Sep

TIFF ‘06 – Day 2

Posted by: Keram Malicki-Sanchez in Uncategorized

After much traffic and strange ego battles on street corners (of which neither I nor Sage were a part) we made our way into the Isabel Bader theater for the 4:45PM tribute to Norman McLaren, the person who created the animation department at the National Film Board of Canada back in the 40’s. The Governor General of Canada as well as Fest director Piers Handling were both on hand to introduce the tribute – a series of stop motion and animated shorts beautifully restored by contemporary animators at the NFB for a 7 DVD collection being released later this year.

Standouts were Blinkity Blank which won the Palme D’or some years ago – a peppery color on black short reminiscent of a Mentos in a bottle of Pepsi experiment or a winsome fireworks display. A Chairy Tale was also both highly entertaining and stood out for the ingenuity and emotion with which McLaren was able to imbue an ordinary wooden chair as it interacted with the male actor. Also a beautiful work set to the Oscar Peterson Trio that was very reminiscent of Stan Brakhage. Highly inspiring.

Also bought a pair of tickets to see “Sharkwater” – the doc about diminishing shark populations around the world and the repercussions of losing the top level predator to an ecosystem, and “I Don’t Want To Sleep Alone”, which received 5 stars in eye weekly’s roundup.

I am off to be a true Canadian and visit the beautiful nothern forests Barry’s Bay this weekend; nothing realigns one’s energy so well as a weekend on the Canadian Shield (for those not in the know, it is one of the largest concentrations of quartz crystal rock in the world).

Be back Monday for more observations on TIFF 2006. Have a good one, and stay cool!

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Tags: A Chairy Tale, Blinkity Blank, Sharkwater, Stan Brakhage, TIFF 06

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Sep

TIFF – Day 1

Posted by: Keram Malicki-Sanchez in Uncategorized

Sage arrived from LA last night and we are gearing up. This is her first TIFF.

Having a had a little more time to look over the spectrum of films for this year there are some astounding surprises that suddenly remind me why every time I attend I have this Do-Or-Die feeling as I try to get in via rush lines.

As of now my top must-sees include:

Kurt Cobain About A Son, AJ Schnack, 2006 – A near autobiography of Kurt Cobain via recorded interviews etc, without the MTV gimmicks.

Shortbus, John Cameron Mitchell, 2006 – Hedwig 2 electric boogaloo. Cmon, no chance of missing this one.

Away From Her, Sarah Polley, 2006 – Sarah’s directorial debut. Promises to be delicate and subtle.

D.O.A.P., Gabriel Range, 2006 – Every year there is one film that requires a disclaimer and a justification (usually concerning free speech). This is that film for 2006 – the pseudo doc about the assassination of President Bush.

Dixie Chicks – Shut Up and Sing, Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck, 2006 – For similar reasons, this film is all about standing your ground and doing what you believe in – in this case, in the face of the US Zeitgeist.

When The Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts, Spike Lee, 2006 – Spike’s documentary about New Orleans. Powerful combo. Must see.

Lake of Fire, Tony Kaye, 2006 – Ok this one is going to be really really tough viewing. Kaye has been making this documentary about the opposing views on abortion and rights for a decade and a half and I remember hearing stories about film processing houses that refused to work with the content etc. I am shocked and amazed and totally excited that it has finally arrived. Kaye is uncompromising, full of ego and what’s more a genius, this film is his life’s work.

Office Tigers, Liz Mermin, 2006 – Don’t know why but I am a sucker for docs about contemporary corporations and business. Maybe it’s because Roger & Me, startup.com, ENRON: The Smartest Men In The Room all make for such entertaining and infuriating subject matter.

Right now going to go try and catch Ken Loach’s “Wind that Shakes The Barley”. But what we actually get in to is anybody’s guess.

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5:45Pm Stood in the rush line and got the 2nd last pair of tickets to see Hirokazu Kore-eda’s “Hana”, a very unorthodox take on the Samurai seeking to avenge his father’s death at the hands of some badboy. I won’t spoil it, but I was happily surprised by the unexpected twist and shared more than a few strong laughs with Sage as the actors, script and director landed some intentionally very funny beats. A bit long in the end, could have been tighter, and the 46 Samurai bit in the 3rd act felt like too much of an afterthought, regardless it gets a Recommend.

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