[NEWS]
JT LeRoy ’s unbelievably true story
May 15, 2019
The story of JT LeRoy never ends. Thirteen years ago, the enfant terrible of American literature was revealed to be two people, neither of them the teenage gender-fluid truck-stop hooker who purportedly penned autobiographical novels like 2000’s Sarah. Actual author Laura Albert has come under... find out more
Getting to the roots of Fiddler on the Roof’s runaway success
May 06, 2019
“Every ethnic group on Earth shrugs its shoulders and has a special relationship with God andis philosophical about things and wants its kids to marry the correct person in the correctway.”That’s all true. It’s also why the story and the stage musical, which opened in 1964, is sooutrageously popular... find out more
Pacific Northwest Pictures Acquires 'The Art of Self-Defense'
May 03, 2019
Vancouver-headquartered Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired the Canadian rights to writer/director Riley Sterns’ The Art of Self-Defense. The dark comedy follows a timid bookkeeper who joins a neighborhood karate studio to protect himself by learning self-defense. Starring Jesse... find out more
Interview: Justin Kelly (JT Leroy)
May 02, 2019
J.T. LeRoy was one of the most elusive literary figures of the past 30 years. He wrote three books: Sarah, The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things and Harold’s End. Though fictionalized, he heavily insinuated these stories of childhood trauma, homelessness, prostitution and drug addiction were based... find out more
How Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern identified with JT LeRoy
May 01, 2019
We had the opportunity to chat with JT LeRoy stars Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern when they were in Toronto. The movie, directed by Justin Kelly, was the closing gala film at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The film is based on Savannah Knoop’s memoir, Girl... find out more
Kristen Stewart celebrates young stars redefining sexuality
April 30, 2019
Kristen Stewart says she felt a “huge responsibility” to define her sexuality after finding fame in the “Twilight” movie franchise. But she’s glad today’s young stars don’t have to do so.The 29-year-old actress said she was “so gay” on “Saturday Night Live” two years ago. But she sees a shift... find out more
Interview: JT Leroy’s Justin Kelly
April 28, 2019
Writer-producer-director Justin Kelly was gracious enough to sit down with Brief Take at TIFF just a few hours before the world premiere screening of his closing night film, the Winnipeg-shot JT LeRoy. The film features tour de force turns from Kristen Stewart as Savannah Knoop (also, of course,... find out more
PNP Acquires 'Fiddler' and 'The Parts You Lose'
April 26, 2019
Vancouver distributor Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has picked up the Canadian rights to the documentary Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles (pictured). The doc, which tells the origin story of the musical Fiddler on the Roof, is directed by Max Lewkowicz and will have its Canadian premiere at the Toronto... find out more
“Girls of the Sun” Explores the Perseverance and Horrors of the Yazidi Women’s Fight Against ISIS
April 13, 2019
It was a New York Times article in 2014 about Yazidi Girls seized by ISIS that compelled French filmmaker Eva Husson to make Girls of the Sun. “I felt that this was a story that needed to be told, and cinema and fiction is the perfect media to do it,” says Husson.”You can structure an emotional... find out more
Battle Tested: Our Review of ‘Girls of the Sun’
April 12, 2019
Having debuted at TIFF 2018, Girls of the Sun starts a regular theatrical run this weekend (April 12th, 2019) at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Director Eva Husson drops us right of in the middle of the Daesh battleground of Northwestern  Iraqi Kurdistan and tells us the story of 2 women who are... find out more
Review: Girls of the Sun
April 12, 2019
Although it looks and moves like a run-of-the-mill war movie, writer-director Eva Husson’s Iraq set Girls of the Sun has a unique point of view that sets it apart and yields fairly rousing results. One of an extremely small number of war films with a feminist point of view, Girls of the Sun breathes... find out more
"Girls of the Sun" gives women the guns, and a just cause
April 11, 2019
Girls of the Sun presents the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of Kurdish women soldiers, and those of filmmaker Eva Husson. The French writer/director brought her first film Bang Gang (A Modern Love Story) to TIFF’s Platform program in 2015, where it shocked and impressed viewers with its... find out more
Interview with writer/director Eva Husson
April 11, 2019
“They rape us, we kill them.” That was the motto adopted by the real-life group of Yazidi women in Iraq who decided to hunt down their captors — and who inspired French director Eva Husson to dramatize them in her film Girls of the Sun, opening Friday in Toronto at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.It follows... find out more
Despite the backlash, Girls of the Sun remains a powerful story
April 10, 2019
Girls of the Sun is a men on a mission movie with a difference; the men are women. The story is fictional, but director and co-writer Eva Husson has taken as her inspiration an all-female group of Kurdish fighters struggling to defeat ISIS forces in their homeland in 2014.They are led by Bahar... find out more
PNP Acquires 'JT Leroy'
April 05, 2019
Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired the Canadian rights to writer/director Justin Kelly’s JT LeRoy (Canada/U.S./U.K.). Based on Savannah Knoop’s book Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT Leroy, the drama follows the true story of a woman who finds success through her literary alias JT... find out more
PNP Acquires 'The Tomorrow Man'
March 29, 2019
Vancouver’s Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired the Canadian rights to writer/director Noble Jones’ debut feature, The Tomorrow Man. The drama follows Ed Hemsler (played by John Lithgow), a man who spends his life preparing for a disaster that may never come, and Ronnie Meisner (Blythe... find out more
Indigenous actress Tantoo Cardinal shows her talents in 'Falls Around Her'
March 28, 2019
An unexpected homecoming becomes a mystery story in Falls Around Her, a movie marking the first lead film role for Tantoo Cardinal in her 48-year career.It’s one of two suspensers featuring the Cree and Métis actress that are opening this week, the other being Don McKellar’s Through Black Spruce. It’s... find out more
Tantoo Cardinal propels Falls Around Her in first leading role
March 28, 2019
In Falls Around Her, a new drama from director Darlene Naponse, internationally famous First Nations musician Mary Birchbark (Tantoo Cardinal) returns to her home Northern Ontario reserve, looking to let go and move forward with a new life. But her fame arrives with her, bringing with it a league... find out more
Review: Falls Around Her
March 27, 2019
Although it’s somewhat surprising to realize, writer-director-producer Darlene Naponse’s Falls Around Her marks the first time actress and Canadian film industry mainstay Tantoo Cardinal has been cast in a leading role during a career that has spanned four decades. While the recognition is long... find out more
Over 40 years into her career, Tantoo Cardinal finally stars in leading film role
March 26, 2019
Acclaimed actress Tantoo Cardinal has been in more than 100 screen projects, yet she's just now enjoying her first leading role in a film.In "Falls Around Her," which screens Wednesday at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto and opens Friday at the city's Carlton Cinema, Cardinal plays a renowned Anishinaabe... find out more
Starring Tantoo Cardinal: After nearly five decades, the Canadian actress finally gets her first headlining film
March 24, 2019
The end credits of Falls Around Her, a starring vehicle for the Canadian actress Tantoo Cardinal, finish with a long list of funding agencies that contributed to the budget. Good, I thought. It’s time.Cardinal, 68, whose heritage includes Cree and Métis, has done her share of dispensing wisdom... find out more
Tantoo Cardinal finally gets the recognition she deserves
March 03, 2019
Tantoo Cardinal has sat around countless fires for the camera. Campfires in the forest and on the prairie, fires in teepees and cabins. And every one of them was fake, with silent propane flames licking logs that didn’t burn and crackling with sound effects. “In every show I’ve done, it seems... find out more
Falls Around Her: "Tantoo Cardinal is enthralling"
March 02, 2019
Falls Around Her is legendary Cree and Métis actor Tantoo Cardinal’s first lead role in a feature film – and she’s enthralling in it. Cardinal (known for Dances With Wolves and the TV series, North Of 60) plays Mary Birchbark, a famous Anishinaabe musician who returns to the Northern Ontario... find out more
PNP Acquires "Falls Around Her"
March 01, 2019
Vancouver’s PNP has picked up the Canadian rights to Darlene Naponse’s Falls Around Her. The film, which stars Tantoo Cardinal as a singer reconnecting with her past and her homeland, has its world premiere at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival. It’s slated for a theatrical release beginning... find out more
Tantoo Cardinal on getting her first starring role in a feature film
March 01, 2019
Tantoo Cardinal is one of the most recognisable and prolific Indigenous actors in Canada. Even if you don't know her by name, chances are you've seen her on screen. She's been in more than 120 films and television shows over her 40-year career, including Legends of The Fall, Dances With Wolves,... find out more
Telling stories and driving change: Tantoo Cardinal on the long, slow evolution of Hollywood
March 01, 2019
With almost 100 big and small screen credits on her reel, Tantoo Cardinal is a matriarch of the silver screen.This year she had three films showing at the Toronto International Film Festival, Falls Around Her, The Grizzlies and Through Black Spruce.What's unique about Falls Around Her is that it's... find out more
Pacific Northwest Pictures Taps eOne’s Mark Slone As President
February 01, 2019
Pacific Northwest Pictures has hired Mark Slone as President, effective today. The announcement was made by PNP CEO Zanne Devine. Slone is a long-time Canadian distribution executive who previously held senior leadership positions at Alliance Films and eOne. He’ll be based in Toronto for... find out more
Arnold Schwarzenegger narrates a visually stunning odyssey
January 31, 2019
Just this week, Arnold Schwarzenegger told CNN that Donald Trump was in the wrong for denying climate change and withdrawing the USA from the Paris Agreement. Schwarzenegger, the action star and former Republican “Governator” of California, advocated the need for communities and countries to rally... find out more
Jacques Cousteau’s son presents an aptly named Wonders of the Sea 3D
January 31, 2019
Call it species privilege. You know, that thing that makes humans unmindful of the true nature of the sea, content as we are to think of it as a place to find sushi, sunshine, and Pixar movies. Shot over a period of five years by Jean-Michel Cousteau (Jacques Cousteau’s son, now 80) and codirector... find out more
The work of another Jacques Cousteau: 'Wonders of the Sea 3D'
January 31, 2019
The work of another Jacques Cousteau, another ecological hero who first brought oceanographic issues to our attention is celebrated in Wonders of the Sea 3D, narrated by none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger.  As former California governor and now a private citizen, Schwarzenegger says... find out more
Wonders of The Sea being released around Canada
January 31, 2019
No one ever would’ve thought to see something as incredible as this. Wonders of The Sea provides an experience like no other, detailing the underwater exploration of Jean-Michel Cousteau, son of Jaques Cousteau, a great underwater explorer. But it’s not just Jean-Michel involved in this extraordinary... find out more
Wonders of the Sea immerses us in endangered beauty — and challenges us to act
January 31, 2019
Arnold Schwarzenegger would probably not be the first name that springs to mind to narrate a nature film or any film.He’s never lost that Austrian accent that mangles his English speaking oh so distinctively. But Schwarzenegger, the former body-builder, actor and California governor — and a rare... find out more
Wonders of the Sea: Review
January 31, 2019
Judging by the hype, you’d think this was an Arnold Schwarzenegger film. He is an executive producer and it is preceded by a short welcoming message in which he says he’s been an environmentalist even before he was a governor. But his narration comes only in small bits. It’s  interspersed... find out more
Review: Wonders Of The Sea 3D
January 30, 2019
Wonders Of The Sea is at its best when setting aside the big sexy underwater creatures (dolphins, sharks) so regularly featured in nature docs and the big personality (Arnold Schwarzenegger) whose involvement no doubt helped package the film for theatres.The deep water exploration stands out from... find out more
Wonders of the Sea 3D: Eco-eye candy for kids from the Cousteaus and Schwarzenegger
January 30, 2019
“The ocean is too beautiful to let die,” is the message of Wonders of the Sea 3D, a visually grand exploration of the deep, aimed at winning children to the cause of ocean environmentalism. The film is part of the legacy of the French underwater explorer and filmmaker, Jacques Cousteau: ... find out more
Q&A: Oceanographer Jean-Michel Cousteau on his new underwater documentary
January 29, 2019
When Jean-Michel Cousteau was seven years old, his father, world-renowned oceanographer Jacques Cousteau, strapped a scuba tank onto his back and pushed him overboard. That was the first time Jean-Michel opened his eyes to the amazing world that lies under the sea. Seventy-three years later,... find out more
Cousteau calls on all countries to do more to save oceans in new documentary
January 27, 2019
Even the family that pioneered efforts to protect the worlds’ oceans once believed you could throw garbage overboard without consequence.Jean-Michel Cousteau, environmental filmmaker and son of famed marine conservationist Jacques Cousteau, says when he was a small child and his father first... find out more
PNP Acquires 'Happy New Year Colin Burstead'
December 14, 2018
Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired all Canadian rights from Goalpost Film to Ben Wheatley’s Happy New Year, Colin Burstead. Neil Maskell from Wheatley’s Kill List stars alongside Charles Dance, Sam Riley, Joe Cole and Hayley Squires in the story about a New Year family celebration at... find out more
Oscar-Winning Actor Julianne Moore Discusses the Language of Aging
October 30, 2018
Recently, I came across an article in which Oscar-winning actress Julianne Moore voiced her frustration with constantly being asked about aging. In the piece by Porter magazine, Moore, 57, notes that she’s “been talking about aging since I was 30” and adds that “We’re all aging — children are... find out more
Renée Fleming makes Julianne Moore sing like a soprano in Bel Canto
October 27, 2018
It is fitting that American opera diva Renée Fleming was asked to be the singing voice for Julianne Moore in the new movie Bel Canto.Although novelist Ann Patchett based the character of Roxane Coss on an opera-singing friend, she would play Fleming’s recordings of opera while she was writing.“I... find out more
Bel Canto: Creating a Diva
October 26, 2018
She may be officially retired from the opera stage, but no one can accuse Renée Fleming of slowing down. She has a new album out on Decca Records - the self-explanatory Renée Fleming - Broadway! - and she continues her role at Lyric Opera of Chicago as Creative Consultant. In fact, LOC has a star-studded... find out more
Bel Canto gets to the heart of the importance of community
October 25, 2018
Before her new film, Bel Canto, came along, Julianne Moore wasn’t exactly an opera fan. She’d attended precisely one, The Magic Flute, when she was 21. “And I left halfway through,” she said last week from her home in New York’s Greenwich Village, “to go make out with my boyfriend.” Peals of laughter... find out more
Hostage drama Bel Canto features some interesting relationships between captives and captors
October 25, 2018
