1/7/25, 2:53 PM Ron Mann - Wikipedia
Ron Mann
Ronald Mann (born June 13, 1958) is a Canadian documentary film director.[1][2][3][4]
Ron Mann
His work includes the films Imagine the Sound (1981); Comic Book Confidential (1988); Grass Born Ronald Mann
(1999) and Go Further (2003), both of which feature Woody Harrelson; In the Wake of the Flood June 13, 1958
(2010), which features author Margaret Atwood; and Altman (2014), about the life and career of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
film director Robert Altman. Occupation Film director
Years active 1970s–present
Early life
Mann stated that the first film he watched was This Is Cinerama, a documentary. He considers A Hard Day's Night his favourite film and stated
that it "really changed my life" as it made him choose to become a filmmaker rather than a musician.[5]
Career
1970s–1980s
Mann began making films at a young age, creating Super 8mm films in the 1970s.[1] Mann worked at Sam the Record Man for three years and
saved money to produce his first 16mm film, Flak, in 1975. He was influenced by Robert Kramer's Ice, John Cassavetes's Shadows, Michelangelo
Antonioni's Red Desert, and Norman Mailer's Maidstone.[6]
Mann began making short films while in high school and studied briefly at Vermont's Bennington College before receiving a B.A. in film from the
University of Toronto. His 1973 student film, The Strip, documented the historic Yonge Street strip.[7][8]
Mann met Elia Kazan at the Cannes Film Festival and asked if he should go to film school. Kazan told him not to study film, but to make them
instead.[6] Mann did not attend film school; instead, he learned filmmaking first-hand and using his own funds.[9] In an interview with Now, he
described this process:
Every film was my last movie, I would go into debt, make another film to get myself out of debt. That's how I actually needed to keep
going.[9]
Mann and David Fine started collaborating in 1978. One of their films, The Only Game in Town, received a Genie Award nomination for Best
Theatrical Short Film.[10][11]
Mann attempted to make a documentary about the new wave music concert Heat Wave, but licensing issues prevented him. After the success of
The Only Game in Town he met Emile de Antonio, who agreed to become the film's executive producer. However, five days before filming started
Mann was told that they did not have enough money. Mann decided to instead make a film about avant-garde jazz, Imagine the Sound.[10][9] The
film, released in 1981, deals with the once-controversial genre of free jazz.[12][13][14] Critic and film historian Jonathan Rosenbaum has said that
Imagine the Sound "may be the best documentary on free jazz that we have."[15]
Poetry in Motion (1982) was Mann's second feature film after Imagine the Sound. While watching John Giorno and William S. Burroughs at a
rock club, Mann discovered Giorno's Dial-A-Poem recordings during a break in the performance. The director later decided to create an
anthology of "post-Beat" poets for a film. His idea was based on the poem anthology publication The New American Poetry 1945–1960 by Donald
Allen.[16]
Mann met Joe Medjuck while attending the University of Toronto and Medjuck hired him in 1984, for Listen to the City, his only fiction film.
Mann received a three-picture contract with Ivan Reitman Productions.[6][9] Mann wrote a comedy for Bill Murray, Hoods in the Woods, and
made a behind-the-scenes documentary for Legal Eagles.[17]
Mann has also made numerous short films, including Echoes Without Saying (1983), about the publishing and printing company Coach House
Press and its founder Stan Bevington, and Marcia Resnick's Bad Boys (1985), about the New York based photographer.[9]
Mann found success with his 1988 documentary Comic Book Confidential.[18] The film is a survey of the history of the comic book medium in the
United States from the 1930s to the 1980s, as an art form and in social context.[19] Confidential was first released theatrically in Canada in 1988,
and in the United States on April 27, 1989.[20] The film received the 1989 Genie Award for Best Feature Length Documentary from the Academy
of Canadian Cinema and Television.[21] Caryn James of The New York Times found the film deft and intelligent—it "takes off when it abandons
the archives and focuses on the creators," but "it plays to the converted," and its attempt to relate comics to social context is "fleeting."[22]
1990s–2000s
