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The fall of 2021 marked the 50th anniversary of Fiddler on the Roof, the film Pauline Kael (The New Yorker) called “the most powerful movie musical ever made.” Narrated by Jeff Goldblum, FIDDLER’S JOURNEY TO THE BIG SCREEN captures the humor and drama of director Norman Jewison’s quest to recreate the lost world of Jewish life in Tsarist Russia and re-envision the beloved stage hit as a wide-screen epic. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Daniel Raim puts us in the director’s chair and in Jewison’s heart and mind, drawing on behind-the-scenes footage and never-before-seen stills as well as original interviews with Jewison, Topol (Tevye), composer John Williams, production designer Robert F. Boyle, film critic Kenneth Turan, lyricist Sheldon Harnick, and actresses Rosalind Harris, Michele Marsh, and Neva Small (Tevye’s daughters). The film explores how the experience of making Fiddler deepened Jewison as an artist and revived his soul.
Two couples in their thirties, heated discussions on the essentials of life unfolding between Madrid and the neighbouring countryside. Directorial star of Spanish film Jonás Trueba (The August Virgin, KVIFF 2019) is a master of soulful cinematic miniatures which don’t require long hours to convey profound, existential feelings infused with enchanting melancholy and gentle humour.
In a pastoral Italian village, a young Londoner scientist helping his father with physics experiments, has to face the consequences of choices he hasn’t made yet.
The story of New York lawyer Hugo who heads to Milwaukee with his best friend Madelyn to spend the holidays with his mom Kate, who is also in charge of the local Christmas celebrations. Ever the matchmaker, Kate arranges for Hugo to run into Patrick, Hugo’s high school friend and secret crush, who has recently returned after a successful stint in Silicon Valley. As they enjoy the local holiday festivities together, Hugo and Patrick’s attraction to each other is undeniable and it looks as though Kate’s Santa-style matchmaking is a success. But as Hugo receives word of a big promotion requiring a move to London, he must decide what is most important to him.
Written and directed by Windsor’s own Mike Stasko, Boys vs. Girls is loosely based on his experiences at a summer camp during the 90s. When camps around the country were shutting down every year and Camp Kitchikewana made the economically necessary move to turn co-ed, the result was a very real clash of the sexes. In the summer of 1990, the film sees Camp Kindlewood forced to go co-ed for the first time in its seventy-year existence. Camp Director Roger (Colin Mochrie) tries to keep the camp off the corporate chopping block, but after an awkward encounter between head counsellors Dale (Eric Osborne) and Amber (Rachel Dagenais), all bets are off. Rallying their sides in an attempt to win back their camp and gain dominance over what they feel is rightfully theirs, this battle of the sexes sets off a series of pranks, fueled by camp caretaker Coffee (Kevin McDonald), as the boys and girls fight for their summertime home.
An apartment kitchen: a man and a woman discuss Little Red Riding Hood, their voices hushed, mindful of waking the little girl sleeping next room. Waste land on the city outskirts: behind a line of abandoned trailers, the man silently watches what seems to be a family. The same city, the same man: driving through traffic with two hand-made firing pins for a hunting rifle. The man is 42 years old, his name – Viorel. Troubled by obscure thoughts, he drives across the city to a destination known only to him.
Julie (Vivica A. Fox) and her teenage daughter, Maddie, rent a beautiful house on several acres of land from Charles, a real estate agent they know well and who lives nearby. However, after they move in, strange noises and occurrences lead them to suspect someone else may be living on their property. Andres Londono, Dorian Gregory, Alaya Lee Walton, Tom Sandoval and Gina Hiraizumi also star.
Todd is the story of a man who has always felt like the “odd man out.” From a young age, Todd is shunned and ridiculed by his peers. Over time his pain and anger turns into rage and despair. When psychoanalysis and depression drugs don’t work, the young eccentric becomes morbid and introverted, withdrawing from society in a downward spiral to insanity. He not only sets his sights on an aspiring young actress, but on his psychiatrist and the doctor’s family too. “TODD” takes you on a nail biting, edge of your seat journey into the mind of a budding madman.
A group of urbex enthusiasts travel to the backwoods of Appalachia to capture footage of abandoned houses, when they unwittingly become the subjects of a much darker video – made by a different kind of “enthusiast”.
