When I see stories like this one, I want to pack-up and move myself across the country. Why? As a film lover, living in Vancouver has some serious disadvantages and though I occasionally think about a move, as soon as I think about leaving the mountains and sea I start to feel green.

The First Weekend Club has posted some great news about a film series which kicked off in Toronto yesterday (apologies for not picking up on it sooner). Curated by Canadian film blogger Alan Bacchus in partnership with the Revue Cinema, Canadian Cinema in Revue is a screening series of great Canadian films. And we’re not talking your mother’s stuffy Canadian films; we’re talking celluloid awesomeness.

The series kicked off yesterday with a screening of Vincenzo Natali’s Cube as well as his short film Elevated and if that wasn’t great enough, they also arranged to have Natali on hand via Skype (gotta love technology!) to answer audience questions. If you ask me, this isn’t a shabby start to the series; not one bit! On the slate for the next few months:

July 13th: Fido with The Big Charade
August 10th: It’s All Gone Pete Tong with If I See Randy Again…
September 21st: Six Figures with Still Live

That’s a great line-up of Canadian film. For more information and to stay up to date with the series, be sure to check out The Review Cinema’s website.

[After a sad 'this film is too smart for the room and doesn't quite have the marketing push behind it' launch in Canada in March, semiotic zombie flick is getting a limited (and VOD) release in the USA from IFC. Because we love the film to death, we are reprinting Kurt's review from TIFF to remind you all out there to get out to this sharp genre flick, it's going to have a very tough uphill battle in the marketplace against Sam Raimi's Drag Me To Hell. It's playing on one lonely screen in the US, and that makes me sad.]

Now that Don LaFontaine is narrating trailers for the big guy in heaven, I would like to nominate actor Stephen McHattie as the logical successor to the phrase, “In a World, where…” Bruce McDonald’s latest film takes the omnipresent zombie subgenre and turns it on its ear (literally). Yes, ladies and gents, this is the first ‘talk radio’ zombie picture, a film in which so little is actually shown on screen, the viewer is left questioning (for much of the films runtime) whether or not the attacks are even real. Violence and intestine pulling gore are replaced with a plethora of science fiction and social ideas which are very much to the pictures benefit. Like Vincenzo Natali’s single room sci-fi/horror picture Cube, keeping the visuals to a minimum lets the minds eye soar with the strange questions and possibilities raised here. What communication mechanisms case raving mobs to spontaneously form? What is the difference between hearing and understanding? Is language itself a virus? Can talk radio save the world or is it really the pestilence? That the titular Pontypool (besides being a small Ontario town, is itself an interesting linguistic confection) wears its brains on its sleeve, in no way makes it less of a thriller, or for that matter, a great actor showcase (McHattie tears up the screen). Bruce McDonald and screenwriter Tony Burgess surprisingly inject a lot of playfulness along the way. As genre flicks go, Pontypool is the full package deal.

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Vulcan, Alberta: population of approximately 2,000 and a town that has become a tourist attraction due to chance and smarts. Latching on to the Star Trek coincidence, the town has embraced its connection with Star Trek fandom (if only in name) and built a solid tourist business but it looks like the town won’t be making any gains from the upcoming Star Trek film.

The enterprising community put forth a proposal to host the film’s world premiere, a proposal that was eventually supported by Mr. Spock himself, Leonard Nimoy, and recently rejected by Paramount. There isn’t a single reason for the rejection but there has been speculation that the fact that Vulcan lacks a theatre could have played a major role in the rejection since a custom made screen would have to be brought in. One would think that since the campaign has been active since 2007, the studio would have started planning in advance to accommodate the request which would have been a nice gesture on the film’s behalf but alas, it wasn’t meant to be.

There is a silver lining to this entire thing. Though the premiere will not take place in Vulcan, the studio has asked that representatives of the town participate in a media event taking place in Calgary a few days before the film’s release and if that’s not exciting enough for members of the community, there could be another fannish event on the horizon. The town is in negotiations to become “an officially licensed Star Trek destination”. What that means exactly I’m not sure but I am positive it will mean even more attention for the town.

