Iranian writer-director Mohammad Rasoulof’s wrenching, poignant, and politically loaded drama A Man of Integrity might involve a culturally specific set of circumstances ruining the life of a family in Northern Iran, but at the heart of it all is a story about capitalism, poverty, and bureaucracy run amok that could play out anywhere in the world at any given moment.
Director Molly McGlynn’s Mary Goes Round opened at Cineplex Yonge and Dundas in Toronto today, and it’s a beautiful, heartfelt, funny, and dark drama about a young woman, played by Aya Cash, who has to deal with a major substance abuse problem as she comes to terms with a father she hardly knows.
Canadian writer and director Mina Shum is back doing what she does best, giving us movies that are uniquely personal and hit from the heart. Her latest film, Meditation Park, had Shum digging into her Chinese roots. It’s a bittersweet dramedy about 60-year-old Maria (played by legendary actress Cheng Pei Pei) who has devoted decades to her husband (Tzi Ma, whose performance in the film has garnered him a 2018 Canadian Screen Awards nomination for Actor in a Leading Role).
Every February, TIFF hands the programming reigns and keys to the TIFF Bell Lightbox over to a team of film loving teenagers for the annual Next Wave Festival, a weekend of events, screenings, and talks geared towards the 14-25 set. Although the programming selections often feature themes, subject matter, and stars that would appeal to teenagers, increasingly Next Wave has become something even more intriguing to local film culture: a place where overlooked independent films from around the world get a chance to screen in a local cinema.
Look at where a year took us! At the start of 2017, it seemed like 2016 was going to be hard to top. In 2016 I visited Hong Kong, L.A. for Hamilton Watch’s Behind the Camera Awards, and I had a lot of really incredible interviews. But 2017 topped all of my expectations.
Have you ever seen a movie SO bad you just can’t stop watching? Well… The Room (2003) written, starring and directed by Tommy Wiseau is just one of those films and it’s subject of the new feature, The Disaster Artist.
What happens when the curse of Polio strikes a young man, who has everything to live for, and leaves him …
It’s rare when a film comes along that is moving, inspiring, and so touching that you find it hard to forget after you leave the theatre. The Florida Project is one of those films that will not only have you talking about it’s subject matter but also about the extraordinary performances from it’s stars.
Miranda Richardson is always surprising. Even when you have an idea just how much she can inhabit a role, the next time you see her on screen you’ll likely still need a few minutes to fully accept that it’s Richardson who has vanished into another mesmerizing character.
Toronto Filmmaker Pat Mills, wrote and directed his first feature film Guidance in 2014, and now he’s back with a follow up that in my humble opinion is charming and inspiring.