BRIGHT GREEN LIES dismantles the illusion of green technology in a bold and shocking exposé, revealing the lies and fantastical thinking behind the notion that solar, wind, electric cars, or green consumerism will save the planet. Almost every major environmental organization is pushing for so-called renewable energy. Claims are being made about “green” technologies that are frankly untrue. Words like “clean”, “free”, “safe”, and “sustainable” are often thrown around. But solar panels and wind turbines don’t grow on trees. The mass production of these technologies requires increased mining, industrial manufacturing, habitat destruction, massive greenhouse gas emissions, and the creation of toxic waste. So-called renewable energy does not even deliver on its most basic promise of reducing fossil fuel consumption. On a global scale, the energy is stacked on top of what is already being used.
Dean Martin had a laid-back charm that made him successful in everything from big-screen comedies to television variety shows to live acts in Las Vegas. Filmmaker Tom Donahue explores Martin’s varied career, including his complicated relationships with Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, and others. We hear from admirers such as critic Gerald Early, actor Jon Hamm, and Hip-Hop artist RZA who testify to Martin’s enduring mystique.
Catherine Tate’s iconic character Nan hits the big screen as she goes on a wild road trip from London to Ireland with her grandson Jamie to make amends with her estranged sister Nell. Militant vegan arsonists, raucous rugby teams, all night raves and crazed cops on motorbikes all make for a proper day out. An origin story that mixes Nan’s present with her past where we finally find out what’s made her the cantankerous old bastard she is today.
Early in her life, Josephine Malone learned the hard way that there was only one person she could love and trust: her grandmother, Lydia Malone. Out of necessity, unconsciously and very successfully, Josephine donned a disguise to keep all others at bay. She led a globetrotting lifestyle on the fringes of the fashion and music elite, but she kept herself distant. While Josephine was trotting the globe, retired boxer Jake Spear was living in the same small town as Lydia. There was nothing disguised about Jake. Including the fact he made a habit of making very bad decisions about who to give his love. But for Josephine and Jake, there was one person who adored them. One person who knew how to lead them to happiness. And one person who was intent on doing it. Even if she had to do it as her final wish on this earth.
In this belated sequel to ‘The Decline of the American Empire’, 50-something Montreal college professor, Remy, learns that he is dying of liver cancer. He decides to make amends meet to his friends and family before he dies. He first tries to made peace with his ex-wife Louise, who asks their estranged son Sebastian, a successful businessman living in London, to come home. Sebastian makes the impossible happen, using his contacts and disrupting the entire Canadian system in every way possible to help his father fight his terminal illness to the bitter end, while he also tries to reunite his former friends, Pierre, Alain, Dominique, Diane, and Claude to see their old friend before he passes on.
In tiny Colewell, Pennsylvania, the residents gather at the post office for mail and gossip, while the days pass quiet and serene. That is until news comes that the office is to close, and beloved clerk Nora (a marvelous Karen Allen) is left to fight for her job and reflect on the choices she has made that kept her in Colewell for so many years. Touching, with a hint of melancholy, Tom Quinn’s eloquent film is an ode to small-town life and the quiet emotions that come with nostalgia and memories of the past. As fears arise around her future and her past becomes ever more present, Nora states, “I don’t want to be lonely,” but what that means is elusive. Colewell gorgeously captures rural America, while giving space to the beauty of time passing and reflecting on what determines a life well lived.
This Canadian made comedy/drama, set in Hamilton, Ontario in 1954, is a sweet and – at times – goofy story that becomes increasingly poignant as the minutes tick by.
It’s the fictional tale of a wayward 9th grader, Ralph (Adam Butcher), who is secretly living on his own while his widowed, hospitalized mother remains immersed in a coma. Frequently in trouble with Father Fitzpatrick (Gordon Pinsent), the principal of his all-boys, Catholic school, Ralph is considered something of a joke among peers until he decides to pull off a miracle that could save his mother, i.e., winning the Boston Marathon. Coached by a younger priest and former runner, Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott), whose cynicism has been lifted by the boy’s pure hope, Ralph applies himself to his unlikely mission, fending off naysayers and getting help along a very challenging path from sundry allies and friends.
Music legend Diana Ross stars with singer Brandy in this 1999 American made-for-television musical drama film. It tells the story of a mother driven to reach the heights of superstardom at the cost of abandoning her only child. In its review, Variety wryly noted “the message seems to be that no maternal crisis is so complex that it cannot be mitigated by the performance of a track from one’s latest CD”
It’s 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the “Rumble in the Jungle” is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America’s top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.