For myself, I can’t wait for the next opportunity to drive through Alberta. We missed Vulcan on our last trip but I look forward to rectifying that sooner rather than later. Who knows, maybe by then they’ll be able to stamp my Star Trek passport.

Norman Jewison is one of those Canadian directors that made such a name for himself in Hollywood that I never thought of him as a purely “Canadian” filmmaker. Truth is, though he worked largely in Hollywood for most of his career, Jewison always had (and continues to have) close ties and support for the Canadian film industry so much so in fact, that in 1988 he founded the Canadian Film Centre. Originally set up as a training centre for film, the CFC has grown over the years to become one of, if not the, largest Canadian institution for training in filmmaking, television and new media. Some of Canada’s best new talents have come out of the CFC and their graduate films are nothing short of spectacular. From the cult favourite Blood & Donuts to Vincenzo Natali’s awesome Cube and last year’s Nurse.Fighter.Boy.

The CFC is celebrating their anniversary and honouring Jewison by screening two of his classic films, In the Heat of the Night and Fiddler on the Roof, at LACMA. On April 17th, Jewison will be on hand for a conversation on his career moderated by the great Leonard Maltin while the two films will screen on April 18th. Definitely an event to attend if you happen to be in town. I think I’ll celebrate by revisiting In the Heat of the Night.

It’s been so very busy the last few days that I almost missed some of the big news in Canadian film: the announcement of the Genies but thanks to Movie Moxie, it didn’t slip through the cracks.

I’m particularly happy to see all the love for Richie Mehta’s Amal and Carl Bessai’s Normal. If that’s not enough, there’s also the wiked documentary category which features Maddin’s My Winnipeg and Yung Chang’s excellent Up the Yangtze. Checking down the list of the nominees, it’s been another banner year for Canadian film! The awards will be handed out on April 4th in Ottawa.

List of Nominees:

BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM
Amal - David Miller, Steven Bray
Ce Qu’il Faut Pour Vivre / The Necessities of Life - Bernadette Payeur, René Chénier
Normal - Andrew Boutilier, Carl Bessai
Passchendaele - Niv Fichman, Francis Damberger, Paul Gross, Frank Siracusa
Tout est Parfait / Everything is Fine - Nicole Robert

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION
Richie Mehta - Amal
Lyne Charlebois - Borderline
Benoit Pilon - Ce qu’il faut pour vivre / The Necessities of Life
Carl Bessai - Normal
Yves-Christian Fournier - Tout est Parfait / Everything is Fine

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
Paul Gross - Passchendaele
Rupinder Nagra - Amal
Christopher Plummer - Emotional Arithmetic
Aaron Poole - This Beautiful City
Natar Ungalaaq - Ce qu’il faut pour vivre / The Necessities of Life

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
Normand d’Amour - Tout est Parfait / Everything is Fine
Benoit mcGinnis - Le Banquet
Callum Keith Rennie - Normal
Rade Sherbedgia - Fugitive Pieces
Max Von Sydow - Emotional Arithmetic

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE
Isabelle Blais - Borderline
Ellen Burnstyn - The Stone Angel
Marianne Fortier - Maman est chez le coiffeur / Mommy is at the Hairdresser’s
Susan Sarandon - Emotional Arithmetic
Preity Zinta - Heaven on Earth

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN
Céline Bonnier - Maman est chez le coiffeur / Mommy is at the Hairdresser’s
Kristin Booth - Young People Fucking
Eveline Gélinas - Ce qu’il faut pour vivre / The Necessities of Life
Anie Pascale - Tout est Parfait / Everything is Fine
Rosamund Pike - Fugitive Pieces

The rest of the nominees are tucked under the seat!

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The National Film Board has long been known as a staple in Canadian film but the once stuffy identity has been trying to shed its old suit for some hip new attire and doing a good job of it too. Over the last few years they’ve been investing in projects one wouldn’t immediately think of as “NFB Material” and along the way, they’ve also been making their website a hub of information; a hub that’s about to get that much better.

