Besides bringing us great films, TIFF also puts together some great events like those in the Mavericks series.  Sunday night a large crowd at the Isabel Bader theatre was greeted by Howard Zinn, Anthony Arnove, director Chris Moore, Matt Damon, Viggo Mortensen, Josh Brolin and Marisa Tomei who all came to present us a preview of the documentary The People Speak as well as discuss how this project came to be.

After another standing ovation and having the trailer for the film, Zinn started the conversation by saying "I hadn't learned history from the standpoint of black people, native people, ... we need to tell history from the view of the people who been left out."  The crowd applauded.  The idea for a film version of Zinn and Arnoves's anthology Voices of a People's History of the United States since 1998.  They first sold it to FOX network but the deal didn't work out... anyone want to guess why?  Regardless, they moved on and created the performances so that actors can embody and give voice to those whose stories are not well known.

Mavericks' programmer Thom Powers asked each of the actors why and how they got involved with the film.  Brolin joked at first, "I got to meet Viggo and Matt... but to be honest.. I'm very proud of the film.  It's very empowering to me... even [the crowd] watching the trailer here is empowering."   Mortensen spoke of his experience working on this project; "it's fun besides it being an honour."  He continued by explaining that "as a kid I was drawn to adults who treated me differently; not just like a kid.  As an adult, I'm drawn to peole like Howard Zinn who encourage others to speak truth; to be honest with themselves.  In lots of places in the world, why people don't say how they really feel can be due to peer pressure, fear of sounding stupid, fear of being liberal... if you can't get [what you want to say] completely right, you'd best [stay quiet].  It's best to get it off your chest and get going."  Mortensen is quite passionate about being open about all issues affecting all parts of the world today and this became more apparent as the conversation continued.

Tomei mentioned she got involved in the project a while back through Arnove, whom she already knew.  "It's hard for me to speak in public but this kind of thing lets me do it."  She expressed she's proud to represent the voice of many women who made changes in US culture one way or another.

Halfway through the discussion, we got to see about twenty minutes of the film.  Afterwards, the conversation moved on to issues like the "Vietnam Syndrome," as Zinn called it; regarding the media and how they "all joined the bandwagoon of war and supported the deceptions that were put over the American people.... It's a subservient media."  Zinn believes their "movement [telling the real history] will grow" and that national inclinations of people will turn things around.

Arnove brought the topic back to the actors' perfomances.  He said, "some of these voices feel so current; so urgent... They can cross time."  Director Chris Moore explained how the emotion the actor brings to the words and the collective experience with the audience and through the process of staging, they found  series of pieces that can be part of this documentary.  "These are the real people... those things really happened... it's their real voices, just performed very well... when you look at that you ask what's the history that's happening now."

Other artists involved in the project include Benjamin Bratt, singer John Legend, David Straithearn.  As well, sitting in the audience were actors Danny Glover, Tim Robbins and Michael Ealy; to name a few.  It was a great discussion; stimulating on several levels.  It will definitely create a buzz and have people talking for a long time.  The documentary itself will hopefully be released in the near future.

On the second of the Doc Talk series, Covering War, we had a chance to listen to Phil Donahue, Ellen Spiro and Michel Tucker discuss the rewards and challenges of making documentaries about war and its consequences.

Donahue and Spiro premiered their documentary Body of War at this year's festival.  Donahue stated that after watching the Iraq War vote on C-SPAN in 2002, he wanted to do something to voice his concern for the state of affairs in the United States.  He said he was in "shock and awe" of the TV footages of the war and how inaccurate they appeared to be.  Later, he met Tomas Young, the young Iraq war veteran who was paralysed after being shot while on duty, and Senator Byrd from West Virginia. Donahue began visiting Tomas in the hospital and after at his home; thus, building a relationship with them.  Once the decision was made to tell Tomas' story, the purpose became "to show the pain of war."  This is when Spiro comes into play.  She joined Donahue and became co-director of this film.  The result was a powerful portrayal of this man's struggle because of a war that most people do not know much about.  This documentary, like others, was to fill the void of stories that are not shown on the news or mainstream media.

Michael Tucker is known for his documentary Gunner Palace along with other projects.  Gunner Palace was in fact one of the first documentaries on the Iraq war.  When making that film, he was conscious it was a soldier's story.  Gunner himself was in the military; thus, he knew the story already.  He appreciates how different filmmakers provide different perspectives on this war.  He is now working on another film titled Bulletproof Salesman; about a man who sales armoured cars to important figures in the Middle East.   From the clips Tucker shared with us, it is evident this film will have lots to contribute on the subject of the war and its impact on the economy of the countries involved.

