In Vancouver, human rights groups and immigration advocates are fighting to make the city a “sanctuary city” for undocumented immigrants. The post Inside Vancouver’s Sanctuary City Movement (VIDEO) appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingTag: Film
Art Threat: Hot Docs 2014 preview: politically punchy program, diversity festival gap still needs work
It’s springtime in Toronto and that means Canada’s premiere documentary showcase is back for another jam-packed ten day event that will deliver the world of doc to eager local audiences and international festivalgoers. This is Hot Docs‘s first year with new Executive Director Brett Hendrie steering the ship (Chris McDonald
Continue readingArt Threat: Contest: Win swag from Rhymes for Young Ghouls!
Rhymes for Young Ghouls, the debut feature film by Canadian director Jeff Barnaby that garnered well-deserved praise on the film festival circuit this year, including a top ten film nod from TIFF, is opening this month at theatres in Canada’s three largest cities. The movie is currently screening in Toronto
Continue readingArt Threat: Pinko cyclists rejoice: Rob Ford film on the way
It was inevitable: a Rob Ford movie is coming soon to a theatre near you. Just one week after the book release of Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story, by Toronto Star journalist Robyn Doolittle, Canadian production company Blue Ice Pictures have snapped up the film and television rights to
Continue readingArt Threat: Gender Mender: XXY is a cinematic exploration of intersexuality
From a purely organizational standpoint, there are plenty of reasons for the gender binary. The system delineates male and female characteristics as separate and static, ostensibly facilitating a natural and sustainable social order. It readily assigns roles and packages gender identity. It is convenient – when it works. The problem
Continue readingThings Are Good: Focus on Sustainability Film Festival
York University in Toronto will be hosting their third annual film festival all about sustainability. This year they are running films about oil. If you’re in Toronto next weekend or nearby you should check out what’s playing and take the bus to the festival. Planet in Focus with York University
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: The 2013 Great Gatsby
Watched the 2013 film of The Great Gatsby last night. The first half was spectacular, grandiose and captivating, if somewhat over the top. Like Busby Berkeley meets The Fifth Element. Extravaganza, spectacle and excess. The film doesn’t feel like it’s set in New York of the Jazz Age. It’s too
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: The Wild Women of Wongo
Who can resist a film with a title like that? Or Zontar, the Thing From Venus? Robot Monster? Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet? The Atomic Brain? Clearly, I can’t. I love this stuff. B-films, especially scifi B-films. But I am a tad disappointed with this Mill Creek package.* I recently
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: Makes you feel happy, like an old time movie
There’s something touching about a classic film, something magical about a B&W movie, about a film shot between the wars in that period of recovery and optimism; a film that was new when my parents were young, full of life and hope. A movie from the days before CGI, before green
Continue readingArt Threat: Remembering documentary film legend Peter Wintonick
You want to bring them back. Would they, if they could, return, after such a heavy crossing? You try, until the wish, almost disattached, gnawing, growling, finally bursts loose to call them. It’s difficult to write about our dear friend Peter Wintonick, who passed away less than one week ago
Continue readingScripturient: Blog & Commentary: Coriolanus on Film
Coriolanus is a tough play, full of politics and angry people and shouting mobs. It has no comic relief, no jesters, no romance and no real heroes. No great soliloquies, unsympathetic characters, uncomfortable double dealing, treachery and plotting. No powerful subplot as a counterpoint. Pride, arrogance, and power dominate. Coriolanus
Continue readingPostArctica: FAMADIHANA
Conceived and created by Devin McDermott and Ethan Folk. Movement created and performed by Devin McDermott. Filmed and edited by Ethan Folk. Score: Rolled Together – The Antlers Many, many thanks to Ryan Law, Jessica Robinson, Sarah Jo Ward, Alice Gosti, and Darcey Zoller. Famadihana is a funerary tradition of
Continue readingThe Canadian Progressive: WikiLeaks Leaks Transcript of Hollywood Doc on Julian Assange, Online Activism
WikiLeaks leaks transcript of “We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks”, the Hollywood doc on Julian Assange and online activism a day before the $2 million vindictive and biased film is publicly released. The post WikiLeaks Leaks Transcript of Hollywood Doc on Julian Assange, Online Activism appeared first on The
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Appreciating B-Movies
It drives Susan to distraction that I love B-flicks. She squirms and fidgets if I put one into the DVD player and can seldom sit through an entire movie. They get cut off mid-film, and saved for me some time … Continue reading →
Continue readingArt Threat: Gay South Korean film director causes stir in Seoul with wedding announcement
Openly gay South Korean film director Kim Jho Gwang-soo announced he will symbolically marry his partner in a ceremony designed to both celebrate their love and make a statement on LGBTQ rights in the conservative country. “We wanted to convey the message that all sexual minorities should be given rights
Continue readingArt Threat: Disney abandons efforts to trademark Day of the Dead
Thanks to a wave of online backlash, Disney is withdrawing its application to trademark the term Dia de los Muertos — otherwise known as the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead holiday. The trademark filing was done in advance of an upcoming animated film release by Disney-owned Pixar based on
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Snow White and the Huntsman reviewed
Take one part Brothers Grimm and one part Malory’s Morte d’Artur, add a dash of Tolkein, a pinch of Joan of Arc, a sprinkling of Robin Hood and a sprig of English folklore; mix it in a bowl with copious … Continue reading →
Continue readingArt Threat: Return to Gummo
Harmony Korine has been making headlines for his new pop-culture romp, Spring Breakers, with the usual fanfare and some reviewers decidedly giddy with the possibility of maybe “getting it” or maybe not. The film is apparently non-stop debauch and at least one critic has pointed out the work’s contribution to
Continue readingWalking Turcot Yards: CoastalTarSands.ca Launching Today
Today is WORLD WATER DAY and I’m honouring it by launching my next media campaign http://coastaltarsands.ca There’s very little time left before the Harper government plans to approve the Enbridge Corporation’s Northern Gateway Pipeline Project in early 2014. This plan includes hundreds of supertankers navigating through the inside passage along
Continue readingChadwick's Blog & Commentary: Shaolin: the film
I like Chinese films, particularly the epic wuxia films. They are often a refreshing change from the effects-driven/CGI monstrosities pumped out by Hollywood. Subtitles don’t bother me (better them than dubbed). They remind me of the westerns of the 1950s, … Continue reading →
Continue reading