It’s 1996 and a Japanese business executive journeys to an unnamed South American country (probably Peru) ostensibly to consider opening a factory but really for the opportunity to hear his favourite opera diva sing.But things go terribly awry when rebels take over the large home where the dignitaries... find out more
Review: Bel Canto successfully brings Ann Patchett’s novel to life
October 24, 2018
Bel Canto is set in an unnamed Latin American nation in the late 90s, as guerrilla fighters storm an ambassador’s residence, taking a Japanese industrialist (Ken Watanabe) and an American opera singer (Julianne Moore, singing with the voice of Renée Fleming) hostage along with the staff and a... find out more
A Capsuled Era: Our Review of ‘My Generation’
September 28, 2018
Michael Caine narrates My Generation. His present day self tells his audience about his younger self’s dreams of becoming an actor. He had and still has a charisma that only a handful of people per generation had. But his working class accent and background got in the way of initial success.... find out more
Review: ‘My Generation’
September 27, 2018
Listen up, you princes of Maine, you kings of New England!Michael Caine might be a regular English gentleman to younger viewers on this side of the pond, but the two-time Oscar winning actor was never destined for stardom. As Caine narrates in this tour of the swinging 60s, English society was... find out more
Review: My Generation
September 27, 2018
A celebration of London in the swinging 60s, the heavily nostalgic documentary My Generation will appeal primarily to those who were between their late teens and early thirties during one of the most culturally, politically, and socially impactful decades in human history. It’s a crowd pleasing,... find out more
Review: My Generation is an entertaining look at Michael Caine’s famous friends
September 26, 2018
Look, I’m never going to say a bad word about Michael Caine. He’s a lovely man and a smashing bloke (and the best screen Scrooge) and if he wants, at age 85, to sit in a studio and talk over the good old days with a few of his famous friends, more power to him. That’s how we get a movie as... find out more
Talkin’ about My Generation (again) is familiar but fun film fodder
September 26, 2018
The prospect of viewing yet another documentary about Baby Boomers, Swinging London and the 1960s could prompt hallucinations even in people who aren’t on LSD. What’s left to say about history’s most ardent navel-gazers?Plenty, argues actor Michael Caine in My Generation, a doc by Britain’s... find out more
'Girls of the Sun' is an Oppresively Harrowing War Drama
September 07, 2018
It’s just like America to document ISIS as a fight we must combat—like the saviors we are. There’s a reason for this from our perspective, but our jingoistic thought process does detract from what’s occurring on the ground. People are engaged in a war that they have no way to avoid. They’ve been... find out more
'My Generation' Review
September 07, 2018
Michael  Caine was there during the swinging 60s in London so even though this is not a personal memoir he makes it real. His story telling takes you to everything that the decade had, the music of course, the clothes, mini skirts sure, and the more substantial changes, the rise of the youth... find out more
Review: My Generation
September 07, 2018
Join Michael Caine as he curates his coming of age during London’s Swinging Sixties in My Generation. It was a time of social and cultural upheaval and a new generation of post-war youth demanded a total reboot to rid the UK of its entrenched, repressive classism. They did it through music, art,... find out more
What happens beyond the happily ever after? Paper Year begins where most rom-coms end
September 07, 2018
Your typical rom-com usually finishes with a marriage and a standard happily-ever-after ending. But filmmaker Rebecca Addelman turned that formula on its head for her "anti-rom-com" Paper Year.The movie begins with its two central characters, Franny (Eve Hewson) and Dan (Avan Jogia), impulsively... find out more
Review: Michael Caine swings back to the ’60s in entertaining new doc My Generation
September 06, 2018
Miniskirts! Jaguar convertibles! The Beatles! You really should already know what to expect from a documentary about London in the 1960s. My Generation gives it to you with insight, careful research, and an electrifying personal perspective from producer/narrator Michael Caine. Caine’s involvement... find out more
Who's talkin' about My Generation? Michael Caine, that's who
September 05, 2018
For those unfamiliar with ’60s lore, or those who were part of the cultural upheaval and therefore need their memory cells recharged, My Generation is a terrifically entertaining overview of how colour came to drab postwar Britain, and class strictures finally began to fall away.At only 85 minutes,... find out more
Beautifully written Aussie surfing flick takes our Breath away
August 24, 2018
A coming-of-age story without the Stand by Me sentimentality, Breath is a refreshingly original take on boyhood and on surf-movie tropes.This handsome effort is also an impressive feature-directing debut for actor Simon Baker, a Tasmanian busy with The Mentalist series until recently. He produced and... find out more
'Breath' Review
August 24, 2018
This film from Australia has at least four things that make it worth recommending. First it’s the directing debut by Simon Baker. We know him from American TV but he’s originally from down under and clearly has strong feelings for this story. It is from a popular novel by Tim Winton about two... find out more
Review: Breath is a story of self-delusion, betrayal and heartbreak
August 23, 2018
If you’ve ever wondered if surfers are afraid of the massive, roaring waves they ride, this Australian coming-of-age film – the feature directorial debut of Simon Baker, star of The Mentalist – gives you the answer: a resounding yes. But it also makes you feel why they love it. Like life, surfing... find out more
Simon Baker invites viewers to take a 'Breath' of salty waves, surfing boards and teenage friendships
August 23, 2018
Boys come of age in Australia too? Crikey! Or, in the more obscure down-under vernacular of Breath, that’s the duck’s nuts. Ripper!Actor Simon Baker (TV’s The Mentalist) does triple duty here as first-time director, co-writer (adapting a 2008 novel by Tim Winton, who also narrates) and co-star.... find out more
Review: Breath
August 22, 2018
Although the mid-1970s set Australian coming of age drama Breath gives actor turned director Simon Baker an assured and captivating debut feature, it’s more noteworthy for the breakout young stars at the centre of it all. In some respects, Breath is a fairly standard drama that combines the mysterious... find out more
PNP Acquires MY GENERATION
August 17, 2018
Vancouver-based producer/distributor Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired all Canadian rights to the Michael Caine-narrated doc My Generation. Directed by David Batty (Maggie and Me) and co-written by Ian La Frenais (Porridge) and Dick Clement (The Bank Job), the doc is based on Caine’s (The... find out more
Rob Reiner says new film Shock and Awe has much to say about media in Trump era
July 27, 2018
When director Rob Reiner made Shock and Awe, a cautionary tale about the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and the importance of a free press in holding politicians accountable, he had no idea how that it would take on a whole new resonance in the era of President Donald Trump.The film details the true... find out more
'Shock And Awe': Review
July 27, 2018
I for one am happy that there are still people out there making films as strong and radical as this. Documentaries do it all the time; this one is a drama. Evaluated as a movie it doesn’t rate too high because it plays a bit like an op-ed piece.  But as analysis of how people can be fooled... find out more
In Shock and Awe, a president (not that one) declares war on truth
July 26, 2018
Shock and Awe★★★✩ With daily news headlines dominated by the unprecedented and outlandish behaviour of U.S. President Donald Trump, it’s easy to forget a time not so long ago when a previous commander-in-chief committed a geopolitical atrocity — the 2003 invasion of Iraq — and more or less... find out more
Truth To Power: 'Shock And Awe' Interview with Jonathan Landay
July 26, 2018
Jonathan Landay is still in the trenches, literally and figuratively.Landay and fellow reporter Warren Strobel spearheaded  mainstream American media’s most skeptical coverage of the post-9/11 rush to war with Iraq at a time when most U.S. reporters had traded critical thinking for credulous... find out more
Right-wing smearing no Shock to Rob Reiner
July 25, 2018
Like sharks to chum, a frenzy of bloodletting followed the mid-July arrival in U.S. theatres of the movie Shock and Awe. Breitbart and Fox News led the online charge, feasting on the film’s perceived box-office struggles and chowing down for good measure on director Rob Reiner, a bogeyman to America’s... find out more
Journalists today face a 'brick wall of nationalism,' says director Rob Reiner
July 19, 2018
Journalists today have a more difficult job than ever in bringing the truth to light, according to actor and director Rob Reiner."You have two sets of narratives going on," he told The Current's guest host Duncan McCue."You have one section of mainstream journalism that is fighting very hard to ... find out more
Rob Reiner reveals passion of his new film ‘Shock and Awe’
July 19, 2018
Rob Reiner may have entered show business as an industry legacy, following in the footsteps of his famous father, legendary comedic writer and performer, Carl Reiner. But he quickly paved his own path with an artistic and social point of view all his own. After paying his dues with bit parts... find out more
Reality strikes for young newlyweds in Paper Year
June 22, 2018
Ah, the impetuosity of youth.Paper Year opens with Franny and Dan, in a state of near delirium, tying the knot at city hall.Franny’s mom Joanne (Andie McDowell) can barely contain her horror.As the newlyweds embark on life together as husband and wife, it soon becomes clear that the challenges are... find out more
Scenes from Rebecca Addelman’s attempt to make it in show business
June 22, 2018
Rebecca Addelman’s life sounds so much like an indie-film heroine’s, I picture her story in scenes.EXTERIOR, MULHOLLAND DRIVE (lonely road high above Los Angeles) -- 3 A.M.REBECCA ADDELMAN, mid-30s, smart, vivacious, Canadian writer/director living in L.A., crouches in the bushes to pee. It’s comical,... find out more
Actress Eve Hewson on having a strong role model in rock star dad Bono
June 21, 2018
Irish actress Eve Hewson says she honed a discerning eye for film projects at an early age, by critiquing the songs and set lists of her famous dad Paul Hewson, a.k.a. Bono.“One of the reasons I think I’m sort of good at picking projects and picking directors and finding the right roles is because... find out more
Her Career: Rebecca Addelman, Screenwriter & Director of Paper Year
June 21, 2018
Ottawa native Rebecca Addelman first cut her teeth in Toronto as a comic, then trained with Amy Poehler’s Upright Citizens Brigade and has since gone on to write for shows like New Girl and Judd Apatow’s Love on Netflix. Paper Year is her first feature film.Paper Year depicts twenty-somethings... find out more
Pacific Northwest Pictures acquires 'Girls Of The Sun'
June 21, 2018
Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired Canadian rights from Elle Driver to Eva Husson’s Cannes selection Girls Of The Sun.Golshifteh Farahani and Emmanuelle Bercot star in the story of an all-female Kurdish battalion commander, and the French journalist who bears witness to the battalion’s... find out more
Review: Paper Year is a small, generous film that deserves a wide audience
June 21, 2018
Rebecca Addelman’s Paper Year tracks the lives of Franny (Eve Hewson) and Dan (Avan Jogia), a young Los Angeles couple, over the first year of their marriage – an impulsive (if undeniably romantic) decision for which neither of them was really prepared. It’s a plot that was recently played... find out more
Filmmaker Rebecca Addelman bares her sould in debut feature PAPER YEAR
June 20, 2018
Ottawa-born filmmaker Rebecca Addelman cites the comedy film The Graduate as having had a profound influence on her. That film’s final scene, where the euphoria of a young couple running away from authority figures quickly shifts to looks of uncertainty, is a moment that particularly resonated... find out more
Rock star Bono’s daughter is on a roll with new film Paper Year
June 20, 2018
Eve Hewson can pinpoint when she fell in love with acting. She was 15 and her tutor, Erica Dunton, had offered her a role as a teenage Irish hitchhiker in a movie called The 27 Club.Apart from the hitchhiking bit, “it wasn’t too far from who I was, to be honest,” says Hewson, on the phone from New... find out more
Movie reviews: "The Gospel According to Andre"
May 25, 2018
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRE: 4 STARS He’s one of the most famous names in fashion and yet he’s not a designer or couturier. He’s André Leon Talley, former “Vogue” editor and contributor and fixture in the front row of every important fashion show worldwide. The intellectually and physically... find out more
Review: The Gospel According To André unpacks a fashion insider
May 25, 2018
How did a tall, loud, gay African-American man who grew up poor in the Jim Crow-era South ascend to the upper echelons of the fashion world? That question loops through Kate Novack’s documentary about André Leon Talley, a fashion editor best known for his work with Vogue magazine. If you’re... find out more
The Gospel According to André: Interview with director Kate Novack
May 25, 2018
The Gospel According to André, directed by Brooklynite Kate Novack, offers an intimate and captivating portrait of André Leon Talley, who was Vogue Magazine‘s editor at large for many years, and who remains one of the world’s most reputable authorities on fashion. While this alluring and fascinating... find out more
In The Gospel According to André, a fashion giant resists revelations
May 24, 2018
Fashion editor André Leon Talley’s flair for the dramatic can read as ridiculous, depending on your stance on burnt-orange judicial robes. Rather than dwelling on his theatrical persona, director Kate Novack (executive producer of Page One: Inside The New York Times) gives serious consideration to... find out more
Review: The Gospel According to André digs beneath Talley’s carefully curated image
May 24, 2018
At one point in the new documentary The Gospel According to André, fashion journalist André Leon Talley notices that his high-school yearbook hobby is listed as “skiing” – a fabrication he now laughingly admits he made in order to seem “grand and rich and cultured.” Several other people in Kate... find out more
Trailer drop: PAPER YEAR (ET Canada)
May 24, 2018
‘Paper Year’ Avan Jogia and Eve Hewson star as a newlywed couple who must face the challenges of growing up head-on both together and individually as they stumble into adulthood in “Paper Year”. Opens in theatres in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa June 22.Watch the trailer here. find out more
The Gospel According to André delves into life of fashion barrier-breaker
May 23, 2018
Fashion can be an unforgiving mistress, but the playbook referenced by the title of this affecting profile of André Leon Talley is also the Bible itself—or, more accurately, African-American rituals related to it. Raised by a doting, house-cleaning grandmother in deeply segregated North Carolina,... find out more
A.L.T. fashion: The Gospel According to Andre Leon Talley
May 17, 2018
In an arena rife with larger-than-life personalities, André Leon Talley stands head and shoulders above the crowd … literally. The 6 foot 6 swashbuckler, who was raised in Durham, N.C., worked his way up the style ladder to become a fashion legend. He made his way from answering phones at Andy Warhol’s... find out more
Review: ‘The Gospel According to Andre’
May 15, 2018
In The Gospel According to Andre, Kate Novack offers a long needed and detailed examination of Andre Leon Talley’s life and career. Born and raised in the segregated American South, Talley, a six-and-a-half-foot tall black man with a loud voice and decipherable Capote-esque style, has risen through... find out more
The Gospel According to Andre is fabulous
May 14, 2018
Fabulous. Not only is that the best superlative to describe Andre Leon Talley and the documentary The Gospel According to Andre, it is also the word used most often in the film. And quite possibly in this review. Talley has been at the epicentre of the fashion universe for ... find out more