Austin, Texas, is an Eden for the young and unambitious, from the enthusiastically eccentric to the dangerously apathetic. Here, the nobly lazy can eschew responsibility in favor of nursing their esoteric obsessions. The locals include a backseat philosopher who passionately expounds on his dream theories to a seemingly comatose cabbie, a young woman who tries to hawk Madonna’s Pap test to anyone who will listen and a kindly old anarchist looking for recruits.
Eight years after fleeing the Congo following his assassination of that country’s minister of mining, former assassin Jim Terrier is back, suffering from PTSD and digging wells to atone for his violent past. After an attempt is made on his life, Terrier flies to London to find out who wants him dead — and why. Terrier’s search leads him to a reunion with Annie, a woman he once loved, who is now married to an oily businessman with dealings in Africa.
Raised on the streets of turn-of-the century London, orphaned Peter and his pals survive by their fearless wits as cunning young pickpockets. Now, they’ve been rounded up by their mentor Jimmy Hook to snatch a priceless, some believe, magical treasure which transports them to another world. Neverland is a realm of white jungles and legendary mysteries of eternal youth, where unknown friends and enemies snatched from time welcome the new travelers with both excitement and trepidation. These groups include a band of 18th century pirates led by the power-mad Elizabeth Bonny, and the Native American Kaw tribe led by a Holy Man, which has protected the secret of the tree spirits from Bonny and her gang for ages, and that has meant war. But as the fight to save this strange and beautiful world becomes vital, Hook, Peter, and the ragamuffin lost boys consider that growing old somewhere in time could be less important than growing up, right here in their new home called Neverland.
As America’s stock of athletic young men is depleted during World War II, a professional all-female baseball league springs up in the Midwest, funded by publicity-hungry candy maker Walter Harvey (Garry Marshall). Competitive sisters Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty) spar with each other, scout Ernie Capadino (Jon Lovitz) and grumpy has-been coach Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks) on their way to fame. Madonna and Rosie O’Donnell co-star as two of the sisters’ teammates.
Bob Marley’s universal appeal, impact on music history and role as a social and political prophet is both unique and unparalleled. Directed by Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), MARLEY is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend, from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best.
Tenth entry in the Carry On series. Able seaman Poop-Decker (Bernard Cribbins) signs up for adventure on the high seas with the wicked Captain Fearless (Kenneth Williams). Those swabbing the decks include Juliet Mills, Charles Hawtrey and Donald Houston. The film was originally to be entitled ´Up the Armada´, but the British Board of Film Censors objected to such a rude title.
What if Apollo 11 never actually made it? What if, in reality, Stanley Kubrick secretly shot the famous images of the moon landing in a studio, working for the US administration? This is the premise of a totally plausible conspiracy theory that takes us to swinging sixties London, where a stubborn CIA agent will never find Kubrick but is forced to team up with a lousy manager of a seedy rock band to develop the biggest con of all time.
George, a lonely and fatalistic teen who’s made it all the way to his senior year without ever having done a real day of work, is befriended by Sally, a popular but complicated girl who recognizes in him a kindred spirit.
London high-society mouse, Roddy is flushed down the toilet by Sid, a common sewer rat. Hang on for a madcap adventure deep in the sewer bowels of Ratropolis, where Roddy meets the resourceful Rita, the rodent-hating Toad and his faithful thugs, Spike and Whitey.
As Batman hunts for the escaped Joker, the Clown Prince of Crime attacks the Gordon family to prove a diabolical point mirroring his own fall into madness. Based on the graphic novel by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland.
Laura is still waiting for Prince Charming at the age of 24. So when Sandro appears at a party, exactly like her Prince would in her dreams, she thinks she’s found the right one. But then again, when she meets Maxime, Laura starts to wonder if some Princes could be more charming than others? Of course Sandro has problems of his own : his father, Pierre, just bumped into Madam Irma at his father’s funeral and this reminded him of the date of his own death which Madame Irma had predicted ages ago. Now Pierre is unable to make any plans, not with his new partner Eleonore, nor with Sandro. And Maxime has his own problems, and so does Eleonore, Marianne, Jacqueline and many others. But don’t worry, in the end, they’ll all live happily ever after.
On the brink of a midlife crisis, 30-something Mike O’Donnell wishes he could have a “do-over.” And that’s exactly what he gets when he wakes up one morning to find he’s 17 years old again. With his adult mind stuck inside the body of a teenager, Mike actually has the chance to reverse some decisions he wishes he’d never made. But maybe they weren’t so bad after all.
