News

A heavyweight roster of world premieres from the leading lights of Canada’s film industry will grace the Toronto International Film Festival next month.

New work from Deepa Mehta, Bruce McDonald and Chloé Robichaud are among the Canadian features set to receive their world premieres, while Xavier Dolan and Kim Nguyen earn North American premieres for their latest films following their Cannes debuts.

Wednesday’s announcement included the slate of Canadian short films, the festival’s four Rising Stars, and participants in the Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada Pitch This! programmes.

Talent Lab alumnus Andrew Cividino is named the 2016 Len Blum Resident. The film-maker will take up residency at the Festival Tower for three months later this year and receive one-on-one script consultations with screenwriter Blum, mentoring from Tiff’s industry and programming teams, and support from Tiff partners.

Cividino will work on his screenplay, We Ate the Children Last, a feature...

A heavyweight roster of world premieres from the leading lights of Canada’s film industry will grace the Toronto International Film Festival next month.

New work from Deepa Mehta, Bruce McDonald and Chloé Robichaud are among the Canadian features set to receive their world premieres, while Xavier Dolan and Kim Nguyen earn North American premieres for their latest films following their Cannes debuts.

Wednesday’s announcement included the slate of Canadian short films, the festival’s four Rising Stars, and participants in the Talent Lab and Telefilm Canada Pitch This! programmes.

Talent Lab alumnus Andrew Cividino is named the 2016 Len Blum Resident. The film-maker will take up residency at the Festival Tower for three months later this year and receive one-on-one script consultations with screenwriter Blum, mentoring from Tiff’s industry and programming teams, and support from Tiff partners.

Cividino will work on his screenplay, We Ate the Children Last, a feature...

I've got a really fun monster movie for you to check out today called The Hunt. One of the things that I like about it most is its use of practical effects for the creature. Most films we see these days, even the short ones, use CGI effects. So it was great to see something different in that aspect.

The story follows a father and son who go out on a hunting trip, and things don't go over too well for them when their mobile home is invaded by some kind of monster. The short was directed by Spencer Estabrooks, and I think you'll all enjoy it. ...

Why Watch? In this short film from director Spencer Estabrooks and writer Greg Jeffs, a son reluctant to make a kill goes hunting with an aggro-dad trying to turn his boy into a man. The thick fog of their strained relationship gets a genre twist, but the heart of the story is still a question of what line you must cross while coming-of-age and what manner in which you’ll cross it. The amateur markings are shown here around the edges — particularly with some overacting — but it’s a quick tale acting as a signpost of real potential. Rubber suit style aside, there are some simple, effective practicals here, and it’s encouraging to see a bit of worldview drama injected into what might have been a mindless creature feature. Looking forward to what this team does next. What Will It Cost? About 7 minutes. A New Short Film Every Weekday...

Ever since Lon Chaney, Jr., sprouted a puppy nose and lengthy canines in Universal's The Wolf Man, filmmakers have been penning love letters to the iconic film, and Spencer Estabrooks has now added to that canon with his short The Hunt.

Below we have the film's trailer, a still, word on a possible feature incarnation, and more.

First, though, here's the synopsis for Insurrection Films' eight-minute Canadian short:

An estranged father and son head out into the woods to repair their fractured relationship. Alone and isolated, they encounter something beyond their worst nightmares, but there is nothing a little hunting trip can’t fix, right?

The Hunt stars Chris Potter and Rohan Campbell and features creature design by Bleeding Art Industries.

“We set out to make a film that used zero digital effects,” says director Eastabrooks. “We are fans of old school horror, and we didn’t want our...

It was all the way back in 2009 that Twitch first came across Canadian director Spencer Estabrooks. He was pushing horror western short Dead Walkers at the time and that tale of the zombified west was so much fun that we've kept an eye on him ever since. And now he's back with a new short titled The Hunt. Insurrection Films Inc. presents The Hunt, directed by Spencer Estabrooks.The short film stars Chris Potter and Rohan Campbell and features creature design by Bleeding Art Industries. "We set out to make a film that used zero digital effects" says director Spencer Estabrooks "We are fans of old school horror and we don't want our monster looking like something out of a video game". "Bleeding Art Industries,...

[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...

Filmmaker Spencer Estabrooks provided us with an exclusive first look at the trailer for his upcoming zombie short film Tasha, which is set for its world premiere at The Calgary Underground Film Festival on April 18. Read on for a look!

Starring Braliegh James and Jonathan Moxness, Tasha centers around James who portrays the titular character, described as an, ‘ass-kicking, wise-cracking zombie hunter,’ according to the flick’s PR. Filmed last fall in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Tasha was written by Greg Jaffs and is based on the graphic novel he created with Rp Broad, with special effect duties handled by Rocket Punch Studios and visual effects overseen by Solid Green. Karen Pickles produced with financial participation from Bravo!Fact and the Alberta Multimedia Development Fund.

Estabrooks’ previous short, the zombie/western Dead Walkers played Screamfest in 2009 to good notices. His latest Tasha serves as a bit of a teaser to a...

*a screener of this film was provided by Left Films.

Director/writer: James Ryan Gary.

Cast: Michael Sharpe, Patrick G. Keenan, Jenny Gulley and Kevin L. Johnson.

Devil's Crossing is the first film from the very young director James Ryan Gary. Seriously, this guy looks twenty in his interviews. The film is a blend of the western and horror genres as zombies promise to take over the world. Devil's Crossing is similar to other films like the recent Cowboys and Zombies, Olivier Beguin's short film "Dead Bones" and Spencer Estabrooks' "Dead Walkers." All of these are great films including Gary's latest entry. This title will release in the United Kingdom January 30th and it is already available in North America; this reviewer would recommend the film to indie horror fans across the board.

The film begins with the character Shadrach played by Michael Sharpe. He is digging his...

2010 is the year of the horror western, as Dead Walkers travels this dusty film landscape. Dead Walkers also shows at the Nevermore Film Festival on February 20th (2:45pm). And with central character Jack Link spouting lines like: ""When God needed a place to shit he built this part of the world....(Dead Walkers)," you know you are in good company. A trailer is now available for Dead Walkers below, but more importantly this is a great opportunity to see the undead on the big screen at Nevermore. Keep in mind this is a horror short with a runtime of thirteen minutes. A synopsis is below.

The synopsis for Dead Walkers:

"Bounty hunter and gunman Jack Link has a knack for trouble, but when he stumbles into a town cursed with the undead, he might have bit off more than he can chew (Dead Walker)."

Director/writer: Spencer Estabrooks.

Attention people from Calgary, Alberta! If you like shorts, know that Spencer Estabrooks's Dead Walkers will premiere at the Plaza Theatre, Calgary's oldest theatre (it was built in 1935), on December 31, 2009.

First of all, if we look at the trailer, we can see that the short is a mix of Western and horror (read: zombies). Here's how the story can be described according to the short's Facebook fan page:

Bounty hunter and gunman Jack Link has a knack for trouble, but when he stumbles into a town cursed with the undead, he might have bit off more than he can chew. Can he and his unlikely allies break the curse and make it out alive or will the evil in the old west consume them all?

Finally, if you don't know how to get to the Plaza Theatre, have a look at what Google Maps says. Secondly, here's the link...