Paper Year - CUFF Review
April 22, 2018
Marriage is, perhaps, the most complicated of human relationships. People get married for any number of reasons, then could decide to stay together, or split up, for different reasons entirely. Regardless of these reasons, the exploration of these complicated, intense, unique relationships has been a... find out more
Review: Paper Year
April 19, 2018
Paper Year tells the story of young newlyweds Dan Delaney (Avan Jogia) and Franny Winters (Eve Hewson) moving through their first year of marriage. While it is Rebecca Addelman's feature directorial debut, as a writer for New Girl and Netflix's Love, the story of a goofy young couple struggling... find out more
CUFF 2018 Interview: Rebecca Addleman ('Paper Year')
April 18, 2018
PAPER YEAR, the directorial debut from Rebecca Addleman, explores the first year of marriage between two young creatives in Los Angeles. The film centers around Franny (Eve Hewson), a television writer who gets her first job at a game show, and a stalled actor/dog sitter Dan (Avan Jogia).Sex, ... find out more
Rebecca Addelman making her directorial debut at Calgary Underground Film Festival
April 17, 2018
It took some courage and gentle persuasion from friends, but Rebecca Addelman is now living the dream as a director in the cutthroat, male-dominated film industry.Addelman’s directorial debut Paper Year, premiering at the Calgary Underground Film Festival (CUFF), captures the ups and downs of... find out more
Writer-director Rebecca Addelman brings her debut feature Paper Year to CUFF for its world premiere
April 17, 2018
Rebecca Addelman is very funny. This will come as no surprise, given her background. A former member of the famous alt-comedy troupe Upright Citizens Brigade, she is also a writer-producer best known for her TV work on New Girl and Love. Now, her debut feature, Paper Year, enjoys its world premiere... find out more
REVIEW: Rossy De Palma does English in Madame
April 13, 2018
Every actor in the strange ensemble comedy Madame is someone who deserves to hit the screen more often: The consistently reliable Toni Collette, the (as of late) little seen Harvey Keitel, Almodóvar mainstay Rossy De Palma, and Brit character actor Michael Smiley (Kill List). They all are a treat... find out more
Review: 'Madame'
March 23, 2018
Madame features an American couple played by Toni Collette and Harvey Keitel (he’s everywhere) live in style in a Paris apartment. They’re out of love but are kept together to uphold their carefully crafted image of a wealthy and artistic power couple. The day they’re throwing a très chic... find out more
The movie Madame weaves a compelling tale of love and betrayal
March 22, 2018
Poor people don’t have these kinds of problems.Anne Fredericks, a member of the idle rich living with her older American husband in France, faces a quandary when her stepson shows up for an unexpected visit.That would mean 13 people at the table for the fancy dinner about to be served and there’s... find out more
Madame (Review)
March 08, 2018
Ah, Paris. The country of love… Sometimes. Anne (Toni Collette) and Bob (Harvey Keitel) are struggling with their marriage as indicated in the opening. As a simple bike ride gets out of hand for the two of them and the end up going separate ways. That’s what it like for the wealthy couples. But... find out more
'God's Own Country' Picks Up 2 Evening Standard British Film Awards
February 09, 2018
Kristin Scott Thomas and Daniel Kaluuya have taken top honours at this year’s Evening Standard British Film Awards, being crowned best actress and actor at a star-studded ceremony in Claridge’s.    The awards were hosted by... find out more
Review: 'Permission'
February 09, 2018
It would be quite the stretch to say that the relationship drama Permission is romantic, but there’s certainly a swelling emotional force at its core that will move the audience just the same. The latest film from writer and director Brian Crano, Permission pulls no punches in its look at crumbling... find out more
Permission delivers a novel spin on the rom-com genre
February 08, 2018
Anna (Rebecca Hall) and Will (Dan Stevens) are a New York couple who’ve only ever been with each other – together since high school, best friends and soulmates, the whole deal. And now, with Will about to propose, they’re going to try sleeping with other people to see what they’ve been missing. If... find out more
Sophisticated 'Permission' is a sexy, brainy alternative for this Valentine's Day
February 08, 2018
Though "Permission" is unrated, this relationship drama is for mature audiences only. It's not just its intrinsic sexiness — it offers visual pleasure in equal measure — and it takes a grown-up approach to modern romance and its complexities.With a relationship categorized by familiarity, Brooklyn... find out more
'Permission': On the Town
February 07, 2018
There’s a Curb Your Enthusiasm episode somewhere to which Anna (Rebecca Hall) and Will (Dan Stevens) could have been referred. That episode sees Cheryl give Larry an odd birthday present in the form of her permission to sleep with another woman. Anyone with a subscription to HBO could draw from Larry’s... find out more
'God's Own Country' Nominated for 2 BAFTAs
January 09, 2018
The full list of nominations for the BAFTAs 2018 From The Shape of Water to Lady Bird, the full list of films up for a gong at this year’s leading British film awards Best film Call Me by Your NameDarkest HourDunkirkThe Shape of WaterThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri Outstanding... find out more
Review: God's Own Country
December 08, 2017
It’s shaped like most any romantic film and anybody could get enthralled. It’s poignant, full of yearning and personal transformation and positively gay. Graphically so, in spots. It’s got potent emotions and a scenario that is, I imagine, entirely authentic.A young man (Josh O'Connor) is stuck... find out more
Whister Film Festival: 'The Gospel According to André' wins World Documentary Award
December 03, 2017
The World Documentary Award is being presented to THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ANDRÉ directed by Kate Novack. The jury stated: "The winner of the world documentary award delivers a fascinating portrait of a larger-than-life personality, but admirably escapes the trappings of simple biography by revealing... find out more
A Film About Loie Fuller’s Art Nouveau Dances
December 01, 2017
At the end of the nineteenth century, there were two basic trends in Western art, realism and symbolism. Realism took as its subject the matters of this world—the families, the money, the waistcoats and petticoats—while symbolism did its best never again to be confronted with a waistcoat button.... find out more
The best part of The Dancer is the dance
December 01, 2017
No one today can remember what it was like seeing Loie Fuller perform the Serpentine Dance at the Folies Bergère. Her last performance of any kind was in the mid-1920s, and her dancing heyday was at the turn of the century. Films of the time can barely capture her movement, let alone the son... find out more
Interview: French entertainer Soko channels the charm of 'multi-hyphenate' Loie Fuller in The Dancer
November 30, 2017
There is more than 120 years age difference between rising star Soko and turn-of-the-century icon Loie Fuller, yet the two disparate artists have more in common than you might imagine.“She was just a very charmed, multi-hyphenate woman,” said the Bordeaux-born actress of the true-life character... find out more
SoKo sweatin’ to an oldie as Loïe Fuller in The Dancer (La Danseuse)
November 29, 2017
SoKo, the French actor, singer, and fashion icon, knows what it is to devote yourself completely, obsessively, to your art.Caught at her L.A. home amid the final frenzy of finishing her third album, the upbeat artist reveals she even decided to go celibate for the past year and a half to concentrate... find out more
Whirling SoKo takes liberties in The Dancer
November 29, 2017
The Dancer (La Danseuse), the bio of American art nouveau icon Loïe Fuller, is so dreamily shot, with such nakedly committed acting by music artist SoKo, that you can almost forgive its narrative gaps—and the considerable liberties it takes with historical fact.Fuller pushed her body beyond all... find out more
Movie Review: “Blade of the Immortal” Is a Testament to the Prolific Career of Takashi Miike
November 18, 2017
From Wes Craven and George A. Romero to David Cronenberg and Guillermo del Toro, horror has seen the rise of several influential filmmakers who have impacted both the genre and the film world as a whole. That said, few are as prolific as Japan’s Takashi Miike. Over a decade ago, Miike shocked... find out more
REVIEW: God’s Own Country Is More than that Other Gay Cowboys’ Movie
November 18, 2017
One could describe God’s Own Country as a slightly more graphic Brokeback Mountain, but that would be selling it short. The low-budget, emotionally rich drama paints a dire picture of England’s countryside, with farmers dealing poorly with social change (immigration, homosexuality) and economic... find out more
Takashi Miike on his 100th movie: Blade Of The Immortal
November 16, 2017
For those who enjoy their genre cinema blood-soaked, calculated to shock, and layered with only the darkest of comedy, Japanese director Takashi Miike has been a cult favourite for decades. He earned a sizable cult audience in North America somewhere in the early 2000s when his beyond bad taste... find out more
Blade Of The Immortal is bloody great fun
November 15, 2017
The incredibly prolific Japanese auteur Takashi Miike claims to have made 100 movies over the last couple of decades, and I believe him; he churns out so many features, and works with such zeal, that the number seems a little low.  Fans of Miike also know that his body of work is... find out more
Japanese megastar Takuya Kimura wields his charm like a sword in Takashi Miike’s Blade of the Immortal
November 15, 2017
Hard-core fans will count this among his more restrained efforts, and yet Takashi Miike’s 100th film still ends with an insanely bloody, indescribably exciting 300-person sword fight. After inflation, that’s an increase of roughly 30 percent on the number of guys slaughtered at the climax of... find out more
Martin Starr talks about his role in Inifinity Baby as a moral compass in a troubled time
November 09, 2017
The best defence in a frightening world is to not grow up. There's a lot of that going on in Infinity Baby, Bob Byington's dry-witted comedy about the fear of commitment and genetically altered babies that require minimal upkeep and never age. Featured in the cast is Martin Starr, best known for... find out more
Nick Offerman on Infinity Baby and his Hidden Dork Shelf
November 09, 2017
Infinity Baby posits a world in the “not so distant future” where people can buy babies that never age. Directed by Bob Byington (Somebody Up There Likes Me), this dystopian comedy stars Kieran Culkin, Martin Starr, Kevin Corrigan, Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman as... find out more
Nick Offerman leads a great cast in delightfully mean Infinity Baby
November 08, 2017
Texas-based writer-director (and sometime actor) Bob Byington has explored the limits of sly laughter in films like Harmony and Me and Somebody Up There Likes Me, featuring a repertory company of resourceful farceurs like Nick Offerman and Kevin Corrigan. They show up in Byington’s latest no-budget ... find out more
Silicon Valley's Martin Starr goes way past naive in Infinity Baby
November 08, 2017
Martin Starr laughs long and hard when the Straight asks what in the hell his film is supposed to be about, exactly.“You’re still trying to figure it out,” he replies, after collecting himself a little. “Well, it’s gonna be awhile.”Any viewer will come away from Infinity Baby wondering the same thing.... find out more
Love On The Range: The Story of UK's Gay Sleeper Hit God's Own Country
November 03, 2017
Few newcomers have embraced method acting as faithfully as the two leads of this fall’s seductive indie God’s Own Country, a modern romance set in the rustic community of West Yorkshire. “I don’t know the best way to say this,” says English-born actor Josh O’Connor, who stars as the young sheep... find out more
Review: God’s Own Country
November 03, 2017
Life on the family farm in Yorkshire is mostly about “getting on with it” for young Johnny Saxby, who’s plainly miserable. His father has had a stroke so it’s up to Johnny to pick up an even larger share of the load of tending sheep and other chores until the arrival of a Romanian immigrant makes... find out more
God's Own Country is a love letter to the land and to an unconventional romance
November 02, 2017
What if Brokeback Mountain had taken place on the Yorkshire moors? That’s God’s Own Country in 11 words, as John Saxby (Josh O’Connor) begins a torrid, dangerous affair with a Romanian farmhand (Alec Secareanu) who’s been hired to help out on his father’s property for a week.We know from an early... find out more
Review: God’s Own Country speaks volumes about love with few words
November 02, 2017
It's early spring in Yorkshire but there are few signs of rebirth on the isolated moors of northern England. Johnny Saxby lives with his Nan and Da on a sheep farm, miserable with his lot and resenting a mother who deserted him and an infirm father who relies on him to keep the dilapidated homestead... find out more
God’s Own Country deserves the comparisons to Brokeback Mountain
November 01, 2017
The feature debut of the English actor Francis Lee, God’s Own Country will draw comparisons to Brokeback Mountain, and not without reason. Both films are about ranch hands who take comfort in one another while working with animals in the vast countryside. But it’s been a dozen years since... find out more
God’s Own Country, A Sympathetic Love Story About Two Farmers
November 01, 2017
There was no shortage of LGBTQ-themed films that received praise during the 2017 film festival circuit; one of those films was writer/director Francis Lee’s God’s Own Country. The “gay farmer” film immediately drew comparisons to Ang Lee’s award-winning Brokeback Mountain—but the inevitable comparisons... find out more
'God's Own Country' Scores 11 British Independent Film Award Nominations
November 01, 2017
William Oldroyd’s feature directorial debut Lady Macbeth has scored a leading 15 nominations for this year’s British Independent Film Awards. The drama adapted by Alice Birch from the 19th century novel Lady Macbeth Of The Mtsensk, stars Florence Pugh as a young bride sold into marriage and whose innocence... find out more
Writer-director Francis Lee on breaking through with God’s Own Country
November 01, 2017
Why can’t a beautiful romance form over the bloody viscera of a stillborn lamb? In Francis Lee’s formidable debut God’s Own Country (which comes to TIFF Bell Lightbox after playing TIFF ‘17), two young sheep farmers realize their attraction for each other while working in the farmlands of West... find out more
Director Francis Lee and stars Josh O’Connor and Alec Secareanu on making God’s Own Country
October 31, 2017
At a Q&A for God’s Own Country at Sundance, a woman commented, “I’ve never seen intimacy depicted on screen like that before.” She wasn’t talking about the sex scenes — not entirely. In his directorial debut, Francis Lee, who won the World Dramatic Grand Jury Prize for Directing, has crafted... find out more
Review: The Limehouse Golem
October 13, 2017
“The Limehouse Golem” is a slice of Victorian Grand-Guignol gaslight horror that owes a debt to Jack the Ripper and to the great Hammer films of the 1960s. London’s fog-drenched Limehouse district is in the spell of a serial killer who leaves behind mutilated bodies and cryptic messages... find out more
The Limehouse Golem: Review
October 13, 2017
The Limehouse Golem by Juan Carlos Medina and based on the novel Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem by Peter Ackroyd is a chiller in the Victorian Gothic manner with shades of Grand Guignol. At its heart, it’s about the after effects of childhood trauma, set in a forbidden world. An 1880’s... find out more
Review: God’s Own Country is an absolute must-see
October 12, 2017
The gay romantic powerhouse "God's Own Country" is the movie "Brokeback Mountain" should have beenWhen we first meet Johnny Saxby in Francis Lee’s breathtaking, emotionally redolent God’s Own Country (★★★★★), he’s violently retching up his previous night at the local pub,... find out more
The Limehouse Golem delivers thrills with substance.
