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HyesMusings

Opera Atelier continues its season with a revival of Mozart’s wildly popular The Magic Flute. The Magic Flute is one of the most-performed operas worldwide. It is about a prince, Tamino, who is sent by The Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina from her nemesis Sarastro. Accompanied by the endearingly incorrigible Papageno and with the aid of a magic flute, the besotted Tamino ventures into the temple and quickly finds that all is not as it seems. An enchanting tale that delights audiences of all ages, The Magic Flute is perhaps Mozart’s greatest popular success.

The Magic Flute reunites several of the cast members from Opera Atelier’s 2006 production, including Colin Ainsworth as Tamino and Olivier LaQuerre as Papageno. They will be joined by Ambur Braid as The Queen of the Night, Carla Huhtanen as Papagena, Laura Albino as Pamina, and João Fernandes as Sarastro, as well as Aaron Ferguson, Eve McLeod, Cassandra Warner, Laura Pudwell and Curtis Sullivan with the full corps of the Artists of Atelier Ballet. The creative team includes director Marshall Pynkoski, choreographer Jeannette Lajeunesse Zingg, set designer Gerard Gauci, and lighting designer Kevin Fraser. Music Director David Fallis conducts the Tafelmusik Orchestra and Chamber Choir.

Given the story, the music, the costumes, and the dancing, I think this will certainly appeal to fans of all ages. The Magic Flute runs April 6th to the 13th at the elegant Elgin Theatre. It will be sung in English. Tickets are selling fast! For more info on tickets, performance dates and times, go to operaatelier.com.

In the meantime, I leave you with James Levine, the Met Orchestra, and The Magic Flute‘s Overture.

Cinéfranco celebrates its 16th anniversary with a wide variety of Francophone films for Toronto audiences. This year’s film line-up showcases many themes including women’s dignity, the plight of children, justice, and prison life to name a few.

This year, the Cinéfranco will bring some of the best in Francophone cinema with 3 World Premieres, 7 North American Premieres, 13 English Canadian Premieres and 2 Toronto Premieres and a showcase of 25 features, 1 documentary and 6 shorts.

As I often try to do, I like to suggest a few films for you to sample.

What the Day Owes the Night
Dir. Alexandre Arcady
Monday, April 8 – 6:30pm
Based on the novel by Yasmina Khadra, the film tells the story of little Younes, a helpless witness of his father’s fall to hell after his crops were criminally set on fire. Raised by his uncle, a pharmacist married to a Christian French woman, Younas renamed Jonas, grows up with the “roumis” (name given by Algerians to white Europeans) well-to-do youth… But the identity convulsions of French colonial Algeria will soon generate tragedies, dilemmas, unfulfilled love stories that will tear Younas’ life apart.

Les Invisibles (Documentary)
Dir. Sébastien Lifshitz
Wednesday, April 10 – 8:40pm
Co-Presented by Inside Out LGBT Film Festival and FrancoQueer
The film focuses on men and women born in between the two world wars. They bear the scars of their fight for sexual freedom in a country (France) that considered homosexuality as a mental illness until 1981. They tell their own stories with a disarming, touching and even poignant openness, humour and truthfulness.

Written Woman
Dir. Lahcen Zinoun
Saturday, April 13 – 1:30pm
Naïm, a renowned anthropologist, wants to make a film on beautiful Mririda, a Berber poet and courtesan who mesmerizes him. At the brothel where she used to go, Naïm is struck by the beauty, the sensuous tattoos of young prostitute Adjou. He immediately feels bound in his flesh and soul to Adjou, a kind of mirror image to Mririda. Adjou’s brutal murder triggers a police investigation. In his desperate search for truth, Naïm sways between a world of imagination and reality.

Welcome to Argentina
Dir. Edouard Deluc
Saturday, April 13 – 4:15pm
Two brothers, Antoine and Marcus, arrive in Argentina to go to their cousin’s wedding. But Antoine, the younger brother, has become depressed because of his marital problems. And Marcus strives to lighten him up. The film turns into a fun road-movie full of fresh, dynamic, crazy and also emotional experiences.

