PLANET OF THE ARTS vol.4no.2 10 TheTorontoFestival Montreal Correspondant David Vaisbord. fl A Tale of Three Cities Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver. Three cities, three film festivals. And this, a summary. Why we have film festivals? There are a number of reasons: 1) To watch great films; 2) To promote understanding between nations; 3) To promote meetings between film profes- sionals and thereby stimulate the film industry. (When I use the term “film industry” I refer to much more than just the feature film business.) The same number of reasons apply when we ask: Why do we have international film festivals in Canada? Now, however, we can add another reason; 4) To promote meetings between Canadian and foreign film professionals and thereby stimu- late the Canadian film industry. As you can see, a lot more goes on than meets the eye. Since Canada’s market is very small, we need to sell abroad. Thus we need festivals successful enough to attract professionals from all around the world, so that quite simply, they can learn something about us, and vice versa. Montreal and Toronto currently go to great expense to ensure such attendance, which includes producers, directors, actors, distributors, and the international press. Montreal holds a “market,” Toronto sets up numerous guest offices. Both invite hoards of guests. Thus, both cities are important market places for Canadian-made films. Vancouver, a city of considerably smaller population than either of the two, need not be intimidated by their success. Considering its location on the Pacific Rim, Vancouver could, and did this year, address the same international mandate, directed towards The East. That may mean a more expensive, more business-like, and perhaps chillier festival. Can Vancouver expand, yet preserve the benefits and avoid the Bad Stuff? Maybe I’m just losing touch...(I’ve been out East now for more than three months), but I think it’s an issue wel have to seriously consider on the West Coast. A Festival of Festivals. Say what you like about Toronto the Good, cinephiles like yours truly found the Toronto film festival a good place to be, at least for ten short days in September. The festival directors and pro- grammers put together a very good selection of international and domestic cinema. Through the efforts of over 50 staff members and countless volunteers, they transformed a good slice of the downtown Park Plaza Hotel into reception, infor- mation, workshop, and conference centres. As is often the case, they couldn’t enlist quite as many downtown theatres as they wanted. Even so, it was rarely difficult to get from one to the next on time, and on foot. No complaints. - And I’m not just saying that ‘cause I like the place (who me?). Accurately described by one of T.O.’s finest filmmakers as “...a money-grubbing hub of greed, populated by tight-assed yuppie swine who can’t dance very well,”* Toronto lives up to its reputation. It’s a scary kind of place. Neverthe- less, within the innards of the inner city thrives a community of dissidents who wish to be regarded as “the real” Torontonians. Those artists, musi- cians, filmmakers, Marxist-Leninists, Post Structu- ralists etc. who've decided to live there because of the activity and/or work and/or money. Actually, a lot of them aren’t even from Toronto, which makes * Bruce McDonald, resident Toronto city “outlaw” made that comment as editor of the October issue of Cinema Canada. For the com- plete story, pick up a copy at your local newsstand. poi tanieniiee a one wonder who the real Torontonians are. But philosophy aside, it’s common knowledge, and worth restating, that each year the Ontario Arts Council gives more grants to the province than the Canada Council spreads across the entire country. And that ain’t jelly beans. Some Figures This year’s festival had a combined budget of 2.4 million dollars. That’s just about the same amount spent by the Montreal World Film Festival. Telefilm donated $375,000 (the same amount the federal agency gives the Montreal fest.); the province of Ontario, $294,000; the Metropolitan Toronto Council, $75,000; and the city of Toronto $35,000. Goods and services from corporations ac- counted for an estimated $600,000, with an addi- tional $500,000 targeted from private fundraising. At the final press luncheon, the festival boasted that it had almost doubled the box-office of the previous year. Hmm... $650,000, from last year’s total of $350,000. My calculations tell me that if they reached their private fundraising target they probably broke even at the box-office. What They Came to See Over the span of ten days, eleven if you include the Sunday rescreenings, nearly 280 films were projected. The following is the order in which the eight programs appeared in the festival cata- logue. THE GALAS: Overall, a disappointment. Luckily, I hear a restructuring is in progress. This program was overburdened by an uninspired heap of U.S. movies. An exceptional Spanish comedy, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown by Pedro Almovodar, was voted by festival audi- ences as the most popular entry, and deservedly won the “John Labatt Classic Film Award.” Run- ners-up from the same program were the campy U.S. made Earth Girls Are Easy, and the ultra- romantic The Revolving Doors, by Canadian director Francis Mankiewicz. Memories of Me, by “the Fonz” a.k.a. Henry Winkler, was thought by many to be the