October 12, 2017
Bill Nighy is intrinsically compelling. He commands attention even in terrible movies (I, Frankenstein and Total Recall).Nighy is front and centre in The Limehouse Golem, a not-terrible, pulpy little ditty that packs more surprises than your average Victorian melodrama.Based on the Peter Ackroyd best-seller,... find out more
The Limehouse Golem review — Gory and gothic murder mystery
October 12, 2017
Victorian London. There’s a serial killer about. It’s not Bloody Jack, but someone just as twisted and vicious, fond of ending the lives of the poorest denizens of East London with a blade. Enter John Kildare (Bill Nighy), an aging investigator brought in from the sticks to detect the identity... find out more
With The Limehouse Golem, Juan Carlos Medina burrows deep into the ‘fine art’ of murder
October 12, 2017
In his 1827 essay "On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts," Thomas De Quincey proposes an aesthetic appreciation of killing. He was writing in the wake of the Ratcliffe Highway murders and while his intentions were satirical, De Quincey's piece nevertheless legitimized the public's appetite... find out more
'God's Own Country' wins top prize in Dinard
October 02, 2017
The 28th edition of the Dinard British Film Festival came to a close this weekend, with jury head Nicole Garcia and her jury members handing out the event’s annual prizes at an awards ceremony on Saturday (Sept 30). Francis Lee’s God’s Own Country scooped the top prize, the Golden Hitchcock... find out more
Joan Collins dishes on Hollywood and the power of female friendship
September 29, 2017
The name Joan Collins has always been synonymous with glitz and glamour. Since hitting the silver screen in the 1950s, the actress has been famous for fabulousness. Six decades later, the Dynasty diva has lost none of her allure. Indeed, she captivates in her latest project, The Time of Their Lives, ... find out more
“X-Men” and “Kingsmen” Screenwriter Jane Goldman On The Art Of Adaptation
September 19, 2017
The average novel takes at least 10 hours to read. So how is it possible that movie adaptations cram all that material into an hour and forty-five minutes?Welcome to the world of adapted screenwriting. It’s a storytelling puzzle with an entirely different set of challenges than an original screenplay.... find out more
FIN Atlantic Film Festival Daily Roundup - GOD'S OWN COUNTRY
September 18, 2017
DARK HORSE: God’s Own Country Have you noticed how films with LGBTQ content no longer need to be labeled as such, but are woven into festival programs with little fanfare? This, dear film fans, is a very good thing. God’s Own Country is a new drama by writer/director Francis Lee from Halifax,... find out more
Join Joan Collins for "The Time of Their Lives"
September 11, 2017
Opening on September 22nd  in Toronto and Vancouver, the delightful feel good comedy "The Time of Their Lives" brings a dash of madcap fun to theatres, as screen legends Joan Collins and Pauline Collins star as an odd couple who set off on an eventful road trip to the South of France when... find out more
Toronto Film Review: ‘The Gospel According to Andre’
September 09, 2017
Kate Novack offers a loving and absorbing documentary tribute to fashion tastemaker Andre Leon Talley.“I don’t live for fashion, I live for beauty and style.” So says haute couture eminence grise Andre Leon Talley in the opening seconds of Kate Novack’s “The Gospel According to Andre,” and the director... find out more
PNP forges a new partnership with Magnolia
September 08, 2017
Vancouver’s Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has forged a new partnership with Magnolia Pictures International, acquiring two feature titles from the New York-based distribution outfit. PNP picked up Canadian rights to English-language doc The Gospel According to André (pictured) ahead ... find out more
The Limehouse Golem review – dirty deeds done dead well
September 03, 2017
All the world’s a bloody stage in this gothic Victorian East End melodrama, splendidly adapted from a 1994 novel by Peter Ackroyd. A tale of theatrical murder drenched in the rich hues of classic-period Hammer, this gaslit treat sets Bill Nighy’s Scotland Yard detective on the trail of a grisly... find out more
‘I feel very lucky’: Penelope Cruz loving life at 43
August 24, 2017
Penelope Cruz fell in love with movies when she was only 10 years old. At 18, the Spanish actress made her feature debut, and then the movies fell in love with her. Cruz’ first two films (in 1992) were Bigas Luna’s Jamon Jamon and Fernando Trueba’s Belle Epoque; she played a sexy, strong-minded woman... find out more
Penelope Cruz fires up Spain's most glamorous political heroine once again
August 24, 2017
“I knew her very well,” says Penelope Cruz, “but in a way she was not exactly the same person because so many things happened to her and she changed over time, like we all do.”Cruz isn’t talking about an old friend or a long lost relative. The Spanish superstar is referring to Macarena Granada,... find out more
Review: The Queen of Spain is a romping sequel to The Girl of your Dreams
August 24, 2017
In The Queen of Spain, Penelope Cruz stars as a 1950s glamourpuss returning from Hollywood to Madrid to film an epic period-piece musical about Spain’s Queen Isabella. An old flame asks her for a kiss, for the good old days. “What days are those?” she asks.It’s an inside joke, of which there... find out more
'From the Land of the Moon' an all-consuming tale
July 19, 2017
To some, Marion Cotillard’s latest depiction of a damaged, sexually charged woman in From the Land of the Moon will seem overwrought, melodramatic, and maybe, by the end, a little silly. To others, this will be the film equivalent of their favourite summer beach read, a sensual, all-consuming tale... find out more
Playback: PNP Acquires GOD'S OWN COUNTRY
July 14, 2017
Pacific Northwest Pictures Vancouver’s Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired all Canadian rights to the U.K. drama God’s Own Country. The distribution co will release the film, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, in theatres this fall. The acquisition... find out more
Review: From the Land of the Moon
July 09, 2017
In post-World War II France, Gabrielle’s idealistic dreams of true love make her a rebel, and are even considered a sign of insanity. Forced by her parents to marry José, a devoted Spanish farm worker, Gabrielle vows never to love him, and is soon sent away to the Alps to receive a cure for kidney... find out more
From the Land of the Moon: Sensual French Cinema in Its Truest Form
July 07, 2017
This weekend, immerse yourself in Nicole Garcia’s stunning and deeply sensual film From the Land of the Moon for a quintessential French cinema experience.  Set in rural France in the 1950s, the film stars Marion Cotillard as Gabrielle: a rebellious woman who defies societal norms and chooses... find out more
KO Review of From the Land of the Moon
July 06, 2017
We could all use a little more romance in our lives, and by romance I mean the kind of film that twists and turns and leaving you with a swelling warmth in your heart after you leave the theatre. That is the feeling Nicole Garcia’s latest film FROM THE LAND OF THE MOON(Mal de pierres) kindled... find out more
Marion Cotillard's 'greatest role since La Vie en Rose'
July 06, 2017
Filmmaker Nicole Garcia isn’t worried about her little drama hitting theatres this summer. Sure, most cinemas will be stocked with crowd-snatching Hollywood blockbusters, but the 71-year-old auteur insists she’s “very happy” her film From the Land of the Moon is taking on such box-office giants... find out more
Reel Brief: Mini reviews of 'From the Land of the Moon'
July 06, 2017
From the Land of the MoonDirector Nicole Garcia delivers an intriguing and unconventional tale about love and redemption, although neither seems the likely outcome.The story opens in France with a placid couple accompanying their young son to a piano competition. When Gabrielle spots a street... find out more
God's Own Country wins Edinburgh Film Festival award
June 30, 2017
Filmmaker Francis Lee's directorial debut, God's Own Country, has won the award for best British feature at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.The film, which is about the relationship between a Romanian worker and the owner of a Yorkshire sheep farm, won the Michael Powell Award.The award... find out more
The Commune neither celebrates nor condemns the lifestyle, painting a complex picture
June 08, 2017
Danish director Thomas Vinterberg (The Hunt) just turned 48, and lived in a commune from the age of 7 until he was 19. It’s no great surprise, then, that his latest film, The Commune, is set in just such a shared community in 1975. The real wonder is that it took him so long. The story spends... find out more
Filmmaker Jason Bourque on cloud nine after release of Drone
June 02, 2017
A week after Jason Bourque’s spirits soared as high as the unmanned aircraft featured in Drone, his new movie that just made its U.S. debut, he is finally starting to feel Earthbound again. Calling from Las Vegas, where he is on vacation after spending four months in Qatar shooting episodes... find out more
Review: Drone is a simmering, on-target drama with a few plot twists
June 02, 2017
Drone-warfare films tend to carry the message that bomb-dropping jockeys are so far away from “battlefields” that they’re removed from the consequences of their remote-control actions. We get that in Drone, a taut Canadian thriller from the Vancouver-born director Jason Bourque. Veteran actor... find out more
Reel Brief: Mini review of DRONE
June 01, 2017
DroneStarring Sean Bean, Patrick Sabongui. Co-written and directed by Jason Bourque. Opens Friday at Carlton Cinemas. 91 minutes. 14ASometimes the geopolitical becomes personal.That’s the premise of a nifty thriller by Canadian filmmaker Jason Bourque.Sean Bean plays family man Neil Wistin, a CIA consultant... find out more
The Commune Review
May 17, 2017
The Commune represents a kinder and gentler film by the standards of Danish director Thomas Vinterberg, which means it’s still pretty dour by most standards. It’s a comedy, at least at first (the same could be said of his The Celebration after all) before heading into darker areas.... find out more
Thomas Vinterberg and Tryne Dyrholm Break Down The Commune
May 17, 2017
It’s no secret I’m fond of Danish cinema. It’s the one film industry close to batting 1.000 these days. This week, the remarkable The Commune arrives to the art house circuit, including Saskatoon’s own Broadway Theatre. Written and directed by Thomas Vinterberg (one of the founding fathers of the... find out more
Danish director Thomas Vinterberg returns to his childhood with The Commune
May 15, 2017
When it comes to midlife crises, we are all walking clichés. “Completely – and I’m a part of it,” says Thomas Vinterberg, the 47-year-old Danish filmmaker behind the new drama The Commune. “I feel guilty about it, but I’m one of them. So all of that, I explored [here].”Based on the German play he... find out more
The Commune: EW review
May 11, 2017
The curdling dream of free love and Me-Decade idealism is rich material for lauded Danish director Thomas Vinterberg’s latest: an intimate, bittersweet study of communal living drenched in the unfiltered weed smoke and wide-wale corduroy of 1970s Copenhagen. When architecture professor Erik (Ulrich... find out more
‘God’s Own Country,’ Gay Love Story That Premiered at Sundance, to Open Edinburgh Film Festival
May 09, 2017
The Edinburgh International Film Festival has set Francis Lee’s Sundance buzz title “God’s Own Country” as the opening night film for its 71st edition in June. The contemporary gay drama will see its U.K. premiere at the festival. “This hotly tipped feature debut is one to watch in this incredible... find out more
Review: Emily Dickinson tale 'A Quiet Passion' burns bright
May 05, 2017
There is something deeply funny and also beautiful about the idea that it would take a British man in his 70s to make the definitive film about one of America's greatest female poets. But that's what Terence Davies has done for Emily Dickinson in "A Quiet Passion ," a fiercely intelligent, handsome... find out more
A Quiet Passion is a ‘portrait of the artist as a conflicted and altogether human creative force’
April 11, 2017
We’ve been spoiled of late with great films about poets and poetry, from Jim Jarmusch’s Paterson with Adam Driver, to Ann Marie Fleming’s Window Horses, and Neruda from Pablo Larraín.A Quiet Passion, from British writer/director Terence Davies, follows the life of Massachusetts poet Emily Dickinson... find out more
Terence Davies and Cynthia Nixon on their Quiet Passion for Emily Dickinson
April 11, 2017
British writer/director Terence Davies seems to have a preferred milieu in his films. Four of his six features are set in the 1940s and ’50s; two more reach back to the early 1900s. A Quiet Passion, about the life of Emily Dickinson, pushes the envelope a little further, chronicling the famous... find out more
YMA to honour DeNure, Horodyski
April 11, 2017
DHX Media president and COO Steven DeNure will receive the Youth Media Alliance’s outstanding achievement award at a gala on May 31 at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. The award, presented by Breakthrough Entertainment, recognizes an individual’s contribution to the industry and commitment... find out more
PNP Acquires THE COMMUNE
April 10, 2017
Pacific Northwest Pictures Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired Canadian rights to Thomas Vinterberg’s The Commune. The Danish film, which premiered in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, follows a family who set up a commune in Copenhagen. The Vancouver-based boutique distributor... find out more
Director Terence Davies brings Emily Dickinson’s poetic identity onscreen
April 09, 2017
For A Quiet Passion, the first biographical film about the great 19th-century poet and American literary icon Emily Dickinson, it took an outsider to capture her elusive identity.The poet, who dressed all in white and gardened by moonlight (and wrote the words “I’m nobody! Who are you?”) was... find out more
David Lynch: The Art Life is a compelling portrait of the filmmaker
April 07, 2017
Confession time: I am not the world’s biggest David Lynch fan.I think Twin Peaks is brilliant only in how it conned itself onto network airwaves. Mulholland Drive is a gorgeous, though hollow, dreamscape that has gained a puzzling reputation since it was rejected from the small screen. And Lost Highway ... find out more
“Suddenly My House Became a Tree of Sores” - The dark art of David Lynch began in his paintings
April 05, 2017
To mark the release of the new documentary David Lynch: The Art Life, we are pleased to present these excerpts from Dennis Lim’s monograph David Lynch: The Man from Another Place, reprinted with the permission of the author. Philadelphia looms large in the personal mythology of David Lynch: a place... find out more
David Lynch – The Art Life is a must-see for the director’s fans
April 05, 2017
David Lynch – The Art Life is fascinating on at least two levels. First, there’s the fact that the notoriously taciturn Lynch – who wouldn’t even provide biographical information in the press notes for some of his movies – is willing to go into detail about his formative years, starting... find out more
Exclusive interview: SECRETARY director Steven Shainberg gives the horror genre a RUPTURE
March 31, 2017
Celebrated for his S&M drama SECRETARY and the art-house favorite FUR: AN IMAGINARY PORTRAIT OF DIANE ARBUS, director Steven Shainberg has taken the plunge into the scary side with RUPTURE. He gave RUE MORGUE some exclusive words about the film, which stars Noomi Rapace of THE GIRL WITH... find out more
The Creative Pathos Of David Lynch In 'The Art Life'
March 31, 2017
David Lynch: The Art Life is a documentary in the same sense that a David Lynch film is a movie. Neither term is incorrect, and yet neither seems entirely sufficient either. More often than not, a David Lynch film will rivet your attention and still leave you wondering what you... find out more
‘Secretary’ Director Steven Shainberg on his new film ‘Rupture’
March 29, 2017
Steven Shainberg has a thing for strong women in strange situations. His breakout second feature Secretary was one of the first major, careful, honest depictions of kink and BDSM on screen, and it catapulted the career of Maggie Gyllenhaal for her portrayal of the submissive secretary, Lee. His... find out more
David Lynch Explores His Demons Through Art in a New Documentary
March 28, 2017
David Foster Wallace once wrote a very David Foster Wallace essay for Premiere magazine about visiting the set of David Lynch’s 1997 movie Lost Highway. In it, the writer wrestles with one of the major questions at the heart of Lynch’s work: What bouillabaisse of ingredients combines to make something... find out more
A Man Called Ove: Endearingly emotional Swedish cinema
February 17, 2017
Things are not going to be easy for A Man Called Ove in North America. The film may very well be one of Sweden’s biggest comedies ever, a top earner at the box office and critically adored at home. But unless there’s a “Girl with …” in the title, Western audiences have been notoriously chilly... find out more
Reel Brief: Mini review of A Man Called Ove
February 16, 2017
A Man Called OveA Hollywood adaptation of this Swedish heart-tugger is probably inevitable, especially if it wins the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film later this month at the Academy Awards.It won’t be necessary. A Man Called Ove shamelessly, but also quite movingly, hits all the required... find out more
In Dancer, ballet's "bad boy" gets the deeper look he deserves
February 09, 2017
Right from a maniacal opening montage set to the dirge-doom guitars of Black Sabbath, you know you’re about to watch a different kind of ballet movie with Dancer.That’s because Sergei Polunin, dubbed the ”bad boy of ballet”, is a different kind of dance star.  The youngest artist ever crowned... find out more
Dancer is a must-see for ballet fans
February 08, 2017
There have been at least half a dozen good ballet documentaries in the last few years, but none with as riveting a subject as Sergei Polunin. The Ukrainian-born dancer’s star rose spectacularly when he became, in 2010, the youngest principal dancer at the Royal Ballet – earning comparisons... find out more
Review: ‘Dancer’
February 08, 2017
Dancer (UK/Russia/Ukraine/USA, 85 min.) Dir. Steven Cantor Sergei Polunin has a reputation as “the bad boy of ballet.” There might not be much competition for this title, but the Ukrainian-born dancer wears his badge of dishonour just as proudly as he displays his eight tattoos. One visible... find out more
'A Man Called Ove' will win the foreign film Oscar. Oddly, it deserves it.
January 24, 2017
Serious moviegoers have always had reasons to roll their eyes at the Academy Awards. For some, it may have been “Goodfellas” losing to “Dances With Wolves” in 1991. Or “Brokeback Mountain” losing to “Crash” in 2006. Or anything losing to “Crash” in 2006. Or Cary Grant never winning an Oscar.... find out more
Swedish 'Ove' movie on 2017 Oscars list
January 24, 2017
Swedish movie 'A Man Called Ove' has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Makeup. Director Hannes Holm's film about Saab-driving curmudgeon Ove, starring Rolf Lassgård, who has his heart opened by a warm new neighbour made the cut from the... find out more
PNP Acquires 'Ove'
January 13, 2017
Boutique distributor Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired the Canadian theatrical distribution rights to Hannes Holm-directed feature film A Man Called Ove. Under the deal, Vancouver-based PNP will handle the sale of the film’s transactional VOD rights in Canada, in addition to the theatrical... find out more
How ‘A Man Called Ove’ Became a Sleeper For the Best Foreign Film Oscar
December 22, 2016
Edward Arentz is in a good mood. Earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival, the Music Box Films managing director picked up a little Swedish comedy, “A Man Called Ove.” (That’s “oo-veh.”) No one else was much interested in the grumpy-old-man movie starring the original Wallander, Rolf Lassgård,... find out more
Bailee Madison Shares How We Can All Spread Joy This Holiday Season
December 12, 2016
This time of year can be truly magical: the holidays can be dazzling, exciting, and loving – but sometimes it's easy to feel lonely and down instead. So when TWIST caught up with actress Bailee Madison, who is starring in a new film called Holiday Joy, we naturally had to ask her to share her own... find out more
'Dancer' Among Producers Guild Documentary Film Nominees
November 22, 2016
The Producers Guild of America has selected “Dancer,” “The Eagle Huntress,” “Life, Animated,” “O.J.: Made in America” and “Tower” as nominees for its top feature film documentary award. The winner will be announced on Jan. 29 at the 28th annual PGA awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. “The Eagle... find out more
Age in Being 17 comes in awkward bursts but the film moves sublimely
November 18, 2016
Brad Wheeler - The Globe and Mail“And those whose names were never called, when choosing sides for basketball.” The singer-songwriter Janis Ian wrote At Seventeen at age 22; the five-year lag in learning the truth seems about right. In the French auteur André Téchiné’s well-measured queer teen... find out more
Being 17 thoughtfully captures what it means to reconcile your gender identity with your sexual orientation
November 18, 2016
Tina Hassannia, Special to National Post | November 18, 2016 4:07 PM ETMore from Special to National PostBeing 17 is about two high-school boys who are simultaneously attracted and repulsed by each other. It begins with that most horrifying of adolescent experiences: being chosen last for a team... find out more
Pacific Northwest Pictures acquires 'David Lynch: The Art Life'
November 10, 2016
EXCLUSIVE: The Vancouver-based distributor has picked up all Canadian rights to the documentary by Rick Barnes, Jon Nguyen, and Olivia Neergaard-Holm.Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) plans a spring release for the film, which chronicles the artist and filmmaker’s life from his roots in small... find out more
Interview: ‘Lavender’ filmmaker Ed Gass-Donnelly on the subtle art of the thriller
November 03, 2016
‘Lavender’ filmmaker Ed Gass-Donnelly on the subtle art of the thriller Andrew Parker November 3, 2016 Film It has been a little while since Canadian audiences have seen anything from Torontonian filmmaker Ed Gass-Donnelly on the big screen.  Donnelly first made waves in the Canadian film... find out more
PNP Titles "A Hundred Streets" & "From the Land of the Moon" to Play at Whistler Film Festival
November 03, 2016
Vancouver’s Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired the all-media Canadian rights to A Hundred Streets, starring Idris Elba, and Nicole Garcia’s feature film From the Land of the Moon. Earlier this week it was announced that both films would screen at Whistler Film Festival. PNP plans to release... find out more
Lavender is an Ambitious Hometown Horror
October 14, 2016
Overview: After suffering an accident, a young woman returns to her childhood home to confront her demons. AMBI Group; 2016; Rated PG; 92 minutes. Diorama: Lavender begins ambitiously with a stylish still-life look at a farmhouse in bloody chaos. Flash forward 25 years later to photographer... find out more
LA Times Review: André Téchiné's 'Being 17' beautifully blurs the line between rage and desire
October 13, 2016
By Justin Chang, Film Critic André Téchiné’s “Being 17” tells the story of two boys who can’t keep their hands off each other, and for reasons that neither ... find out more
Lavender (Movie Review)
October 06, 2016
Lavender (Movie Review) PLOT: After a car crash retriggers a past sense of amnesia in a woman named Jane (Abbie Cornish), she must piece together her memory in order to figure what happened really to her family members that were slaughtered 25 years prior.REVIEW: Following two lauded short-run... find out more
NY Times Review: In ‘Being 17,’ 2 Boys Teeter Between Animosity and Attraction
October 06, 2016
By STEPHEN HOLDEN To fight or to fall in love: That is the choice two antagonistic high school classmates face in “Being 17,” a touching drama about raging hormones, bullying and sexual awakening — and the strongest film in many years by the post-New Wave French director André Téchiné.Even ... find out more
Who is the Greatest Gay Filmmaker Alive?
