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Alberto Barbera discusses the stellar line-up for the 74th edition of the festival.

As the world’s oldest film festival gears up for its 74th edition, Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera is excited about kicking off this year’s awards season in earnest.

In the last four years the festival has launched major Oscar runs for four Us movies: Gravity, Birdman, Spotlight and La La Land.

This year, Venice’s world premieres include Alexander Payne’s social satire Downsizing, Guillermo del Toro’s other-worldly fairy tale The Shape of Water, George Clooney’s crime-caper Suburbicon, Darren Aronofsky’s drama-horror mother! and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

In 2016, the festival chief knew he had a diamond in the shape of Damien Chazelle’s musical and while he may not have a slam dunk as obvious as that, he is sanguine about this crop’s awards potential.

”Downsizing has good chances, of course...

Alberto Barbera discusses the stellar line-up for the 74th edition of the festival.

As the world’s oldest film festival gears up for its 74th edition, Venice Film Festival director Alberto Barbera is excited about kicking off this year’s awards season in earnest.

Venice will give world premieres to Alexander Payne’s social satire Downsizing, Guillermo del Toro’s other-worldly fairy tale The Shape of Water, George Clooney’s crime-caper Suburbicon, Darren Aronofsky’s drama-horror mother! and Martin McDonagh’s Three Billboard Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

In the last four years Venice has kickstarted major Oscar runs for four Us films - Gravity, Birdman, Spotlight and La La Land.

Last year, the festival chief knew he had a diamond in the shape of Damien Chazelle’s musical and while he may not have a slam dunk as obvious as that, he is sanguine about this crop’s awards potential.

”Downsizing has good chances, of course...

The dream of a national theatrical release still burns bright for most feature documentary filmmakers, but the reality is that traditional releases with week-long runs across the country have gotten much harder. Exhibitors complain that too many movies are opening, while viewers are increasingly watching documentaries at home via Netflix, PBS, HBO, iTunes or Amazon.

Read More: Cannes Addresses Netflix Controversy By Forcing Competition Films to Receive Theatrical Distribution In France

Knowing how challenging theatrical has gotten, it’s exciting to discover an innovative alternative model for releasing documentaries, which I call “Hybrid Theatrical Distribution.” It combines full runs in selected cities where seven-day engagements are viable and single special event screenings in many other cities.

Richard Abramowitz, one of the earliest and most successful pioneers of this approach, has been utilizing a hybrid approach to achieve remarkable results, most recently with “The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Year.

After successfully collaborating on various projects over the past two years, Richard Abramowitz, founder of Abramorama, has announced that Karol Martesko-Fenster and Evan Saxon have formalized their roles on the executive team with Abramorama.

Martesko-Fenster has been brought on board as Evp & COO, while Saxon will now serve as West Coast Head of Acquisitions & Business Development.

Martesko-Fenster will be working out of Abramorama’s Pleasantville, NY offices with Saxon based in Los Angeles, providing an ongoing west coast presence for Abramorama and the content owners, filmmakers, agents and record labels the company works with. Martesko-Fenster will be primarily responsible for corporate organization and management and global strategic partnerships, and will participate in all acquisition and distribution activities. Saxon’s focus will be on music content, event cinema, distribution and business development.

Read More: Abramorama Partners With Digital Distribution Company Distribber.com

The pair will both be involved in all aspects of the creation,...

Nancy Schwartzman..

The Australian International Documentary Conference (Aidc).s Impact stream, focused on media-making for social, environmental, and political change, has been confirmed.

This year, sessions will focus will consider the challenges faced by activist filmmakers in an increasingly fraught political environment. It will feature five sessions: Gender, Tech & Resistance; One Film to Save the World?; Impact Strategy Hack 1 & 2; and a screening of.Defiant Lives.

American filmmaker and creator of the White House .Apps Against Abuse. safety app 'Circle of 6', Nancy Schwartzman, will provide the Impact Keynote session: Gender, Tech & Resistance.

Known for her work exploring how youth culture, sexuality and justice intersect with technology, Schwartzman has worked as impact producer on documentaries such as The Invisible War and Girl Model, and is the director of xoxosms, The Line and the upcoming Bertha Foundation-supported Roll Red Roll..

Schwartzman will showcase the approaches she has developed to challenge notions of neutrality in technology,...

While many may scoff when I say this, let me just go ahead and admit right here that I unabashedly love the Underworld movies, a series I once referred to as the “Lord of the Rings of Werewolf Movies.” The first Underworld came along right at the perfect time for me. I was still super into horror action cinema at the time (coming off films like Blade and The Matrix, whose influences were being felt industry-wide), and I just couldn’t think of anything cooler than watching werewolves and vampires kicking each other’s respective otherworldly asses.

Other than the films’ tendencies to sometimes take themselves just a little too seriously, I've always felt like the Underworld movies have unjustly received a bad wrap within the horror community and deserve far more love and respect than they ever get. From their commitment to creating intricate character-driven storytelling that has taken us through (now) five films,...

Kayti Burt Nov 22, 2016

All bets are off in Gotham season 3 now that Bruce knows the Court of Owls has a weakness...

This review contains spoilers.

See related Close To The Enemy episode 2 review Close To The Enemy episode 1 review Wolf Hall: controversy, adaptation and poetic licence

3.10 Time Bomb

Time Bomb was a particularly bloody episode of Gotham, but it balanced the gore by tying together multiple plotlines in satisfying ways. Though, in many ways, Time Bomb felt like a transitionary ep — Mario and Lee race closer to the altar, Bruce and Selina discuss their relationship, the noose tightens on Oswald's secret — it was elegantly told, which is something Gotham can't often boast.

