Pre-Festival Bash
I wriggled my way into Lucky Bar last night, through the cozily packed Pre-Festival Bash, past camera lights, and sparkly burlesque dancers. The projection screen flickered with homegrown “My Victoria” Videos, It wasn’t just pre-festive, it was festive. Looks like an exciting year.
Whether it was Festival Programmer Donovan’s magical editing, or the films in the line-up, the Trailer reel had me sold. A few highlights:
Away from Her, Sarah Polley’s Directorial debut is set to launch the fest as the
Gala Screening. Universally touted as the Best Film of the Toronto International Film Festival. You can check out a trailer here: HYPERLINK "http://www.caprifilms.com/awayfromher/" http://www.caprifilms.com/awayfromher/
Norman McLaren Retrospective. Wow. I’m stoked. Maybe It’s the animation geek in me, or just that fact that the man is a genius (noticed I used “is.” Although he passed away in 1987, I’m refusing to let that alter his genius status to past tense.)
Bill Plympton’s “Guide Dog.” He was a guest of the festival a couple years ago. Wacky sense-of-humour. Seriously, the man is beautifully warped.
Andrew Currie’s “Fido.” I was lucky enough to catch a rough-cut screening of this film in the summer. Though zombie flicks don’t really do it for me, this one did. Light-hearted and entertaining. Shaun of the Dead meets Leave it to Beaver. Ridiculous. Fun Times. They’ve even got a website for “Zomcon,” the fictional company in the film HYPERLINK "http://www.zomcon.com/" http://www.zomcon.com/
And, they announced the Festival’s Special Guest this year, drum roll please…. Composer David Foster. I’ll be honest, my first thought was “David Who?” Until they played the reel. One of the most ubiquitous composers of our time, he has had his hand in everything: St. Elmo’s Fire, Karate Kid 2, The Bodyguard, Footloose, Ghostbusters. Like it or not – there’s a good chance you know every word to at least one of his songs, probably more than one. He is the writer/producer behind a slew of #1 soundtrack hits. I hadn’t put a name to them before – David Foster.
21 days and counting.
Before then, I’ll have to swing by The Bay or the Sony Store to check out the “My Victoria” Videos that are playing on a loop for the next 4 weeks. More than 50 Victoria-made minute-long films, including one of mine. Rumour has it the Bay has couches -woohoo!!!- but no popcorn, so bring your own.
I’ve got my grubby paws on a Festival Schedule, so now it’s time to mark off my calendar. It’s a question of scheduling. How many of the 140 films can I pack into a week? And can I bring my own lazy-boy chair so I don’t get theatre-bum?
More to come….once I’ve chewed my way through the festival guide.
“Away from Her” is screening Friday, Feb 2nd , 6:45pm at the Cap6 and Saturday, Feb 3rd, 7:00pm at Star Cinema in Sidney.
“McLaren Retrospective” is screening Sunday, Feb 4th, 6:45pm at the Cap 6.
“Guide Dog” and “Fido” are screening together on Saturday Feb 3rd, 6:45pm and Monday Feb 5th, 9pm at the Cap 6.
Whether it was Festival Programmer Donovan’s magical editing, or the films in the line-up, the Trailer reel had me sold. A few highlights:
Away from Her, Sarah Polley’s Directorial debut is set to launch the fest as the
Gala Screening. Universally touted as the Best Film of the Toronto International Film Festival. You can check out a trailer here: HYPERLINK "http://www.caprifilms.com/awayfromher/" http://www.caprifilms.com/awayfromher/
Norman McLaren Retrospective. Wow. I’m stoked. Maybe It’s the animation geek in me, or just that fact that the man is a genius (noticed I used “is.” Although he passed away in 1987, I’m refusing to let that alter his genius status to past tense.)
Bill Plympton’s “Guide Dog.” He was a guest of the festival a couple years ago. Wacky sense-of-humour. Seriously, the man is beautifully warped.
Andrew Currie’s “Fido.” I was lucky enough to catch a rough-cut screening of this film in the summer. Though zombie flicks don’t really do it for me, this one did. Light-hearted and entertaining. Shaun of the Dead meets Leave it to Beaver. Ridiculous. Fun Times. They’ve even got a website for “Zomcon,” the fictional company in the film HYPERLINK "http://www.zomcon.com/" http://www.zomcon.com/
And, they announced the Festival’s Special Guest this year, drum roll please…. Composer David Foster. I’ll be honest, my first thought was “David Who?” Until they played the reel. One of the most ubiquitous composers of our time, he has had his hand in everything: St. Elmo’s Fire, Karate Kid 2, The Bodyguard, Footloose, Ghostbusters. Like it or not – there’s a good chance you know every word to at least one of his songs, probably more than one. He is the writer/producer behind a slew of #1 soundtrack hits. I hadn’t put a name to them before – David Foster.
21 days and counting.
Before then, I’ll have to swing by The Bay or the Sony Store to check out the “My Victoria” Videos that are playing on a loop for the next 4 weeks. More than 50 Victoria-made minute-long films, including one of mine. Rumour has it the Bay has couches -woohoo!!!- but no popcorn, so bring your own.
I’ve got my grubby paws on a Festival Schedule, so now it’s time to mark off my calendar. It’s a question of scheduling. How many of the 140 films can I pack into a week? And can I bring my own lazy-boy chair so I don’t get theatre-bum?
More to come….once I’ve chewed my way through the festival guide.
“Away from Her” is screening Friday, Feb 2nd , 6:45pm at the Cap6 and Saturday, Feb 3rd, 7:00pm at Star Cinema in Sidney.
“McLaren Retrospective” is screening Sunday, Feb 4th, 6:45pm at the Cap 6.
“Guide Dog” and “Fido” are screening together on Saturday Feb 3rd, 6:45pm and Monday Feb 5th, 9pm at the Cap 6.
posted by Scott Amos at 10:35 AM
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