October 05, 2016
An André Téchiné syllabus for beginners By Armond White Wed, 2016-10-05 13:33  In anticipation of André Téchiné’s newest film, Being 17 (opening this week), here’s an introduction to the French cineaste who may be the best gay filmmaker alive—certainly the greatest... find out more
VIFF 2016: It’s shock and raw time at Altered States
October 04, 2016
VIFF 2016: It’s shock and raw time at Altered States by Adrian Mack on October 5th, 2016 at 4:07 PM He calls himself a friend, but one of the things Ed Gass-Donnelly did to his poor friend Abbie Cornish was stick her on a huge spit, the bastard. “We called it the car rotisserie,” says the... find out more
REVIEW: Finding Altamira - Discovering Pre-Historic Art
September 16, 2016
Discovering Prehistoric Art Through the magic of brilliant cinematography and gorgeous location shots, Finding Altamira takes us back to the 1800s in Spain during a time of conflict between religion and science. It tells the story of Marcelino Sautuola (Antonio Banderas/Original Sin), an amateur... find out more
Time Traveling at the Toronto Film Festival
September 16, 2016
Time Traveling at the Toronto Film Festival By MANOHLA DARGIS ... find out more
Review: ‘Finding Altamira’: A Prehistoric Discovery, Vehemently Disputed
September 15, 2016
“Finding Altamira” — Hugh Hudson’s stately account of events surrounding the discovery of Paleolithic cave paintings in northern Spain in 1879 — addresses a fascinating chapter in archaeology. Marcelino de Sautuola was an amateur scientist who owned the property where the paintings were found.... find out more
Vancouver International Film Festival - Lavender
September 09, 2016
Lavender ALT|Altered States In the wake of a car crash, repressed horrors from Jane’s (Abbie Cornish) past start creeping into her present. Conjuring potent atmospherics that call to mind The Others, Ed Gass-Donnelly displays a masterful touch with set-pieces, be it an anxiety-inducing... find out more
PNP Acquires "Dancer"
September 02, 2016
Deals: PNP, Gearshift, Elevation, Blue Ice Docs Canadian distributors get their A games on for fall with a raft of acquisition announcements. ... find out more
Calgary International Film Festival - Lavender
September 01, 2016
A photographer of old and abandoned farmhouses, Jane’s (Abbie Cornish) hobby borders on obsession. While out on a routine assignment one afternoon, she shoots a peculiar house, spurring a chain of events that begin to unravel her mysterious past. A near-fatal car accident leaves her with severe... find out more
VIFF Announces A Quiet Passion, Manchester by the Sea and nine other Special Presentations
September 01, 2016
VIFF Announces American Honey, Manchester by the Sea and nine other Special PresentationsVANCOUVER, B.C. (September 1, 2016) – The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) released a lineup of heavy hitters set to screen in its prestigious Special Presentations series, part of the festival's... find out more
A Quiet Passion - TIFF unveils larger program in more star-filled lineup
August 29, 2016
New films starring Oscar Isaac, Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Stewart and James Franco are heading to this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, organizers announced Tuesday morning. The news was the latest in TIFF’s summer-long programming reveal, with two more galas, 14 special presentations,... find out more
Calgary International Film Festival - DANCER
August 24, 2016
From his earliest years, Ukrainian Sergei Polunin was destined to be one of the top ballet dancers of his generation. His family sacrificed much to further his career: his grandmother moved to Greece to be a caregiver, and his father went to Portugal for work. At 13, he was accepted into the... find out more
Spotted Cow to produce 'Different Folks'
August 09, 2016
EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Cartwright’s company has come on to produce and co-finance the comedy, which Myriad Pictures is selling worldwide. Production is scheduled to kick off this summer in Toronto on the tale of a high school student struggling to take care of her family after her mother’s death.When... find out more
Get lost in a mysterious Japanese forest in this independent Canadian drama
July 28, 2016
Japan's Aokigahara forest has become so notorious as a site for suicide that it has become more commonly known as the Suicide Forest. In 2010, for example, it was estimated that more than 200 people attempted suicide in the forest, 54 of which were successful.... find out more
Hitchcock/Truffaut retrospective pays homage to art of cinema
June 30, 2016
Directing is like sex, the old saying goes – you never get to see how the other guy does it. But in 1962, François Truffaut spent a week in a room at Universal Studios interviewing Alfred Hitchcock. Truffaut was 30 then, and had made three films (including The 400 Blows). Hitchcock was 62; he... find out more
KO Review: "The People Garden"
June 14, 2016
The People Garden is a feature length narrative film directed by Nadia Litz. This film follows a young woman named Sweetpea (played by Dree Hemingway) who travels to Japan to breakup with her boyfriend, Jamie (played by François Arnaud). Jamie is a famous musician who is shooting a music video in a... find out more
Julie Delpy's film Lolo is a complex look at love in your 40s
June 02, 2016
Julie Delpy may not have come up with the definition herself, but she loves that the Village Voice called her latest film a “maternal horror film disguised as a rom-com.” “I would say that it is a bit of a mother’s nightmare,” said Delpy of Lolo — her new movie about “finding love again ... find out more
Mary McCormack, Joel David Moore Join Sean Bean’s ‘Drone’
June 02, 2016
Myriad Pictures has cast Mary McCormack and Joel David Moore in the political thriller “Drone,” opposite Sean Bean and Patrick Sanogui. Jason Bourque is directing from a script he co-wrote with Paul A. Birkett. McCormack will play Bean’s wife in the film and Moore will play his colleague. Myriad... find out more
Julie Delpy tackles mid-life dating in 'Lolo'
June 01, 2016
Julie Delpy is a bit of a warrior. The French filmmaker, actress and singer-songwriter is best known for starring opposite Ethan Hawke in the indie Before Sunrise trilogy, but she’s also fierce and outspoken opponent of the anti-feminist forces in her industry. Delpy’s sixth feature as writer/director/star... find out more
Julie Delpy talks about her new film, Lolo | Interview by Anne Brodie
May 26, 2016
French filmmaker Julie Delpy is one smart woman. Not only does she move with ease from projects between Hollywood and Europe, she produces, writes directs and stars in her own films. Her latest is Lolo, the heartbreaking and yet hugely entertaining drama about a single mother and her search for... find out more
'The People Garden' (Review)
May 17, 2016
The People Garden, dir. Nadia Litz │Nadia Litz’s tragically poetic second feature, The People Garden, had me at its use of “Running Up That Hill” as the soundtrack for what turns out to be a deceitfully upbeat introduction. The popular Kate Bush song is both sensual and punchy in a very 80s-dance-music... find out more
‘Game of Thrones’ Star Sean Bean to Topline Political Thriller ‘Drone’
May 16, 2016
“Game of Thrones” star Sean Bean and Patrick Sabongui will topline Jason Bourque’s political thriller “Drone.” Myriad Pictures is introducing “Drone” at Cannes and will handle worldwide sales, excluding Canada. Deals have closed with Signature Entertainment in the U.K., Minerva in Italy, Eagle Films... find out more
Cannes: Sean Bean to Star in Jason Bourque's Action-Thriller 'Drone'
May 16, 2016
Myriad Pictures is introducing the film to buyers in Cannes this week, with deals already closed for the U.K., Italy, the Middle East and the former Yugoslavia. Sean Bean is set to pilot Jason Bourque's action-thriller film Drone. Myriad Pictures will handle worldwide... find out more
Myriad Pictures boards international sales on 'Drone'
May 16, 2016
The US company has closed key territories on the Croisette on its Sean Bean political thriller from Look To The Sky Films and co-produced by Gold Star Productions. Rights have gone in the UK (Signature Entertainment), Italy (Minerva), Middle East (Eagle Films) and former Yugoslavia (Dexin Films),... find out more
PNP takes André Téchiné’s 'Being 17' for Canada
May 15, 2016
EXCLUSIVE: André Téchiné’s drama premiered at Berlin this year. Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has picked up Canadian rights to André Téchiné’s French drama Being 17.Téchiné and Céline Sciamma wrote the screenplay to the recent Berlin premiere about a pampered teenager whose household takes in... find out more
Heroic virtue on display in 'Mothers and Daughters' film
May 13, 2016
Go see "Mothers and Daughters." As the credits rolled, several other moviegoers and I all clapped, and afterwards we chatted for over 10 minutes about how touching and powerful the film was. "Mothers and Daughters" (not to be confused with the concurrently released "Mother's Day") is a... find out more
Complicated Women (Nadia's Litz's 'The People Garden')
May 10, 2016
After the anarchy of Holy Motors last week, today’s episode of Someone Else’s Movie lands on a more outwardly stoic picture: Alan J. Pakula’s Klute, a stylish thriller in which Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland are drawn together in more ways than one by the disappearance of a mutual... find out more
Modern Muses: Nadia Litz Interviews Pamela Anderson
May 10, 2016
Nadia Litz’s The People Garden (which premieres today at the TIFF Bell Lightbox) is a modern art film. It reminds me of the work of Antonioni (in particular, L’Avventura), films that were stylish and saddening, haunting and opaque, sumptuous surfaces that form like pools of water and later, sadness.... find out more
Review: The People Garden
May 10, 2016
Sweetpea (Dree Hemingway) is taking drastic measures to break up with her current boyfriend, rock star Jamie (François Arnaud). In France shooting a video for his band, Sweetpea travels across the globe to surprise him with this news, but when she arrives, he has gone missing from the video shoot.... find out more
The People Garden: A mysterious bi-lingual role for Japanese Canadian actor Jai West
May 10, 2016
Jai West plays Mak, a mysterious driver and worker, in The People Garden alongside Pamela Anderson.The People Garden is a new film from director Nadia Litz that stars Dree Hemingway, Pamela Anderson, and Japanese Canadian Jai West. Sweetpea (Hemingway) goes to Japan in order to break up with Jamie,... find out more
Pamela Anderson on Playboy, the ’90s and her latest indie film role
May 09, 2016
Not much can be said about the ‘90s without talking about Pamela Anderson. And since we talk about the ‘90s all the time, here we are. The decade’s biggest bombshell has been experiencing a renaissance as of late, starring in Playboy’s final nude issue last year and co-starring in The People Garden,... find out more
'The People Garden' Comes to Toronto
May 09, 2016
A new film by actor-director Nadia Litz titled The People Garden will bet a special three-day screening starting tomorrow at this city’s TIFF Bell Lightbox. Written and directed by Nadia Litz (pictured below), The People Garden stars US actress Dree Hemingway (While We’re Young, Starlet), Pamela... find out more
'The People Garden' Grows on You (Review)
May 04, 2016
Opening for a limited run at the TIFF Bell Lightbox Tuesday (May 10), The People Garden is the third film in 12 months about people venturing into that creepy forest at the foot of Japan’s Mt. Fuji. But where Gus Van Sant’s The Sea Of Trees was a melodrama and Jason Zada’s The Forest a (terrible)... find out more
2016 Tribeca Film Festival Interview: Abbie Cornish and Ed Gass-Donnelly Talk Lavender (Exclusive)
May 03, 2016
Uncovering the true horrors of a person’s mind, particularly after they determinedly bury their most daunting memories in order to heal, can be a truly traumatizing experience for anyone. The sudden and unexpected remembrance of a terrifying and deeply unsettling past can at times become even... find out more
Watch Courteney Cox Show Off Her Drama Chops in New Movie
May 03, 2016
Courteney Cox may have made us laugh a lot in Friends and Cougar Town, but the actress takes a more serious turn in the new indie drama Mothers And Daughters.And only E! News has this exclusive sneak peek at a scene that... find out more
Lavender Tribeca 2016 Review
May 02, 2016
I have no doubt that one day gifted visual storyteller Ed Gass-Donnelly will make a brilliant work. With four features under his belt, including This Beautiful City, Small Town Murder Songs, The Last Exorcism Part II and now Lavender, he’s shown tremendous promise capturing haunting images... find out more
Pacific Northwest Pictures Acquires 'Mothers and Daughter'
April 29, 2016
Vancouver’s Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired Canadian rights to Paige Cameron’s Mothers & Daughters, with the film set to land both in theatres and on VOD on May 6. Starring Susan Sarandon, Sharon Stone and Courtney Cox, the drama tells the story of a photographer whose unplanned... find out more
'Don't Pander to Genre': How 'Lavender' Became a Character-Driven Horror Movie
April 28, 2016
One of the scariest films at Tribeca this year wasn't your typical horror movie. According to Director Ed Gass-Donnelly, there are scary movies, and then there are "horror films with a capital H." His film, Lavender, which premiered at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, is of the former variety.... find out more
Searching for a Way Out in a Sea of Trees (Interview with Nadia Litz)
April 14, 2016
The People Garden. Directed by Nadia Litz. Starring Dree Hemingway, Pamela Anderson and François Arnaud. Screening at Vancity Theatre as part of Canadian Film Week. For more information visit viff.org/theatre/series/canadian-film-week.Would you cross an ocean and traverse a treacherous forest to see... find out more
'The People Garden' to Premiere in Argentina
April 11, 2016
The People Garden from Canadian director and actress Nadia Litz is to make its world premiere at the 2016 Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Film (BAFICI). The film – produced by Toronto-based production companies Scythia Films, Aiken Heart Films and JoBro Productions – will... find out more
‘Lavender’ Trailer: The Countdown Begins Ahead Of Tribeca Premiere
March 29, 2016
Lavender is set to world premiere April 18 at the annual Tribeca Film Festival in New York. The psychological thriller centers on Jane (Abbie Cornish), a photographer who, after a severe car accident, losses her memory and begins to find strange clues that suggest she may be responsible... find out more
'Lolo' Is A Comedy Of Female Bad Manners
March 24, 2016
There's little reason to believe that Julie Delpy saw, let alone lifted the premise of, the Duplass brothers' 2010 black comedy Cyrus before she made Lolo, a pert little number about a Parisian teenager pulling out the stops to pry his doting single mother loose from a promising new boyfriend who's ... find out more
PNP acquires Ten Thousand Saints
March 21, 2016
Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired all Canadian rights to Ten Thousand Saints, an American coming-of-age drama from writer/directors Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman. The film premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, and was recently released stateside... find out more
Big Picture: Victoria-raised screenwriter behind ‘most Scottish film’
March 18, 2016
It isn’t as surprising as you might think that the screenwriter and co-producer of what IndieWire calls “the most Scottish film of 2016” is a Canadian. Victoria-raised Richard Cowan, whose grisly black comedy The Legend of Barney Thomson opens today, has Scottish roots, after all. And he... find out more
Barney Thomson: EW review
March 10, 2016
Barney Thomson Genre: Comedy, Crime; Starring: Emma Thompson, Robert Carlyle, Ray Winstone; Director: Robert Carlyle; Release Date... find out more
PNP takes Songs She Wrote About People She Knows
March 10, 2016
The musical comedy from Kris Elgstrand is up for three Canadian Screen Awards. Vancouver-based distributor Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired all Canadian rights (outside theatrical) to writer/director Kris Elgstrand’s Songs She Wrote About Peoples She Knows. The musical comedy stars Arabella... find out more
LA Weekly: Barney Thomson Review
March 09, 2016
Dark comedies, even at their most blood-soaked and mean-spirited, only actually shock if they make us care about the characters' fatal misfortunes -- or, at the very least, if their onscreen survivors convince us they care.Barney Thomson, the directorial debut of Scottish actor Robert Carlyle,... find out more
Emma Thompson goes grotesque for 'Barney Thomson'
March 07, 2016
To age her two decades, the British actress spent four and a half hours getting makeup and prosthetics put on to play Cemolina, a crazy, formidable lady so devoted to her Scottish barber son Barney — played by director Robert Carlyle — that when he accidentally kills his boss with haircutting... find out more
'The Legend of Barney Thomson' review: Robert Carlyle laugher a love letter to Glasgow
March 04, 2016
Q: How many Glaswegians does it take to change a light bulb?A: None a’ yer f——g business.You don’t have to be a Scot to laugh yourself silly at The Legend of Barney Thomson, although canny viewers will no doubt catch more of the inside references.Robert Carlyle’s (The Full Monty) feature directorial... find out more
Emma Thompson kills in The Legend of Barney Thomson
March 02, 2016
Fans of Robert Carlyle, gruesome murders, and indecipherable Glaswegian slang will find much to enjoy in The Legend of Barney Thomson, which plays as a Caledo­nian Sweeney Todd.With greased-back mullet and a perpetual rictus of guilt before he’s done anything wrong, Carlyle—also making his directorial... find out more
EXCLUSIVE: Watch Robert Carlyle As a Barber Turned Serial Killer in 'Barney Thomson'
March 01, 2016
Watch the EXCLUSIVE clip here! find out more
Oscar winner Benicio del Toro talks about his new film ‘A Perfect Day’
February 25, 2016
No matter how menacing the character he’s playing, Benicio del Toro likes to bring a little humour to it.In his latest film, A Perfect Day, del Toro injects a wry wit into his role as a jaded aid worker in an armed conflict zone in the Balkans in 1995.He says it’s a subtle touch he tries to add with... find out more
A Perfect Day Benicio Del Toro and others show how work, or the lack thereof, shapes our lives.
