Where: TIFF Bell Lightbox
When: Daily at 3:45PM, 6PM and 8:15PM (1:45PM on some days). Check the website for detailed schedules.
Tickets: At the TIFF website or in-person at the box office for the theatre. Be sure to show your TCard for a special student discount.
More Information: See the And Everything is Going Fine page on the TIFF site.

Back in May, BlogUT picked Steven Soderbergh’s documentary, And Everything is Going Fine as one of the must-see films at HotDocs. So I was delighted to find out that the TIFF Bell Lightbox programmers decided to release the film for a short run so that it can gain a bigger audience (and further promote the awesome prescience that BlogUT has been come to be known for). If you missed it during HotDocs, be sure to check it out now. Here’s the original review of the film from the HotDocs 2010 coverage at BlogUT.

Steven Soderbergh’s film, And Everything is Going Fine, is a continuation of Soderbergh’s obsession with the actor/performer Spaulding Gray. Soderbergh madeGray’s Anatomy in 1996, which was an eighty-minute film version of one of Gray’s monologues. And Everything is Gone Fine is essentially a mash-up of old recordings of Gray’s various monologue performances interspersed with the occasional personal interview (between, presumably, Soderbergh and Gray) and television interview. (more…)

Lead character "B" (Bobby Del Rio). Image from tiff.net

Written & Directed by: Mio Adilman
Starring: Bobby Del Rio, Jean Yoon, Paul Hyung Sun Lee

“Unlocked” is a dramatic comedy about an average, but nice guy named “B” who is trying to get his life back together after some not-so-happy experiences. However, he has to overcome many obstacles throughout his journey into living and rebuilding a normal life.

This film highlights the difficulties downtown Toronto cyclists face with other fellow cyclists, as opposed to the cars versus bikes dilemma we’re all aware of. It just shows how much integrity and tenacity it takes to be a long-term cyclist. It’s not just about riding a bike in your neighbourhood or park just for fun; neither is cycling simply just a mode of transportation. It is, rather, a type of lifestyle for many in Toronto and especially around the U of T campus.

This film is fun, funny, witty, and even a little bit spiritual, although some may disagree. (more…)

It seems to be just my luck this Film Festival season to be picking films of such obscurity that leave me absolutely flabbergasted once the credits roll in on the screen. But alas, I must give credit where credit is due…this film, Les Herbes Folles, is one that is light, comedic, and, despite many surprises that will leave you scratching your head, simply delightful. Based on a book by Christian Gailly, Les Herbes Folles tells the unique tale of a rather eccentric romance that blossoms over a lost wallet.

The beginning of the movie is incredibly encapsulating as it shows Marguerite, a fiery and single dentist, and how she first loses her purse with that all important wallet inside it. It then goes on to show Georges, an old married man with a tinge of crazy inside, and how he comes across that same wallet in a shopping mall parking lot. Instantly attracted to the photographs he finds inside, Georges agonizes over if and how he should contact Marguerite. What follows is, as the TIFF synopsis so wonderfully puts it, “their elaborate dance of attraction and rejection, hesitation and impulsiveness”.

(more…)

Oh those flashing lights! The celeb-stalking! The paparazzi! The crowds! The red carpet! This could only mean one thing…the return of our beloved city into the cinema world spotlight! That’s right, the 34th Toronto International Film Festival  began just last Thursday, and as always, I’ve been basking in the glory of all the festivities.

I kicked off the Film Festival season with Sharin Neshat’s adaptation of Shahrnush Parsipur’s novella, ‘Women without Men’. Set against the political backdrop of the 1953 Iranian coup d’état that brought down the democratically elected Mohammed Mossadegh, the film tells the interconnected tales of four women struggling to find freedom in their own personal lives.

Critically acclaimed and even nabbing the Silver Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival (the second highest honour), I naturally had high hopes and expectations for Neshat’s supposed masterpiece, but instead, the film left me hopelessly confused all throughout. I went into that theatre expecting a story of empowerment, a story of how women in the Muslim world could rise above the patriarchy and its many barriers and achieve more, demand more. But all I saw was the slightest form of liberation that still left the women desperately unhappy with their lives (Warning: spoilers ahead!). (more…)

Well, for all you star-struck fans out there…here’s your chance! Improv in Toronto is creating their own Red Carpet, albeit fake (sorry!), during the Toronto International Film Festival. Asked to do a mission for MTV, Improv in Toronto is looking to all of you to surround the red carpet to let loose, channel your inner fanatic, and create a buzz!

Details:
When: Saturday, September 12th around 2pm-4pm
Where: Meet at the park near Bay Station
What to wear: Red and white
What to bring: Flags, pen and paper to get signatures, camera’s and whatever you think a crazed fan would bring!

Check out the Facebook event page for more information: Spotlight on Red and White