Ichi Bin Eine Terroristin
Dir. Valérie Gaudissart
Sunday, April 14 – 11:00am
At the tender age of 11 years and 3 months, Violette feels she is the guardian of the memory of Rosa Luxemburg, the great Marxist activist and German revolutionary. She runs away from home taking with her the ashes of her beloved communist grandmother and the book of the letters written in prison by Rosa.

Tango Libre (Closing Night Film)
Dir. Frédéric Fonteyne
Sunday, April 14 – 6:30pm
JC, an ordinary prison guard, meets Alice at his weekly tango classes. Attracted by the sensual woman, he is surprised to see her visiting two prisoners: Fernand, her husband and Dominic, her lover, both cell mates. Furious to learn his wife tangoes with the prison guard, Fernand ventures to ask the Argentinian boss for dancing lessons.

These are but a few suggestions. I always like to include at least one documentary, some drama, and of course at least some comedy. There are plenty more for you to enjoy, including the short film series screening on Saturday, April 6th. For full festival listings, visit cinefranco.com.

Firefighters, authors, storytellers and artists, media celebrities, and an award-winning video game developer all join Toronto Public Library to bring to life the 8th annual Keep Toronto Reading Festival this April.

This year’s city-wide celebration of reading will spotlight the One Book Community read: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The themes of this timeless novel – media saturation, censorship, memory and storytelling — are explored at dozens of events in every neighbourhood. Highlights include:

• A Ray Bradbury legacy tribute, with writer Michael Rowe, filmmaker Bruce McDonald and others 
• Amusing Ourselves to Death: Are we dumbing down as a society, as Bradbury warned? With Mark Kingwell, Johanna Schneller, Sara Grimes and Nora Young 
• Book burning in the digital age, with John Ralston, Saul and Charles Foran 
• Dirty Comics: a look at censorship in comics

Plus screenings of the Francois Truffaut film, discussions at 43 book clubs across the city, and performances of passages from banned books.

There will also be some great activities for kids, including outreach events with officers from the Toronto Fire Department, where they’ll read their favourite stories at branches across the city. There will also be author readings, magic and crafts. Science fiction origami! Build your Own Firefighter Mascot!

Firefighters from Yorkville Fire Station 312 – Image by Toronto Public Library

And, in a continuing partnership with the Toronto District School Board, 1,000 students will be reading the book at 35 schools across the city.

In addition to events, Torontonians are invited to:

• Check out an exhibit of Ray Bradbury memorabilia, including first editions of Fahrenheit 451 and a rare edition of his poetry, at the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation and Fantasy at Lillian H. Smith Branch from April to June.
• Play the library’s first alternate reality game: KTR 451. Participants are invited to join the “Literary Resistance” on April 2 to prevent the dystopian future that Bradbury prophesized in Fahrenheit 451. They can call 647-931-1585 to be assigned three weekly missions that culminate in a live event on April 22.
• Join the TTC One Book Club. From April 2 to 21, Twitter users can respond to daily questions posted from @TorontoLibrary using the hashtag #OneBookTTC. Responses will be posted on Pattison Onestop Media subway screens across the city.
• Participate via social media: post a YouTube video answering the question “If the library were burning, which book would you save?” and tag your video as Keep Toronto Reading. Follow library staff and guest bloggers at torontopubliclibrary.ca.  And join the Library’s #TellTPL Twitter chat on April 10 about sci-fi and fantasy books.

Bloor/Glastone Library Branch – Image by Toronto Public Library

For complete festival information and event listings, go to keeptorontoreading.ca. Throughout the month of April, I’ll also try to post some of my favourite books here, as well as, on my Facebook, Twitter, and other social media pages. Now, go on, pick a favourite book, and set on an adventure… oh, and don’t forget to share!

Every year, the Toronto Silent Film Festival (TSFF) screens some of the world’s finest silent films. And every year these films are paired with music, improvised and played live by accomplished artists. This is my favourite way of seeing and experiencing this type of films… Not only am I transported back in time but in darkness, I’m also immersed in live music. This is the way I’ve discovered some classic silent films, which I now call favourites.