Ed has gone from lovebird mode to depressed lump to heartbroken vengeance mode in zero seconds flat. Again, I would be a bit more invested in this storyline if Isabella wasn't a plot device and she and...

Eva Orner's Chasing Asylum.

The Human Rights Arts and Film Festival has unveiled its full 2016 program, featuring 31 feature films and 25 shorts.

The festival will open with the Australian premiere of Eva Orner's offshore-detention documentary Chasing Asylum, fresh off its Hot Docs international premiere.

Also featured is Michael Graversen's Dreaming of Denmark, which follows a teenager who has spent his adolescent years in Denmark after fleeing his native country of Afghanistan..

The festival will close with the Australian premiere of Sundance award-winner The Bad Kids, an immersive dive into America.s most pressing education problem: poverty..

Another highlight is documentary They Will Have to Kill Us First: Malian Music in Exile, which follows various musicians in Mali in the wake of a jihadist takeover and subsequent banning of music in the region. The film features Damon Albarn (Blur), Brian Eno and Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs) and the band Songhoy Blues.

Jonathan Gross, the president of the Canadian distributor, announced the rebrand on Tuesday 23 years after launching the company.

The full–service distributor owns a catalogue of hundreds of film and TV titles and has ongoing distribution agreements with Magnolia, Film Movement, Kino Lorber and Synapse, among others.

Upcoming films and TV releases include Sundance and Hot Docs Selection Tickled, Tiff selection Sunset Song, Participant’s new investigative series Truth & Power, and Canadian theatrical releases No Men Beyond This Point, and First Round Down, now in post-production.

“This is mostly cosmetic because the word ‘Video’ has become somewhat quaint in these meme-orable times” said Gross. “Vsc was actually concocted in a hurry because we started the company on short notice by buying the contents of Video Entertainment Corp. in Kitchener.

“It was a gamble. Back then our sole distribution platform was VHS and maybe a little Betamax. Today there are more formats than video stores. The name Unobstructed...

Jonathan Gross, the president of the Canadian distributor, announced the rebrand on Tuesday 23 years after launching the company.

The full–service distributor owns a catalogue of hundreds of film and TV titles and has ongoing distribution agreements with Magnolia, Film Movement, Kino Lorber and Synapse, among others.

Upcoming films and TV releases include Sundance and Hot Docs Selection Tickled, Tiff selection Sunset Song, Participant’s new investigative series Truth & Power, and Canadian theatrical releases No Men Beyond This Point, and First Round Down, now in post-production.

“This is mostly cosmetic because the word ‘Video’ has become somewhat quaint in these meme-orable times” said Gross. “Vsc was actually concocted in a hurry because we started the company on short notice by buying the contents of Video Entertainment Corp. in Kitchener.

“It was a gamble. Back then our sole distribution platform was VHS and maybe a little Betamax. Today there are more formats than video stores. The name Unobstructed...

Istanbul event will host a total of 23 gala screenings, including the latest films from Charlie Kaufman and Jean-Marc Vallee, as well as a David Bowie tribute programme.Scroll down for the full line-up

!f Istanbul Independent Film Festival has revealed its programme for the 2016 edition (February 18-28).

Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa, which premiered at Telluride last year, and Jean-Marc Vallee’s Demolition, which opened the Toronto International Film Festival in 2015, will open and close the festival respectively.

!f Istanbul - in its 15th edition - will host screenings, competitions and events dedicated to bringing the best of independent film to the Turkish city.

Other gala presentations will include Luca Guadagnino’s A Bigger Splash, Gaspar Noé’s Love 3D, Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room and Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s BAFTA-nominated The Assassin.

In memory of the late musician David Bowie, the festival will show remastered versions of his films The Man Who Fell To Earth and The Hunger...

Aidc has selected two films to participate in the event's first-ever Impact Strategy Hack..

The Wake (Rowena Potts, Ella Rubeli, Tom Zubrycki) and Defiant Lives (Liz Bourke, Sarah Barton) were the two films selected..

The Wake is a story of how community leaders across Fiji are coming together to share the experience of relocation, and the threats and challenges these communities, and others in the world, are facing in the wake of climate change..

The Wake.

Defiant Lives.documents the emergence of disability activism since the post-war era, and the revolutionary changes that have allowed more disabled people to fully take part in society.

Defiant Lives.

Both were selected by a jury which included Alex Kelly (Impact Producer, This Changes Everything), who said:

"It was an honour - and quite a challenge - to be part of the selection team for the Aidc Impact Hack. There was an incredibly powerful...

1. The AssassinThough it doesn’t always follow, the most beautiful film of the year should have the most beautiful poster, and Erik Buckham does Hou Hsiao-hsien right with this gorgeous piece. What looks at first like a combination of photography and illustration is in fact entirely taken from images from the film. Buckham told me “I didn’t want to use any imagery in the poster that did not come from the film itself, so everything you see is taken from screen grabs and some on-set photography.” What I always thought were stylized clouds surrounding Shu Qi are actually elements from an embossed picture of a rooster on a lacquered vase or some similar object. As Buckham confided, “I liked the look of the lines so I cropped in super close and played around with lighting and layer effects to blend it in with the background imagery. It was...

1. The AssassinThough it doesn’t always follow, the most beautiful film of the year should have the most beautiful poster, and Erik Buckham does Hou Hsiao-hsien right with this gorgeous piece. What looks at first like a combination of photography and illustration is in fact entirely taken from images from the film. Buckham told me “I didn’t want to use any imagery in the poster that did not come from the film itself, so everything you see is taken from screen grabs and some on-set photography.” What I always thought were stylized clouds surrounding Shu Qi are actually elements from an embossed picture of a rooster on a lacquered vase or some similar object. As Buckham confided, “I liked the look of the lines so I cropped in super close and played around with lighting and layer effects to blend it in with the background imagery. It was...

