ICFF - Italian Contemporary Film Fest returns to the Distillery District bigger and better

 

The Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) Press Conference was held today at the Distillery District to unveil the plans for this years festival.  This festival really goes big and innovates when they try to do more every year.  This year has a huge logistic component with all kinds of things going on day and night.

The ICFF/Lavazza IncluCity as it's called Film Festival takes place from June 27 to July 21, 2023 at the Distillery District in Toronto for their second year.  They managed to find a way around the pandemic a couple of years ago when they held a Drive In Festival at Ontario Place.   Always ready to innovate and experiment to make it all come together.   This year the Distillery will be taken over for roughly a month of full programming with a stage being built for Music during the day and then the evening will take over with mostly Italian films but also other films from around the world such as India, France, Germany, Canada and more.

After the regular programming for the first time they are adding late night screenings of Horror films with their The Dark Side program which is handled by Horror expert Chris Alexander.  One of the films that will be shown is by David Cronenberg's son Brandon with his Infinity Pool (CAN).

The Opening Night film is called Freaks Out by Gabriele Mainetti.

The film I am looking forward to is Sugar and Stars/A La Belle Etoile Directed by Sebastien Tulard. Which will also coincide with chocolate at the festival.

Another noteable film is Perrugino a Documentary Directed by Giovanni Piscaglia about an influential Renaissance painter.

Another familiar musician will be in The Journey: A Music Special from Andrea Bocelli, Directed by Gaetano Morbioli, Paolo Sodi.

There is a really wide variety of programming with 50 films in this 12th edition with more activations such as Bastille Day events,  Sake Tasting event,  A Ghost tour of the Distillery, and a 60 minute Cinematic tour of all the films that were made at the Distillery.  I look forward to these events.

And also returning is 6ix Art Outdoor with a focus on local artists that will display in the galleries and around the Distillery district.

There's an AWA Music Showcase and there will also be a couple of Opera singers that will sing along with one of the films.  Music artists are from all over the GTA.

on July 22nd there is also a special "In Conversation with" ANNA FENDI at the Bell Lightbox at 6pm and the tickets are $32 and at 7:30 at the Ritz Carlton there is the Closing Gala for $275 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

Also featured at the festival will be Architecture and Design with special panels and screenings.

This festival is too huge for me to list all the highlights so I would suggest that you check out their website and book your tickets and make plans to sit in the sun and lounge on couches while watching a film and grabbing some food and drink.   Did I mention that Pizza Nova and Lavazza were their returning sponsors.

I haven't be able to attend the festival for the past couple of years but really hope I can spend as much time there this year as possible.  The festival is run by a terrific team of people who have an enormous amount of passion for all things film, culture and community.

Tickets are available for purchase now at https://icff.ca/.

Social Media
Instagram: @icffcanada & @distilleryto
Twitter/Facebook: @ICFFCanada & @DistilleryTO
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Visit the Distillery District for more information:  www.thedistillerydistrict.com

Artifice Girl- What is real?

The Artiface Girl

Written and Directed by Franklin Ritch

Running Time: 1hr 33 min.  (USA) Sci-Fi

Starring: Tatum Matthews, Lance Henriksen, Sinda Nichols and Franklin Ritch

This film is a peak into the near future of Artificial Intelligence and very relevant to where the world is now and deciding what choices to make for the future.

The film was shot in Jacksonville, Florida.  It seems to be a low budget film only based on the fact that there were only 3 dimly lit sets used as locations.  The first location was a small interrogation room and then another small office.  Finally in a home.

The script is expertly crafted with questions asked throughout the film on what is real and what choices have been made.  It depicts an AI character of a 9 year old girl that is used to try and capture child predators and build human capabilities to obtain the objective of keeping children safe.  Why was this specific girl AI created and when it can interact with super human intelligence when does it become real and not just an image?

The acting was very intelligent and nuanced with Tatum Matthews playing the AI and Franklin Ritch the creator and then years later played by veteran actor Lance Henriksen.

This is the kind of film you take with you long after you finish watching the movie because you see reflections of it in real life and it makes you ask yourself questions of what do you want the future to look and act like.  How far is too far?  

When we design machines to do everything humans do then what do the humans do then?

It's a very smart film that I highly recommend seeing.   

I was told about it by the Executive Producer who is also a programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival so he has seen a whole lot of films over the years.  