This year’s TSFF line up definitely includes some classics, for me, and is definitely diverse:

Thursday April 4th, 8pm
Passion of Joan of Arc, 1928 (France)
Director: Carl T. Dreyer
Cast: Renée Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley
Co-produced with Scaramella
Keynote Speaker: Alicia Fletcher

In 1928, Carl Theodor Dreyer turned the story of Joan of Arc’s final hours into one of cinema’s most profound works. And his star—stage actress Renée Falconetti—delivered what critic Pauline Kael later called the finest performance ever recorded on film.

This screening of The Passion of Joan of Arc will feature the world premiere of Tom Peter’s newly composed score, to be performed live by Tom Peters and Joelle Morton, Artistic Director of Scaramella.

Friday April 5th, 7:30pm
Tokyo Chorus, 1931 (Japan)
Director: Yasujiro Ozu
Cast: Tokihiko Okada, Emiko Yagumo, Hideo Sugawara, Hideko Takamine
Musical Interpretation: Laura Silberberg
Introduced by Chris MaGee, Shinsedai Film Festival

A man with a young family loses his job… Tokyo Chorus, the finest of Ozu’s surviving silents, blends delicacy, sensitivity, and farce, creating a film experience you will never forget.

Saturday April 6th, 4pm
The Crowd, 1928 USA)
Director: King Vidor
Cast: Eleanor Broadman, James Murray
Musical Interpretation: Laura Silberberg

John Sims, born on the 4th of July, seems destined for a future as promising as America’s own. But director King Vidor has other plans.

PLUS… The Best Films of TUFF 2012 (Toronto Urban Film Festival)

Sunday April 7th, 4pm
1000 Laffs: Slapstick Smorgasbord
Including: Laurel & Hardy, Charley Chase, Max Davidson, Roscoe Arbuckle, Harold Lloyd
Musical Interpretation: Fern Lindzon

This year’s Slapstick Smorgasbord celebrates the illogical logic that forms the unspoken rule of silent comedy, as enacted by the era’s greatest practitioners, including TSFF favourite Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle, highly-embarrassed man-about-town Charley Chase, perpetually heroic & in-a-hurry Harold Lloyd, poor forgotten Max Davidson, and Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy.

Monday April 8th, 8pm
Toronto Theatre Organ Society presents a Mary Pickford Birthday Celebration
My Best Girl, 1927 (USA)
Director: Sam Taylor
Cast: Mary Pickford, Charles “Buddy” Rogers, Lucien Littlefield, Sunshine Hart
Musical Interpretation: Clark Wilson on the Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ

My Best Girl was Pickford’s final silent film, and one of her greatest. The star’s talents, still at their peak, are further enriched by the cinematography of Charles Rosher, who was fresh from photographing Sunrise. This simple tale of love and laughs is one of the highlights of the late-silent period.

Tuesday April 9th, 7pm
The Railrodder, 1965 (Canada)
Director: Gerald Potterton
Cast: Buster Keaton

The General, 1926 (USA)
Directors: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton
Cast: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack

This screening will be accompanied by Australia’s Viola Dana Quartet

Considered by most critics and fans to be Buster Keaton’s greatest achievement, The General’s array of sight gags, twists and turns have been blowing audiences away for nearly a century. A comedy that’s always on-track, The General is a must-see for anyone.

The films will be screened at different venues throughout Toronto. They include the Carlton Cinema, Innis Town Hall, the Fox Theatre, the Revue Cinema, and the historical Casa Loma. They are easily accessible and definitely provide a unique setting for each of these films. For ticketing and theatre information visit torontosilentfilmfestival.com.

Esprit Orchestra’s 30th Anniversary Season Finale concludes its 30th anniversary season with 30 AND COUNTING! The concert, featuring works by established and ascending Canadian stars along with iconic pieces in popular culture, takes place at Koerner Hall tonight, Thursday, March 28, at 8 pm.

This season finale combines the phenomenal energy of soloists Wallace Halladay (saxophone) and Ryan Scott (percussion) with Esprit’s musicians in the premiere of Burn, a virtuosic double concerto for saxophone, percussion and orchestra written for the occasion by Erik Ross. “To me, this piece is about purging our way through the transformations that we experience in our lives”, explains the composer. Ross has worked extensively with both soloists in the past. “The honesty, openness, and desire to produce “great art” that exists between them led to the creation of this concerto”, adds Ross.