worst memory of the festival. CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA: This was the largest program, presenting over 80 international titles. It’s the basic stock of any self respecting film festival. Within this program, one of my favorites, The Thin Blue Line, by U.S. director Errol Morris, also won runner-up status with the two films named above. NEW VISIONS, NEW VOICES: You either hated them or you loved them. I saw a few of both kinds, most memorable of which was ex-Canadian (why did he do it!?), Rob Tregenza’s Talking to Strangers. Make a note of it. PERSPECTIVE CANADA: This program presented about 42 features, shorts, and documen- taries. This was the second largest presentation of this kind in Canada this year. Montreal, however, screened 32 Canadian films in their official pro- gram (called Panorama Canada), added 16 films in other programs, and topped that off with 10 Canadian Student Film Festival screenings, a total of nearly 80 additional shorts and videos. When talking numbers, Montreal director Serge Losique is quick to include student films in the total — this year: 123 films. Toronto, however, took an important initia- tive in 1984, when it established the $25,000 Toronto City Award for excellence in Canadian production. This year, a seven member interna- tional jury selected The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick for the prize. The real value of the prize, outside of the obvious? It generates interest in Canadian film in Canada, and makes news abroad. Of interest to Canadian filmmakers was Losique’s October 13 announcement that his festival is creating two prizes worth more than $50,000 to “stimulate Canadian participation in the 1989 Montreal festival.” The rivalry continues, and it’s all but impossible to say which festival does more for filmmakers in this country. SPOTLIGHT: This program highlighted the Finnish Kaurismaki brothers this year. Saw their shorts, no pun intended. KINO EYE: Described as the largest Russian film retrospective mounted in the West in which fifty films received Glasnost-assisted passports to play in Canada. I took the opportunity to see Andrei Tarkovski’s brilliant Ivan’s Childhood again. That’s all I saw - too many films, too little time. MIDNIGHT MADNESS: was... well...madness, at the Bloor Cinema for 7 out of 10 festival evenings. I don’t care what kind of music you listen to, you’ve got to see The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2: The Metal Years. (No, this is not Denys Arcand’s latest) (an in joke). OPEN VAULT: The last of the programs provided an opportunity to view a rare collection of archival film, including an early silent Hitchcock. This was an opportunity, alas, I didn’t take. Festival Scandal and Glamour Since most cinemas nowadays have to drag their audience, bloodshot, from their T.V. screens, a little glitz may indeed be necessary. You want names, dates, times, dirt? Sorry, that wasn’t mv line. The paparazzi got it all. They went after the Big Game every night, club to club, cat and mouse; ordinary people in small cars chasing ordinary people in limos. Check back issues of The Star, Entertainment Section. Back at the clubs, that’s where I was every evening round midnight, lookin’ for that free meal. (Remember, this was no all-expense-paid trip). Standin’ next to the hors d’oeuvres, washin’ em down with overpriced alcohol, searching the room for familiar faces. This was no picnic, believe me....“Hi, my name is David Vaisbord, (shouting above the P.A.s) ’'m a reporter from Vancouver, the Planet of the Arts newspaper.” The usual response: “What was that you said? Planet of the Apes?.” And so it went... But, in the daytime, (in the hospitality suite ) and among fellow journalists my reception was better. “Ah, Planet of the Arts...very interesting name...where is it published...what kind of paper is it...who’s the editor...?” This was encouraging. Have to compliment the Toronto festival for really making The Press feel welcome. Montreal I hear, has a bad rep. Perspectives; Canadian and International Finally, before I close , I'd like to draw some attention to some fine Canadian documentaries that graced the screens of that good city in Septem- ber. In terms of form, content, innovation, and impact, they were a strong presence in the pro- gram. Probably the most colourful film of the festival, Ron Mann’s Comic Book Confidential was one of it’s genuine hits. It’s an irreverent and dangerous foray into the world of superheroes and superheroines. Ron imaginatively fuses content and context in his presentation of the work of some 24 artists - a representative slice of the present state of the art. Great editing, fabulous animation...."Holy media message Batman, Ron wants to do more than just entertain us, he’s trying to challenge our assumptions about comic books, and subvert our opinions!” “That’s right Boy Wonder, and that’s why he has to be stopped...pass the popcorn.” From comic book fantasies to space fantasies. Rudy Buttignol has been dreaming rockets since his youth in Italy. It’s a passion that’s led him across the U.S. and Canada doing original research on an almost forgotten period of our history. Forgotten by all that is, except the men and women who made it happen, and who tell their story with a passion matching that of the film’s producer/ director. Space Pioneers: A Canadian Story, also written and co-directed by David Sobelman, is a collage of