beckwith, who will also lead an ensemble of Baroque and Chinese instruments, the evening will feature soprano Vania Chan, tenor Derek Kwan, mezzoSoprano Marion Newman, and baritone Alexander Dobson. Dance drawn from both the Baroque and the Peking Opera traditions will be performed. Direction will be by Derek Boyes (The Lesson of Da Ji) and Marie-Nathalie Lacourisère (Venus and Adonis). Visual splendour is a key feature of masque and the evening will feature projections designed by Caroline Guibault, lighting by Gabe Cropley, and costumes by Angela Thomas.

When: Friday, May 10th, 2013 at 8:00 pm; Saturday, May 11th, 2013 at 8:00 pm; special Mother’s Day matinee, Sunday, May 12th, 2013 at 3:00 pm. A pre-show chat with Artistic Director Larry Beckwith and guests is held 45 minutes before all performances.

Where: The Al Green Theatre; 750 Spadina Avenue (at Bloor).

Tickets: $40; $35 (for seniors) and $20 (for under 30) available from the Al Green Box Office, 416-924-6211 ext. 0 or order tickets online from Toronto Masque Theatre