The discussion continued to the idea that protesting against war "is not good for business," as Donahue stated.  It is difficult to sell films that are dark.  Unfortunately, people still have the idea that film is a form of entertainment and this is why documentaries do not get the attention the deserve.  Even in documentary filmmaking, Tucker says, "there is pressure to make it emotional and entertaining."

The film Body of War still has no distributor but both Donahue and Spiro hope this festival will be a vehicle to have it picked up by someone.   In the case of Tucker's Bulletproof Salesman, he hopes to finish shooting in Afghanistan and show it at Sundance next year.  The idea is to continue making these films because there is a serious need to inform the world of the consequences and casualties of war.

The series Doc Talks was open to public audiences this year.  Each one gives us a chance to hear what filmmakers encounter while creating a documentary.  This year, the series has three foci: biographies, filming war and politics.

The first talk dealt with filming biographies; hence, its title Complicated Lives.  The biographies showcased at this year's Reel to Reel program have exposed us to individuals who have been blacklisted, exiled from their homes, achieved amazing success in their craft and in their personal lives.  The panel consisted of Peter Askin (director of Trumbo), Peter Raymont (director of A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman) and Scott Hicks (director of Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts); all accomplished filmmakers.  The moderator was RTR programmer Thom Powers.

First, each of the directors discussed how they came about filming the story of each of his subject.  In the case of Peter Askin, someone gave him a copy of the play Trumbo -- based on Trumbo's letters to friends, family and enemies.  Trumbo kept carbon copies of all the letters; thus, they were used to create the play.  These writings are what attracted him to the subject.  Askin stated, "the letters were also wonderful to perform."  For Peter Raymont, the case was slightly different.  He met Ariel Dorfman at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, at which Dorfman was moderating a panel much like TIFF's Doc Talks.  They stayed in touch and became friendly and one day Dorfman sent Raymont a copy of his memoirs; that's how he got the idea to make a film about Dorfman's experience while exiled from Chile.  Scott Hicks was approached by someone with the idea to make a film about Philip Glass, the prolific, minimalist composer, as a way to celebrate his accomplishments and his 70th birthday this year.  Hicks had not thought about making such documentary but it sounded like a good idea; he was already friends with Glass and wanted to show the world this "captivating" individual.  Thus, he bought a small camera and began following Glass around in his day to day routines.  In all three films, the connection that each filmmaker had to the subject aided in creating a very personal look at the lives of these three men.

When making documentaries, it is likely that there could be challenges or limitations.  Hicks mentioned how he "didn't want [the film] to be a hagiography to St. Philip."  He wanted to show someone still looking for balance in is life.  The challenge was more in keeping balanced for the purpose of the film.  For Askin, the issue could have been the fact that he was filming the story of a man who died over 25 years ago, who'd written his pieces that long ago also.  Before starting the project, Askin met Chris Trumbo (Dalton Trumbo's son) and began a relationship with him.  Through getting to know Trumbo's family and friends, Askin was able to get to know the man -- Dalton Trumbo.  Peter Raymont said it best, "the strenghts in these films is trust" between filmmaker and subject.  This trust allows the viewer get inside the head of the subject.

In each film, we come to know very intimate details of these three men.  In Trumbo, we come to know him through archived footage of interviews he'd done, family videos, and the actors reading his letters.  Askin said that by having interviews of Trumbo, it was as if Trumbo was also telling his own story.  For the other two films, the subject himself tells his story.  The directors take us on each of their journey as each of them, Dorfman and Glass, live their daily lives.  There are some very personal moments shown in each documentary.  Ultimately, the purpose of filming such complicated lives was not to give people all the information about the subjects.  It is to give us a glimpse of who they are through their work and their relationships.

Trumbo and A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman will be playing on Saturday September 15th. Check out the links for times and location.

This is probably the first time I've had to slap a Parental Guidance warning on a Q&A, but The Devil's Chair director Adam Mason and star Andrew Howard used some fairly colourful language at times.  If you don't like the C-word, consider yourselves warned.

This also goes down as my favourite Q&A thus far due to Howard's reaction.  Seeing his own performance for the first time unnerved him so much that he did most of the session crouched onstage, his knees to weak to support himself for too long a period.