February 24, 2016
by José Teodoro February 24, 2016PERFECT DAY (Fernando León de Aranoa ). 106 minutes. Opens Friday (February 26). See listing. Rating: NNNN This shaggy, likeable film from director Fernando León de Aranoa chronicles 24 obstacle-ridden hours in the life of some international aid... find out more
MOVIE REVIEW: A Perfect Day
February 21, 2016
A PERFECT DAYDIRECTOR: Fernando León de AranoaCAST: Benicio del Toro, Tim Robbins, Melanie Thierry, Loga Kurylenko, Fedja Stukan and Eldar ResidovicCLASSIFICATION: 10-12 PG LRUNNING TIME: 106 minutesRATING: 4 stars (out of 5)Theresa SmithA PERFECT Day is a darkly comical ensemble piece which gives... find out more
Touched with Fire tells a love story rooted in bipolar disorder, creativity and reality’s imperfections
February 19, 2016
We’ve all seen situations where two people make each other miserable or happy, who seem perfect or perfectly wrong for each other. But what if that were literally, even clinically the case?Touched with Fire tells the story of two people with bipolar disorder. Carla (Katie Holmes, who also produces)... find out more
Hitchcock/Truffaut Review
February 17, 2016
In 1962, the 30 year-old François Truffaut, a leading light in the French New Wave, and the 63 year-old Alfred Hitchcock, the Master Of Suspense, met for a book-length interview that formed the basis of one of film literature’s key works, Hitchcock/Truffaut (if it were done today, it would be... find out more
Review: ‘Touched With Fire,’ a Love Story Between Two Bipolar Poets
February 11, 2016
Is there anything wrong with being a euphoric visionary artist? That question cuts to the essence of “Touched With Fire,” Paul Dalio’s extraordinarily sensitive, nonjudgmental exploration of bipolar disorder and creativity. When Marco (Luke Kirby) and Carla (Katie Holmes), poets with the condition... find out more
‘A Perfect Day': Helpin’ ain’t easy for do-gooders in skillfully made black comedy
February 10, 2016
What a mess.All around the world, in places we talk about and places we might not even know about, just navigating one’s way through everyday life without getting caught in the crossfire of the latest inexplicable conflict is a constant uphill struggle.Even if you’re an outsider just trying to... find out more
Katie Holmes Is on a Mission to "Humanize" Mental Illness
February 10, 2016
"We match!" says Katie Holmes when I first walk into the room, a Central Park-adjacent Ritz-Carlton suite. Dressed head to toe in a striking black look paired with height-accentuating black stilettos, her comparison—perhaps a tad too generous—puts me at ease. She has that effect. "Step... find out more
Review A bond of brothers in 'Mountain Men' seals the deal with a deft script and fine performances
January 28, 2016
"Mountain Men" easily captures the jocular rivalry and unbreakable bond between brothers, which makes sense because Tyler Labine stars as Toph in the film written and directed by his brother, Cameron Labine. Chace Crawford costars as Cooper, the "fancy" big-city brother returning to his rural... find out more
Movie review: A four-star ‘Perfect Day’ puts Benicio Del Toro and Tim Robbins into a Balkan war zone
January 13, 2016
“A Perfect Day” — Four stars With Benicio Del Toro, Tim Robbins, Melanie Thierry, Olga Kurylenko. In a never-ending war zone, Benicio Del Toro fights for peace. Director: Fernando Leon de Aranoa. (1:46). R: Strong language, graphic images. At the IFC Center, and on demand. “A Perfect... find out more
FRANK MEETS ALFIE: Hitchcock/Truffaut – film review
January 05, 2016
The Revue, Video, Film, Reviews — January 5, 2016 at 4:47 pm by John Sekerka HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT      director: Kent Jones      opens: January 7th, ByTowne Cinema      325 Rideau Street, Ottawa  ... find out more
Kent Jones's documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut a meeting of masters
December 17, 2015
“I can’t imagine where my life would be without Hitchcock,” Kent Jones said, talking on a cellphone while sitting by his bicycle in New York’s Riverside Park. “I’ve been watching and absorbing his films for most of my life. I’m 55 years old and I’ve been watching and rewatching his movies... find out more
Criticwire Survey: The Best Non-Top 10 Films of 2015
December 15, 2015
The movies, performances, and moments we love, even though they didn't make the list.Every week, the Criticwire Survey asks film and TV critics two questions. (The answer to the second, "What is the best film in theaters right now?" can be found at the end of this post.) Send suggestions... find out more
Review: In ‘The Girl in the Book,’ a Young Editor Is Unsettled by Her Past With a Novelist
December 10, 2015
As Marya Cohn’s romantic drama “The Girl in the Book” begins, Alice (Emily VanCamp, formerly of “Revenge” on ABC), an editorial assistant at a Manhattan publishing house, lacks self-esteem. She flounders at writing fiction; she is tiring of one-night stands; her supercilious boss (Jordan Lage)... find out more
The Girl in the Book
December 09, 2015
So unpretentious that it could be accused of lacking style or vigor, writer-director Marya Cohn's maturely conceived, Kickstarter-budgeted debut swaps genders on the more traditionally male-driven story of a stunted coming-of-age. (Think Trainwreck with muted emotional discomfort instead of jokes.)... find out more
Emily Van Camp Talks New Movie `The Girl In The Book
December 08, 2015
See Emily Van Camp discuss 'The Girl In The Book' here find out more
Hitchcock/Truffaut review: Auteur clearly
December 04, 2015
Hitchcock/Truffaut Rating: 3/4 Stars Director: Kent JonesWriting Credit: Jones, Serge ToubianaCast: Alfred Hitchcock, Francois Truffaut, Martin Scorcese, David FincherRated: 14A;black-and-white thrillsGenre: DocumentaryDuration:... find out more
Robert Carlyle debuts as director with The Legend of Barney Thomson
December 03, 2015
The myriad delights in The Legend of Barney Thomson might be too numerous to cover here, but let’s start with Emma Thompson feasting on her role as a foul-mouthed, geriatric Glaswegian bingo lady named Cemolina. “It was such a massive part, I knew I needed someone who was gonna be brave,” starts... find out more
At the Movies With François and Hitch
December 01, 2015
Culled from six days of interviews that the French director François Truffaut conducted with his idol Alfred Hitchcock, the book “Hitchcock” immediately stood out from other books about movies when it was published in an English translation in 1967.“There is not another instance of one practicing... find out more
PNP acquires Hitchcock/Truffaut
November 30, 2015
Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired the Canadian rights to New York City-based Cohen Media Group’s documentary Hitchcock/Truffaut. Directed by Kent Jones, the film’s theatrical run in Canada begins on Dec. 18 at the Vancity Theatre. The doc will also screen in an... find out more
'Carol,' 'Spotlight' and 'Beasts of No Nation' Lead 31st Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominees
November 24, 2015
Film Independent has announced the nominees for the 31st Independent Spirt Awards, which will take place Saturday, February 27 at 2:00pm PT / 5:00pm ET. While current Oscar power players "Carol" and "Spotlight" had a strong showing among this morning's nominees — "Carol" leads all films... find out more
Watch Katie Holmes Play a Mental Patient in the Latest Trailer for 'Touched With Fire'
November 07, 2015
Katie Holmes, best known for her portrayals of sweet souls like Jackie Kennedy and Dawson's Creek's Joey Potter, is saying goodbye to playing the good girl in favor of taking on a girl interrupted. In her latest movie, Touched With Fire, the actress transforms... find out more
Ally Was Screaming review: Laughs and horror balance on a knife’s edge
November 06, 2015
Ally Was Screaming is the second feature from Calgary director Jeremy Thomas. His first, The End, had appreciative critics tying themselves in knots not to reveal its mid-plot twist. In this one, the first twist (though not the last) comes early. Ally (Arielle Rombough) has just died in a fire,... find out more
PNP acquires Touched with Fire
October 27, 2015
Vancouver’s Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired the Canadian rights to Paul Dalio’s Touched with Fire, the company announced Tuesday. The feature is Dalio’s feature film debut, and had its world bow at this year’s SXSW Film Festival. Roadside Attractions holds the U.S. rights to Touched with... find out more
PNP acquires Ally Was Screaming
October 26, 2015
Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired all Canadian rights to writer/director Jeremy Thomas’ Ally Was Screaming. The film will be released in select cities starting Nov. 6 at Toronto’s Carlton Theatre. Limited engagements will follow at the Metro Film Society in Edmonton on Nov. 13 and the Globe... find out more
British Academy Scotland Awards in 2015: Nominations Announced
October 13, 2015
Find out which people and programmes have been nominated for this year's British Academy Scotland Awards. 20 trophies, including three Outstanding Contribution Awards, will be handed out at this year’s British Academy Scotland Awards in 2015, honouring the very best talent in film, television... find out more
Zipper Exclusive: Mora Stephens On Professional Escorts and Zipper Problems
September 30, 2015
This week everyone can finally see the movie that blew me away at Sundance. Zipper stars Patrick Wilson as a lawyer who becomes obsessed with an escort service. This is troubling enough for a married father, but even more so when his political ambitions put him under further scrutiny. Mora Stephens,... find out more
The Stanford Prison Experiment, reviewed: An expertly acted study in human psychology
September 25, 2015
The Stanford Prison Experiment, which took place in 1971, remains one of the most iconic 20th century studies of human nature. In it, a group of Stanford students were split into two groups — half of them guards, half prisoners — and positioned in a section of the university outfitted as a prison,... find out more
Billy Crudup on becoming the man behind the notorious Stanford prison experiment
September 23, 2015
Actor, The Stanford Prison Experiment by Norman Wilner Billy Crudup’s built an interesting career for himself. As likely to show up in big studio projects like Public Enemies (as J. Edgar Hoover!)... find out more
Pacific Northwest Acquires ‘A PERFECT DAY’ Starring Benicio Del Toro and Tim Robbins
September 13, 2015
Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired all Canadian rights to A Perfect Day, starring Benicio Del Toro and Tim Robbins, from WestEnd Films at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film had its world premiere in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, will have its screening in Toronto on... find out more
PNP acquires The Stanford Prison Experiment
September 08, 2015
Vancouver-based Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired the Canadian rights to Kyle Patrick Alvarez’s The Stanford Prison Experiment. The American film will screen at the Atlantic Film Festival and Cinefest Sudbury before it has its theatrical bow in Canada at the TIFF... find out more
Mountain Men: Polar brothers find common ground in authentic comedy
September 04, 2015
Directed by Cameron LabineWritten by Cameron LabineStarring Tyler Labine, Chace Crawford, Britt IrvinCountry USALanguage English They say opposites attract, but when two brothers living polar (but equally messed up) lives reunite for their mother’s wedding in the mountain town where they... find out more
Mountain Men reviewed: An indie dramedy that’s neither cliche nor vague
August 27, 2015
Mountain Men tells the story of two estranged brothers ― both barely coping with adulthood ― who are reunited in their small hometown for the mother’s wedding. Toph (Tyler Labine) is a weed-dealing, out of work DJ who never left home. Coop (Chace Crawford) is a seriously aloof, handsome professional... find out more
Review: ‘Zipper’ Stars Patrick Wilson as a Sex Addict
August 27, 2015
The actor Patrick Wilson has a gift for delectably malign roles: He was a possessed parent in two installments of “Insidious,” an oily C.I.A. officer in “The A-Team” and, in his most disturbing portrait, an online predator in “Hard Candy.” In “Zipper,” Mora Stephens’s engrossing tale of a legal... find out more
Grown-up humor, sensitive story, costar chemistry fuel 'Learning to Drive'
August 26, 2015
A film about lessons big and small, in "Learning to Drive" New York literary critic Wendy Shields (Patricia Clarkson) decides she must finally learn to drive after a divorce. Her instructor, Darwan Singh Tur (Ben Kingsley) is himself undergoing a transition as he prepares for his impending arranged... find out more
Mountain Men gets at real questions
August 26, 2015
“Men in our family carry a fuck-up gene,” Coop tells his brother Toph in Mountain Men, but it’s hard to decide who’s more fucked-up.On the surface, Toph, played with hoserlike gusto by Tyler Labine, would seem to be the clan’s biggest loser: a low-level weed dealer and part-time DJ who’s just impregnated... find out more
Deals: PNP, Search Engine, Picture Box, Secret Location
August 07, 2015
Pacific Northwest Pictures/Search Engine FilmsSearch Engine Films and Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) have jointly acquired the Canadian rights to the comedy Learning to Drive from West End Films. The Isabel Coixet-directed feature stars Patricia Clarkson and Ben Kingsley and will get its Canadian theatrical... find out more
Watch: Patrick Wilson Is Sex Obsessed In Trailer For 'Zipper' With Lena Headey, Dianna Agron & Ray Winstone
July 22, 2015
From "Nymphomaniac" to "Shame" to "Men, Women & Children" and now to "Zipper," filmmakers of late have been obsessed with characters who are obsessed with sex. And Patrick Wilson is the latest actor taking the role of a character who can't control his urges.Lena Headey, Dianna Agron, Ray Winstone,... find out more
Strangerland review: It's not the heat, it's the humidity
July 17, 2015
StrangerlandRating: 3 stars out of 4Starring: Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Joseph FiennesDirected by: Kim FarrantRunning time: 112 minutesAdvertisementIt's always nice to see Aussies playing Aussies. Nicole Kidman and Hugo Weaving (and Joseph Fiennes, a Brit), star in this first feature from director... find out more
What We Did On Our Holiday surprises with cleverness
July 09, 2015
This blandly titled comedy from the U.K. spends so much setup time being generically clever, it’s truly unexpected when, a third of the way in, things heat up in oddball ways.Gone Girl Rosamund Pike and Doctor Who veteran David Tennant play Abi and Doug, middle-class Londoners on the edge of divorce,... find out more
A feel-good British Comedy For the Whole Family
July 06, 2015
In the beloved tradition of witty British comedies like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Love Actually comes What We Did on Our Holiday, a new film that is sure to be this summer’s feel-good comedy hit.  Opening on July 10th in Toronto and Vancouver, and then rolling out nationwide, the film... find out more
Exclusive: A dust storm won't stop Nicole Kidman in new 'Strangerland' clip
July 03, 2015
 Nicole Kidman could have taken her career in a number of different directions, but after dipping her toe in some studio misfires in the mid-2000's she continues to make daring choices that many other actors with her notoriety would shy away from.  In the past two years she's starred in the... find out more
PNP acquires the Canadian rights to the Nicole Kidman- starrer Strangerland and more deals of the week
June 26, 2015
Pacific Northwest Pictures Vancouver’s Pacific Northwest Pictures has picked up the Canadian distribution rights from North American distributor Alchemy for Strangerland and Zipper. Strangerland, directed by Kim Farrant and written by Fiona Seres and Michael Kinirons, will screen at The Royal... find out more
Glass Chin: Scenes between actors Billy Crudup and Corey Stoll have a snap
June 25, 2015
