I haven't had access to Hole in my Heart since I missed it at TIFF 2-3 years ago. I guess I could buy an all-region DVD of it, but I'm not sure it's one I'll want to own. I've liked everything I've seen from him, although Together towers over the other 2 (Show Me Love/Fucking Amal and Lilya-4-Ever).
I can't choose a favourite - they all left me with different feelings...Amal and Together were closer in themes, mood, etc. but Lilya, as devastating and harrowing as it is, is untouchable imo as far as directing, acting and the depiciton of sheer will and hope is concerned. I know this sounds screwy, but it is one of the best films I've seen as far as female leads/women's stories go.
Interesting. I don't remember it being hopeful at all!
SPOILERS
lol - I know, I mean in that she just never gave up, not until the very end but even that is up for interpretation. Through it all she kept trying to get over and was never unkind and went as far as to take care of others. AK! I'm getting all emotional thinking about it - this is what happens when you skip lunch!
Off Moodysson and somewhat psychedelic - did you see Innocence?
It was a very unrelenting film (Lilya) so I can see hope in it as far as the human spirit never gives up. Hope, but not triumph -- because the evil fucks in the human traffic biz also never give up.
Innocence... hmm? Not the Paul Cox film? I've only seen the 3 Moodysson films we've mentioned.
True, but it was her story and to keep myself from totally giving up on the species, I try to concentrate on glimmers of light like that.
I haven't had access to Hole in my Heart since I missed it at TIFF 2-3 years ago. I guess I could buy an all-region DVD of it, but I'm not sure it's one I'll want to own. I've liked everything I've seen from him, although Together towers over the other 2 (Show Me Love/Fucking Amal and Lilya-4-Ever).
I can't choose a favourite - they all left me with different feelings...Amal and Together were closer in themes, mood, etc. but Lilya, as devastating and harrowing as it is, is untouchable imo as far as directing, acting and the depiciton of sheer will and hope is concerned. I know this sounds screwy, but it is one of the best films I've seen as far as female leads/women's stories go.
Interesting. I don't remember it being hopeful at all!
SPOILERS
lol - I know, I mean in that she just never gave up, not until the very end but even that is up for interpretation. Through it all she kept trying to get over and was never unkind and went as far as to take care of others. AK! I'm getting all emotional thinking about it - this is what happens when you skip lunch!
Off Moodysson and somewhat psychedelic - did you see Innocence?
It was a very unrelenting film (Lilya) so I can see hope in it as far as the human spirit never gives up. Hope, but not triumph -- because the evil fucks in the human traffic biz also never give up.
Innocence... hmm? Not the Paul Cox film? I've only seen the 3 Moodysson films we've mentioned.
True, but it was her story and to keep myself from totally giving up on the species, I try to concentrate on glimmers of light like that.
Aha! I think I saw that at Toronto, too. Very dreamlike story of girls' boarding school, almost reminiscent of Henry Darger artwork? If so, I saw the film, but don't have the strongest memory of it (Sometimes that's the downside of seeing 30 movies in 10 days -- they can all blend together). If I remember correctly, the director was dating Gaspar Noe (Irreversible) at the time, and the Q+A was awkward because everyone just wanted to talk about his work, not HER movie that they'd just seen.
Aha! I think I saw that at Toronto, too. Very dreamlike story of girls' boarding school, almost reminiscent of Henry Darger artwork? If so, I saw the film, but don't have the strongest memory of it (Sometimes that's the downside of seeing 30 movies in 10 days -- they can all blend together). If I remember correctly, the director was dating Gaspar Noe (Irreversible) at the time, and the Q+A was awkward because everyone just wanted to talk about his work, not HER movie that they'd just seen.
Yup that's it.
Did anyone mention the original Wicker Man? - that's basically a cinematic version of a British psychfolk record.
Pasoloni's Teorama John Avildson's Joe Peter Watkins' Punishment Park Agnes Varda's Le Bonheur (and the next few years of her career) Tarkovsky's Solaris Barbet Schroeder's More AND Valley (Obscured by Clouds) Wild in the Streets Dynamite Chicken
ARTE, a French-German TV station, currently offers a "summer of love" special. yesterday night they presented a whole bunch of psychedelic short films including self-made experimental music videos and some Warhol factory VJ footage
I just watched El Topo and I have to say I loved it until the point when the two women shoot the Mole... after that it becomes pretty boring (at least for ME), so the film is about 45 minutes too long, but anyway the first half of it is great.