★★☆☆☆ In Al Gore's 2006 sobering documentary An Inconvenient Truth the man who "used to be the next President of the United States" relied heavily on charts, infographics and statistics to shock viewers into a collective sense of responsibility when tackling global warming. In the wake of her best-selling book of the same name, Naomi Klein – along with husband and director, Avi – eyes a similar goal in a similar field with new documentary, This Changes Everything (2015).

This meant the creation of festival strands that explored diversity in the documentary form, championing in particular that fruitful zone between documentary and fiction. Recently, though, the festival’s programming has been responding as much to trends in content as form; and that “content” is invariably culled from the news pages. This year’s edition included the F:act Award for documentaries informed by investigative journalism; Reality: Check, a three-day strand of films and events considering the state of democracy in 2015; a program of politically charged films co-curated by the campaigning writer Naomi Klein, whose own doc about climate change, “This Changes Everything” (directed by Avi Lewis) featured at the festival; and "Borderline," a strand dealing with the refugee crisis in Europe. It’s no coincidence that last year the most successful film screened at Cph:dox – perhaps ever – was Laura Poitras’s “Citizenfour,” with a number of extra screenings...

Cinema on-demand platform Tugg Australia is growing month-by-month, delivering tidy sums to the producers of hot-button documentaries and incremental revenues for narrative features. The top-grossing title so far is Frackman, Richard Todd.s profile of environmental activist Dayne Pratzky, which has generated $160,000 from 90 screenings. Among other films in demand are Maya Newell.s Gayby Baby; Joao Dujon Pereira.s Black Hole, which chronicles the battle against Whitehaven Coal to save a woodland forest from being cleared to make way for an open cut coal mine; and Avi Lewis. This Changes Everything, an attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change filmed in nine countries and five continents over four years. Last week was a milestone as the platform had its biggest week ever since its soft launch in 2013, with 26 screenings and 3,000 ticket sales. .With 27 confirmed screenings through the end of the month, October will deliver more than 80 screenings and...

"I've always kind of hated films about climate change." That's how Naomi Klein kicks off her husband's climate change documentary. But don't get her wrong — Klein, an esteemed writer on the subject, is no denier. She and partner Avi Klein are simply sick and tired of the status quo. With "This Changes Everything," a documentary by Lewis and a book by Klein, the duo has reshaped the narrative of climate change. They've dispensed with the alarmist rhetoric surrounding the debate; instead, they focus on a story of resilience, community and change. The result is galvanizing. Unlike other climate documentaries, Lewis' manages to avoid leaving the audience to feel helpless in the face of inevitable destruction. It chronicles the front lines of climate change social justice, bringing us into a movement bolstered by thousands of people around the world and affecting serious change. Indiewire spoke to Lewis and Klein about their unique process of.

Read More: Abramorama and FilmBuff to Give Climate Crisis Documentary 'This Changes Everything' Multi-Platform Release FilmBuff and Abramorama are have announced their plans for a global release for "This Changes Everything," directed by Avi Lewis. The documentary is based on the book of the same name, written by Naomi Klein. The release is now open exclusively on iTunes and is available in more than 80 countries. A series of screenings have also been scheduled around the country. The film has a global message to find a solution to the climate change crisis by mobilizing worldwide communities.  "The support from the global community for this film has been nothing short of inspiring from the outset," said Janet Brown, FilmBuff's CEO. "Since its release, the trailer has been translated by volunteers in 45 different languages, and the feature film has crowd sourced subtitles in multiple languages including Czech, Basque and Filipino. Interest is.

Anne Wivel’s Mand Falder will open the festival, which will screen 200 docs including 60 world premieres.

Copenhagen documentary festival Cph:dox has revealed the programme for its 13th edition, which runs Nov 5-15.

The line-up features 200 documentaries including 60 world premieres, 18 European premieres and 14 international premieres.

Danish film Mand Falder, directed by Anne Wivel, will open the festival. The film centres around the artist Per Kirkeby and his recovery after suffering from a brain hemorrhage.

16 documentaries will compete in the main competition for the Dox:award, including Friedrich Moser’s journalistic docu-thriller A Good American about William Binney’s programme ‘Thinthread’ that could have prevented 9/11, but was cancelled by the Nsa, and Aslaug Holm’s Norwegian documentary Brodre, which was shot over 8 years and centres around two boys growing up.

Helena Trestikova’s Czech documentary Mallory about life at the bottom of Czech society also features in the competition, which was won last year by Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Look of Silence.

Sean McAllister...

Klein’s latest book, This Changes Everything, addresses apathy in the face of ecological catastrophe. Now, she’s made a movie – as it opens in New York, Klein discusses why we’re unable to act as disaster approaches

Naomi Klein – bestselling Canadian author and social activist, whose most recent book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs the Climate, was recently made into a movie by her film-maker husband Avi Lewis – wants to set the record straight. The documentary, like her book, opens with Klein confessing that she’s “always kind of hated films about climate change”.

A bold move for an author behind a film about climate change. Not even Chasing Ice? Or The 11th Hour? How about An Inconvenient Truth, which won an Oscar?

Continue reading...

This Changes Everything, the climate-change documentary that premiered at the Toronto Film Festival this month, will screen September 26 in 13 cities around the world, with more in the works. 350.org and Greenpeace are among the organizations teaming to promote Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein's film ahead of the U.N.’s COP21 climate meeting in December in Paris. Special screening cities of the docu — which presents portraits of seven communities on the front lines of both…...