Montrealer Denis Gougeon has been commissioned to compose a work to mark Esprit’s 30 years of commissioning, performing and promoting Canadian music. TUTTI signals the start of the orchestra’s next 30 years with fanfare. A colourful work, Gougeon’s piece is based on a few notes derived from the names ‘Esprit’ and ‘Alex Pauk’ – a tribute to the 30 years of Esprit Orchestra and its founding music director.

The evening also features two iconic pieces in popular culture specially arranged for Esprit: Purple Haze and the theme from The Twilight Zone. One of the most recognizable melodies in Western pop culture, the Twilight Zone theme was written for the original American TV series by Marius Constant, the Parisian composer and conductor of classical and contemporary music. Constant was also Alex Pauk’s friend and mentor. Invited to Toronto for an Esprit performance of his Nana Symphony in 1991, Constant made a special arrangement of his famous theme as a gift to Esprit.

Pauk was blown away when he first heard the Kronos Quartet (known for extending string quartet repertoire far beyond traditional boundaries) play Jimi Hendrix‘s Purple Haze in a special arrangement by American composer Steve Rifkin. Pauk immediately contacted Rifkin and asked him to adapt it for Esprit’s full string section. Esprit’s premiere of this wild version brought the house down in 1987; the piece was dubbed as one of “Esprit’s Greatest Hits”.

Always supporting composers of the young generation, Esprit will also present a performance of Alba for large orchestra by Zosha Di Castri, a young and gifted Canadian composer of international importance. Born in Calgary, Di Castri grew up in St. Albert, Alta. before moving to Montreal to complete her Bachelor of Music at McGill University; she is currently living in New York to pursue a doctorate at Columbia University. Di Castri is the recipient of the 2012 Jules-Léger Prize for new Chamber Music.

Soup Can Theatre opens a very interesting and genre-blending double bill with Samuel Barber’s playful, compact, and contemporary opera A Hand of Bridge (libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti), and renowned existential philosopher and Nobel Prize-winning playwright Jean Paul Sartre’s dark and groundbreaking masterpiece No Exit (translation by Stuart Gilbert).

Barber (best known for his stirring Adagio for Strings) premiered this tuneful opera in 1959 in Spoleto, Italy as part of the ‘Festival of New Worlds’. Set in the midst of a game of bridge being played by two emotionally-strained, upper middle-class couples, A Hand of Bridge weaves together quintessential operatic themes, such as jealousy, envy, and unrequited love, with unexpected and unapologetically intimate topics (for the time), such as marital infidelity and bisexuality. Director and Music Director Pratik Gandhi comments, “The music is quite charming and is a great example of mid-20th century eclecticism, bridging centuries-old traditions with new and unconventional ideas – including some drawn from popular music. The approachable nature of Barber’s score belies the more poignant and striking moments that form the core of the libretto, giving their delivery a surprisingly strong impact.”

In Sartre’s No Exit, three recently deceased strangers with shadowy pasts find themselves trapped together in a room in Hell with only three chairs and a grotesque bronze sculpture as the sum total of their new existence. The trio quickly realize that torture and eternal torment do not come at the hands of demons with hot pokers, but rather from each other’s words, thoughts, urges, and actions. Even though No Exit was written in 1944, it still manages to reflect present day issues with chilling accuracy. Director Sarah Thorpe elaborates: “With bullying frequently making front page news, and the realm of social media acting as a playground for anonymous harassment, Sartre’s central idea that “Hell is other people” is, sadly, just as true today as it was six decades ago. The psychological universality of this works is a testament to its importance and insight – and one of the reasons we are excited to share it with the public.”

Bringing these classic works to life is a cast of rising stars in their respective fields of opera and theatre – backed by a live fourteen piece orchestra. To enhance the two pieces, Soup Can Theatre’s production will be performed in the round on a custom built stage in the Tapestry New Opera Studio, located in Toronto’s beautiful and historic Distillery District.

Today (March 27th) is World Theatre Day. Why not try a bit of opera and theatre tonight? This double-bill runs until March 30th. I’ll certainly be checking it out. For now, I leave you with Barber’s Adagio for Strings, which is absolutely sublime.