Mann continued to make documentaries throughout the 1990s and 2000s. His 1999 film was Grass, a documentary about the history of the
United States government's war on marijuana in the 20th century.[23][24] Narrated by actor Woody Harrelson, it premiered at the 1999 Toronto
International Film Festival and won the Genie Award for Best Feature Length Documentary.[25] His 2003 film, Go Further, saw him re-team with
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Harrelson on a film that followed a group of environmental activists riding around in a large, bio-fueled bus. The film debuted at the South by
Southwest Film Festival in March 2003, and at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2003, where it was first runner-up for the
People's Choice Award. It was also nominated for a Genie Award for Best Documentary.[26]
In 2003, Mann co-founded a film distribution company called FilmsWeLike with Gary Topp.[27] FilmWeLike's curation has been described by
Vice as a "veritable auteur smorgasbord."[28]
In 2009, he released a documentary on mushrooms and mushroom hunting called Know Your Mushrooms.[29]
2010s–present
In 2014, Mann directed the Robert Altman-based documentary Altman.[30] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised the film.[31]
His latest film is Carmine Street Guitars (2018). The film depicts Carmine Street Guitars, a long-running guitar store in New York City.[32] It
premiered at the 75th Venice International Film Festival,[33] and had its Canadian premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.[34]
It went into general theatrical release in April 2019.[35]
Impact
Mann has served as mentor to and worked with many filmmakers from the Toronto New Wave of the 1980s, including Atom Egoyan, Bruce
McDonald, Jeremy Podeswa, and Peter Mettler.[4][36][9]
Filmography
The Only Game in Town (1979)
Imagine the Sound (1981)
Poetry in Motion (1982)
Comic Book Confidential (1988)
The Twist (1992)
Dream Tower (1994)
Grass (1999)
Go Further (2003)
Tales of the Rat Fink (2006)
Know Your Mushrooms (2008)
In the Wake of the Flood (2010) featuring author Margaret Atwood
Altman (2014)
Carmine Street Guitars (2018)
References
1. "2009 Focus On Ron Mann – Hot Docs" (https://www.hotdocs.ca/ar 14. "IMAGINE THE SOUND | The Clinton Street Theater" (https://cstpd
chive/2009-focus-on-ron-mann). www.hotdocs.ca. Retrieved x.com/show/imagine-sound). cstpdx.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
2021-05-26. 15. Imagine the Sound (1981) – Film Affinity (https://www.filmaffinity.co
2. "Ron Mann" (https://mubi.com/es/cast/ron-mann). MUBI (in m/en/film904665.html), retrieved 2021-05-26
European Spanish). Retrieved 2021-05-26. 16. Diggory, Terrence (2009). Encyclopedia of the New York School
3. "Ron Mann | IFFR" (https://iffr.com/en/persons/ron-mann). iffr.com. Poets (https://books.google.com/books?id=Mgsgw2xe-F0C&pg=PT
Retrieved 2021-05-26. 398). Infobase Publishing. p. 382. ISBN 9781438119052.
4. Wilner, Norman (2021-04-26). "40 at 40: Doc filmmaker Ron Mann 17. Beard & White 2002, p. 231.
recalls the start of Toronto's New Wave" (https://nowtoronto.com/mo 18. stein, bob (2011-01-07), Comic Book Confidential by Ron Mann (htt
vies/news-features/40-at-40-doc-filmmaker-ron-mann-recalls-the-st ps://vimeo.com/18538783), retrieved 2021-05-26
art-of-torontos-new-wave). NOW Magazine. Retrieved 2021-05-26. 19. 'Comic Book Confidential' - The Washington Post (https://www.was
5. Beard & White 2002, p. 223. hingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/comicbookco
6. Beard & White 2002, p. 224. nfidentialnrhowe_a0b22f.htm)
7. "Ron Mann | dafilms.com" (https://dafilms.com/director/8629-ron-m 20. "Comic Book Confidential Trailer (1989)" (http://www.traileraddict.co
ann). dafilms.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26. m/comic-book-confidential/trailer). Trailer Addict. 2010-05-13.
8. Torontoist (2009-09-17). "Toronto on Film, the Book" (https://torontoi Retrieved 2021-05-26.
st.com/2009/09/tiff_toronto_on_film/). Torontoist. Retrieved 21. Comic Book Confidential award listing (https://web.archive.org/web/
2021-05-26. 20120307204108/http://www.academy.ca/hist/history.cfm?stitle=co
9. "Canadian Film Encyclopedia – Ron Mann" (https://cfe.tiff.net/cana mic+book+confidential&awyear=0&winonly=1&awards=1&rtype=2&
dianfilmencyclopedia/content/bios/ron-mann). cfe.tiff.net. Retrieved curstep=4&submit.x=60&submit.y=12). Canadian Awards
2021-05-26. Database; Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, 1989.