Read More: Exclusive: Climate Change Doc 'This Changes Everything' Gets a Stylish Poster from Shepard Fairey  Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein's documentary on climate change has just announced a global screening event to be hosted in 13 cities around the world on September 26, just a month before the film's exclusive iTunes release on October 20. These screenings serve as part of the Un's "COP21" climate meeting, which is set to convene later this year.  According to the official synopsis, "This Changes Everything" is an "epic attempt to re-imagine the vast challenge of climate change. Connecting the carbon in the air with the economic system that put it there, Klein builds to her most controversial and exciting idea: that we can seize the existential crisis of climate change to transform our failed economic system into something radically better."  The film, directed by Lewis and inspired by Klein's book, boasts Alfonso Cuarón,...

A big congrats to Lenny Abrahamson's "Room" for winning the Grolsch's People's Choice Awards at the recently concluded 40th Toronto International Film Festival! It's safe to say that "Room" will see a future at the Academy Awards. Previous winners that went on to grab the Best Picture Oscar were "Slumdog Millionaire," "The King's Speech," and "12 Years A Slave."

Here's the complete winners and press release from Tiff:

The Toronto International Film Festival® today announced award winners from the 40th Festival, which wraps up this evening. See a free screening of Room, the winner of the Grolsch People's Choice Award, Sunday, September 20 at 8pm.

The short film awards below were selected by a jury comprised of the head of the shorts program and creations unit at Canal+ France, Pascale Faure, film writer John Anderson (The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times), and actor Rizwan Manji (Outsourced, The Wolf of Wall Street...

Toronto: Lenny Abrahamson’s acclaimed drama starring Brie Larson has won Toronto’s People’s Choice Award in what is likely to further boost its awards season prospects.

In recent years, The King’s Speech and 12 Years A Slave have won the Toronto audience award en route to best picture Academy Award glory.

Room was one of the few films to emerge from this year’s festival selection with wide acclaim and awards buzz, in particular for Larson.

Toronto winners announced on Sunday:

Shorts Cuts Award For Best Canadian Short Film

Patrice Laliberté, Overpass.

Short Cuts Award For Best Short Film

Maïmouna Doucouré, Maman(s).

Honourable mention: Fyzal Boulifa, Rate Me.

City Of Toronto Award For Best Canadian First Feature Film

Andrew Cividino, Sleeping Giant

Canada Goose Award For Best Canadian Feature Film

Stephen Dunn, Closet Monster.

Honourable mention: Philippe Falardeau, My Internship In Canada

The Prizes Of The International Federation Of Film Critics (Fipresci Prizes)

Discovery...

Toronto: Lenny Abrahamson’s acclaimed drama starring Brie Larson has won the Grolsch People’s Choice Award in what is likely to further boost its awards season prospects.

In recent years The King’s Speech and 12 Years A Slave have won the Toronto audience award en route to best picture Academy Award glory.

Room was one of the few films to emerge from this year’s festival selection with wide acclaim and awards buzz, in particular for Larson.

Toronto winners announced on Sunday:

Shorts Cuts Award For Best Canadian Short Film

Patrice Laliberté, Overpass.

Short Cuts Award For Best Short Film

Maïmouna Doucouré, Maman(s).

Honourable mention: Fyzal Boulifa, Rate Me.

City Of Toronto Award For Best Canadian First Feature Film

Andrew Cividino, Sleeping Giant

Canada Goose Award For Best Canadian Feature Film

Stephen Dunn, Closet Monster.

Honourable mention: Philippe Falardeau, My Internship In Canada

The Prizes Of The International Federation Of Film Critics (Fipresci Prizes)

Discovery...

Toronto: Lenny Abrahamson’s acclaimed drama starring Brie Larson has won the Grolsch People’s Choice Award in what is likely to further boost its awards season prospects.

In recent years The King’s Speech and 12 Years A Slave have won the Toronto audience award en route to best picture Academy Award glory.

Room was one of the few films to emerge from this year’s festival selection with wide acclaim and awards buzz, in partocular for star Brie Larson.

Toronto winners announced on Sunday:

Shorts Cuts Award For Best Canadian Short Film

Patrice Laliberté, Overpass.

Short Cuts Award For Best Short Film

Maïmouna Doucouré, Maman(s).

Honourable mention: Fyzal Boulifa, Rate Me.

City Of Toronto Award For Best Canadian First Feature Film

Andrew Cividino, Sleeping Giant

Canada Goose Award For Best Canadian Feature Film

Stephen Dunn, Closet Monster.

Honourable mention: Philippe Falardeau, My Internship In Canada

The Prizes Of The International Federation Of Film Critics (Fipresci...

With the 40th Toronto International Film Festival concluding today, the winners have been unveiled. Earning the top prize was the Brie Larson-led drama Room, which A24 will release on October 16th. Other winners included the first-person actioner Hardcore, Stephen Dunn‘s coming-of-age drama Closet Monster, and Hurt in the first-ever Platform section.

Check out the full list of winners below, with reviews where applicable, and catch up with all of our coverage (and more to come) here.

Shorts Cuts Award for Best Canadian Short Film – Overpass (Patrice Laliberté)

Short Cuts Award for Best Short Film – Maman(s) (Maïmouna Doucouré)

Best Canadian First Feature Film – Sleeping Giant (Andrew Cividino)

Best Canadian Feature Film – Closet Monster (Stephen Dunn)

Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) for the Discovery programme – Eva (Marko Škop)

Prize of the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci) for Special Presentations – Desierto (Jonás Cuarón)

Netpac Award...