Again, a big thanks to Sanjay Rajput for getting us the video in a timely fashion.  Sleep truly is for the weak!

Hey everyone, here's pretty much everything you missed from last night's opening of Sukiyaki Western Django.  Y'know, aside from an epic, bitchin' Japanese western (laughs at those who missed out).

The Intro footage has the Q&A as well, because for some wacky reason Colin decided to do it beforehand last night.

We'll get the footage of Takashi Miike's awesome video intro up as soon as possible.  Yar, I be a pirate... but a pirate with permission.

Thank you to our friends for not only coming up from Detroit to partake in the madness but for also providing us with this footage.

Another very special thank you goes out to the mystery fan who supplied us with the snapshots below.  I'll give you a shout-out once Colin tells me who you are!

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, I had the pleasure to attend the Maverick session Everything to Gain: A Conversation with Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.   This was a chance to hear what President Carter and his wife have been doing since he left office over twenty years ago.  The conversation was moderated by Allan Gregg from TVO; it was also taped so that it can be aired at a later date on said station.

Where does one begin to describe all that the Carters have been able to accomplish?  Well, the most important thing would be to mention the Carter Centre. They founded the Centre soon after Carter was "forced to retire from office" in the 80's.  The Centre was to function like a "mini-Camp David."  It was meant to assist other governments with conflict resolution.  In the last few years, however, the Centre has focused more on health care, including mental health.  Their centre also sponsors Habitat for Humanity and the Carters take one week per year to help build homes somewhere in the world, where they're needed.

When Mr. Gregg asked them how they see their lives now, Mrs. Carter said  "It's a good life."  President Carter shared the sentiment, "We have an exciting, challenging, unpredictable life."  Talk about enjoying every moment.  It was evident that both Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter lead fulfilling lives; the smiles on their faces were enough to understand this. The Carters will continue on their humanitarian work because it is what makes them happiest, besides fly fishing, of course.

The conversation involved other topics like politics during Carter's presidency as well as those of today.  Carter mentioned that "fundamentalism has infiltrated US politics and other religions of the world."  He is concerned that America  is isolated politically from the rest of the world. 

After the discussion, President Carter took time to meet some of his fans outside the Ryerson theatre (shown here).  He was happy to sign autographs, shake hands with them and just share in the moment.  It is no surprise why so many find him to be such a charismatic individual.

Yesterday afternoon we had the pleasure to hear a panel (pictured here)composed of Adam Sterling (Co-founder, Sudan Divestment Task Force), Don Cheadle (actor/activist), Ted Braun (director, Darfur Now), Cathy Schulman (producer, Darfur Now), and Mark Jonathan Harris (producer, Darfur Now) discuss the status of Darfur today.  The discussion titled The Time is Now: A Conversation about Darfur is part of the Mavericks sessions presented at this year's festival.

The session began with a speech by Luis Moreno-Ocampo (Chief Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court at the Hague).  His words were meant to give us an idea of the statistics of violence in Darfur and how important it is for the international community to become involved.  The most serious point to understand is that the very same man who is responsible for many of these violent crimes, Ahmad Harun, is also the one responsible of civillian affairs.  It is just too ironic.  Mr. Moreno-Ocampo strongly urged all of us to become involved; thus, setting the stage for the rest of the panel to begin the discussion.

Director Ted Braun's involvement in the Darfur activist movement started about 19 months ago.  He wanted to make a film that spoke to as many people as possible.  He also wanted to look at the conflict in Sudan (Darfur) from multiple points of view.  In this project, Darfur Now, Braun wanted to include people who believe they could change the situation in Darfur.  Thus, we are introduced to the rest of the panel.

Adam Sterling learned about the Rwandan Genocide in 1994, while taking an African Politics course in university.  From then on, he started to look for ways to get involved.  Then we have Don Cheadle, an amazing actor, whose involvement started by reading about the situation in Sudan, being involved in the film Hotel Rwanda and just recently, writing a book about his activism for Darfur.  He said "I'm a follower;" it is students who are leading the way in terms of becoming involved.   Cheadle visited Africa as well, upon returning he realised "it was impossible to do nothing."

The producers both mentioned how the issue of racial conflict is universal.  And that documentaries are on the frontline of what is happening in the world.  Mark Harris stated that documentaries precede fictional films; such is the case now with films being made about the situation in Iraq.

The point of  the film Darfur Now is to show how interconnected the world is.  As well, I think the makers of the film along with the people who participated in it, simply want the world to accept the seriousness of the situation in Sudan.