Though the official announcement won’t take place until tomorrow, the NFB has let it be known that on Wednesday, January 21st, they will be officially launching their “Online Screening Room” which will feature full length feature and short films added every week. The Online Screening Room will highlight and include an assortment of new and classic NFB selections and they’re certainly starting off with a bang offering up Alanis Obomsawin’s classic Kanehsatake 270 Years of Resistance and one of my favourite films of last year, Murray Siple’s Carts of Darkness (our review).

Lucky for you, you don’t have to hold your breath until tomorrow as the Screening Room is already in operation (though a little spotty at the moment). Head on over to the NFB for all the goodness. I can’t wait to see what else they’ll be offering up as they have an extensive library featuring some films that can’t be found anywhere else.

One of my favourite films of last year, and easily one of my favourite documentaries of the last few, was Anvil! The Story of Anvil (our review) . The film has been touring through various cities since its premiere at Sundance but no distributor to be found anywhere and outside of a few clips tacked together from the festival, there wasn’t even a trailer for the film. That has now changed.

The film is scheduled to open in the UK on February 20th and I can’t say this enough, if you have the opportunity to see it, SEE IT. Even if you’re not a metal fan, this is will touch your heart (and if it doesn’t then you’re obviously an early incarnation of the android). I hope that the film gets a wider distribution in North America as well – I’d love the opportunity to see it again, this time with a few friends in tow!

Thanks to Jay at The Documentary Blog for the heads up on the trailer. Rock on!

I’m a little late considering the announcement was made a while back but Canada’s Top Ten is back and this year’s list of films is as, if not more, impressive than last year’s.

The panel of judges have, as far as I can tell, outdone themselves with their selections and the list features entries from some of Canada’s most notable filmmakers, a few films that I’d yet to hear anything about and one that I downright despised (though they’re allowed to make mistakes too so we’ll just over look it).

The list of short films sounds interesting but admittedly, the only film on that list that I’ve even heard of is Denis Villeneuve’s Next Floor, which I posted about a few months back.

The feature films:

Adoration - Atom Egoyan
Before Tomorrow - Marie-Hélène Cousineau & Madeline Piujuq Ivalu
Ce qu’il faut pour vivre - Benoît Pilon
C’est pas moi, je le jure! - Philippe Falardeau
Fifty Dead Men Walking - Kari Skogland
Heaven on Earth - Deepa Mehta
Lost Song - Rodrigue Jean
Maman est chez le coiffeur - Léa Pool
La Mémoire des anges - Luc Bourdon
Pontypool - Bruce McDonald

The short films:

La Battue - Guy Édoin
Block B - Chris Chong Chan Fui
Drux Flux -Theodore Ushev
Ghosts and Gravel Roads - Mike Rollo
Green Door - Semi Chellas
Next Floor - Denis Villeneuve
Nikamowin (Song) - Kevin Lee Burton
Passages - Marie-Josée Saint-Pierre
Princess Margaret Blvd. - Kazik Radwanski
Mon nom est Victor Gazon - Patrick Gazé

If you’re not in Toronto, don’t despair. The majority of the films will open across Canada throughout the year, while other will screen as part of the First Weekend Club’s Canada Screens series and a few lucky cities, including Vancouver, will be screening all of the feature and short films as part of Canada’s Top Ten travelling roadshow.

Road trips. In movies, they tend to be metaphors for change and personal growth and the majority of the time, the use of “the road trip” is usually cheesy and ham fisted. On occasion, a film comes along that actually makes good use of the metaphor but for the most part, it’s a cause for eye rolling. I’m not quite sure which camp One Week falls into but I’m willing to find out.

Directed by Michael McGowan, One Week stars Vancouver native Joshua Jackson as Ben who, weeks before his wedding, decides to take a motorcycle trip from Toronto to Tofino, stopping at landmarks that are “both iconic and idiosyncratic” on a road trip which, he hopes, will help him find meaning in his life. Same old story, I know but there’s something about the fact that Ben’s trip takes him across Canada that really appeals to me. It seems like such a Canadian thing to do (just look at the number of commercials that make use of road trips: NHL, Tim Hortons, Molson Canadian; it’s a theme man, it’s a theme) and considering I’ve never done it (I’ve seen more of the American coast than of Canada), I’m looking forward to the opportunity to check out some of these “iconic” locales.