10. Beard & White 2002, p. 225. 22. James, Caryn (June 14, 1989). "Review/Film; Comic Books as
11. Jay Scott, "Top Genie prospects for Jack Miner move". The Globe Sociology and Popular Art" (https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/revie
w?_r=1&res=950DE2D81F31F937A25755C0A96F948260). The
and Mail, February 10, 1983.
New York Times.
12. "Documentary Screening: Imagine The Sound (1981) – Gardiner
23. "DVD Savant Review: Grass" (https://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s
Museum" (https://www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/event/documentary-
screening-imagine-sound-1981/). www.gardinermuseum.on.ca. 469grass.html). www.dvdtalk.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
Retrieved 2021-05-26. 24. Spectacle (2016-03-04), GRASS (Dir. Ron Mann, 1999) (https://vim
13. "IMAGINE THE SOUND" (https://www.austinfilm.org/films/imagine-t eo.com/157757505), retrieved 2021-06-05
he-sound/). Austin Film Society. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
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25. "It's a Maelstrom at the Genie awards" (https://www.theglobeandma 31. Bradshaw, Peter (2 April 2015). "Altman review – apt appraisal of
il.com/news/national/its-a-maelstrom-at-the-genie-awards/article102 an American auteur" (https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/apr/0
9883/). Retrieved 2021-05-26. 2/altman-review-documentary-on-american-auteur). the Guardian.
26. "ACCT – Canadian Awards History Search" (https://web.archive.or 32. "'Carmine Street Guitars' Review: Ballad of an Unsung NYC
g/web/20070927024448/http://www.academy.ca/hist/history.cfm?stit Musical Hero" (https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/
le=Go+Further&awyear=0&winonly=0&awards=0&rtype=2&curstep carmine-street-guitars-movie-review-826528/). Rolling Stone, April
=4&submit.x=49&submit.y=12). Archived from the original (http://w 24, 2019.
ww.academy.ca/hist/history.cfm?stitle=Go+Further&awyear=0&wino 33. "'Carmine Street Guitars': Venice Review" (https://www.screendaily.
nly=0&awards=0&rtype=2&curstep=4&submit.x=49&submit.y=12) com/reviews/carmine-street-guitars-venice-review/5131751.article).
on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-07. ScreenDaily, September 3, 2018.
27. "Films We Like | Canadian Audiovisual Company" (https://rdvcanad 34. "TIFF 2018: Canadian 'cultural historian' Ron Mann vs. the times"
a.ca/en/creating-with-canada/find-creative-partners/companies/films (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-tiff-2018-canadia
-we-like/). RDVCanada.ca. Retrieved 2021-05-26. n-cultural-historian-ron-mann-vs-the-times/). The Globe and Mail,
28. "Seen a Great, Weird-Ass Movie Lately? You Should Thank This September 6, 2018.
Guy" (https://www.vice.com/en/article/dp55nw/without-ron-mann-ca 35. "Carmine Street Guitars lets its love of music lovers shine" (https://
nadians-would-only-see-hollywood-blockbusters-and-terrible-canco www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/review/2019/04/04/carmine-
n). www.vice.com. Retrieved 2021-05-26. street-guitars-lets-its-love-of-music-lovers-shine.html). Toronto Star,
29. "Know Your Mushrooms: Fungus film on the button" (https://www.th April 4, 2019.
estar.com/Entertainment/article/579494) Toronto: The Star 36. Wilner, Norman (2017-04-05). "Canada's new wave of cinema" (htt
30. Genzlinger, Neil (August 1, 2014). "An Auteur, in His Own Words" ps://nowtoronto.com/movies/canadas-new-wave-of-cinema). NOW
(https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/03/arts/television/the-director-ro Magazine. Retrieved 2021-06-13.
bert-altman-tells-his-story-in-altman-on-epix.html). The New York
Times.
Works cited
Beard, William; White, Jerry (2002). North of everything: English-Canadian Cinema Since 1980 (https://archive.org/details/northofeverythin00
bear). The University of Alberta Press. ISBN 0-88864-398-5.
External links
Ron Mann (https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0542951/) at IMDb
Ron Mann's website (http://www.sphinxproductions.com/pages/ron_bio.html)
Ron Mann archives (http://mediacommons.library.utoronto.ca/fonds/mann-ron) at the University of Toronto Media Commons
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ron_Mann&oldid=1229116200"
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