The sixth annual CMW Film Fest takes its residence at the TIFF Bell Lightbox for three days, March 21st to the 23rd. Presented by Tribute Entertainment, this year’s festival casts a light on some of music’s unsung heroes, goes behind the scenes with a revealing look into touring and Toronto’s 70’s punk and new wave explosion, and takes a comedic turn with a sci-fi musical.

For a switch of pace during this year’s Canadian Music Week festvities, why not take a break with a film or two?

THURSDAY, MARCH 21
7:00 p.m. – AIN’T IN IT FOR MY HEALTH: A FILM ABOUT LEVON HELM
Director: Jacob Hatley

Filmed during the final years of his life, Ain’t In It For My Health sees Levon Helm forced to confront the dark times that have haunted him since The Band‘s demise: throat cancer, bankruptcy, drug addiction and the tragic loss of band mates Richard Manuel and Rick Danko.

9:15 p.m. – SPRING BREAKERS
Director: Harmony Korine

Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Vanessa Hudgens, and Rachel Korine star as a group of best friends who are willing to do anything (including robbing a fast food joint at gunpoint) to get to Spring Break. But when they get there and meet local thug, Alien (James Franco), things get crazier than they could have ever imagined.

FRIDAY, MARCH 22
7:00 p.m. – WHO THE !@#$ IS ARTHUR FOGEL?
Director: Ron Chapman

Arthur Fogel rose through the ranks of the concert promotions business in Canada to become the most successful international tour producer in the world. As CEO of Global Touring and Chairman of Global Music for Live Nation, he is also, arguably, the most trusted man in music. With his personal, “hands-on” approach and masterful knowledge of world touring, Fogel has overseen the most profitable mega-tours in history, building lucrative partnerships with an elite group of artists including Madonna, U2, Sting, David Bowie, Neil Young, and Lady Gaga.

Raw, uncensored, revealing, Who the !@#$ is Arthur Fogel? is the insider story of today’s multi-billion dollar pop music industry that is struggling to survive the meteor-like impact of massive technological change that has affected it like no other business on Earth… and one man who is trying to save it.

9:15 p.m. – THE HISTORY OF FUTURE FOLK
Directors: John Mitchell and Jeremy Kipp Walker
Co-presented with Toronto After Dark Film Festival

A crowd-pleasing sci-fi musical comedy about two alien soldiers sent to Earth to wipe out the human race, but have a difficult time completing their missions after they hear the Earth creation, ‘Music’.

SATURDAY, MARCH 23
12:30 p.m. – THE LAST POGO JUMPS AGAIN
Directors: Colin Brunton and Kire Paputts

A history of the first wave of Toronto punk rock and new wave music, from when the Ramones played in ‘76 through to when the cops gave Teenage Head the boot at “The Last Pogo” concert in December, 1978.

5:15 p.m. – APOCALYPSE: A BILL CALLAHAN TOUR FILM
Director: Hanly Banks

“I think when I’m performing live, it’s really just the realest me there is,” says Bill Callahan (Smog) in this wonderful tour film that features intimate interviews and performances from the notoriously private Callahan’s 2011 tour.

Preceded by
MAGNETIC RECONNECTION
Toronto Premiere
Director: Kyle Armstrong

A short documentary contrasting the Northern Lights with decaying manmade debris surrounding the Arctic Canadian town of Churchill, Manitoba. The film features an original score by Jim O’Rourke, a voice-over by Will Oldham and likely some of the best footage of the aurora borealis ever captured.

7:00 p.m. – BAD BRAINS: A BAND IN DC
Directors: Benjamen Logan and Mandy Stein

The Bad Brains are one of the most important and influential American bands still working today. Despite the troubles of an eccentric front man they’ve stayed together for 30 years without reaching the level of success many think they deserve. Bad Brains: A Band in DC re-constructs Bad Brains’ rich and complicated history.

9:15 p.m. – BIG STAR: NOTHING CAN HURT ME
Director: Drew DeNicola

Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me tells the incredible story of the dismal commercial failure, subsequent massive critical acclaim, and enduring legacy of pop music’s greatest cult phenomenon, Big Star.

Featuring never before seen footage and photos, in-depth interviews and tributes from bands they inspired (REM, The Replacements, Belle & Sebastian, Elliott Smith, and The Flaming Lips), the film tells the whole Big Star story for the first time. For new fans or old, this is an essential document of pop music’s greatest cult phenomenon.