If that’s not enough, I’m really looking forward to seeing Joshua Jackson on the big screen again. Though he’s shown up in a number of supporting roles since his days on “Dawson’s Creek”, it was this year’s crummy horror film Shutter which brought him back into the mainstream and though the movie was awful, Jackson was surprisingly good. I’m hopeful that between this new film and “Fringe”, Jackson will make a splash; he’s certainly talented enough to crack the list of hot New Hollywood.

Mongrel will open One Week across Canada on March 6th.

Trailer is tucked under the seat!

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Director: Sacha Gervasi
Producer: Rebecca Yeldham
MPAA Rating: NR
Running time: 90 min

My parents always said that if I had passion, worked hard and made sacrifices I could do anything I wanted to. The so-called “American Dream” is fairly universal and perhaps it is that universality that has seen the saying and belief proliferate beyond America’s borders to enter the subconscious of the human race. For some, the dreams are small but for others, they are grandiose: become stars. But working hard doesn’t always translate into success and for many, a large part of success is also dependent on luck. Being at the right place, at the right time, knowing the right people and in the case of musicians, being heard.

MTV and VH1 only show the stories of the successful, the ones that made it. But what about the rest? In 2004 director Ondi Timoner followed two promising American rock bands, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, for her excellent documentary DiG!. One became successful (the Warhols) and the other not so much (Jonestown). It was interesting to see the derailment of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and from early on it was clearly apparent why that band would never hit the big time but watching Anvil! The Story of Anvil, the derailment isn’t apparent. This isn’t even a derailment; it’s simply a case of talented guys who never caught a lucky break.

Directed by Sacha Gervasi, former band roadie and long-time fan, the documentary tells the heartbreaking story of Toronto metal demi-gods Anvil. The band, which originally formed in the late 70’s, has released thirteen albums and after thirty years of hard work, remain largely unknown. How did this happen to a band that in 1984 played the Super Rock Festival in Tokyo with the likes of then up-and-comers Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and Scorpions (all of whom went on to huge success)?

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Earlier this year I was pretty impressed with Jay Cheel’s dramatized documentary The Goblin Man of Norway (which you can see in its entirety at the NFC).

Jay has been working on a new short film titled Colore Non Vedenti and documenting the steps using a very good production blog and now, the film has its first teaser trailer (of sorts).

There appears to be a bit more work to be done on the film itself (approximately 1/3rd still to be shot) and as far as I can tell from this teaser, it’s looking pretty sweet. The title, which my vague Italian translation puts at something like Colour Not Seen combined with the green jelly certainly suggests something weird going on but what I love most about Jay’s films are the aesthetics and the music and both are pretty stunning in this short clip.

At some point we’ll likely get another trailer (and perhaps a synopsis) but for the time being, you can revel in the greatness of the teaser clip which below.

Jane Campion isn’t exactly a prolific filmmaker but she has made a few stunners in her time and her films always prominently feature women struggling through some sort of emotional and relationship issues. It’s refreshing to see a female director approach female characters with sensibility and passion and Campion has proven that she can do so like a pro and her next film will likely follow the same path.

Screen Daily is reporting that Campion has picked up the rights to Alice Munro’s short story “Runaway” which is part of a short story collection of the same title for which she won the Giller Prize. Runaway is the story of a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage and prominently features the psychological and relationship oriented themes that Campion favours.

Campion is hoping to make the film on “quite a low budget and keep our values and make it work financially and commercially but at a different level than I think studios are trying to.” Can’t blame the woman for having her own vision and making the film she wants to make. In addition, Campion is also looking to shoot in Australia, substituting it for America, though the original short story takes place in Canada.

Runaway will start shooting once Campion finishes work on her current production Bright Star, a drama starring Abbie Cornish and the great Ben Whishaw, based on the three-year romance between 19th century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne.

Good to hear I have a little time to catch up with “Runaway”, a collection I’ve had sitting on my shelf for a few years but have yet to read. And to boot, also great to hear I have another period drama to look forward to and with Whishaw, Cornish and Campion together, it’s likely to be a great one!