A familiar story of a struggling ex-boxer who winds up in bed with a mobster, Noah Buschel’s Glass Chin tries to spin a 1930s B movie premise into a contemporary art film. And it almost works. Corey Stoll is Bud, whose best days are long behind him. The restaurant he opened at the height of his... find out more
Glass Chin
June 24, 2015
A rich character study that captures the inner lives and unexpectedly astute insights of brusque, macho, old-school New York guys and the women in their lives,Glass Chin is similar in vibe and payoff to last year's small gem The Drop, which starred Tom Hardy and James Gandolfini. In Glass, Bud (Corey... find out more
PNP picks up Madame Bovary for Canadian release
June 23, 2015
Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired the Canadian distribution rights to Sophie Barthes’ Madame Bovary. The feature premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in 2014, and screened at TIFF in the special presentation program. Pacific Northwest picked up the Canadian rights to the film from Radiant... find out more
Ben’s At Home is a simple charmer: review
June 16, 2015
Starring Dan Abramovici, Jessica Embro, Jim Annan, Rob Baker and Craig Brown. Directed by Mars Horodyski. At the Carlton, Kingsway. 14A Simple charmer Ben’s At Home makes the most of an uncomplicated premise about a modern-day hermit making connections via the digital world. Dan Abramovici... find out more
'House Of Cards' Corey Stoll Scoffs At A Homeless Man In Exclusive 'Glass Chin' Clip — VIDEO
June 16, 2015
We watched him be manipulated and discarded by scheming Frank Underwood in House of Cards, but now, the tables have turned for Corey Stoll. He stars in Glass Chin opposite Billy Crudup, Marin Ireland, Yul Vazquez and Katherine Waterston, and if this exclusive clip is any indication, Stoll’s... find out more
Ben's At Home - Out on ITunes now
June 15, 2015
Ben’s at Home follows the newly 30 and single Ben as he copes with life, love and bouncing back from a bad break-up. Heartbroken and cynical after he’s dumped by his girlfriend, Ben makes the unusual decision never to leave his house again, revealing the extent to which social media shapes... find out more
Ben's At Home...at Calgary's Globe Cinema
June 09, 2015
I’ve had days where the thought of never going outside has definitely crossed my mind. Not in the Waydowntown kind of way where you literally can’t step outside – which is a lot less fun – but the kind involving working from home, ordering in groceries, and not having... find out more
Exclusive: Corey Stoll Relives A Painful Memory In Clip From 'Glass Chin'
June 09, 2015
Next month, Corey Stoll will transition into blockbuster mode with a key role in Marvel's "Ant-Man" as Darren Cross, aka Yellowjacket. But if you're eager to see more from the talented actor in a movie driven more by character than by explosions, then "Glass Chin" will fit the bill, and today we have... find out more
After the Ball
June 04, 2015
I went into After the Ball already admiring three of its main stars: director Sean Garrity, co-writer Kate Melville, and actress Portia Doubleday.  After the Ball isn’t a type of film I get excited to see, but these are three people I’ve been wanting to see more of ever since their strong... find out more
CTV Interview - Ben's At Home
June 04, 2015
A CTV Interview with the stars of Ben's At Home   http://regina.ctvnews.ca/video?clipId=628332&binId=1.1167267&playlistPageNum=1 find out more
ET Canada - Mountain Men
June 04, 2015
Watch the debut trailer for “Mountain Men”, starring Chace Crawford and Tyler Labine, who play two estranged brothers who come together through a wild adventure. http://www.etcanada.com/trailers/mountain+men/video.html?v=456565827934#video find out more
Dreyfuss, Cas & Dylan honoured
June 01, 2015
Two-time Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss has won the best actor in a Northern Ontario production award for his role in the comedy Cas & Dylan. Cas & Dylan, meanwhile, was judged the best Northern Ontario feature film and the Northern Ontario Music and Film Awards, held Saturday night in Sudbury.... find out more
Filmmakers Mars Horodyski and Dan Abramovici put heart, soul and all their money into indie film Ben’s At Home
May 28, 2015
Dan Abramovici and Mars Horodyski cleaned out their bank accounts to make ultra low-budget romantic comedyBen’s At Home. And while nobody was paid, or has made a dime since — aside from canine star Schnitzel, who got all the kibble she could handle — that hasn’t stopped them... find out more
PNP picks up Canadian distribution rights for Glass Chin
May 19, 2015
Vancouver-based Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired the Canadian distribution rights to Noah Buschel’s Glass Chin. The movie, starring Corey Stoll (pictured) and Billy Crudup, will get its Canadian release on iTunes and in theatres on June 26 of this year. The U.S. release of the film will... find out more
Ben's At Home
May 13, 2015
Mars Horodyski's Ben's At Home was one of the nicer surprises of this winter's Canadian Film Festival. It's a small, thoughtful character study that shows that a good story can be told with minimal resources. At the age of 30, heartbroken sad sack Ben (Dan Abramovici) has decided to abandon the larger... find out more
PNP to release Abbie Cornish, Dermot Mulroney Starrer 'Lavender'
May 11, 2015
Abbie Cornish (Robocop) and Dermot Mulroney (August: Osage County) have signed on to star in psychological thriller Lavender, directed by Ed Gass-Donnelly (The Last Exorcism Part II). Principal photography is slated to begin later this month in Toronto. Cornish will play a photographer struggling with... find out more
Helen Hunt wrote, directed and stars in new film 'Ride' and is plotting a return to television Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Helen+Hunt+wrote+directed+stars+film+Ride+plotting+
May 08, 2015
NEW YORK, N.Y. - When Helen Hunt met with Australian actor Brenton Thwaites to audition for the role of her son in "Ride" — a movie she wrote and directed — the actress liked him but didn't think he was right for the part. "I wrote it as a love story between a mother and a son, so it... find out more
‘Ride’ Review: Helen Hunt Catches The Indie Wave & Stands Tall
May 04, 2015
For me one of the real discoveries of the 2015 movie year to date is the heartfelt independent Ride written and directed by Helen Hunt. She also stars as an overprotective mother (with reasons slowly revealed from her past) who follows her son (Brenton Thwaites) from New York City to... find out more
Helen Hunt on Why She Chose to Direct 'Ride'
May 03, 2015
Oscar and Emmy award winning actress Helen Hunt ("As Good As It Gets," "Mad About You," "Cast Away") has been a household name in Hollywood for years, and her career, which has expanded to including directing and writing in addition to acting, is still going strong. Her new film, "Ride," follows... find out more
Helen Hunt strikes blow for equality — with writing and directing
April 30, 2015
As Hollywood actresses grapple with wage equality and a lack of roles for those over 40, Oscar-winning star Helen Hunt has taken matters into her own hands. The film “Ride,” in theatres Friday and available on-demand on May 12, is Hunt’s second big-screen feature as a writer-director. She... find out more
Helen Hunt waxes up her surfboard for Ride
April 30, 2015
For her latest movie, Helen Hunt was energized by a hobby she took up relatively late in life to break free from her comfort zone — surfing. “My inspiration was hearing the phrase ‘soccer mom’ — all these mothers and fathers sitting on the sidelines while their kids... find out more
Ben's At Home is a simple charmer: review
April 28, 2015
Starring Dan Abramovici, Jessica Embro, Jim Annan, Rob Baker and Craig Brown. Directed by Mars Horodyski. At the Carlton, Kingsway. 14A Simple charmer Ben’s At Home makes the most of an uncomplicated premise about a modern-day hermit making connections via the digital world. Dan Abramovici... find out more
Catch Ben's at Home and October Gale on Canadian Film Day
April 28, 2015
April 29 is National Canadian Film Day, a day to throw off the shackles of fear and insecurity, stand together with Canadians from coast to coast and pat ourselves on the back for something other than various ice-related sports and sports-related doughnut shops. (Not that we don’t love ice-related... find out more
Why PNP is getting to know what women want
April 20, 2015
It may not have been the plan from the outset, but Vancouver-based Pacific Northwest Pictures is definitely getting to know what Canadian women want. The upstart distributor’s latest acquisition, the Helen Hunt-directed Ride, is the latest in a roster of female-focused films acquired by the company... find out more
Helen Hunt's Ride to be Released in Canada Through Pacific Northwest Pictures
April 09, 2015
TORONTO, Thursday, April 9, 2015:  RIDE, the latest film from the Academy Award®-winning actress, writer, director Helen Hunt has been acquired by Pacific Northwest Pictures and is set to open theatrically in select cities on May 1st and then to premiere on demand on May 12th.   The Canadian... find out more
Ben’s at Home heads to Pacific Northwest Pictures for Canada
March 30, 2015
Pacific Northwest Pictures has picked up the Canadian rights to writer/director Mars Horodyski’s romantic comedy Ben’s At Home. The acquisition came ahead of the indie screening at the Canadian Film Fest in Toronto on the weekend. The film, which was cowritten by lead actor Dan... find out more
Q&A: Patricia Clarkson on her Canadian-made movie, filming in Georgian Bay and her hunky co-star
March 27, 2015
The actress Patricia Clarkson stars inOctober Gale, a suspense film written and directed by the Montreal-born, Toronto-based filmmaker Ruba Nadda. She plays a Toronto doctor who retreats to her remote cottage to mourn her husband’s death – that is, until a stranger (Scott Speedman) washes... find out more
October Gale star Patricia Clarkson found a kindred spirit in Canadian director Ruba Nadda
March 26, 2015
Patricia Clarkson got a good taste of Canadian weather while filming October Gale during a Georgian Bay spring. “The ice just wouldn’t melt,” Clarkson says over the phone from her New York City apartment, “but [director Ruba Nadda] said, OK, we just have to start... find out more
Scott Speedman Talks 'October Gale'
March 25, 2015
ScottSpeedman talks about his new thriller "October Gale" and why he decided to shoot the project in Ontario's cottage country. He also gives the low down on working with Oscar nominee Patricia Clarkson, and discusses their sizzling on-screen chemistry. http://www.etcanada.com/top+stories/scott+speedman+talks+october+gale/video.html?v=418313283973#video find out more
October Gale wallops director, actors alike
March 24, 2015
TORONTO — For her last two films, Cairo Time and Inescapable, Toronto’s Ruba Nadda shot in Egypt, Lebanon and South Africa and dealt with all the issues of dragging a production into foreign territory. But it was when she came back home to Canada to make her next film, October Gale, that... find out more
Coming Soon: October Gale
March 23, 2015
Coming Soon, an ongoing editorial feature from Playback, highlights the distribution strategies for soon-to-be released Canadian films. Here, we speak to Pacific Northwest Pictures’ Emily Alden, VP production and development, and Lindsey Hodgson, PNP’s director of distribution,... find out more
Patricia Clarkson springs into action in solid suspense thriller
March 23, 2015
Forget Liam Neeson and "Taken 7," or whatever carbon-copied version they're on now. Forget Sean Penn in the copycat thriller "The Gunman", which lands in theaters this weekend. You want Hollywood's most intriguing gray-templed action star? Look no further than Patricia Clarkson. The veteran New Orleans... find out more
Miss Julie: An intimate and intense viewing experience.
March 13, 2015
After a successful debut at the Toronto International Film Festival, actress and screenwriter Liv Ullmann's exquisite film adaptation of August Stringberg's Miss Julie opens in Canadian theatres beginning March 13, 2015. Ullmann's production transplants the famous drama from Sweden to a majestic country... find out more
After the Ball modernizes Cinderella
March 12, 2015
After the Ball is a beautiful revision of the traditional Cinderella story. With so many different versions out there, it is refreshing to see one that not only modernizes but also adapts the story in such a way that it becomes more than a simple retelling of a well-known tale. The film focuses... find out more
Chace Crawford to star in upcoming ABC drama pilot Boom
March 11, 2015
Gossip Girl alum Chace Crawford has been cast in a leading role on Boom, ABC’s upcoming drama pilot. The show will revolve around the recent North Dakota oil boom, with other cast members including Don Johnson (Miami Vice) and Delroy Lindo (The Cider House Rules). Crawford will... find out more
Gem Of A Julie - NOW Magazine Review
March 11, 2015
At a quiet Irish manor circa 1890, the baron's daughter (Jessica Chastain) torments her father's valet (Colin Farrell) and cook (Samantha Morton) until they find a way to turn the tables. August Strindberg's scathing examination of sexual and class politics gets a respectful screen treatment in the... find out more
'October Gale' Writer-Director Ruba Nadda on Widowhood and Shooting During the Coldest Winter in Decades
March 06, 2015
Ruba Nadda is a Montreal-born, Toronto-based filmmaker. She attended York University and the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. She has written and directed several feature films, including "Sabah" (2005), "Cairo Time" (2009), and "Inescapable" (2012). In her latest film, the taut psychologically... find out more
Change your clothes, change your fate: After the Ball’s Cinderella take
February 27, 2015
Hollywood loves a fashion film almost as much as a makeover story and has a glossy tradition of cinematic fairy tales à la mode, with a side of Cinderella. Give or take a totemic ball gown and glass slipper. The latest is the Canadian film After the Ball, set in the garment industry of Montreal. Change... find out more
After The Ball is a lot of fun - NOW Magazine
February 26, 2015
It's predictable and a little bit ridiculous, but After The Ball is a lot of fun. In this fractured take on Cinderella, talented aspiring fashion designer Kate (Portia Doubleday) starts work at the company owned by her father (Chris Noth) only to discover that her stepmother (Lauren Holly) and stepsisters... find out more
After the Ball: a fairy tale confection made in Montreal
February 26, 2015
As Jane Silverstone-Segal tells it, the movie After the Ball is a love letter to her mother, the late Anne Silverstone, queen of vintage in Montreal for generations of costumers, decorators and fashion fans. An emotional Silverstone-Segal, an executive producer of the film and CEO of Le... find out more
HELLO! Canada: 3 questions with Anna Hopkins of After The Ball
February 24, 2015
THREE QUESTIONS WITH … Anna Hopkins Rising star Anna Hopkins is quickly making a name for herself in Hollywood. The 28-year-old Montreal native followed up her breakout role as Paul Giamatti’s daughter in 2010’s Barney’s Version with guest spots on Lost Girl, Arrow and The... find out more
Lauren Holly on 'After the Ball' and Canada
February 22, 2015
Actress Lauren Holly says she feels a "special connection" to her new movie, "After the Ball," a modern-day fairy tale set in the fashion world. For one thing, it led to her current clothing line with Canadian retailer Le Chateau. It's also her first "100 per cent Canadian" feature film, which makes... find out more
PNP takes Canadian rights to What We Did on Our Holiday
February 20, 2015
Pacific Northwest Pictures is banking on Gone Girl star Rosamund Pike catching some gold dust with her Oscar best actress nomination after acquiring the Canadian rights to the British family comedy What We Did on Our Holiday. The indie film, from the directing-screenwriting team of Andy Hamilton... find out more
After the Ball frames why film and fashion go hand-in-hand.