One of the key issues is to realise that bureaucracies commit these hate crimes; whether is the rape of women or the murder of children.  In the news, we get sound bites of several problems affecting the world today.  As Braun put it, there is a "tendency to simplify the conflict."  It is up to us, as Mr. Moreno-Ocampo stated, to become involved.  Everyone has the opportunity to do so.  Some members of this panel were not sure at first how they could make a difference but they all agree that no matter how small one may think it is, the effort matters. 

 

One of today's Maverick sessions was a candid conversation with Bill Maher and Larry Charles on their upcoming film Religulous.

The sold-out session began with clips from the film.  Thus, setting the stage for a very open conversation about religion, politics and the connection between the two.  Moderated by RTR programmer, Thom Powers, he began by asking why make this film?  Charles called it a "passion project," which turned out to be more ambitious than they thought.

To give us more background information, Maher and Charles shared some tidbits about their upbringing.  On the one hand, Charles grew up in an Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood but his parents were secular.  Believe it or not, he wanted to be a rabbi when he was a teenager.  On the other hand, Maher grew up with a Catholic father and a Jewish mother.  He stated that as a child he never questioned why his mother wouldn't go to church on Sundays with the rest of the family.  In his view, "kids accept whatever happens to them;" without questioning much.  Interestingly enough, Maher described that through the making of this film, he has learned a lot more about his family.

In clips of the film, we see Maher and Charles travel to many places in the world looking for answers.  The footage of their travels is interspersed with clips from old Hollywood films based on biblical stories.  In the film, they focus on the "big three" religions: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.  Charles pointed out that all three religions have an end time that coincides with the destruction of the world.  Maher commented that "religion is like a movie; it needs an ending."

The tone in the film may appear as purely comical to some; however, as someone in the audience mentioned, the humour is a kind of "smart humour."  Maher and Charles are trying to make the point that politics and religion have an overlap, especially in the United States.  Both make a point that there are contradictions that are not explained in all religions.  The movie is to make people think and question religion.  The idea is to ask "why?" and realise that is a question not many people have an answer to.

There is a lot to be said about this session.  Maher and Charles could have stayed another hour to discuss the topic longer.  It will be interesting to see the response to the film once it's released next year.  One thing that is certain, there will be plenty of debates generated by the film.

It?s a Facebook world and we?re just living in it.  To understand how filmmakers are promoting their work on the popular networking site, I spoke with Kerry Young, producer of the short film Cursing Hanley, and creator of its Facebook group. 

 

MS: Was it a no-brainer to promote Cursing Hanley on Facebook, if so why?

 

KY: Yes, it was a no-brainer to put up a Facebook group. A very high
percentage of my friends in Facebook are folks I've met in the film
industry.  I'm a member of a group in Facebook for screenwriters
and their sketchy friends that has been really successful. I think
it's a growing trend - some of my friends and colleagues were
promoting their films with Facebook groups, and having great success.
So, I knew that this would be a great tool to promote Cursing Hanley
and get people out to see the film.

MS: Discuss the level of interaction your Facebook group allows fans of the film, journalists, and other interested parties?

 

KY: The Facebook group for Cursing Hanley is great because it does what
an interactive website would do: it's easy to update with info on
screenings, reviews, press mentions and it provides creative and
technical information about the film. People can comment about the
film, exchange thoughts...some of the and crew have joined the group,
so they can talk about how it was made, or even start a discussion
with the audience (when they've seen it) about the film.
Cursing Hanley had an amazing cast and crew and this is a great way
for everyone to stay in touch and follow the progress of the film.

One great thing about Facebook is that anytime anyone joins the group,
their Facebook friends see that they have joined. This may create
still more members of the Cursing Hanley group.

Here's a small example: a friend of mine in Halifax, posted the
screening times at the Atlantic Film Festival and so his friends in
Halifax will hear about the film. Facebook is very good for making
those important connections within the niche you want to target.

MS: When did you join Facebook, did you immediately realize its potential as a promotional tool?

 

KY: I actually joined Facebook fairly recently to post news about the
screening of another short film back in the spring. We had a great
turnout, and it was easy and simple to generate interest.

MS: Have people heard about Cursing Hanley who might not have otherwise because of your Facebook group?

 

KY: Yes, the Facebook page has already spread news beyond my existing
network to others. In one day, 90 people joined the group, and around
one-third of those are friends of friends - not my contacts. And
that's in just one day! its a great example, of I-told-2-friends
etc....

