TORONTO PHOTOS AND NOTES, #2

For several people I talked to, my favorite film at Cannes became their favorite film at Toronto. Oslo, August 31 is Joachim Trier’s follow-up to his inspiring hit film, Reprise. That movie, a tale of youth and best friends and literature and longing and rock and roll, was smart, sophisticated and with an emotional arc like a great mix tape. It was also somewhat dazzling in its montage, using split-screen, freeze frames and a European post-punk soundtrack to make its story of young Norwegian literati one that felt like young adulthood everywhere. After several years working on a larger-scale American picture that Trier hopes will go next year, the director decided to quickly make another feature. Oslo August 31 is a melancholic and deeply empathetic portrait of a recovering heroin addict on his first weekend away from his half-way house and amidst regular society. Based on a 1931 novel by Pierre Drieu La Rochelle (also adapted by Louis Malle in The Fire Within) film stars physician and sometime-actor Anders Danielson Lie — he also appeared in Reprise — who delivers a heartbreakingly stoic performance. As befitting this more somber subject matter, Trier’s editorial pyrotechnics are dialed down this time. Nonetheless, the film’s opening minutes are a beautiful, elegiac city symphony for the film’s eponymous locale. I interviewed Trier and we talked about how movies with sad subjects, like this one, don’t have to make you blue. Like a melancholy song, they can move you and leave you with a feeling that heightens your sensitivity to everyday life. Watch for this interview here soon.

The IFP had a rooftop party at the Thompson Hotel with sponsors Calvin Klein and RBC. Celebrating women in film, the party honored a number of the fest’s female directors and stars, including Lynn Ramsay, Dee Rees, Selma Blair, Lynn Shelton and Susan Youssef. Spinning was The Ellen Show‘s DJ Tony — better known to Filmmaker readers as Tony Okungbowa, an actor and executive producer of Andrew Dosunmu’s Sundance and IFP Narrative Lab selection, Restless City.

Speaking of IFP parties and films, here’s … Read the rest

TORONTO PHOTOS AND NOTES, #1

The IFP organized a screening series at TIFF this year for RBC, the Royal Bank of Canada, at the Thompson Hotel. The event turned into a four-night run of Ryan O’Nan’s festival selection, The Brooklyn Brothers Beat the Best, which knocked out the crowd each night. As I moderated the Q&A’s, I can attest: this film plays.

The movie was selected for the IFP’s Narrative Lab just this past summer, and it happily surprised all of us by finishing so quickly and making it to Toronto. The Brooklyn Brothers is a totally winning tale of a makeshift band on a haphazard cross-country tour. It speaks to both a DIY-youth generation as well as to boomers mulling their own life choices and vicariously living out through the movie their own “what if…?” scenarios. Above are pictured, from left to right, producer Kwesi Collisson, writer/director/star O’Nan, and producer Jason Berman. At the Q&A’s, I learned that the film has already picked up a soundtrack deal from Warner/Rhino Records, and that the movie’s fictional band is now a real one, with records to follow.

One of my favorite films in Toronto was David Redmon and Ashley Sabin’s disturbing documentary, Girl Model. In following a thirteen-year-old Siberian girl traveling to Japan for modeling work, it turns into an eerie critique of a post-modern global image trade. I was haunted by the scenes of young Nadya in the middle of giant Japanese magazine stands hunting for her portrait amidst a sea of fashion magazines. Read my interview with Sabin and Redmon here. Above, they are pictured with Rachel Blais, another young model who appears in the film.

After living in various cities around the world, writer/director Alison Murray has moved to Argentina, where she is making movies… and teaching tango. Dance has featured in all of Murray’s films so far, and she is also a competition-level tango dancer. At TIFF she premiered her Caprichosos, which is a documentary about the murga — what she calls “tango’s bastard cousin.” Here is Murray at the IFP/Cinereach party. Read our interview with her … Read the rest

TORONTO IS A PUZZLE

This is my first time at TIFF, and I have to admit, it is a puzzle. Look at this picture — that’s only the press and industry screenings! Notice the puzzlement and confusion of the professionals, even.

