News

"If we landed with them, that means we should've ejected." You have to see this impressive sci-fi short film titled Hyperlight, about two astronauts on a cool space ship traveling far to another place in the galaxy in another star system. Set at a time when humans have just achieved faster-than-light travel, this short has an ambitious concept but director Nguyen-Anh Nguyen pulls it off so amazingly well, with some slick VFX work and captivating sci-fi story. Hyperlight stars Jeananne Goossen, Peter Shinkoda, and Caroline Dhavernas. There's a few big twists in this and lots to process, but it's another must watch sci-fi short film. Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip. Synopsis for Hyperlight from Vimeo: 'Two elite astronauts wake up in the abyss of space; they return to their stranded ship and discover the surprising reason behind their mission's catastrophic failure." Hyperlight is directed by...

Playwright and screenwriter Nicolas Billon has signed with the Alpern Group. His first play Elephant Song debuted at the Stratford Festival in Ottawa, and he scripted its 2014 film adaptation starring Bruce Greenwood, Catherine Keener and Carrie-Anne Moss. Billon won Canada’s prestigious Governor-General’s Award for Drama for his 2013 stage trilogy Fault Lines. He also is set to write for Season 3 of X Company, a period spy thriller that airs on CBC in Canada. Rizwan Manji…...

The light outside the window bleeds into the asylum, but it’s only a glimmer. The hope remains on the other side of the pane; its glow enlightening the entrapping interior. Every character in Elephant Song is incarcerated in a mental institution, some doctors, others patients, yet the thing that unites them is that on this cold Christmas day there is the unshakable feeling that past trauma is returning. This year, they aren’t spending the holiday inside their warm homes. Instead, they’re investigating a doctor’s disappearance as well as their inner selves.

Dr. Lawrence has vanished and the head of the hospital, Dr. Green, interrogates a manipulative patient named Michael, who may know the missing doctor’s whereabouts. The patient suffers from an undisclosed mental disability yet he is clearly intelligent, thoughtful and capable of pushing buttons to get what he wants. Michael complies and agrees with Dr.

Directing and releasing five films across the last four years, with three of them premiering at Cannes, and another at Venice, you might understand why Xavier Dolan might not have time to return phone calls. And given the limited stateside distribution of his films, it might also be easy to forget that in addition to writing and directing, Dolan is a pretty good actor, having appeared in three of his features (“I Killed My Mother,” “Heartbeats” and “Tom At The Farm”). He’s a charismatic and playful screen presence, and when Charles Binamé called with a role in his two-hander “Elephant Song,” Dolan’s attraction to the part seems obvious. It’s a scenery-chewing, spotlight-ready role, and he nimbly makes the most of it. Unfortunately, the film around Dolan’s performance is as static and restrained as he is energetic and loose. Based on the play by award-winning playwright Nicolas Billon,...

I caught Charles Biname's Elephant Song at the Toronto Film Festival and in my review called the film a little "lackluster", but noted the performances from Xavier Dolan and Bruce Greenwood as particularly strong as the two go toe-to-toe in an adaptation of the Nicolas Billon play of the same name. Now a trailer for the flick has arrived and can be viewed below. Set in the mid'60s, the story centers on a psychiatrist that has gone missing and the last person he spoke to was a disturbed patient by the name of Michael Aleen (Dolan) and in an effort to get to the bottom of his disappearance Dr. Green (Greenwood) intends to have a chat with the young man, not knowing anything about his history or his desire to play mind games with those he comes in contact with. Catherine Keener, Carrie-Anne Moss and Colm Feore co-star.

Xavier Dolan first attracted international attention when his first film I Killed My Mother (J’ai tué ma mère) won three awards at the Director’s Fortnight program of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. His following three pics have also been highly rated by industry professionals, earning acclaim at prestigious international festivals around the world. Now the Quebec actor and filmmaker stars in Elephant Song, a big screen adaptation of Canadian writer Nicolas Billon’s play of the same name. Billon’s play debuted in 2004 at the Stratford Festival in Ontario. A native of Ottawa who grew up in Montreal, he also wrote the acclaimed play Greenland.

The drama follows a psychiatrist investigating the disappearance of his colleague who questions a disturbed patient (Dolan) and finds himself caught in a complex mind game. With the film screening at Tiff, the first trailer has arrived.

Elephant Song is directed by Charles Binamé...

Dr. Lawrence has gone missing and the only person that might know where he is is an elephant-obsessed and troubled patient by the name of Michael Aleen (Xavier Dolan). In an effort to get any information Michael may be withholding, Dr. Green (Bruce Greenwood) sits down with him, but Green's ego and the fact he didn't read Michael's file before beginning the interview leaves him at a serious disadvantage. Set in the mid-'60s and based on the Nicolas Billon play of the same name, Elephant Song is a psychological drama in which Michael plays mind games with the good doctor, preying on what he knows of Dr. Green's personal life, including his past relationship with Michael's nurse, Susan Peterson (Catherine Keener). Billon adapted his own play for the screen and it's easily recognizable as something intended for the stage, though the benefit of telling the story on the big...

The luxurious banquet hall in Toronto’s Royal York hotel was electric with excitement as Tiff senior programmers including Steve Gravestock and Agata Smoluch Del Sorbo announced the robust lineup of Canadian films (several world preems) at this year’s Tiff plus the 40+ short titles (out of an astounding 840 short films — an increase of over 200 titles from last year) that will screen at the prestigious festival. With features populating almost every section at the fest, among the headliner items from English Canada, Cairo Time‘s Ruba Nadda returns to the fest with October Gale, while also world preeming is Bang Bang Baby — Jeffrey St. Jules marks his feature film debut with a film that is equal parts Rocky Horror Picture Show and early Cronenberg. Starring Jane Levy of the recent About Alex, it revolves around a small-town teenager in the ’60s whose dream of becoming a famous singer is dashed...