I just watched El Topo and I have to say I loved it until the point when the two women shoot the Mole... after that it becomes pretty boring (at least for ME), so the film is about 45 minutes too long, but anyway the first half of it is great.
Boring? Never that son. Son of El Topo + El Topo reborn. Recognize genius. pad'nah.
It was a very unrelenting film (Lilya) so I can see hope in it as far as the human spirit never gives up. Hope, but not triumph -- because the evil fucks in the human traffic biz also never give up.
While Lilya was my favorite Moodyson film, "Container" was his second best IMO. A lot of people don't like it, but I thought it was rather brilliant. I didn't have many expectations after "Hole in my Heart" (which I didn't like at all), so it was a nice surprise. It's not for everyone, maybe the closest thing I've seen to cinematic "art" as it's basically a visual poem. I'm not sure if it's going to get a DVD release because of it's nature, but it sure as hell is worth seeking out. I got lucky enough to have a copy sent to me for review, otherwise I'd never have seen it. I was hoping they'd screen it at last years TIFF but they changed thier minds as they did with Destricted.
Speaking on TIFF, the website went live yesterday. Tickets are on sale in 4 days. I ended up seeing 27 films last year, but I don't think I'll do the same this year. The only film I'm really interested in seeing right now is BREATH, and I don't need to buy an advance ticket for that one. It seems the films I attend have 20 people max at the screening, which was the case again last year outside of Pan's.
Speaking on TIFF, the website went live yesterday. Tickets are on sale in 4 days. I ended up seeing 27 films last year, but I don't think I'll do the same this year. The only film I'm really interested in seeing right now is BREATH, and I don't need to buy an advance ticket for that one. It seems the films I attend have 20 people max at the screening, which was the case again last year outside of Pan's.
They need to stop jacking up ticket prices every year! Last year was the first time I really felt like attendance dropped off, especially for "smaller" films by unknown or lesser-known directors. How many people are going to take a chance on a film when it costs $20, and the only review in town gives it 1 out of 5 stars? Not many. But that was the case with one of the best films I saw there last year, Falkenberg Farewell.
Speaking on TIFF, the website went live yesterday. Tickets are on sale in 4 days. I ended up seeing 27 films last year, but I don't think I'll do the same this year. The only film I'm really interested in seeing right now is BREATH, and I don't need to buy an advance ticket for that one. It seems the films I attend have 20 people max at the screening, which was the case again last year outside of Pan's.
They need to stop jacking up ticket prices every year! Last year was the first time I really felt like attendance dropped off, especially for "smaller" films by unknown or lesser-known directors. How many people are going to take a chance on a film when it costs $20, and the only review in town gives it 1 out of 5 stars? Not many. But that was the case with one of the best films I saw there last year, Falkenberg Farewell.
Definitely, but they have to pay for that monstrosity they are building somehow.
I can understand the thrill of seeing a new film as soon as you can, especially at a Festival when the crew/cast might be there for Q&As but it's easy to guess which ones will get wide-release and they still end up being the best-selling films. In one way, it's good it has grown and there are some excellent programmers who get great films in, but on the other hand, the Hollywood factor is a piss-off. The Bollywood factor, however is not! It was a great idea to gala 'Never Say Goodbye' at TIFF.
The first film I saw at TIFF was Sid and Nancy - it cost around $10 if memory serves. We watched giant mohawks file in, dreading they would sit in front of us and totally block our view.
I can understand the thrill of seeing a new film as soon as you can, especially at a Festival when the crew/cast might be there for Q&As but it's easy to guess which ones will get wide-release and they still end up being the best-selling films. In one way, it's good it has grown and there are some excellent programmers who get great films in, but on the other hand, the Hollywood factor is a piss-off. The Bollywood factor, however is not! It was a great idea to gala 'Never Say Goodbye' at TIFF.
The first film I saw at TIFF was Sid and Nancy - it cost around $10 if memory serves. We watched giant mohawks file in, dreading they would sit in front of us and totally block our view.
Well, you know as well as I do Toronto is a city of trends. I think the majority of the "GALLA" shows are attended by suits who think it's "cool", and often I see really shallow girls outside of the venue asking one another "Which one is the director?" like this is some kind of rock concert. The good part about it is the majority of those films aren???t the greatest IMO, and most manage to make theatres within a few weeks of the festival. Borat is a perfect example, as was BABEL. WTF do I look like paying $35 or whatever it was to see a GALLA for a film that would be in mainstream theatres a week or two later?