I also find the transportation system puzzling, and spend a lot of time in taxis. Everyone likes to complain about traffic in Toronto and it is de rigeur to show up to a screening at the AMC Theatres panting and sweating.

I had two films premiere this weekend (three cheers!!) and they were very well-received (three cheers!!) But mostly every buyer I meet looks sad, trudging down the street. They say, “there is nothing to buy. Nothing. I want a film. Where are the films to buy?” This is sad for them but, frankly, very exciting for those of us on the selling side. I can’t imagine buyers walking around desperate to spend money a few years ago. Things are looking up for us. Here is a sales person, Michael Lerman of the Film Sales Company, looking up:

and another one, Dana O’Keefe from Cinetic, looking sharp in front of the poster for his new film, TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY, which he had sold long ago.… Read the rest

FREE AT TIFF

There are some great films/events going on during TIFF that are free of charge. See below.

This is not a Film Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Iran (Toronto Premiere)
Sentenced to six years in prison and banned from writing and making films for 20 years by the Islamic Republic Court in Tehran, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi waited for the verdict of his court appeal for months. Through the depiction of a day in his life while he’s on house arrest, Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb (a documentary filmmaker and former assistant director) offer audiences an overview of the current situation of Iranian cinema.

The Story of Film: An Odyssey Mark Cousins, United Kingdom (World Premiere)
Filmed on four continents over six years, this epic 15-hour documentary tells the story of innovation in the movies based on the acclaimed book of the same title by Mark Cousins. Featuring exclusive interviews with legendary filmmakers like Stanley Donen and Abbas Kiarostami, The Story of Film: An Odyssey is a passionate, cinematic journey across 11 decades of cinema, and a thousand films. The film will be screened first in five instalments of three hours each, every morning at 10am from Monday, September 12 to Friday, September 16. On the Festival’s final weekend the film will be screened again: eight hours on Saturday, September 17 and seven hours on Sunday, September 18.

Cadillac People’s Choice Award Winner screening
Once the ballots have been counted, and the winner revealed, the fan favourite film of the Festival will screen on the last day of the Festival – Sunday, September 18 – at Ryerson Theatre. The winner will be announced that morning.

City to City Panel
Filmmakers whose works are featured in the Festival’s City to City spotlight on Buenos Aires, Festival programmers and industry professionals join together for a lively and interactive discussion of the emerging film scene in Buenos Aires.

A special discussion to accompany James Franco and Gus Van Sant’s Memories of Idaho (1991; 2010 and 2011)
Saturday, September 10 in TIFF Bell Lightbox 
In 1991, Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho and … Read the rest

CAMERON’S PICKS

In this video TIFF co-director Cameron Bailey gives his movie picks. Go to the TIFF site for  more daily picks.

TIFF TIX TIPS

With the festival already upon us we probably don’t have to tell you that your chances to get tickets to this year’s TIFF are slim. But there’s no hurt in trying. In this video below, the folks at TIFF explain the easy ways you can purchase single tickets (which at this point are your best bet).

STAR MAPS

If you’re heading to TIFF in the hopes to partake in some star sightings but have no clue where the hot spots are in Toronto, here’s a top 10 list that will point you in the right direction.

And check out indieWIRE’s annual Insider’s Guide for the best places to eat, drink and shop while in Toronto.… Read the rest

WHAT WE’VE HEARD SO FAR…

Even big time festivals goof up sometimes, Steven Soderbergh has finished his documentary on Spalding Gray and buzz builds for Tom Ford’s A Single Man.… Read the rest

51 MUST-KNOWS

Toronto Life lists the 51 hotspots that you should be aware of if you want to survive TIFF 09. From where to get coffee to where you can see the celebs this is an essential guide.

They also have a list of bars that have received licenses to stay open past last call during the fest.… Read the rest