The third in what has been dubbed an “antiglobalization trilogy,” Naomi Klein’s latest book, This Changes Everything, strips away the niceties of middle-brow climate change activism. As Klein argues, promoting the type of meaningful change that will lead to the survival of the planet involves more than film festival reusable sippy cups and something considerably different than the pro-market solutions of green business consortiums. Indeed, Klein’s book is subtitled “Capitalism vs. The Climate,” and it directly blames the growth mantra of governments and economic markets for our rising temperatures. Furthermore, it intertwines the fight against global warming with the fight […]...

The third in what has been dubbed an “antiglobalization trilogy,” Naomi Klein’s latest book, This Changes Everything, strips away the niceties of middle-brow climate change activism. As Klein argues, promoting the type of meaningful change that will lead to the survival of the planet involves more than film festival reusable sippy cups and something considerably different than the pro-market solutions of green business consortiums. Indeed, Klein’s book is subtitled “Capitalism vs. The Climate,” and it directly blames the growth mantra of governments and economic markets for our rising temperatures. Furthermore, it intertwines the fight against global warming with the fight […]...

The Vancouver International Film Festival has announced its most anticipated films in the Gala and Special Presentation categories. The films selected represent a true showcase of international cinema, while highlighting homegrown talent in the world's largest showcase of Canadian films during the 34th annual festival running from September 24th to October 9th.

John Crowley's "Brooklyn" starts the festival off in the Opening Night Gala spot. Marc Abraham's "I Saw the Light" holds the Closing Night Gala position with a feature on the life of country star Hank Williams. The film was produced by Vancouver's Bron Studios. Canadian productions remain a crucial part of the festival, Philippe Falardeau's "My Internship in Canada" will open the Canadian Images program, while Patricia Rozema's "Into the Forest" will occupy the BC Spotlight Awards Gala spot.

In 2015, Vancouver audiences will be exposed to 355 films from 70 countries. With 32 World Premieres, 33 North American Premieres and 53 Canadian Premieres, this year's festival promises to be a feast for Canadian film lovers.

The full line-up and ticket are available at viff.org. Here are some highlights:

Opening Gala "Brooklyn" (John Crowley, U.K/Ireland/Canada)

Lured from Ireland by the American Dream, Eilis (Saoirse Ronan) instead lands in a hardscrabble reality of cramped boarding houses and grungy dancehalls. As homesickness grips her, she's also torn between two admirers (Domhnall Gleeson and Emory Cohen). With Nick Hornby scripting, John Crowley crafts a stirring 50s-era immigration tale that also serves as an exhilarating profile of female empowerment.

Closing Gala "I Saw the Light" (Marc Abraham,USA) Having played gods and monsters with aplomb, Tom Hiddleston takes centre stage as country music legend/renegade Hank Williams. In turns as rambunctious as a barn dance and as reflective as a ballad, Marc Abraham's film chronicles Williams' rapid ascent to stardom and the tragedy of a career cut short by substance abuse. Laid to rest at only 29, Williams left behind a truly remarkable body of work. Handling the singing chores himself, Hiddleston does the man—and his music—proud.

Canadian Images Opening Film My Internship in Canada (Philippe Falardeau, Canada)

Philippe Falardeau ("Monsieur Lazhar") returns with an energetic, laugh-out-loud political comedy that couldn't be more timely. Steve Guibord (Patrick Huard, brilliant) is an independent Quebec MP traveling to his northern riding with a new Haitian intern. Soon after finding themselves caught in the crossfire of activists, miners, truckers, politicians and aboriginal groups, it turns out that Guibord somehow holds the decisive vote in a national debate that will decide whether Canada will go to war in the Middle East! The fabulous Suzanne Clément co-stars.

BC Spotlight Awards Gala "Into the Forest" (Patricia Rozema, Canada)

The BC coastal forest is in all its glory as a father and his two daughters drive off to their remote and idyllic getaway home. They have little sense at first of the growing apocalypse that they are leaving in their wake. It will come to them. Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella, Callum Keith Rennie and Michael Eklund star in this Patricia Rozema-directed adaptation of Jean Hegland's novel.

Spotlight Gala "Beeba Boys" (Deepa Mehta, Canada/India)

Mix propulsive bhangra beats, blazing Ak-47s, bespoke suits, solicitous mothers and copious cocaine, and you have the heady, volatile cocktail that is Deepa Mehta's latest film, an explosive clash of culture and crime. Jeet Johar (Indian star Randeep Hooda) and his young, charismatic Sikh crew vie to take over the Vancouver drug and arms trade in this all-out action/drama. Blood is spilled, heads are cracked, hearts are broken and family bonds are pushed to the brink.

Special Presentations "Arabian Nights" ("Miguel Gomes," Portugal)

Miguel Gomes' ("Tabu," "Our Beloved Month of August") astonishing three-volume, six-hour epic draws inspiration from the tales of Scheherazade (here played by Crista Alfaiate) and once again uses a fascinating combination of reality and fiction to comment on Portugal's past, present and future.

"Dheepan" (Jacques Audiard, France)

Jacques Audiard's ("A Prophet," "Rust and Bone") latest dramatic inquiry into life on society's margins is an alternately gripping and tender love story about the eponymous former Tamil fighter (Antonythasan Jesuthasan) and his improvised family, who exchange war in Sri Lanka for violence of another kind in Paris.

"High-Rise" (Ben Wheatley, U.K)

Ben Wheatley's bold adaptation of Jg Ballard's novel takes no prisoners. This scorching satire on class, hedonism and depravity in an imploding luxury apartment building is an even more apocalyptic class polemic than "Snowpiercer". Throw in exquisitely unsettling turns from Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons, a string quartet cover of Abba's 1975 hit "Sos," an orgy or two and spice with cannibalism, and you have a tour de force of astonishing architectural ambition.

"Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words" (Stig Björkman, Sweden ), Canadian Premiere

Casablanca , Notorious, Voyage to Italy... That Ingrid Bergman, three-time Oscar winner, is one of filmdom's all-time greats is inarguable. Narrated by Swedish (and now Hollywood) star Alicia Vikander, Stig Björkman's intimate exploration of Bergman's personal and professional life benefits immensely from the cooperation of Bergman's daughter Isabella Rossellini, who allowed him access to never-before-seen private footage, notes, letters, diaries and interviews. The result is a rich and multicolored portrait of this extraordinary human being—in her own words.

"Louder Than Bombs" (Joachim Trier, U.S.A/France)

When a war photographer (Isabelle Huppert) dies on assignment, her husband (Gabriel Byrne) struggles to mount a retrospective while dealing with his grieving sons (Jesse Eisenberg, Devin Druid) and her combative colleague (David Strathairn). Joachim Trier ("Oslo, 31st August") poses tough questions about family, marital responsibility and balancing one's calling and kin.

"Room" (Lenny Abrahamson, Ireland, Canada, U.K)

Directed by Lenny Abrahamson and based on the best-selling Man Booker Prize-nominated novel by Irish-Canadian author Emma Donoghue, this is the story of five-year old Jack, who lives in an 11-by-11-foot room with his mother. Since it's all he's ever known, Jack believes that only "Room" and the things it contains (including himself and Ma) are real. Then reality intrudes and Jack's life is turned on its head... A remarkable and disturbing work.

"A Tale of Three Cities" (Mabel Cheung, Hong Kong/China)

A rousingly entertaining movie romance, this historical drama tells the deeply moving story of kung fu superstar Jackie Chan's parents. Both grew up in China's tumultuous 20th century, swept by war, revolution and resistance. When charismatic customs officer Fang (Lau Ching-wan) meets impoverished young widow Chen (Tang Wei), an unbreakable bond is forged. Together, their love endures through extraordinary adventures, as they head towards a future in Hong Kong.

"This Changes Everything" (Avi Lewis, Canada)

Naomi Klein ("Shock Doctrine") has risen to prominence around the world as one of Canada's most forceful and relevant public intellectuals. Her cogent call to direct action has inspired youth, helped chart roadmaps for social progressives and environmentalists, and yet worried those who believe that her critique of capitalism plays into the hands of right wingers who think climate change is a socialist plot. Join us, Naomi Klein and director Avi Lewis for this special presentation of "This Changes Everything."

"Youth" (Paolo Sorrentino, Italy/France/Switzerland/U.K)

Michael Caine, Harvey Keitel and Rachel Weisz anchor Paolo Sorrentino's gorgeous follow-up to The Great Beauty. Fred (Caine), a retired composer, and friend Mick (Keitel), a film director, are sojourning in a stunning Swiss alpine spa. Surrounded by bodies old and young, supple and sagging, they reconsider their pasts–while Sorrentino choreographs the action with exquisite control.

Canadian Images Special Presentations "Hyena Road" (Paul Gross, Canada)

In Paul Gross' film, ripped from the headlines, a sniper, who has never allowed himself to think of his targets as human, becomes implicated in the life of one of them. An intelligence officer, who has never contemplated killing, becomes the engine of a plot to kill. A legendary Mujahideen warrior, who had put war behind him, is now deeply involved. Three different men, three different worlds, three different conflicts, yet all stand at the intersection of modern warfare.

"Remember" (Atom Egoyan, Canada)

Atom Egoyan returns with a completely original take on the darkest chapter of horror in the last century. Christopher Plummer plays a man who's looking for the person who might be responsible for wiping out his family, as he strains to seize the evanescent memories of long-ago brutality. The all-star cast includes Henry Czerny, Martin Landau and Bruno Ganz. Benjamin August's screenplay will keep you guessing until the very end.

Shepard Fairey has unveiled the poster for the upcoming documentary 'This Changes Everything'. The film is based on Naomi Klein's 2014 book of the same name which focuses on the effect modern capitalism has had on global climate change. Shepard Fairey who also serves as an Executive Producer delivers a very striking poster with his use of bold imagery and block lettering. It feels very timeless. 'This Changes Everything' will premiere at the upcoming 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Check out the trailer below!

Avi Lewis’ documentary based on the Naomi Klein’s book about global warming will open in the Us in early October following its Toronto world premiere on September 13.

FilmBuff handles worldwide sales and presold all Canadian rights to Video Services Corp, while Abramorama and FilmBuff will distribute in the Us.

This Changes Everything shot in nine countries over four years and profiles seven communities dealing with climate change triggered by fossil fuel extraction.

Special one-off screenings will take place in major cities across Europe on September 26 in the run-up to the Un climate talks in Paris in November.

Klein narrates the film and the executive producer roaster includes Alfonso Cuarón, Danny Glover and Seth MacFarlane.

Based on the critically lauded bestseller by journalist, activist and author Naomi Klein, "This Changes Everything" presents seven distinct portraits of societies on the battlefield of climate emergency. Klein narrates writer/director and former Al Jazeera host Avi Lewis' documentary, slated to premiere at Tiff on September 13, to speak about fossil fuel dependency. The advocacy doc wants to show us how we can transform our failed economic system into something more solvent for future generations. Shot in nine different countries over four years, "This Changes Everything" will be repped for worldwide sales by FilmBuff and has already pre-sold Canadian rights to Vsc. Abramorama and FilmBuff are partnering on a multi-platform Us launch set for early October. A bigger global campaign is expected. The film’s trailer has already been released in 26 languages, and the subtitles have been crowd-sourced by fans. The film will also be part...