Last year I knew how good the film was going to be based on attendance. The less people there, the better it was going to be outside of Pan's. I guess CACHE was an exception also in 2005, but 80% of that theatre was silent after as it went right over thier heads. Bassie, remember leaving Cache and all the people who were pissed off the movie "made no sense"? I got a kick out of that because those tickets were a bit of a pain to get, and I knew going in most of the people there wouldn't have even seen a Haneke film before that day. It just dumbfounds me that we have over 300 quality films come here each year, yet the morons in our city flock to the most known/common. lol.
I usually get the daypass for $196 which allows me to see 25 films, giving me an average of $8 a film. If I buy 1 off tickets, I'm paying $22 or so a film. It doesn't even make sense for me to buy 1 off tickets. I'll most likely end up buying the 25 pass again and skipping 1/2.
So this daypass... does this limit you to daytime screenings? I don't remember seeing that before, I just remember seeing bundles of 10 and 30 tickets and all-access passes.
I have a pretty good knack for picking titles that aren't coming to theaters any time soon, and usually "treat" myself to one or two films that I know will come to Bmore eventually if the screening might be special -- Mulholland Drive at the Elgin being a good example in recent years. But I'd never pay Gala prices. That's just crazy, especially on a traveller's budget.
But in prior years it always seemed like even obscure titles had rush lines by screening time, whereas last year in many cases one could walk up to the door and buy tix, including for the two best movies I saw (Falkenberg Farewell, which I mentioned, and the Thai film Syndromes and a Century).
I just watched El Topo and I have to say I loved it until the point when the two women shoot the Mole... after that it becomes pretty boring (at least for ME), so the film is about 45 minutes too long, but anyway the first half of it is great.
Boring? Never that son. Son of El Topo + El Topo reborn. Recognize genius. pad'nah.
you guys have to see this one.
- spidey
another asshole who knows my taste better than myself.....
So this daypass... does this limit you to daytime screenings? I don't remember seeing that before, I just remember seeing bundles of 10 and 30 tickets and all-access passes.
I have a pretty good knack for picking titles that aren't coming to theaters any time soon, and usually "treat" myself to one or two films that I know will come to Bmore eventually if the screening might be special -- Mulholland Drive at the Elgin being a good example in recent years. But I'd never pay Gala prices. That's just crazy, especially on a traveller's budget.
But in prior years it always seemed like even obscure titles had rush lines by screening time, whereas last year in many cases one could walk up to the door and buy tix, including for the two best movies I saw (Falkenberg Farewell, which I mentioned, and the Thai film Syndromes and a Century).
Daytime passes are usually sold for a limited amount of time in advance of other ticket and pass sales, maybe why you never saw it as an option? And yea, good for any screening prior to 5 PM.
I hear you about treating oneself - Coffee and Cigarettes was going to get wide-release, but I went to see it anyway because Jarmusch was going to be there; he was a real ham who told great story after great story and so he was worth the price of the ticket alone. Then there was Made in Jamaica, which I still went to despite Moss' warnings, and is probably one of the worst films I've seen never mind documentaries (using term very loosely in this case), but was a thrill because Capelton introduced the film and even broke out into song.
It's a double-edged sword, you get to see great small films but they never come out so you can't revisit or share them with others. I saw such a good film last year, Day Night Day Night, and it will probably never see the light of day (or night).
Daytime passes are usually sold for a limited amount of time in advance of other ticket and pass sales, maybe why you never saw it as an option? And yea, good for any screening prior to 5 PM.
I hear you about treating oneself - Coffee and Cigarettes was going to get wide-release, but I went to see it anyway because Jarmusch was going to be there; he was a real ham who told great story after great story and so he was worth the price of the ticket alone. Then there was Made in Jamaica, which I still went to despite Moss' warnings, and is probably one of the worst films I've seen never mind documentaries (using term very loosely in this case), but was a thrill because Capelton introduced the film and even broke out into song.
It's a double-edged sword, you get to see great small films but they never come out so you can't revisit or share them with others. I saw such a good film last year, Day Night Day Night, and it will probably never see the light of day (or night).
I see... I think I'll stick to buying ticket bundles. Despite the cost, I don't want to be limited as far as screening times, especially since I've noticed that directors have often left town by their 2nd screenings, which are more often daytime.
I thought I was treating myself by seeing Trouble Every Day, the Claire Denis vampire film w/ Vincent Gallo. French movie, already had distro, she'd just had a small art-house hit w/ Beau Travail, and the film had an American "star." Never played Baltimore, the distributor went bust soon thereafter, never came out on US DVD, and I would've not only missed a great film, but one of the best Q+As I've ever seen. And unfortunately, in Baltimore it's not a given that new films by the likes of Haneke will play.