It's a subject that I have been learning about recently with my day job and the changes as technology takes on repetitive and complex tasks and in my personal life as things like Chat GPT are starting to dominate the landscape.  Will we lose all originality because it will just become computers learning from programs and scouring what's already on the internet.  Will it be used to help humanity or taken over by nefarious people for their own greed and evil deeds.

This is our future.  You better keep up or get passed by if you aren't on board.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie at Hot Docs

 

Michael J. Fox

STILL: A MICHAEL J. FOX MOVIE

Running Time: 95 Min.  (USA)

Directed by Davis Guggenheim

Most people know who Michael J. Fox is if you have watched popular American Movies and Television Shows but they know less about him personally and what he has gone through behind the scenes.

This documentary is an entertaining and emotional look at Michael J. Fox's life through his battle with Parkinson's Disease and he relentless fight to not get in the way of his life.

Davis Guggenheim creates a masterful weaving of images from Fox's past work on screen, archival and scripted images.  Fox tells his story in his own words while trying to balance his meds to be able to speak clearly. Born in Canada and taking the leap of faith to pursue his acting dreams in Hollywood he never gave up even though he didn't fit the mold of a Hollywood leading man.  His youthful and expressive face and his passion got him through those doors and onto screens.

Michael J. Fox met his wife Tracey on the set of Family Ties and her dedication to support him through sickness and health that is so strong for the family bond.  Fox has a strong belief that family is the most important thing and all of the rest is mostly BS.  That strength has seen him through many challenges such as almost instant fame after almost having to give up because of lack of money and then to the realization that there might be something wrong and trying to cope with alcohol to beating that and coming to terms with the fact that he was no longer able to hide his Parkinson struggles.

Because he could no longer hide the tremors he set up a foundation that could help other people and himself to have better futures with more research on the disease.   Fox and Mohammed Ali both became the faces of Parkinson's disease.  A disease that causes uncontrollable actions and complications from falling and other injuries that occur because of instability and on top of that the difficulty of speaking which is probably the hardest part for Fox since he makes his living speaking and in many of his films in constant movement with many running scenes.  

Everyone goes through a Paradigm shift at some point in their life and in this case Guggenheim and Fox let you see what it's like to go through a profound shift like this.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film.  It had all the emotions with laughter and sadness.  Michael J. Fox's self deprecating humour is endearing and ironic.

He is not giving up and will do whatever it takes to push through and live his life on his terms.

The film will be streaming on Apple Tv + starting May 12th, 2023.

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie (2023) - IMDb 

Invisible Beauty at Hot Docs

INVISIBLE BEAUTY

Written and Directed by Bethann Hardison & Frédéric Tcheng 

Produced by Lisa Cortés Co-Produced by Paul Dallas (Runtime: 115 Minutes)

This was the last film I watched at this years Hot Docs Festival and it was a great film to walk away and think about.

I didn't know the story of  trailblazing Fashion model, agent and activist Bethann Hardison but I did know the people she elevated in the Fashion world.  Pretty much the who's who in the world of diverse models.  She guided Naomi Campbell, Tyson Beckford, Iman, and a host of the Top models in the 80's and then witnessed it all change back like going back to Black and White television from Color but in reverse.  She worked to hard to make change and was determined to elevate and educate the industry.

She is a force of nature who talks in sound bite quotes a lot.   She put her whole being into her career at the sacrifice of her son and her personal life.

She pushes people outside of their little boxes to achieve greatness.   

There were many brutal and cutting comments made in the film but it seems to me that she intends to provoke conversation to affect change.

She is a very interesting character and I found it very informative how it connected segregation, racism, and what happened after the George Floyd death and the people pushing for change.

I was aware that black models were not paid as much as white models but the shameful dismissal of models just because they were black was inexcusable. 

She is very much in control though and even co-directed her own documentary.  She was in the process of writing a book when some of the filming was done so I am sure it will be a page turner when it comes out.

She has done a lot in her lifetime.  Too many things to list here so if you want to know more about what she has achieved check out her website:  About — BETHANN HARDISON

Raizing Liberty Square- at Hot Docs

 RAZING LIBERTY SQUARE

Running Time: 86 min.  (USA)

World Premiere at Hot Docs Festival

Florida seems like a paradise when you see it advertised but in the Centre of Florida is a community of people living in Liberty Square who were pushed away from the gorgeous sandy beaches into a world of hell.   Politicians and developers will say and do anything to push their agenda to their benefit while lying to the people who their agendas will hurt.