Read More: Exclusive: Climate Change Doc 'This Changes Everything' Gets a Stylish Poster From Shepard Fairey Abramorama and FilmBuff are joining forces for a global release campaign for Avi Lewis' climate crisis documentary film, "This Changes Everything," based on the critically acclaimed non-fiction bestseller by Naomi Klein. The film was shot in nine countries over the course of four years and boasts names like Alfonso Cuarón, Danny Glover, Seth MacFarlane and Shepard Fairey as executive producers. "This Changes Everything" will world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. The official synopsis reads: "'This Changes Everything' presents seven powerful portraits of communities on the front lines of both fossil fuel extraction and the climate crisis it is driving, from Montana's Powder River Basin to the Alberta Tar Sands, from the coast of South India to Beijing and beyond. Interwoven with these stories of struggle is Klein's...

Avi Lewis’ documentary based on the Naomi Klein’s book about global warming will open in the Us in early October following its Toronto world premiere on September 13.

FilmBuff handles worldwide sales and presold all Canadian rights to Video Services Corp, while Abramorama and FilmBuff will distribute in the Us.

This Changes Everything shot in nine countries over four years and profiles seven communities dealing with climate change triggered by fossil fuel extraction.

Special one-off screenings will take place in major cities across Europe on September 26 in the run-up to the Un climate talks in Paris in November.

Klein narrates the film and the executive producer roaster includes Alfonso Cuarón, Danny Glover and Seth MacFarlane.

Read More: Tribeca Film Institute Announces 2014 Tfi Media Fund Grant Recipients Pop culture icon and multi-hyphenate Shepard Fairey has returned to his roots as a graphic artist to design the poster for the climate change documentary "This Changes Everything", on which he is also an executive producer. The film is based on the book of the same name by Naomi Klein, who also narrates the film, and focuses on the effect modern capitalism has had on global climate change through portraits of the small communities being affected. The film is directed by Avi Lewis and was shot over four years in nine different countries. The poster itself is vibrant and eye catching with the strong block letters and high contrast coloring that define Fairey's visual style. Fairey delivers the film's message loud and clear, depicting a burning earth with a skull and crossbones in what appears to be a drop...

"Change. Or be changed." This is powerful. And maybe it can change everything. Working in tandem with author/journalist Naomi Klein, director Avi Lewis is ready to premiere their documentary This Changes Everything, based on Klein's bestselling book of the same name. It's a searing and alarming look at the environmental disaster we are on the brink of, and it reaches further by connecting with the very people affected by and linked to these realities. Filmed in nine countries on five continents over four years, the doc is executive produced by Alfonso Cuaron, Seth MacFarlane, Danny Glover and Shepard Fairey, and narrated by Klein. This looks like the kind of harrowing, brutally honesty doc that everyone should see. Take a look. Here's the first trailer for Avi Lewis' documentary This Changes Everything, direct from YouTube: From Tiff.net: Directed by Avi Lewis and produced in conjunction with Lewis' partner...

When Charles Dudley Warner said “Everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it,” he was joking, but he might as well have been talking to people living in the era of global climate change. The problem is huge and often looks insurmountable, but This Changes Everything, a new documentary premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival, aims to change that. Inspired by the nonfiction bestseller by Naomi Klein, the film attempts to humanize…...

Top brass at the Toronto International Film Festival industry office on Thursday revealed further details of next month’s line-up of sessions scheduled to run from September 11-17.

This year’s Master Class participants are The Program director Stephen Frears co-presented by Pinewood Studios and Turkish master Nuri Bilge Ceylan, co-presented with the Directors Guild Of Canada.

Jia Zhang-ke of Mountains May Depart fame kicks off the Asian Film Summit with his Master Class.

The Moguls roster offer a chance to hear from Voltage Pictures chief Nicolas Chartier and Yu Dong of Bona Film Group, who will present at the Asian Film Summit.

The Industry Dialogues sessions supported by the Ontario Media Development Corporation include panels on casting, global budget variations, financing, digital marketing and revenue streams.

The Asian Film Summit supported by Telefilm Canada and co-presented by the China-West Filmmakers Alliance features Felice Bee of Huayi Brothers International and Jerry Ye of Wanda talking on the...

The fall festival rush is upon us. Locarno is currently ramping up. Venice has released their line-up and Thom Powers and the Toronto International Film Festival team have dropped a bomb with a previously unannounced new feature from powerhouse docu-provocateur Michael Moore. It is truly a miracle that the production of a film such as Moore’s upcoming Where To Invade Next (see still above) managed to go completely undetected by the filmmaking community until it was literally announced to world premiere at one of the largest film festivals in the world. Programmed as a one of the key films in the Special Presentations section at Tiff, the film sees Moore telling “the Pentagon to ‘stand down’ — he will do the invading for America from now on.” Also announced to premiere at Tiff was Avi Lewis’ This Changes Everything, which has slowly been rising up this list, as well as...

A selection of films from the 2015 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival have been unveiled, with films by Terrence Davies, Pablo Larraín, Deepa Mehta, Charlie Kaufman, and many more!GalasBeeba Boys (Deepa Mehta, Canada)Demolition (Jean-Marc Vallée, USA)The Dressmaker (Jocelyn Moorhouse, Australia)Eye in the Sky (Gavin Hood, United Kingdom)Forsaken (Jon Cassar, Canada)Freeheld (Peter Sollett, USA)Hyena Road (Paul Gross, Canada)Legend (Brian Helgeland, United Kingdom)Lolo (Julie Delpy, France)The Man Who Knew Infinity (Matthew Brown, United Kingdom)The Martian (Ridley Scott, USA)The Program (Stephen Frears, United Kingdom)Remember (Atom Egoyan, Canada)Septembers of Shiraz (Wayne Blair, USA)Stonewall (Roland Emmerich, USA)Special PresentationsAnomalisa (Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, USA)Beasts of No Nation (Cary Fukunaga, USA/Ghana)Black Mass (Scott Cooper, USA)Born to be Blue (Robert Budreau, USA)Brooklyn (John Crowley, United Kingdom/Ireland/Canada)The Club (Pablo Larraín,...