I should look into that Day Night Day Night film. Can you tell me more? Since we're a pretty small festival, that's what we try to specialize in... breathing a little more life into films that didn't get the attention/distro they deserved.
So this daypass... does this limit you to daytime screenings? I don't remember seeing that before, I just remember seeing bundles of 10 and 30 tickets and all-access passes.
I have a pretty good knack for picking titles that aren't coming to theaters any time soon, and usually "treat" myself to one or two films that I know will come to Bmore eventually if the screening might be special -- Mulholland Drive at the Elgin being a good example in recent years. But I'd never pay Gala prices. That's just crazy, especially on a traveller's budget.
But in prior years it always seemed like even obscure titles had rush lines by screening time, whereas last year in many cases one could walk up to the door and buy tix, including for the two best movies I saw (Falkenberg Farewell, which I mentioned, and the Thai film Syndromes and a Century).
As Bassie said the daytime is anything before 5:01. Most of the sold out shows seem to be after work as most people don't want to skip work for a movie. The advantage I see in the daytime is the price, as well as the fact that I have never "missed" a film as they daytime are most people's last resort. I was in the bottom 15% for the draw this year, so my order was one of the last to be filled. Not a single movie I selected was sold out, so I got all my first picks. I'll admit I see the second screening for at least half, but at least I avoid the headache of a line or sell outs.
I thought I was treating myself by seeing Trouble Every Day, the Claire Denis vampire film w/ Vincent Gallo. French movie, already had distro, she'd just had a small art-house hit w/ Beau Travail, and the film had an American "star." Never played Baltimore, the distributor went bust soon thereafter, never came out on US DVD, and I would've not only missed a great film, but one of the best Q+As I've ever seen. And unfortunately, in Baltimore it's not a given that new films by the likes of Haneke will play.
I should look into that Day Night Day Night film. Can you tell me more? Since we're a pretty small festival, that's what we try to specialize in... breathing a little more life into films that didn't get the attention/distro they deserved.
There have been more then a few films that I loved that have never come to DVD. There is a Hungarian film that I almost bought a few months ago that screened up here in 2003 I think. I changed my mind last minute because IFC jumped in for the broadcast rights and I figured they'd screen it before me, and I'd miss a lot of sales. Anyhow, what type of films do you want in your festival? I've got a few that might interest you. I'm not a director, but I've edited trailers for PALM PICTURES and others so I'm always getting sent very good indy films that are open. I have one doc now that I'm sure you could get that's caused a little stir. It played at Hot Docs.
I thought I was treating myself by seeing Trouble Every Day, the Claire Denis vampire film w/ Vincent Gallo. French movie, already had distro, she'd just had a small art-house hit w/ Beau Travail, and the film had an American "star." Never played Baltimore, the distributor went bust soon thereafter, never came out on US DVD, and I would've not only missed a great film, but one of the best Q+As I've ever seen. And unfortunately, in Baltimore it's not a given that new films by the likes of Haneke will play.
I should look into that Day Night Day Night film. Can you tell me more? Since we're a pretty small festival, that's what we try to specialize in... breathing a little more life into films that didn't get the attention/distro they deserved.
There have been more then a few films that I loved that have never come to DVD. There is a Hungarian film that I almost bought a few months ago that screened up here in 2003 I think. I changed my mind last minute because IFC jumped in for the broadcast rights and I figured they'd screen it before me, and I'd miss a lot of sales. Anyhow, what type of films do you want in your festival? I've got a few that might interest you. I'm not a director, but I've edited trailers for PALM PICTURES and others so I'm always getting sent very good indy films that are open. I have one doc now that I'm sure you could get that's caused a little stir. It played at Hot Docs.
I'm at Maryland Film Festival, we do 50 features and 100 shorts... end up being about 50/50 narrative/doc split on those features. No special emphasis on Maryland-made films. The toughest provision for me as a programmer being that the festival director and board mandate that someone from the film be there for every screening to host and do Q+As... extremely difficult for ANY film, given our budget, but even more so for foreign films.
we generally use each year's TIFF as the start of a new season, and try to track films from there, Sundance, Silverdocs, Slamdance, etc. that haven't played Baltimore yet and also haven't had a DVD release. But we're open to things a year or two older if they also meet those requirements and are in need of an extra boost. We also do screenings throughout the year for our members, and those tend to be a mixture of preview screenings for upcoming titles and slightly older films that need another boost, so both the title Bassie mentioned and the ones you worked on might be a fit for the latter.
