The Toronto International Film Festival has launched the digital TIFF Bell Lighbox. The site offers up new films, including Canadian films, that otherwise would have been seen at the Bell Lightbox. This is a lot more relevant across Canada to improve access to Canadian films that otherwise might not get to those parts of Canada. You can find out more details.
The rental fees are $5.99 + HST for new releases and $4.99 + HST for catalogue titles. That exchange rate would be good for non-Canadians, but the catalogue is limited to Canadians. Americans and other can look at the site to get inspired to find those films.
One of those films is Guest of Honour, the latest from Atom Egoyan. Egoyan was on Q with Tom Power promoting the film. The film is also available on demand on the U.S. side.
The TIFF folks point out that the digital TIFF Bell Lightbox lasts until August 14 and picks up in mid-October, factoring in time for the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.
❄️HOW TO PRONOUNCE❄️
— Tiio Horn (@kaniehtiio) June 10, 2020
❄️MY NAME❄️
My name is Kaniehti:io, I made a short lil video teaching non-kanien’kéha speakers how to pronounce it properly.
Taking the time to learn someone’s name is important and respectful, so I hope you enjoy this little how-to. pic.twitter.com/CXJCP8uXsy
Kaniehtiio Horn is a Canadian television and film actor. You might have seen her under the name Tiio Horn, especially earlier in her career. Horn put out this charming video (we posted a link on our Twitter page @canadian_xing) about how to pronounce her name.
She makes a really good point about learning to pronounce names that might seem different from ones we might know better. She does so in a calm manner different from some of her characters, such as her work on Letterkenny, The Trotsky, and Leslie, My Name Is Evil.
We don't necessarily know what would have been the Chicago selection for a Canadian film leading up to Canada Day. We have a strong hunch the film would have been And the Birds Rained Down | Il pleuvait des oiseaux (2019) from Louise Archambault.
The Chicago International Film Festival offered the film for online rental and held a Q&A with Archambault.
I asked her about the dogs in the film. Archambault pointed out that they let what the dogs did happen naturally. The dogs reacted in good ways they had not anticipated.
They talked mostly about this film but also pointed out Archambault's other 2019 film Thanks for Everything | Merci pour tout. Archambault previous directed Gabrielle (2013), which was Canada's entry into the Best Foreign Language Film category and won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Picture, and Familia (2005), which made the TIFF Top Ten list.
You can watch the Q&A.
Oscar nomination should help people find Denis Villeneuve Quebec films
"I didn’t have the desire to work in Hollywood because I was afraid of the Hollywood system, I was afraid of all those stories. In Canada we don’t have a lot of money but we have a lot of freedom, and for me that was something that was very precious ... Here [in Canada], you cannot make a lot of movies. It’s a system that’s based on government funds. You have to wait your turn. But when you make the movie, you are totally in control."
This was from Denis Villeneuve in a recent interview with indiewire.com. Villeneuve talked about being wary about working for American studios. He has found great success and acclaim with American studios, though we miss what could have been in terms of that control. Villeneuve and Jean-Marc Vallée made some great films in Canada yet moved down south for bigger budgets and more prestige.
A key difference is that they still direct but don't write the scripts that brought them notice in Canada. The only 2 films Vallée wrote and directed were C.R.A.Z.Y. and Café de Flore. That is not a coincidence.
The article also gives some love to the cinematography work of Roger Deakins on Villeneuve's films. Deakins was nominated for an Oscar for Prisoners, Sicario, and Blade Runner 2049, winning an Oscar for Best Cinematography for Blade Runner 2049.
Canadian film review: The Decline
Netflix is accepting English-language pitch proposals from Canadian creators for series or films until August 5. You might recall that Netflix did something similar in Quebec with French-language producers. The byproduct of that was Jusqu'au Declin | The Decline, which seemed to exist as a way to make us think Quebec films are poorly made.
The Canada Virtual Pitch Day is scheduled for September.
Netflix does carry some cool Canadian television shows and a few good Canadian films. Quite frankly, the channel carries some crappy Canadian content as well.
"Netflix is proud to help bring Canadian stories to the world. We are continuing our search to discover amazing stories from both seasoned storytellers and undiscovered talent all over Canada. Diverse and underrepresented stories told authentically are important to us," the U.S. streamer wrote on its company blog.
Let's hope the programmers with taste are the ones deciding about potential Canadian content. Canadians are producing amazing Canadian content. Please find projects better than Jusqu'au Declin | The Decline.
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
The Walrus and the Whistleblower won the top prize at the Hot Docs International Film Festival. The documentary from Nathalie Bibeau is about Phil Demers, who was an animal trainer at MarineLand in Niagara Falls. Demers later made claims of animal abuse in the park.
The film is available in Canada on CBC Gem.
photo credits: TIFF; Chicago International Film Festival
Twitter capture: @kaniehtiio
Comments