research , photos, archival footage, and PLANET OF THE ARTS vol.4no.2 10 ‘one wonder who the real Torontonians are. But philosophy aside, its common knowledge, and ‘worth restating, that each year the Ontario Arts ‘Council gives more grants to the province than the ‘Canada Council spreads across the entire country. ‘And that ain't jelly beans. ATale of Three Cities Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver. Three cities, ‘three film festivals. And this, a summary. Why we have film festivals? There are a number of reasons: 1) To watch great films; 2) To promote understanding between nations; '38) To promote meetings between film profes- sionals and thereby stimulate the film industry. (When I use the term “film industry" I refer to ‘much more than just the feature film business.) ‘The same number of reasons apply when we ‘ask: Why do we have international film festivals in Canada? Now, however, we ean add another 4) To promote mectings between Canadian and foreign film professionals and thereby stimu- Tate the Canadian film industry. ‘As you can see, alot more goos on than meets: the eye. ‘Since Canada’s market is very small, we need to sell abroad. ‘Thus we need festivals suecessful enough to ‘attract professionals from all around the world, so, that quite simply, they ean learn something about us, and viee versa. Montreal and Toronto currently go to great ‘expense to ensure such attendance, which includes producers, directors, actors, distributors, and the international press. Montreal holds a “market,” Toronto sets up numerous guest offices. Both invite hoards of guests. ‘Thus, both cities are important market places for Canadian-made films, ‘Vaneouver, a city of considerably smaller population than either of the two, need not be intimidated by their success. Considering its location on the Pacifie Rim, ‘Vancouver could, and did this year, address the same international mandate, directed towards The East. ‘That may mean a more expensive, more business-like, and perhaps chllier festival. Can Vancouver expand, yet preserve the benefits and avoid the Bad Stuff? Maybe I'm just losing touch...(T've been out East now for more than three months), but I think it’s an issue well have to seriously consider on the West Coast. A Festival of Festivals. Say what you like about Toronto the Good, cinephiles like yours truly found the Toronto film festival a good place tobe, atleast for ten short daysin September. The festival directors and pro- .grammers put together a very good selection of International and domestic cinema. Through the efforts of over 50 staff members and countless volunteers, they transformed a good slice ofthe downtown Park Plaza Hotel into reception, infor- mation, workshop, and conference centres. Asis ‘often the case, they couldn't enlist quite as many downtown theatres as they wanted. Even so, it was rrarely dificult to get from one to the next on time, ‘and on foot. No complaints. ‘And I'm not just saying that ‘cause [like the place (who me?). Accurately. described by one of T.0’s finest filmmakers as “..a money-grubbing, hub of greed, populated by tight-assed yuppie swine who can’t dance very well," Toronto lives up to its reputation. It’sa scary kind of place. Neverthe- Jess, within the innards ofthe inner city thrives a ‘community of dissidents who wish to be regarded ‘as “the real” Torontonians. Those artists, musi- cians, filmmakers, Marxist-Leninists, Post Structu- ralists ete. who've decided to live there because of the activity and/or work and/or money. Actually, a lot of them aren't even from Toronto, which makes, * Bruce McDonald, resident Toronto city “outlaw” made that comment as editor of the ‘October issue of Cinema Canada. For the com- plete story, pick up a copy at your local newsstand. Some Figures ‘This year’s festival had a combined budget of 24 million dollars. That's just about the same ‘amount spent by the Montreal World Film Festival. ‘Telefilm donated $375,000 (the same amount the federal agency gives the Montreal fest.) the province of Ontario, $294,000; the Metropolitan ‘Toronto Couneil, $75,000; and the city of Toronto $35,000. Goods and services from corporations ac- counted for an estimated $600,000, with an addi- tional $500,000 targeted from private fundraising. ‘At the final press luncheon, the festival boasted ‘that it had almost doubled the box-office of the previous year. Hm... $850,000, from last year’s total of ‘$850,000. My calculations tell me that if they ‘reached their private fundraising target they probably broke even at the box-office. ‘What They Came to See Over the span of ten days, eleven if you include the Sunday resereenings, nearly 280 films ‘were projected. The following is the order in which the eight programs appeared in the festival cata- logue. ‘THE GALAS: Overall, a disappointment. Luckily, [hear a restructuring isin progress. This, program was overburdened by an uninspired heap of US. movies. An exceptional Spanish comedy, ‘Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown by Pedro Almovodar, was voted by festival audi- ‘ences as the most popular entry, and deservedly won the “John Labatt Classic Film Award.” Run- ners-up from the same program were the campy US. made Earth Girls Are Easy, and the ultra romantic The Revolving Doors, by Canadian director Francis Mankiewicz. Memories of Me, by. “the Fonz” ak.a. Henry Winkler, was thought by many to be the worst memory ofthe festival