A major tangent at this point, but other cool stuff we have within the festival: one 3-D film every year, one silent film w/ live score by Alloy Orchestra, one film chosen and hosted by John Waters, one film chosen and hosted by a non-film person of note (this year was Henry Rollins), one secret screening, and new this past year was a guest filmmaker who programs several films (this past year it was Lodge Kerrigan, director of Clean Shaven/Claire Dolan/Keane).
Daytime passes are usually sold for a limited amount of time in advance of other ticket and pass sales, maybe why you never saw it as an option? And yea, good for any screening prior to 5 PM.
I hear you about treating oneself - Coffee and Cigarettes was going to get wide-release, but I went to see it anyway because Jarmusch was going to be there; he was a real ham who told great story after great story and so he was worth the price of the ticket alone. Then there was Made in Jamaica, which I still went to despite Moss' warnings, and is probably one of the worst films I've seen never mind documentaries (using term very loosely in this case), but was a thrill because Capelton introduced the film and even broke out into song.
It's a double-edged sword, you get to see great small films but they never come out so you can't revisit or share them with others. I saw such a good film last year, Day Night Day Night, and it will probably never see the light of day (or night).
I see... I think I'll stick to buying ticket bundles. Despite the cost, I don't want to be limited as far as screening times, especially since I've noticed that directors have often left town by their 2nd screenings, which are more often daytime.
I thought I was treating myself by seeing Trouble Every Day, the Claire Denis vampire film w/ Vincent Gallo. French movie, already had distro, she'd just had a small art-house hit w/ Beau Travail, and the film had an American "star." Never played Baltimore, the distributor went bust soon thereafter, never came out on US DVD, and I would've not only missed a great film, but one of the best Q+As I've ever seen. And unfortunately, in Baltimore it's not a given that new films by the likes of Haneke will play.
I should look into that Day Night Day Night film. Can you tell me more? Since we're a pretty small festival, that's what we try to specialize in... breathing a little more life into films that didn't get the attention/distro they deserved.
Trouble Everday is fantastic - I am very jealous of the Q&A!! And Beau Travail has one of the best endings to a film ever. I saw Denis do a Q&A for Vendredi Soir and it was , given the movie - that's not too surprising.
Day Night was so good because I had no idea what was going to happen. It is very raw and concentrates on small details. They have pushed the sound right up which is a very good idea given there is hardly anything going on for a lot of it. I actually thought people would leave, but no one did. It is very slow and vague in the beginning, and once the story begins to reveal itself, I felt it paid off. I don't want to ruin it, so will just say that it is really topical and tells the story in fresh and unusual way. If you are interested, I can get the businessy details out of the catalogue for you tonight.
Trouble Everday is fantastic - I am very jealous of the Q&A!! And Beau Travail has one of the best endings to a film ever. I saw Denis do a Q&A for Vendredi Soir and it was , given the movie - that's not too surprising.
Day Night was so good because I had no idea what was going to happen. It is very raw and concentrates on small details. They have pushed the sound right up which is a very good idea given there is hardly anything going on for a lot of it. I actually thought people would leave, but no one did. It is very slow and vague in the beginning, and once the story begins to reveal itself, I felt it paid off. I don't want to ruin it, so will just say that it is really topical and tells the story in fresh and unusual way. If you are interested, I can get the businessy details out of the catalogue for you tonight.
Damn, our internet went out just as I tried to respond to this. I'll try to recreate.
So thanks, but no need to dig up that contact info -- i'm sitting next to a shelf full of TIFF catalogs here at work. I'll email them and see what's up with their movie.
The ending to Beau Travail had such a dynamic energy, really creats an ecstatic feeling after the slow, tense build of the body of the film. Trouble Every Day is a masterpiece, and for anyone wishing this thread would get back onto psychedelic film, it's an amazing latter-day "psych" pick -- and I think DVDs did come out in Europe and Canada (I think I saw it on the shelf at Queen St. or Suspect at some point, anyway).
After those, Vendredi Soir felt very insignificant. A very sweet and polite film, which is fine, but the last thing I needed from her. I saw it at TIFF, prolly that same screening (maybe at the old Uptown?) and have no memory of the Q+A at all.