One of the more notable aspects of the Toronto International Film Festival, due to its location, has been its emphasis on Canadian cinema. The festival’s popularity and prominence among film fans around the world has led to Tiff becoming a key platform for Canadian films and Canadian filmmakers to showcase their talents, with the festival’s opening film often coming from a Canadian. The 2015 incarnation is no different in this regard, with Jean-Marc Vallée’s newest feature Demolition set to open the event, and filmmakers like Deepa Mehta, Atom Egoyan, Jon Cassar, and Paul Gross showcasing their newest films at the festival. The Festival organisers, however, have now revealed the other Canadian features that will be playing at the event, across a variety of programs. The list can be seen below.

Special Presentations

Born to be Blue, directed by Robert Budreau, making its World Premiere Into the Forest, directed by Patricia Rozema,...

It’s been a surprisingly interesting month of moving and shaking in terms of doc development. Just a month after making his first public funding pitch at Toronto’s Hot Docs Forum, legendary doc filmmaker Frederick Wiseman took to Kickstarter to help cover the remaining expenses for his 40th feature film In Jackson Heights (see the film’s first trailer below). Unrelentingly rigorous in his determination to capture the American institutional landscape on film, his latest continues down this thematic rabbit hole, taking on the immensely diverse New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights as his latest subject. According to the Kickstarter page, Wiseman is currently editing the 120 hours of rushes he shot with hopes of having the film ready for a fall festival premiere (my guess would be Tiff, where both National Gallery and At Berkeley made their North American debut), though he’s currently quite a ways away from his $75,000 goal.

Well folks, after a rather long and brutal winter (at least for me here in Buffalo), we are finally heading into the wonderful warmth of summer, but with that blast of sunshine and steamy humidity comes the mid-year drought of major film fests. After the Sheffield Doc/Fest concludes on June 10th and AFI Docs wraps on June 21st, we likely won’t see any major influx in our charts until Locarno, Venice, Telluride and Tiff announce their line-ups in rapid succession. In the meantime, we can look forward to the intriguing onslaught of films making their debut in Sheffield, including Brian Hill’s intriguing examination of Sweden’s most notorious serial killer, The Confessions of Thomas Quick, and Sean McAllister’s film for which he himself was jailed in the process of making, A Syrian Love Story, the only two films world premiering in the festival’s main competition.

Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi), in partnership with the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms Initiative has announced five grant recipients of the 2014 Tfi New Media Fund.

Tribeca Film Institute (Tfi), in partnership with the Ford Foundation’s JustFilms Initiative has announced five grant recipients of the 2014 Tfi New Media Fund.

The interactive, non-fiction transmedia projects were selected from a pool of 208 submissions and explore social issues from online tracking to gender-based sexual violence in India.

The Fund will now begin accepting submissions biannually, allowing applicants’ projects to focus on timely events and social issues.

The five developed docu-projects have been awardned between $50,000 and $100,000 apiece, with funding effective immediately.

Grantees will also take part in regular peer-to-peer meetings and a lab focused on interactive storytelling to help them develop their projects and build engagement with audiences.

The jury comprised Local Projects founder Jake Barton, Fledgling executive director Sheila Leddy, Melcher Media and Future Of Storytelling founder Charles Melcher, Trilogy Films founder...

The elusive “Golden Ticket”. Beginning next Wednesday (December 4th) in a wave of four announcements, is when the official word comes out. Plenty of filmmakers are already in the know, but some will find out over the course of this Thanksgiving weekend. Having covered the festival and fest circuit for some time now, we’re already aware that worthy films that were indeed submitted will be excluded from the ’14 edition. Thousands of filmmakers won’t get the phone call, and while it can bruise dreams, this is not a rejection of quality…but rather, a preference from a programmer/programming team which reflects a larger mandate. John Cooper, Trevor Groth et al. have a difficult job and the way I see it, it’s the equivalent to draft day for a major professional sport – where a team in a given turn doesn’t go for the consensus pick, but instead...

Sundance tends to include at least one eco-friendly docu in their line-up, and this one promises to shake up the establishment. He broke out with his directing debut, The Take (about unemployed auto-parts workers who took joblessness into their own hands) and now a decade later, his sophomore project also working with a direct, to-the-point type of title in The Message is in the works. Once again working alongside Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine), Canuck documentary helmer Avi Lewis has been working on this project since ’11, but as is the case with several docu titles, we might be a tad bit early on the delivery date.

Gist: Based on the book by Naomi Klein, truly confronting the climate challenge means reducing inequality, addressing the global South’s right to development, localizing economies, halting destructive extraction projects and deepening democracy. The film takes an international outlook and emphasizes people on the frontlines of change,...

From a full programme of film and stage adaptations to a new James Bond novel, unpublished works by Rs Thomas and Wg Sebald and a new prize for women writers, 2013 is set to be a real page-turner

January

10th The Oscar nominations are announced unusually early this year. Keep an eye out for a bumper crop of literary adaptations, including David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas, Yann Martel's Life of Pi, the David Nicholls-scripted Great Expectations, as well as Les Miserables, Anna Karenina and The Hobbit.

18th A new stage adaptation of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw at the Almeida theatre in London. In the year of the centenary of Benjamin Britten's birth, his musical version will also feature around the country in both concert and stage performances.

24th The finalists for the fifth Man Booker International prize will be announced at the Jaipur festival.