Lost in White takes places in the north-east of China, where two bodies have been found under the ice of a frozen lake, their remains made unidentifiable by carnivorous fish, but still bearing the mark of having been dragged with an ice hook. In charge of the investigation is Captain Zhou (Tony Leung Ka Fai), a dedicated cop who’s dragging along his teenage daughter Xinyi (Zhou Dongyu). Soon he’s joined by Wang Hao (Tong Dawei) a young Shanghai detective who’s on a missing person case that has led him to the same village where the murders happened. The two cases prove to be connected: the missing person and the two victims were part of a quartet of businessmen who ten years ago opened a refinery in the region, and disposed of chemical waste in an unethical way that has poisoned the waters and led to malformed babies in the following decade. Is the missing businessman the killer, the next victim or a red herring?
Meredith Rossman is the uptight heiress of Rossman’s Department store. She has made the business her entire life, not leaving any time for Christmas or romance, much to the chagrin of her parents. But when she is roped into donning the store’s antique Mrs. Claus outfit to play Mrs. Claus at Rossman’s famous Santaville, her life takes some unexpected turns. Through the help of the suit and the charming store Santa, Nick, Meredith rekindles her love of Christmas, the store, their employees and possibly even begins a new love with Nick. He is mysterious, great with children and always there when you need him. Just like the real Santa….wait…could he be? One thing is certain: from the moment Meredith put on the magical Mrs. Claus dress, her life would never be the same!
Public Sex, Private Lives is an intimate look at the professional and private lives of porn performers Lorelei Lee, Princess Donna, and Isis Love. Capturing moments of joy and struggle, this film follows the characters as they navigate their lives as artists, daughters, mothers, writers, and women who have made careers in the adult industry. Asked to defend their choices to their families, communities, and even the United States Government, these women share their unique motivations and shifting visions for the future.
After an industrial disaster, the world’s food and water supplies are contaminated. The rich and powerful retreat into fortified cities where life goes on, undisturbed by the starving masses outside their walls. While the outside world slides into unspeakable madness, Jacob, an idealistic citizen is on his way to the inner sanctum with others hell-bent on revolution when their train is attacked. Taking refuge in an abandoned house, he stumbles on a warlord’s fortified cache of weapons and must fight for his life against humans turned savage. While desperately trying to hold onto his sanity, Jacob is forced into more and more heinous acts of torture and murder to keep himself alive.
Creature Feature is five interwoven tales of terror that occur one foggy Halloween night in Georgia. A babysitter learns a new appreciation for fine art and hard lesson about the consequences of being irresponsible…and naughty!; a group of college kids stumble on the mother of all Scarecrows; two teenagers are forced to steal from the wrong cantankerous old hermit who has been known to occasionally howl at the moon; a murdered father comes back for vengeance against his gold-digging wife and traitorous children; and all of this Halloween fun is made possible by a London Gentleman known as…”Jack”
Ever since she was a little girl, Iris has wanted to be a filmmaker. For the last five years though, she’s been trapped working in reality television, directing episodes for a series that’s barely able to compete with Ghost Hunters. Iris sees her big chance to prove herself when gets sent on assignment to her hometown of Black Falls, a small town harboring an abandoned insane asylum that has a dark history of excessive shock therapy. Filming inside the asylum brings back childhood memories for Iris, memories of sneaking into the asylum with her friends to shoot homemade horror movies. Little does Iris know, her life is about to imitate her art.
Holly finds her world turned upside-down when she suddenly finds herself incapable of lying. (Don’t you hate when that happens?) It’s because of a wish her niece made to Santa Claus. And now, with Christmas coming up fast, she has to come to terms with her natural penchant to want to fib while trying to do the right thing. And that’s no lie.
Driving to a weekend getaway, a car breakdown strands young couple Don and Nancy (David James Elliot and Heather Marsden) while passing through a small, rural Louisiana town. Finding the couple on the roadside, the towns inhospitable Sheriff Taylor (Jeff Fahey) tells them therell be no one to repair their car before morning. He directs them to a nearby motel for the night run by Carter (Michael Madsen). Checking into the seedy, rundown establishment, Don and Nancy have no way of knowing how this place deals with outsiders. Badge aside, the Sherriff answers to Carter, as do a gang of twisted, masked kidnappers, torturers, and killers. By the time Don and Nancy realize whats happening, its too late to flee. They must fight to survive the night, or be the next victims of the Terror Trap…