A community of mostly black, low income families struggles to survive in the ever gentrification of the cities outside of downtown Florida.  You can see the skyline of Condos on the edge of the water that are getting flooded after every major storm while the developers are pushing for the takeover of the dry land in the middle of Florida to exploit the land for their financial gains.   They promise the residents the world and that they will be building better housing for them but what is the reality?  The housing changes to Private corporations who are able to raise the cost to live in these homes forcing the long time residents to find alternative housing.   For the world to see they say that no residents have been displaced but in reality the majority of them have.   

Where do these people go when you push them out for bigger and better and more expensive housing?  The irony of this build is that from the outside it looks pretty but it's still failing from the inside.

The women of this community try and do what's right for their families but how do you know if it's the right thing if the people in control don't tell you the truth?

This is a look at one city but also spreading like a virus throughout the world.  Climate Change migration as well as war, and economic struggles have been displacing people at a rapid pace.

Eventually you run out of places to go and then what?

To find out more check out the films website:  RAZING LIBERTY SQUARE

Someone lives here- Toronto's homeless failure

 SOMEONE LIVES HERE

Directed by Zach Russell

75 min.

In 2020 in the middle of a Global pandemic a Toronto carpenter named Khaleel Seivwright saw a problem in the City and thought he had the skills to help make a difference.   He started building tiny wood boxes that homeless people could use to get shelter from the elements when they were unable to find other options for shelter and Tents just didn't provide the necessary protection and safety to live in the brutally cold winter months.

Khaleel quit his job and set up a go fund me account to raise money to build these boxes on wheels to move to encampments in City parks for people to use as they needed without cost to them.  What some people thought was a solution to the over burdened shelter system the City and the first responder services apposed them.

This film is heartbreaking to watch because it was an utter failure the way the City handled clearing out the people in the encampments in City parks.

While I agree that they shouldn't be living in City parks, the in humane way the Police and the City handled the evictions was just embarrassing.  

They spent almost 2 million dollars dealing with enforcement of the encampment clearing when they could have used those same dollars to set up City property to move the tiny structures to and build a community with supports for the people to get mental and physical health care and help them to find employment and permanent housing.

With a pandemic going on at the time and the unhealthy living conditions at the over crowded shelters and not enough spaces to go to the people that had never been homeless before who lost their jobs because of the closure of businesses due to Covid or for other reasons and the renovictions and rent increases in the City, plus the increased cost of living gave most of these people no other option but to live in a Tent in a park until they could get back on their feet.   Instead of the City providing support they forced them out and destroyed their belongings.  The brutality that the was used to move these vulnerable people was something you might see in a third world Country and not in North America.

The City fought Khallel all the way saying the structures were unsafe.   Living in Tents is unsafe, living in Shelters with people with Covid and mental health issues is unsafe too.   The people that were able to stay in the tiny houses had protection from the elements, Covid and violence and crime against them.  They felt safe and warm until 1 fire from the inside made the whole option of the tiny shelters crumble like a house of cards.

I worked at Yonge and Dundas for 2 years and at that time I saw the visible increase of the homeless situation with people sleeping on mattresses on the corner of the street and begging for money from students, tourists and workers from every street corner.  Trying to find any kind of assistance or shelter they could.

Instead of amending the by laws to find a compromise the City just enforced everyone out and elsewhere.   I was in a friends car driving across Carlton and still see tents in the park but not the tiny houses.  The problem didn't go away it just moved somewhere else.

What I would really like to see being set up is a space where these tiny homes or better yet, converted shipping containers which are bigger set up similar to the Stackt Market in Toronto where they could be protected by the elements and not disturbing public parks and away from residents who complain and get them shut down.   Maybe a space in the Portlands where they could put a few Trailers that can have facilities with running water, showers, toilets and somewhere to do laundry that is maintained by the City and Social workers working with the residents to provide the services needed to move to permanent housing.    

Build a community for them instead of pushing them out.  A lot of people are one paycheck away from becoming homeless and the government services should be helping and not hurting these situations.

I would like to see what the next Mayor does to change this situation.  It's already way past the point of being a Crisis in the City that is spreading like the Pandemic that spread the problem in the first place.

The film had narration that was heartbreaking from a refugee woman who isn't seen but only heard telling her story of how the tiny box helped her gain hope to live.

I wish everyone in the Municipal government would watch this film and come up with a better plan to fix this issue.

This issue is only growing the more and more they try to move it out of sight it just moves somewhere else and becomes a bigger problem.

Does anyone really think people want to live in a tent in a park freezing with no food or money?  Would you?

