As important as environmental documentaries are, it’s difficult not to tire of watching the ‘go green or risk oblivion’ narrative play out again and again. So when I read the synopsis of Seeking the Current, I was a bit apprehensive. But Nicolas Boisclair and Alexis de Gheldere’s documentary is far
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Art Threat: Two docs explore violence & resistance – Tales from the G20 & End:Civ compliment but still incomplete
Having been there during the G20, images of Toronto becoming a war zone—burning cop cars foregrounded by throngs of protestors clashing with riot gear-clad police—are burned into my mind. It was a dark time for the city, and it raised serious questions: when is it truly necessary to take a
Continue readingArt Threat: Politics play prominently at the 54th Venice Biennale
Water is the political motif for a significant number of works and death stalks the corridors of the Venice Biennale.
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: Diary of a Film Festival Virgin, Part 1
I have a confession to make. I was born and raised in Toronto, lived half my life there, I am a huge movie fan… and yet, up until this year I had never attended a single Toronto International Film Festival screening. Every year there was some excuse: I had no
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: Diary of a Film Festival Virgin, Part 1
I have a confession to make. I was born and raised in Toronto, lived half my life there, I am a huge movie fan… and yet, up until this year I had never attended a single Toronto International Film Festival screening.Every year there was some excuse: …
Continue readingRunesmith's Canadian Content: Diary of a Film Festival Virgin, Part 1
I have a confession to make. I was born and raised in Toronto, lived half my life there, I am a huge movie fan… and yet, up until this year I had never attended a single Toronto International Film Festival screening. Every year there was some excuse: I had no
Continue readingeaves.ca: What Re-Releases of Star Wars can Teach Us About Art and Product Management
The other day I noticed this tweet fly by in the twittersphere Was this a complaint? In light of the fact the internet was rife with complaints about changes to the movies in the Blue Ray release of the original trilogy, I suspect so. While I do harbor Lucas a small amount […]
Continue readingArt Threat: Stealing to save the world – Kenk is a fascinating graphic novel about Toronto’s notorious bike thief
The vilified bike thief Kenk gets a complex treatment in this intriguing graphic novel.
Continue readingArt Threat: A new generation of threats to online freedom – Report by ONI details 3rd generation strategies for online interference
Worried about how the Internet is being transformed from a creative playground into a structure for dominance and control? You should be, at least that’s the warning from the OpenNet Initative in their latest publication, Access Controlled: The Shaping of Power, Rights, and Rule in Cyberspace (2010, The MIT Press). The Internet remains one of […]
Continue readingeaves.ca: Why I’m Struggling with Google+
So now I’ve been a couple of weeks with Google+ and I’ll be honest, I’m really struggling with the service. I wanted to give it a few weeks before writing anything, which has been helpful in letting my thinking mature. First, before my Google friends get upset, I want to acknowledge the reason I’m struggling […]
Continue readingArt Threat: Viva Riva! revives Congolese filmmaking – A review of the crime thriller by director Djo Tunda Wa Munga
“In making “Viva Riva!,” I wanted to find a new way to talk about life in Kinshasa today to describe how my hometown works and how it doesn’t work.”
Continue readingArt Threat: Paying for It – prostitution minus gender – A review of the new comics memoir by Chester Brown
A new comics-memoir from the author who brought us Louis Riel looks at the benefits of paying for sex.
Continue readingeaves.ca: The Review I want to Read of “What Technology Wants”
A few weeks ago I finished “What Technology Wants” by Kevin Kelly. For those unfamiliar with Kelly (as I was) he was one of the co-founders of Wired magazine and sits on the board of the Long Now Foundation. What Technology Wants is a fascinating read – both attracting and repulsing me on several occasions. […]
Continue readingArt Threat: St-Henri, the 26th of August – Documentary offers a cinematic look at a vibrant Montreal neighbourhood
Shannon Walsh’s feature documentary À St-Henri le 26 août (known in English as St-Henri, the 26th of August) takes the viewer on a visceral and honest journey through the bilingual, working-class neighbourhood St-Henri in Montreal. The film follows a day in the life of about a dozen diverse residents as they navigate the neighbourhood, each […]
Continue readingArt Threat: Walk the line in Palestine – Explore the West Bank perimeter through Mark Thomas’ gonzo rambling and Francis Alÿs’ action painting
It is possible to experience aspects of the Palestinian political drama through complementary events on both sides of the Atlantic; through the work of the British comedian and activist, Mark Thomas, in London and the Belgian artist Francis Alÿs in New York.
Continue readingArt Threat: Courage, candour and inspiration – A review of The Interrupters
The new Steve James documentary is courageous and beautiful social cinema.
Continue readingArt Threat: The activist-terrorist complex – A Review of Better this World
A new documentary charts the courageous and tragic course of two activist’s lives, now charged under anti-terrorism laws.
Continue readingArt Threat: The sordid tale of the Trump golf course – A Review of You’ve Been Trumped
A new documentary takes aim at Donald Trump’s Scottish golf course adventure.
Continue readingArt Threat: Forgiving a mass murderer – A review of The Redemption of General Butt Naked
General Butt Naked was Liberia’s most ruthless and feared general – now he’s asking for forgiveness in a new documentary.
Continue readingArt Threat: Berlusconi assassinated – A review of Draquila – Italy Trembles
Berlusconi is properly skewered in a new investigative doc from Italy.
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