Admission to all films is also included with a Canadian Music Fest wristband. Advance tickets – priced at $10 per person – can be purchased online at Ticketfly.com or through cmwfilmfest.com. Day of screening tickets will be available at the TIFF Bell Lightbox box office.

Cinema Oubliette is a new monthly film series dedicated to overlooked and forgotten cinema. The series will call Toronto’s Hashtag Gallery its home. Each month they will screen a hidden gem in the heart of the gallery, complete with snacks and dialogue. The first film screening take place tonight, March 21st.

Return To Oz
1985, dir: Walter Murch

Synopsis: Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, is somehow called back to Oz when a vain witch and the Nome King destroy everything that makes the magical land beautiful.

Much is know for his editorial work in Apocalypse Now and The English Patients. This is his first directorial effort… I have to admit I have not seen this film. However from reading about it, the premise of the story appears to be aimed at older children and perhaps adults. I’d be interested in seeing the film, especially because of its cult following. And also to see how the work of L. Frank Baum was adapted into this sequel of the original story.

Cinema Oubliette: Return To Oz
Thursday March 21st, 8:00pm
PWYC donations graciously accepted

Starting tonight, with films from Quebec, the Maritimes and Ontario, the Canadian Film Festival (CFF) will screen six feature films alongside eighteen short films.

“Last year, Torontonians welcomed us back to the scene with open arms and it was a bonafide success,” said Executive Director Ber Euler, adding, “We are thrilled to present another exciting edition with a slate of solid films and panels to audiences eager to see and support our homegrown talent.”

The CFF’s sole focus is to bring the best in Canadian cinema to Torontonians. In addition to the film screenings over the course of four days, the CFF will present various panels for industry and public alike, which will be announced at a later date.

The feature and short film lineup for the CFF is a mixture of drama, documentary and genre films ensuring something for all tastes.

FEATURE FILMS INCLUDE:

ROUGE SANG (THE STORM WITHIN)
Director: Martin Doepner
Cast: Isabelle Guérard, Lothaire Bluteau, Anthony Lemke

On New Year’s Eve 1799, Esperance with her three young children, anxiously await the return of her husband. With a snowstorm brewing, five British soldiers invade her home to take cover from the blizzard. As the night progresses, so does the tension in the small cabin in the woods. Horrific acts are committed and blood is spilled in the name of revenge. As the victim becomes the aggressor, one quickly understands that there is no place for mercy in hell.

THE SCENE: AN EXPLORATION OF MUSIC IN TORONTO
Director: Josh Jensen
Featuring: The Ruby Spirit, Committed To Rhyme, The Alter Kakers, Bif Naked, Anvil, Tokyo Police Club

The film follows trio of indie rock bands as they refine their sound, promote their shows, and record their music in the city of Toronto. With commentary from music legends, chart-toppers, band managers, talent agents, radio personalities, and industry experts, The Scene explores the realities of pursuing a career in Canada’s music capital.

SKULL WORLD
Director: Justin McConnell
Cast: Greg Sommer/Skull Man, Jason Pluscec, Shane Patterson, Sean Chillcott, Merv Perez, Ross Koger, Hoss Siegel, Josh Spiegel, Stefano Manera, Sandra Sommer

Greg Sommer is an enigma, wrapped inside a mystery, encased in a Jean-Jacket Vest. An enterprising man in his early 30s, Greg, and his alter-ego Skull Man, are at war. Welcome to Greg’s world – a world of warriors, magic, and glory, where he is building the Canadian-chapter of Box Wars, an international underground movement of Cardboard-based combat. Skull World follows two years in the life of Greg, and sheds light on exactly what makes him, and his goals in life, so unique.