This is not the City I grew up living in.  It's a waste of human potential.

Please vote for the people that will work to fix this problem.

Screening at the Hot Docs film festival  

Thursday May 4, 2023

4:15pm  Tiff Bell Lightbox in Toronto

Tickets:   Ticket | Hot Docs

also streaming online May 5-9th

• TH

Tax me if you can. at Hot Docs

 

TAX ME IF YOU CAN

Written  and directed by Yannick Kergoat 

Country: France  -   Running time:1h 54 min

Hot Docs Screening May 6th at Scotiabank

This is the kind of film that leaves you angry after watching it because you realize how everyone is getting scammed unless you are one of the 1%  that can play hide and seek with multiple banks around the world to avoid paying any taxes.  The very people who can afford to pay the taxes are the ones that pay nothing.  Think about Donald Trump boasting on how smart he is because he doesn't pay taxes.  But you have to.  Good luck trying to get out of it with shell companies and off shore banks and tax credits and all kinds of loop holes that they pay big lawyers and accountants to figure out instead of using that money to pay taxes.   Makes no sense does it.   They are hoarding their money as if they are down to their last dollar.   While the rest of the world struggles paycheck to paycheck.   It's infuriating.  There would be no homeless or hungry people in the world if the money was shared with those in difficult circumstances instead of billionaires buying more yachts.   Yachts are nice but how much money do you really need to live in your lifetime.

There were a couple of things that made this film both entertaining and annoying.  The animation they used to explain different parts of the transactions.  But the animation of arrows bouncing around pointing to the interview subjects heads was very distracting.

It was filmed in multiple languages so that's sometimes hard to keep up with but mostly you get what the point is.

It's a real look at the world of Tax havens, loop holes and pay offs and the constant moving of money from here to there.

If you don't already know a bit about banking this will teach you about the "double dutch" and the "Dutch sandwich".

These regulations and loop holes need to be fixed or the divide between rich and poor will widen and take out the middle class.

Sad state of affairs with these what I would call swindlers.  But you judge for yourself.

Nathan-ism - drawing history at Hot Docs Film Festival

Nathan-ism

Directed by Elan Golod

Documentary - 79 min.

Screening at Hot Docs Hot Docs (Toronto) on April 30 at 6pm

Nathan-ism is a Documentary about a Syrian Jewish Soldier named Nathan Hilu who lives in New York City who is what is called an "Outside Artist". He has been documenting his time during the WWII  Nuremberg Trials.  For over 70 years using Sharpies,  crayons and glue.  Nathan,  a lonely man in his 90's draws from what he says are memories of guarding the Natzi war criminals at the time of their trials.  He is a lonely old man seeking validation and wanting people to know what he says is a true story.  He wants to have his stories and art validated.  The problem is the fact that he is in his 90's and it's hard to prove the facts because of a fire where the Army records were held so there is very little proof to fact check.  Some details were found to be true and some could not be confirmed.  Nathan's drawings are compared to historical archival footage and documents. How much is memories versus what time does to memories after many years distanced from the actual events.

 

Nathan is a compelling character who spends all of his time quickly scribbling words around cartoon-like drawings that try and tell the stories that he says he was there to witness.

The film is told using Nathan's interviews, animation of Nathan's style of drawings, his drawings and archival footage.  

The documentary was sensitively created by Director Elan Golod.  The story is very intimate, told with respect and empathy and painting a picture of how the Holocaust and the atrocities need to be remembered by future generations.  

We must never forget so that history doesn't repeat these crimes.

About the documentary:

The Yad Vashem - The World Holocaust Remembrance Center has selected Nathan-ism to be, this year’s recipient of  -The Yad Vashem Award for Cinematic Excellence in a Documentary on the Holocaust with a monetary award. And it will play at DOCAVIV between May 11-20 as the Israeli premiere of the project from the USA.

Awarded

For the second year running, Docaviv and Yad Vashem will be presenting the Yad Vashem Award for an outstanding Holocaust-related documentary. This year, the $3,000 prize goes to “Natham-ism,” directed and produced by Elan Golod.

From the award committee’s justifications for choosing this film:
In precise and rich cinematic language, Golod manages to elicit in his viewer a wide range of emotions towards the outsider artist, to bring his works to life, and especially to raise awareness of the complexity of documentation, art, and testimonies about the all-human trauma that was the Holocaust.

A Proclamation on Jewish American Heritage Month, 2023 | The White House