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Festival Coverage

Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: Into the Drink

September 11, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie For a while, Atlantic. was the most relaxed I had felt at this year’s festival.  Incredibly shot sequences of Fettah windsurfing across the infinite drink eased me into a trance.  Its angelic score cradling the audience is the final nuance Atlantic. has that completely sends us into adoration with these moments of Jan-Willem van Ewijk’s tranquil tale. Alas, Atlantic. follows a bothersome and oddly common theme at this year’s TIFF.  Atlantic. eventually drifts…

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Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: Short Cuts with Sorrow

September 8, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie We return to the Short Cuts Canada programmes to take a look at a few films that aren’t afraid to get “real”. Well, “real” in surreal surroundings and under crazy circumstances. These three shorts may be tales out of a book (certainly in the case of The Underground), but the emotion conveyed is what makes these stories come alive. They hit and miss various points, but the risks these filmmakers take are nothing…

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Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: Wet Noodle

September 6, 2014Addison Wylie2 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Wet Bum features a superb performance by TIFF Rising Star Julia Sarah Stone.  Her helpless presence draws us in, as if we feel the need to lend her a shoulder to cry on.  But, it’s her earnest portrayal of fourteen-year-old outsider Sam that signifies the puzzling phases of fitting in among your peers, and trying to swallow the lump in your throat when you’re singled out for being different. The film that…

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Festival Coverage

Toronto After Dark’s Frightful First Wave

September 5, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie The Toronto International Film Festival may be in full swing, but Toronto After Dark shall not fall by the wayside. On September 4, the eclectic festival – known for hosting screenings that would please any sort of genre fan – released their first wave of films.  The list has it all: toothy zombies, time traveling, werewolves, Elijah Wood, and two highly anticipated follow-ups to recent cult favourites. The ten revealed titles can be viewed here….

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Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: A Special Place

September 5, 2014Addison Wylie2 Comments

By: Addison Wylie At TIFF ’12, a cold film named Krivina made its mark on the circuit.  Directed by Igor Drljaca and produced by Albert Shin, Krivina was a film with a strong, silent lead.  It tested my patience with meandering stretches, but halfheartedly won me back with a shocking twist I didn’t see coming. Smashcut to present day and the roles have switched with In Her Place – Shin is now the writer/director and…

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Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: The NFB’s Mixed Bag of Short Cuts

September 4, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie TIFF’s Canadian roots are more than prominent in the Short Cuts Canada programmes.  Alexander Rogalski and Magali Simard – two of the festival’s programmers – have selected what they feel are the cream of the short form crop.  They’ve included filmmakers with impassioned voices and integral visions, and they’ve even included some touched up classics. It’s expected that The National Film Board of Canada would be involved in this showcase somehow.  Their…

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Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: Top-Notch Theeb

September 4, 2014Addison Wylie1 Comment

By: Addison Wylie Filmmaker Naji Abu Nowar marks a departure from short films with Theeb, a gripping slow burn that confidently risks it all to challenge itself with different genres.  The boldness often profits this tense flick. At first, it’s a character study ala Beasts of the Southern Wild, albeit told more conventionally.  While its composure helps the film with its accessibility towards the audience, it doesn’t contain any stimulating eruptions through its presentation.  However,…

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Festival Coverage

TIFF 2014: A Boring Exhibit

September 3, 2014Addison Wylie3 Comments

By: Addison Wylie Ok, everyone.  This way, please.  This tour is running behind, and we need to catch up. This next work we’ll be observing is Frederick Wiseman’s National Gallery.  This work has been known to carelessly eat up time for those who endure it.  The entire canvas – for some reason – takes close to three hours to view.  And, even though we’re given too much time to comprehend this lacklustre endeavour, on-lookers will…

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Festival Coverage

LEFT’s Horror Fest is the Right Choice

July 2, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

By: Addison Wylie It’s terrific news to report that Lost Episode Festival Toronto (or, LEFT) is back! Some of you who have been following me since my time at Film Army may have seen my coverage of the weekend-long festival last year.  It was a neat experience and certainly a film festival unlike any I’ve attended. For those who need a brief introduction, LEFT is a film festival run by fearless leader Johnny Larocque.  It…

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Festival Coverage

Wylie Writes @ Inside Out 2014: Who’s Tired of Vagina Wolf?

June 3, 2014Addison Wylie0 Comments

Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf? (DIR. Anna Margarita Albelo) By: Addison Wylie There’s nothing more obnoxious than a movie that thinks its being clever.  Enter Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf?, an indie with all the self-absorption of Michael Urie’s He’s Way More Famous Than You helmed by Anna Margarita Albelo who wishes to become Lena Dunham through eccentric styles and a hipster soundtrack. Who’s Afraid of Vagina Wolf? has writer/director Albelo playing an exaggerated version of herself.  She’s…

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