MR. VIRAL
Director: Alex Boothby
Cast: Jefferson Brown, Alex Appel, Christian Lloyd And Michael Ripley

Mr. Viral combines three stories of perversion, coercion and sin, set in the world of viral advertising. A brilliant but twisted ad man creates a secret viral marketing campaign to save his failing ad agency and take revenge on his smarmy replacements. He rebrands their beloved kid’s toys as sex toys (the kind you would see alongside some hot lingerie picks at Restricted 21)and adult diapers as kink-wear. Pretty strange stuff already, but it gets weirder. As time goes on, this ends up inspiring an underground cult following on sites similar to https://www.porn7.xxx/. In the same office, a spastic, gay account girl recruits a group of crazed Quebec e-stalkers in a desperate attempt to catch her wife cheating. Meanwhile, an aging accountant falls into a dangerous trap while seeking love on the Internet. All three stories simmer and explode as they become linked by a mysterious digital pimp who calls himself Mr. V.

SHORT FILMS INCLUDE:

ACE OF SPADES
Director: Justin Kelly
Cast: Scott McCord, Ariel McDonald, Daveed Louza, Glen McDonald, David Tompa

The comedy trio “Funny Stuff” encounter their Canadian TV star hero, Scott McCord, star of the hit TV hostage drama “Rookie Flash Bang”, while going door to door to raise funds for their comedy show, “Making Funny Stuff”. Impressed by their awe for him, Scott makes the unfortunate mistake of inviting the infantile and tragically untalented trio into his home to impart some of his comedy wisdom to them.

BEST, APRIL
Director: Scott McCord
Cast: Priya Rao, Kristopher Turner, Kris Holden-Ried, Shannon Barnett

When thirty-something April falls for Matt, a charming British author, she believes she’s found ‘the one’ and envisions a future together. Instantly smitten, she begins a flirtatious yet awkward communication via text message. When Matt first replies, April assumes the adoration is mutual. Except it’s not.

Still from “Charlie Gauvin”

CHARLIE GAUVIN
Director: Teresa Alfeld
Cast: Katherine Addington, Caitlin Dodd, David Mubanda, Katharine King, Kai Nagata, Benedict Marsh

Canadian former teen-pop superstar Charlie Gauvin is launching a career comeback after several years away from the spotlight. Having split from the producing machine that made her, Charlie is determined to do things her way this time around. She quickly finds that much has changed since she left the limelight, and recapturing her fame will be far more difficult than she imagined.

LIFE ON THE RIVER
Director: Chris Remerowski
Cast: Marquis Bobesich, Meagan Fallenbock

Homeless companions Jerry and Harriet flee hostile streets to set up camp in an idyllic inner-city ravine. They find sanctuary and love at the river’s edge. Harriet is drawn to Jerry, even as her suspicions about him grow. They are pulled apart by a shocking revelation.

STUDENT SHOWCASE – NOT TO BE MISSED!

AIDEN
Director: Alex P. Smith (Sheridan College)
Cast: Jackson Martin, Claire Armstrong, Kane Mahon, Alex Tucci

Aiden’s mother tells him that if he spends one minute with each fear using his grandfather’s stopwatch to time it, his nightmares will go away forever. The following day Aiden returns home from school to learn that his mother has been killed in a car accident. That night, Aiden starts on the incredible journey to overcome his fears one by one.

BLUE BIRD
Director: Ariane Lorrain (Concordia University)
Cast: Kat, Ray, Alexandra, Logan, Rusty

Blue Bird is the portrait of a family of five who has chosen a nomadic lifestyle through their moving home, a school bus.

DEDICATION
Director: Brian Gregory (Dedication)
Cast: Cristhian Ramirez, Gabriel Ramirez, Ashton Martin.

Dedication is a look into the life of a young photographer torn between his passion and survival.

FLOOD
Director: Derek Branscombe (Concordia University)
Cast: Eun Kyung Cho, Jin Yong Lee, Minseo Cho, Sofia Kim

The surface impression of an ideal Korean family slowly unravels as director Branscombe’s jagged, non-linear narrative takes the viewer along a Korean mother’s disturbing descent into the darkest recesses of her soul.

ZEN
Director: Arshad Khan (Concordia University)
Cast: Kunval Mudhar, Pal Mudhar and Zen Mudhar

Zen is a three-year-old boy with cerebral palsy whose parents put their entire lives on the line in order to get the much-needed therapies that are not covered by the Canadian health care system.

Hoping some of you come and support some Canadian talent this week ; I know I will! CFF films will screen at The Royal Cinema from March 20-23, 2013. Full scheduling info at canfilmfest.ca.