MS: A few reasons why people shouldn't miss Cursing Hanley?

KY: People shouldn't miss Cursing Hanley because it is a slapstick
black comedy about one man's very bad day! Jim Allodi gives an amazing
comedic and emotional performance as Hanley. Michelle Nolden is the
perfect Margo because you fall in love with her at first frame. We
were so thrilled to have Stephen McHattie on the film  - he's
hilarious as the unorthodox psychic. Cursing Hanley had a great
response at our cast and crew screening and now to be at TIFF is a
great honour!

MS: Any awesome facebook anecdotes?

 

KY: My favourite Facebook-is-a-small-world story is about finding a
woman with whom I used to ride in the Laurentians when I was a little
kid. I really admire her body of work, and so I was excited when I
noticed a a message from her in a film group I had joined. I sent her
a message through Facebook and we reconnected.

Link to the next showing of Cursing Hanley as part of Short Cuts Canada's Programme 4.   www.tiff07.ca/filmsandschedules/shortdetails.aspx?ID=705071101031292 - 75k -

For a deeper analysis check out the Social Networks, Connecting Filmmakers to Audiences discussion this Saturday at the ROM from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. http://www.tiff07.ca/industry/industryinitiatives/newsandviews

For you Facebook Fanatics out there, here are a few links to Facebook groups for other exciting Canadian shorts.

Cursing Hanley http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=5050844321&ref=mf

Burgeon and Fade http://www.facebook.com/group.phpgid=5807851185&ref=mf

The Tracey Fragments http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2253237706

Mike Sauve - TIFF Blog Reporter.

Last year saw the debut of Doc Corner, a designated space for registered pass holders to hang out and network. This year the Doc Corner will be moving into the popular Match Club space, located at the 5th Elementt restaurant (1033 Bay Street). We'll be enlivening Doc Corner with a series called Doc Roundtables - held from Sept 9 to 12 during the hours of 2-4 pm  - where filmmakers can meet with influential industry players, including distributors, sales agents, festival programmers and others.

Companies participating this year include A&E Indie Films, Discovery Films, Sony Pictures Classics, THINKFilm, Roadside Attractions, Cinetic Media, Submarine Entertainment, Sundance Channel, HBO Documentary, Red Envelope Entertainment, and more. Last year, we incubated this initiative with a successful one day event. This year will provide even more opportunities to filmmakers, spread over four days.

The most economical way to attend Doc Corner and Match Club is to purchase an Industry Initiatives pass (click here and scroll to bottom). There are plenty more perks to holding this pass that you can explore here.

[Pictured: Andrea Meditch of Discovery Films, who participated in the 2006 Doc Roundtables and will return again this year.]

The second of three Doc Talks today focused on collaboration, featuring the creators of Manufactured Landscapes discussing how a project comes toghether with such difficult creative bridges to build. The film's director Jennifer Baichwal said it was very different to look at an image through the eyes of a photographer, which she needed to do in creating this film focused on the work of famed Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky.

When Burtynsky found out a film was in the works about him, he was hesitant to be part of a project full of talking-heads speaking about him and his work. But Baichwal had something else in mind and asked revered cinematographer, Peter Mettler, to film the project. The choice was made to allow the scale of the photographs and their environmental focus to translate into film, according to Baichwal. All three members of the panel, agreed that this integrity was maintained in the film.

NFB Chairman, Jacques Bensimon, moderated the event and said at its start that the Doc Talks are a great idea and he hopes that they will become an annual tradition at the festival, garnering much applause from the full audience at The Fifth Element restaurant.

Doc Talks is sponsored by HBO Documentary Films.

Manufactured Landscapes (right) represents a tremendous collaboration
between director Jennifer Baichwal and cinematographer Peter Mettler as they follow photographer Edward Burtynsky taking his large-scale pictures on modern industrialization. The opening shot tracking through a Chinese factory will take your breath away. These three artists will come together for one of three Doc Talk panels on Sept 12, sponsored by HBO. This new initiative is open to TIFF Industry pass holders .

Another Doc Talk panel will focus on "War and Conflict" featuring filmmakers
Michael Tucker (The Prisoner) and Asger Leth (Ghosts of Cite Soleil).
The third panel will focus on "Celebrity in Documentary" with AJ Schnack
(Kurt Cobain About a Son), HBO supervising producer Sara Bernstein and
other panelists to be announced. Check back to the Doc Blog for more
updates.