L'Intrus was 10 steps back towards inaccessibility. I say this as a fan, but as amazing as the imagery and mood was in that film, the narrative was damn near impenetrable. I need to drink a gallon of coffee and try that one again on disc some night, but at Toronto I saw it with 5-6 diehard Denis fans, and at least 3 of them fell asleep!
Yup, V Soir at the Uptown and I'll admit it, I did not get through L'Intrus. And I'm not going to try either! I am happy with the dark and sexy Denis of Nonette et Boni/I Can't Go to Sleep/Beau Travail/Trouble Everyday rather than sentimental and white wine spritzer Denis of the more recent films.
I had to wait a damn long time, but it finally came out and I bought Trouble Everyday on DVD, so it is available.
Have you seen the Dardennes brothers movies? The Son is beautiful.
Yup, V Soir at the Uptown and I'll admit it, I did not get through L'Intrus. And I'm not going to try either! I am happy with the dark and sexy Denis of Nonette et Boni/I Can't Go to Sleep/Beau Travail/Trouble Everyday rather than sentimental and white wine spritzer Denis of the more recent films.
I had to wait a damn long time, but it finally came out and I bought Trouble Everyday on DVD, so it is available.
Have you seen the Dardennes brothers movies? The Son is beautiful.
Yeah, I like the Dardennes quite a lot. They have a nice little following here in town... my friend made a very quiet DIY feature called "Hamilton" that was very much inspired by them.
lol - yes I think we have fallen off track a bit and are just talking films we love at this point.
you're probably right... although in my defense, I was trying to name the "most psych" titles from his filmography... he's my fave and there's only one film from him that I straight up did not like (lili marleen).
"Suicide Agency", Danish surreal sci-fi comedy/drama about a lonely man who goes to a special agency to make arrangements for his suicide There's even a movie-in-the-movie about a family protesting against "Meatless Day" by eating the mother of the family.
Sounds dope, and reminded me of...
Absurdist, psych-tinged dark comedy w/ an anarchistic streak remiscent of Bunuel and Marco Ferreri.
Comments
True, but it was her story and to keep myself from totally giving up on the species, I try to concentrate on glimmers of light like that.
Innocence
Aha! I think I saw that at Toronto, too. Very dreamlike story of girls' boarding school, almost reminiscent of Henry Darger artwork? If so, I saw the film, but don't have the strongest memory of it (Sometimes that's the downside of seeing 30 movies in 10 days -- they can all blend together). If I remember correctly, the director was dating Gaspar Noe (Irreversible) at the time, and the Q+A was awkward because everyone just wanted to talk about his work, not HER movie that they'd just seen.
Yup that's it.
Did anyone mention the original Wicker Man? - that's basically a cinematic version of a British psychfolk record.
Pasoloni's Teorama
John Avildson's Joe
Peter Watkins' Punishment Park
Agnes Varda's Le Bonheur (and the next few years of her career)
Tarkovsky's Solaris
Barbet Schroeder's More AND Valley (Obscured by Clouds)
Wild in the Streets
Dynamite Chicken
Boring? Never that son. Son of El Topo + El Topo reborn. Recognize genius. pad'nah.
you guys have to see this one.
- spidey
While Lilya was my favorite Moodyson film, "Container" was his second best IMO. A lot of people don't like it, but I thought it was rather brilliant. I didn't have many expectations after "Hole in my Heart" (which I didn't like at all), so it was a nice surprise. It's not for everyone, maybe the closest thing I've seen to cinematic "art" as it's basically a visual poem. I'm not sure if it's going to get a DVD release because of it's nature, but it sure as hell is worth seeking out. I got lucky enough to have a copy sent to me for review, otherwise I'd never have seen it. I was hoping they'd screen it at last years TIFF but they changed thier minds as they did with Destricted.
Speaking on TIFF, the website went live yesterday. Tickets are on sale in 4 days. I ended up seeing 27 films last year, but I don't think I'll do the same this year. The only film I'm really interested in seeing right now is BREATH, and I don't need to buy an advance ticket for that one. It seems the films I attend have 20 people max at the screening, which was the case again last year outside of Pan's.
They need to stop jacking up ticket prices every year! Last year was the first time I really felt like attendance dropped off, especially for "smaller" films by unknown or lesser-known directors. How many people are going to take a chance on a film when it costs $20, and the only review in town gives it 1 out of 5 stars? Not many. But that was the case with one of the best films I saw there last year, Falkenberg Farewell.
Definitely, but they have to pay for that monstrosity they are building somehow.
