Hardly a surprise and well deserving of the win, Ce qu’il faut pour vivre has been named the Best Film for the 11th edition of the Jutra Awards. Borderline also garnered itself a few main awards. While hardly nominated for any of the major categories, the nominee-leader Babine took away most of the artistic categories, including Best Sound Design and Artistic Design. Read on for a list of all winners at this year’s Jutra Awards. Read more »
The mecca of the Québecois film industry arrives this Sunday with the 11th edition of the homegrown awards ceremony that celebrates the films, actors, directors, writers, producers, editors, sound mixers, animators, documentarians it is comprised of. Continue reading for a full list of nominees, my thoughts on potential winners, blunders, and why this year beats the hell out of last year’s Jutras. Feel free to leave your own comments as well! Read more »
Tags: Babine, Benoit Pilon, Borderline, C'est pas moi je le jure!, Ce qu'il faut pour vivre, La memoire des anges, Lea Pool, Luc Picard, Lyne Charlebois, Maman est chez le coiffeur, Philippe Falardeau, The Necessities of Life, Tout est parfait, Yves-Christian Fournier
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March 26, 2009 | No Comments »
Drama, action, comedy and documentary. There’s one film this week to appease fans of any genre. The first is The Cake Eaters, an American indie starring up-and-comer Kristen Stewart (Twilight). It is a tale of two small town dysfunctional families who discover and rediscover themselves and their relations towards one another. Stewart plays one of these characters, Georgia, who is terminally ill and intent on living every moment to its fullest. Read more »
Tomorrow begins a 10-day festival promises a dizzying array of artist close-ups, captivating biographies, gripping investigations, major tributes, visual experiments and animation treasures. Covering everything from music and painting to architecture, contemporary art, dance, literature and animation, the 27th FIFA will be celebrating the creativity and importance of artists in grand style. More than ever, film is proving to be a medium of choice to showcase the many forms of artistic expression. Read more »
Celebrate Spanish and Latin-American film from various hispanic (and Portuguese!) regions around the world. This year’s edition has uber-colorful programming (don’t believe me - visit their official website) and showcases films that are enlightening, from documentaries to social commentary fictions, to entertaining, be they love stories or ultra-violent modern dramas. This festival is also less cumbersome than most, with only about 30 films or so over a two-week period. It runs from March 19th to April 9th. Read more »
Before delving into this week’s home releases, I must admit an oversight from last week. Montreal-made English-language film Adam’s Wall is currently available on DVD. This story about a Jewish teen who falls in love with a girl with Lebanese roots made some waves at local film festivals and has even garnered itself a Jutra nod. Read more »
A re-emerging trend among musicians seems to be making experimental films. The Flaming Lips recently found cult success with Christmas on Mars, a strange amalgam of B-movie science fiction and music. Montréal’s own Arcade Fire are now on the bandwagon with Miroir Noir, which is supposed to be about the band embarking on their Neon Bible album tour, but is really a mix of document and experiment. It plays at Le National on April 2nd. Read more »
Tomorrow, the FFDPM (Festival de films sur les droits de la personne de Montréal), or Montréal Human Rights Film Festival begins its 4th edition. The programming will be shown at Cinéma du Parc, NFB Cinérobotheque and Concordia University, and runs until March 22nd. The films from international filmmakers deal primarily with issues pertaining to human beings living in deplorable conditions or fighting for essential rights. Read more »
What a great week for releases! Award nominated films, more than half decent comedies (this is rare), naturalistic filmmaking hits, a classic Disney re-release, and the Swedish vampire masterpiece Let the Right One In (Lat den ratte komma in). This twisted tale of a girl vampire who befriends a disturbed young boy should not be missed; nor should any of the following highlighted films. Read more »
Tags: Charlie Kaufman, David Wain, Gus Van Sant, Happy-Go-Lucky, Jonathan Demme, Let the Right One In, Mark Herman, Mike Leigh, Milk, Rachel Getting Married, Role Models, Synecdoche New York, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, Tomas Alfredson
DVD Previews | March 9, 2009 | Comments Off
The staple film at this year’s children’s film festival (playing numerous times daily from 9am to 5pm) is the animated Mia et le migou. It is directed by Jacques-Rémy Girerd and based on a series of books under the popular French label J’aime lire. The film itself is a straightforward and harmless adventure story backgrounded by a theme common in kids fare: the conflict between expanding urban construction and the environment. Those familiar with animated films could best describe the film as a toned down Princess Mononoke on a much less epic scale. Read more »
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