CONTEMPORARY WORLD CINEMA: This was the largest program, presenting over 80, {international titles. I¢s the basic stock of any self respecting film festival. Within this program, one ‘of my favorites, The Thin Blue Line, by US. director Errol Morris, also won runner-up status with the two films named above. NEW VISIONS, NEW VOICES: You either hated them or you loved them. T saw a few of both ‘kinds, most memorable of which was ex-Canadian (why did he do it!), Rob Tregenza’s Talking to Strangers. Make a note of it. PERSPECTIVE CANADA: This program presented about 42 features, shorts, and documen. taries. This was the second largest presentation of ‘this kind in Canada this year. Montreal, however, ‘sereened $2 Canadian films in their official pro- ‘gram (called Panorama Canada), added 16 films in ‘other programs, and topped that off with 10 Canadian Student Film Festival screenings, a total of nearly 80 additional shorts and videos. When talking numbers, Montreal director Serge Losique is quick to include student films in the total — this year: 123 films. ‘Toronto, however, took an important initia. tive in 1984, when it established the $25,000, ‘Toronto City Award for excellence in Canadian production. This year, a seven member interna- tional jury selected The Outside Chance of ‘Maximilian Glick for the prize. The real value of ‘the prize, outside of the obvious? It generates interest in Canadian film in Canada, and makes. news abroad. Of interest to Canadian filmmakers was Losique's October 13 announcement that his {festival is ereating two prizes worth more than {$50,000 to “stimulate Canadian participation in the 1989 Montreal festival.” The rivalry continues, and it’s all but impossible to say which festival does ‘more for filmmakers in this country. Toronto Festival lengthy personal SPOTLIGHT: This program highlighted the Finnish Kaurismaki brothers this year. Saw their shorts, no pun intended. KINO EYB: Described as the largest Russian film retrospective mounted in the West in which ‘ifty films received Glasnost-aasisted passports to play in Canada. I took the opportunity to see Andrei Tarkovski’s brilliant Ivan's Childhood ‘again. That's all I saw - too many films, too little tim ‘MIDNIGHT MADNESS: was... well.-madness, at the Bloor Cinema for 7 out of 10, festival evenings. I don’t care what kind of music ‘you listen to, you've got to see The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2: The Metal Years. (No, this is not Denys Arcand’s latest) (an in joke). OPEN VAULT: The last of the programs provided an opportunity to view a rare callection of archival film, including an early silent Hitchcock. ‘This was an opportunity, alas I didn't take. Festival Scandal and Glamour ‘Since most cinemas nowadays have to drag their audience, bloodshot, from their TLV. screens, a little glitz may indeed be necessary. You want names, dates, times, dirt? Sorry, that wasn’t my line. The paparazzi got it all. They went ater the Big Game every night, club to club, eat and mouse; ordinary people in small cars chasing ordinary people in limos. Check back issues of The Star, Entertainment Section. Back at the clubs, that’s where I was every evening round midnight, lookin’ for that free meal. (Remember, this was no all-expense-paid trp). ‘Standin’ next to the hors d'oeuvres, washin’ em down with overpriced aleohol, searching the room for familiar faces. This was no picnic, believe me....Hi, my name is David Vaisbord, (shouting above the P.A.s) 'm a reporter from Vancouver, the Planet of the Arts newspaper.” The usual response: “What was that you said? Planet of the Apes?.” And soit went. But, in the daytime, (in the hospitality suite ) and among fellow Journalists my reception was better. “Ah, Planet ofthe Arts..very interesting rname...where is it published...what kind of paper is it..who's the editor... This was encouraging. Have to compliment the Toronto festival for really making The Press feel welcome. Montreal Ihear, has a bad rep. Perspectives; Canadian and International Finally, before I close , I’ like to draw some attention to some fine Canadian documentaries that graced the screens of that good city in Septem- ber. In terms of form, content, innovation, and ‘impact, they were a strong presence in the pro- gram. Probably the most colourful film of the festival, Ron Mann's Comic Book Confidential as one of it’s genuine hits. It's an irreverent and dangerous foray into the world of superheroes and supetheroines. Ron imaginatively fuses content ‘and context in his presentation of the work of some 24 artists - a representative slice of the present, state of the art. Great editing, fabulous animation...”Holy media message Batman, Ron wants to do more than just entertain us, he's trying to challenge our assumptions about comic books, and subvert our opinions!” “That's right Boy Wonder, and that’s why he has to be stopped..pass the popeorn.” From comic book fantasies to space fantasies. Rudy Buttignol has been dreaming rockets since his youth in Italy. Tt’ a passion that’s led him ‘across the US. and Canada doing original research ‘on an almost forgotten period of our history. Forgotten by all that is, except the men and women who made it happen, and who tell their story with a passion matching that ofthe film's producer/ director. Space Pioneers: A Canadian Story, also written and co-directed by David Sobelman, a collage of research , photos, archival footage, and