I can understand the thrill of seeing a new film as soon as you can, especially at a Festival when the crew/cast might be there for Q&As but it's easy to guess which ones will get wide-release and they still end up being the best-selling films. In one way, it's good it has grown and there are some excellent programmers who get great films in, but on the other hand, the Hollywood factor is a piss-off. The Bollywood factor, however is not! It was a great idea to gala 'Never Say Goodbye' at TIFF.
The first film I saw at TIFF was Sid and Nancy - it cost around $10 if memory serves. We watched giant mohawks file in, dreading they would sit in front of us and totally block our view.
Well, you know as well as I do Toronto is a city of trends. I think the majority of the "GALLA" shows are attended by suits who think it's "cool", and often I see really shallow girls outside of the venue asking one another "Which one is the director?" like this is some kind of rock concert. The good part about it is the majority of those films aren???t the greatest IMO, and most manage to make theatres within a few weeks of the festival. Borat is a perfect example, as was BABEL. WTF do I look like paying $35 or whatever it was to see a GALLA for a film that would be in mainstream theatres a week or two later?
Last year I knew how good the film was going to be based on attendance. The less people there, the better it was going to be outside of Pan's. I guess CACHE was an exception also in 2005, but 80% of that theatre was silent after as it went right over thier heads. Bassie, remember leaving Cache and all the people who were pissed off the movie "made no sense"? I got a kick out of that because those tickets were a bit of a pain to get, and I knew going in most of the people there wouldn't have even seen a Haneke film before that day. It just dumbfounds me that we have over 300 quality films come here each year, yet the morons in our city flock to the most known/common. lol.
I usually get the daypass for $196 which allows me to see 25 films, giving me an average of $8 a film. If I buy 1 off tickets, I'm paying $22 or so a film. It doesn't even make sense for me to buy 1 off tickets. I'll most likely end up buying the 25 pass again and skipping 1/2.
I have a pretty good knack for picking titles that aren't coming to theaters any time soon, and usually "treat" myself to one or two films that I know will come to Bmore eventually if the screening might be special -- Mulholland Drive at the Elgin being a good example in recent years. But I'd never pay Gala prices. That's just crazy, especially on a traveller's budget.
But in prior years it always seemed like even obscure titles had rush lines by screening time, whereas last year in many cases one could walk up to the door and buy tix, including for the two best movies I saw (Falkenberg Farewell, which I mentioned, and the Thai film Syndromes and a Century).
another asshole who knows my taste better than myself.....
Daytime passes are usually sold for a limited amount of time in advance of other ticket and pass sales, maybe why you never saw it as an option? And yea, good for any screening prior to 5 PM.
I hear you about treating oneself - Coffee and Cigarettes was going to get wide-release, but I went to see it anyway because Jarmusch was going to be there; he was a real ham who told great story after great story and so he was worth the price of the ticket alone. Then there was Made in Jamaica, which I still went to despite Moss' warnings, and is probably one of the worst films I've seen never mind documentaries (using term very loosely in this case), but was a thrill because Capelton introduced the film and even broke out into song.
It's a double-edged sword, you get to see great small films but they never come out so you can't revisit or share them with others. I saw such a good film last year, Day Night Day Night, and it will probably never see the light of day (or night).
I see... I think I'll stick to buying ticket bundles. Despite the cost, I don't want to be limited as far as screening times, especially since I've noticed that directors have often left town by their 2nd screenings, which are more often daytime.
I thought I was treating myself by seeing Trouble Every Day, the Claire Denis vampire film w/ Vincent Gallo. French movie, already had distro, she'd just had a small art-house hit w/ Beau Travail, and the film had an American "star." Never played Baltimore, the distributor went bust soon thereafter, never came out on US DVD, and I would've not only missed a great film, but one of the best Q+As I've ever seen. And unfortunately, in Baltimore it's not a given that new films by the likes of Haneke will play.
I should look into that Day Night Day Night film. Can you tell me more? Since we're a pretty small festival, that's what we try to specialize in... breathing a little more life into films that didn't get the attention/distro they deserved.
As Bassie said the daytime is anything before 5:01. Most of the sold out shows seem to be after work as most people don't want to skip work for a movie. The advantage I see in the daytime is the price, as well as the fact that I have never "missed" a film as they daytime are most people's last resort. I was in the bottom 15% for the draw this year, so my order was one of the last to be filled. Not a single movie I selected was sold out, so I got all my first picks. I'll admit I see the second screening for at least half, but at least I avoid the headache of a line or sell outs.
There have been more then a few films that I loved that have never come to DVD. There is a Hungarian film that I almost bought a few months ago that screened up here in 2003 I think. I changed my mind last minute because IFC jumped in for the broadcast rights and I figured they'd screen it before me, and I'd miss a lot of sales. Anyhow, what type of films do you want in your festival? I've got a few that might interest you. I'm not a director, but I've edited trailers for PALM PICTURES and others so I'm always getting sent very good indy films that are open. I have one doc now that I'm sure you could get that's caused a little stir. It played at Hot Docs.
I'm at Maryland Film Festival, we do 50 features and 100 shorts... end up being about 50/50 narrative/doc split on those features. No special emphasis on Maryland-made films. The toughest provision for me as a programmer being that the festival director and board mandate that someone from the film be there for every screening to host and do Q+As... extremely difficult for ANY film, given our budget, but even more so for foreign films.
we generally use each year's TIFF as the start of a new season, and try to track films from there, Sundance, Silverdocs, Slamdance, etc. that haven't played Baltimore yet and also haven't had a DVD release. But we're open to things a year or two older if they also meet those requirements and are in need of an extra boost. We also do screenings throughout the year for our members, and those tend to be a mixture of preview screenings for upcoming titles and slightly older films that need another boost, so both the title Bassie mentioned and the ones you worked on might be a fit for the latter.
A major tangent at this point, but other cool stuff we have within the festival: one 3-D film every year, one silent film w/ live score by Alloy Orchestra, one film chosen and hosted by John Waters, one film chosen and hosted by a non-film person of note (this year was Henry Rollins), one secret screening, and new this past year was a guest filmmaker who programs several films (this past year it was Lodge Kerrigan, director of Clean Shaven/Claire Dolan/Keane).
Trouble Everday is fantastic - I am very jealous of the Q&A!! And Beau Travail has one of the best endings to a film ever. I saw Denis do a Q&A for Vendredi Soir and it was
Day Night was so good because I had no idea what was going to happen. It is very raw and concentrates on small details. They have pushed the sound right up which is a very good idea given there is hardly anything going on for a lot of it. I actually thought people would leave, but no one did. It is very slow and vague in the beginning, and once the story begins to reveal itself, I felt it paid off. I don't want to ruin it, so will just say that it is really topical and tells the story in fresh and unusual way. If you are interested, I can get the businessy details out of the catalogue for you tonight.
Damn, our internet went out just as I tried to respond to this. I'll try to recreate.
So thanks, but no need to dig up that contact info -- i'm sitting next to a shelf full of TIFF catalogs here at work. I'll email them and see what's up with their movie.
The ending to Beau Travail had such a dynamic energy, really creats an ecstatic feeling after the slow, tense build of the body of the film. Trouble Every Day is a masterpiece, and for anyone wishing this thread would get back onto psychedelic film, it's an amazing latter-day "psych" pick -- and I think DVDs did come out in Europe and Canada (I think I saw it on the shelf at Queen St. or Suspect at some point, anyway).
After those, Vendredi Soir felt very insignificant. A very sweet and polite film, which is fine, but the last thing I needed from her. I saw it at TIFF, prolly that same screening (maybe at the old Uptown?) and have no memory of the Q+A at all.
L'Intrus was 10 steps back towards inaccessibility. I say this as a fan, but as amazing as the imagery and mood was in that film, the narrative was damn near impenetrable. I need to drink a gallon of coffee and try that one again on disc some night, but at Toronto I saw it with 5-6 diehard Denis fans, and at least 3 of them fell asleep!
I had to wait a damn long time, but it finally came out and I bought Trouble Everyday on DVD, so it is available.
Have you seen the Dardennes brothers movies? The Son is beautiful.
Yeah, I like the Dardennes quite a lot. They have a nice little following here in town... my friend made a very quiet DIY feature called "Hamilton" that was very much inspired by them.
What taste?
- spidey
Few of his are overtly psych, but most of the following come close, and the appeal to minds warped by psych is very high indeed:
Satan's Brew
Third Generation
Chinese Roulette
Whity
American Soldier
Niklhausen Journey
In a Year of 13 Moons
as well as his odd star turn in Kamikaze '89...
A favourite. Bitter Tears as well...Ali, too.
lol - yes I think we have fallen off track a bit and are just talking films we love at this point.
Sounds dope, and reminded me of...
Absurdist, psych-tinged dark comedy w/ an anarchistic streak remiscent of Bunuel and Marco Ferreri.
Check This!