February 11, 2015
Directed by Sean Garrity, this modern day fairy tale is set in the world of contemporary fashion.  After the Ball is a Cinderella story about Kate (Portia Doubleday), whose dream is to design for couturier houses. Although she is a bright new talent, Kate can’t get a job. No one trusts the... find out more
Trouble Blows In For Patricia Clarkson, Tim Roth, And Scott Speedman In Trailer For Thriller 'October Gale'
January 29, 2015
Patricia Clarkson is one of the most talented and versatile American actresses working today, so it’s always a nice surprise to see her headlining a feature, even if said feature looks like a generic home invasion thriller. At least, that’s what the recently released trailer for “October... find out more
After The Ball screening and Social at The Thompson Hotel
January 28, 2015
The countdown is on! After The Ball opens in theatres in one month’s time (Feb 27th), and to help drum up excitement, we partnered with Pacific Northwest Pictures and Le Château to host an intimate screening and cocktail event at the Thompson Hotel. Fashion media, style bloggers... find out more
See the exclusive trailer and poster for 'October Gale' with Patricia Clarkson
January 25, 2015
Remember On Golden Pond? Well, October Gale is sorta like that—except the husband is dead and the young man who comes to visit the idyllic country getaway is a fugitive with a gunshot wound. Oh, and the wife is a crack shot who has to defend herself when a figurative and literal storm brews... find out more
After The Ball's Runway Royalty Contest: Win a $1000 shopping spree & shoes for a year from Le Château
January 12, 2015
Produced by Don Carmody (Good Will Hunting, Chicago) and directed by Sean Garrity (Lucid, My Awkward Sexual Adventure) After The Ball is the cutest fashion fairytale ever that opens in theatres across Canada on February 27th. To celebrate this major Canadian release we’re thrilled... find out more
Pacific Northwest to release The World Made Straight in Canada
January 05, 2015
Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired all Canadian rights to the coming-of-age thriller The World Made Straight, which stars Jeremy Irvine and Minka Kelly. The Vancouver-based indie distributor plans a near-simultaneous theatrical and VOD release ahead of Millennium Entertainment releasing the movie... find out more
KCRW: My Favorite Films of 2014, including Le Week-End
December 19, 2014
I always feel a little out of sync with the larger film-loving world. But 2014 was a doozy. This was the year of Boyhood, Budapest Hotel, Whiplash and Snowpiercer, movies that I really appreciated, kinda liked, couldn’t make it through and just thought were ridiculous,... find out more
Critics' Choice Awards: Jessica Chastain Named 2014's MVP of Film
December 16, 2014
Jessica Chastain, Kevin Costner and Ron Howard will receive special awards at the 20th Critics' Choice Movie Awards, the Broadcast Film Critics' Association, which hosts the event, announced on Friday. The honors were determined by the BFCA's executive committee and will be presented during the Critics'... find out more
Whistler Film Festival Studio Diaries: Five minutes with Chace Crawford and Cameron Labine
December 16, 2014
Even before Chace Crawford made his way to our photo studio at the Whistler Film Festival, his star power was felt—or at least heard. Wow…the guy’s got a commanding voice. “He’s the guy you get to just read the phone book,” remarked our fab photog Evaan Kheraj.... find out more
Miss Julie Review: "Undeniable power; Chastain is, quite frankly, extraordinary"
December 15, 2014
August Strindberg felt that the entire world had gone crazy. The "norms" of class hierarchies and gender roles were starting to shatter, and he saw chaos pouring into that vacuum. His 1888 play "Miss Julie" is the prime example, although it's evident in all of his other disturbing, great modern... find out more
WFF 2014 Review - After the Ball: An endlessly entertaining comedy that fires on all cylinders.
December 10, 2014
We all have kryptonite. I have more kryptonite than most. If the movie involves dancing, cheerleading, drumlines, high school drama, Shakespeare, modern interpretations of Shakespeare, or re-telling fairy tales, I’ve probably seen it or want to see it. I simply can’t help myself. This... find out more
Gossip Girl Boy Grows Up and Heads for the Hills
December 08, 2014
Chace Crawford had a good time being the good guy on Gossip Girl, but now the actor is ready to grow up. “I am about to be 30 next year so it is a great transition phase,” said Crawford who played Nate Archibald on the hit TV series. “Now new possibilities form when you are 24 or... find out more
Whistler Film Festival: Mountain Men brings out brotherly bond
December 04, 2014
If you only have a month to make a movie, wasting time is not a luxury you can afford especially when you are shooting in the mountains at the tail-end of winter. So that said, directing your brother in a film you wrote is what you can call a win-win situation. That was the case for writer/director... find out more
Night Moves, one of the year's best indies. released on home video today.
December 02, 2014
One of the year’s best indies comes to home video today. Night Moves, Kelly Reichardt’s methodical eco-thriller, is a simmering drama about the moral consequences of radical activism. I really liked this one… it starts with a slow burn and then swells with a noir-ish tension as the... find out more
10 films to see at Whistler Film Festival, including After The Ball
November 26, 2014
While Backcountry, Pro Patrol, Mountain Men and Snowman cover aspects of mountain culture, plenty of other films at this year’s Whistler Film Festival don’t have anything to do with bears, snow or skiing. Here are some of the other movies that have filmgoers buzzing. The Imitation Game The opening... find out more
Whistler Film Festival Announces Signature Series Honourees, including Don Carmody of After The Ball
November 20, 2014
Over 350 filmmakers including actors, producers, writers, directors, industry executives and musicians, are part of the 14th annual Whistler Film Festival + Summit (December 3-7), including an impressive lineup of star-studded guests and honourees, a 100% plus increase in guests from the previous... find out more
Jessica Chastain Deserves Awards Attention for the Unforgettable 'Miss Julie'
November 17, 2014
What a shame that Jessica Chastain's fiery turn in "Miss Julie" will likely go unnoticed by Academy voters. Director Liv Ullmann's complex take on August Strindberg's early feminist play may be too stagey for some, but this is Best Actress material for Chastain, who injects vitality into a repressed... find out more
WFF: Six Canadian films will compete in the 11th annual Boros Competition for Best Canadian Feature
November 12, 2014
Six Canadian films will compete in the 11th annual Boros Competition for Best Canadian Feature at the Whistler Film Festival next month, which runs from December 3rd to 7th. The Films: Sean Garrity’s cross-dressing fashion fairy tale After the Ball with Portia Doubleday,... find out more
After The Ball star Lauren Holly adds a dose of holiday style to Le Château
November 07, 2014
It’s high time shoppers rediscover the Canadian clothing company Le Château, at least according to actress Lauren Holly. And the Montreal-based company, which was founded in 1959, has done just that — with a little dose of celebrity style from the star’s capsule collection,... find out more
Freestyle to release Three Night Stand
October 29, 2014
Freestyle has acquired US theatrical and digital rights from Myriad Pictures to the rom-com, which Myriad will be selling at the AFM. Three Night Stand stars Emmanuelle Chriqui, Sam Huntington and Meaghan Rath in the story of a married couple who go to a ski lodge run by the man’s ex-girlfriend. Pat... find out more
Game of Thrones star brings passion to A Thousand Times Good Night
October 28, 2014
When Game of Thrones star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau first met Norwegian director and screenwriter Erik Poppe to discuss a role in A Thousand Times Good Night, a gripping drama about a war-zone photojournalist, it took the actor a few minutes to get the picture. Poppe didn’t want the hunky Dane to... find out more
Juliette Binoche on 1,000 Times Good Night
October 28, 2014
In 1,000 Times Good Night, Juliette Binoche plays a photographer in a tricky situation. In the movie's first scene, as part of an assignment to document suicide bombers, an extremist group has allowed her to shoot them as they pray and dress a woman with explosives. After she exits their car, she... find out more
Whistler unveils 11 world bows in Canadian film slate, including After The Ball and Mountain Men
October 28, 2014
The Whistler Film Festival has filled its main slate with 11 debuts for Canadian films, including the latest films by Carl Bessai, Jeffrey P. Nesker and Joel Ashton McCarthy. Whistler earlier announced world bows for Sean Garrity’s After the Ball, Sophie Deraspe’s Wolves and Cameron Labine’s... find out more
Juliette Binoche relates to photographer's passion in '1,000 Times Good Night'
October 22, 2014
Juliette Binoche is known for pouring everything into her performances. For her role as a dedicated war photographer in "1,000 Times Good Night," she met with top journalists who have captured global atrocities — not only to understand their work, but their personal lives and motivations. "It just... find out more
A Thousand Times Good Night's Juliette Binoche on Making Quentin Tarantino Cry and Why Kristen Stewart is a 'Great Actress'.
October 21, 2014
Juliette Binoche, also known as La Binoche, is one of the most acclaimed actresses of her generation. The first actress to win the Triple Crown (Best Actress awards at Cannes, Venice, and Berlin), she's appeared in some of the most widely-praised films of the last several decades, and worked with... find out more
After The Ball and Mountain Men to make their World Premiere in Borsos Competition.
October 14, 2014
The Whistler Film Festival is pleased to announce the six films that will compete in the 11th annual Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature Film presented by the Directors Guild of Canada - British Columbia for a cash prize of $15,000, the second largest cash film festival prize for a Canadian... find out more
Pacific Northwest Pictures grabs all local rights to Liv Ullman's sixth picture
October 09, 2014
After a premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, Liv Ullman's Miss Julie, which stars Jessica Chastain, has secured Canadian distribution via Pacific Northwest Pictures. Wrekin Hill Entertainment earlier acquired all U.S. rights to Ullmann's sixth film. The deal with Wild Bunch follows... find out more
Diving into Canada’s evolving indie distributor game
October 07, 2014
The Canadian indie film market, like nature, abhors a vacuum. So in the wake of Entertainment One’s acquisition of Alliance Atlantis in 2012, it is only natural that a new generation of upstart indie distributors has stepped in to fill the void. Led by industry veterans, this new breed of distributor,... find out more
VIFF 2014: 'October Gale' Is A Balanced Film With Complex Characters
October 06, 2014
Toronto-based doctor Helen Matthews (Patricia Clarkson) is mourning the loss of her husband (Callum Keith Rennie) and retreats to their family cottage in Georgian Bay, Ontario to process what has happened. Having never ventured to the remote island alone, she quickly familiarizes herself with how... find out more
Some fine dam films hitting Victoria
September 19, 2014
If you hear the word “damnation!” exclaimed at Cinecenta next Wednesday or Thursday, it won’t necessarily be the sound of someone swearing. It refers to the title of a film about the proliferation of dams in the U.S., which though erected with good intentions, also have a dark... find out more
'A Thousand Times Good Night' Wins Norway's Amanda Awards
September 18, 2014
A Thousand Times Good Night, the war photographer drama from Norwegian director Erik Poppe, was the big winner at Norway's  (recent) Amanda Awards, taking home best Norwegian feature, best cinematography and best score at the awards ceremony this weekend. The English-language feature... find out more
TIFF Women Directors: Meet Ruba Nadda - 'October Gale'
September 10, 2014
Ruba Nadda is a Montreal-born, Toronto-based filmmaker. She attended York University and the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. She has written and directed several feature films, including Sabah (2005) and Cairo Time (2009), and Inescapable (2012). In her latest film,... find out more
'October Gale' creator thrilled with Cinéfest's opening gala slot
September 05, 2014
The weather wasn't exactly co-operative this past spring as Toronto filmmaker Ruba Nadda shot her latest film, "October Gale," at a cottage on Lake Joseph in the Muskokas. Even though it was April, the lake was still frozen, and she had to wait for the ice to melt before she started shooting. “My actors... find out more
Night Moves a haunting environmental tale
August 29, 2014
It’s the sense of alienation that lingers. Like a morning haze that just never burns off, Kelly Reichardt’s latest movie Night Moves hangs over you with a slightly icy chill. It’s creepy, unsettling and depressing, but that’s what makes it so insightful on so many levels because... find out more
Pacific Northwest Pictures acquires Leap 4 Your Life
August 28, 2014
Pacific Northwest Pictures has picked up all Canadian rights to director Gary Hawe’s mockumentary Leap 4 Your Life. The feature length film, with Taylor Hill as actor, writer and producer, focuses on a dysfunctional teen dance quartet with big dreams and questionable talent. PNP will release... find out more
Patricia Clarkson and Scott Speedman Take On the Elements in 'October Gale'
August 28, 2014
Patricia Clarkson and Canadian filmmaker Ruba Nadda have paired up once again (after the 2009 romantic drama "Cairo Time")  for the man vs. man and man vs. nature thriller, "October Gale." A violent spring storm brings a mysterious, injured man (Scott Speedman) to the doorstep of recently... find out more
Tatiana Maslany has a lot going on: The Orphan Black sensation keeps feet on the ground with Canadian road film Cas & Dylan
August 26, 2014
Just before Tatiana Maslany started working on a little science-fiction show about clones – have you heard of Orphan Black, by the way? People seem to like it – the actress made a road movie in Western Canada called Cas & Dylan.   Directed by Jason Priestley, it’s a nice... find out more
Pacific Northwest acquires A Thousand Times Goodnight
August 25, 2014
Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired the Canadian rights to the Juliette Binoche-starrer A Thousand Times Goodnight, and plans a fall theatrical release. Norway’s Erik Poppe directed the film about a war photographer (Binoche) struggling to reconcile her job with her family life and who must... find out more
Night Moves: Paranoia is palpable in this dark exploration of altruism
August 19, 2014
It’s not uncommon for filmmakers to advise critics to avoid spoiling the endings of their movies. It is slightly strange, however that such an admonishment would come from Kelly Reichardt, a writer-director whose quietly remarkable body of work – including the Toronto Film Critics’ Association-award... find out more
Cam Labine's Mountain Men to open Borsos competition at WFF 2014
August 14, 2014
The Borsos Competition for Best Canadian Feature presented by the Directors Guild of Canada, British Columbia celebrates its 11th anniversary this year offering the second largest cash film festival prize for a Canadian film in the country, with additional awards for Best Performance, Best Screenwriting... find out more
She Does the City: Q &A with Tatiana Maslany
August 12, 2014
We recently caught up with Canada’s sweetest and most versatile export, Tatiana Maslany, to chat about Toronto spots she loves, road trip tunes and her newest flick with Richard Dreyfuss, Cas and Dylan, available on home video TODAY! SDTC: What was your first job that felt like a real ‘break’?... find out more
Night Moves, reviewed: Thoughtful thriller takes the silent-but-deadly approach
August 08, 2014
If you had to pigeonhole writer/director Kelly Reichardt — which would be a disservice to both pigeons and holes, by the way — you could say she is a maker of road movies. In 2006, Old Joy gave us two old pals on a camping trip. 2008’s Wendy and Lucy had a woman and her... find out more
Jason Priestley honoured as first Whistler Film Festival ambassador
August 07, 2014
Actor and director Jason Priestley has been named the first-ever ambassador for the Whistler Film Festival (WFF). Vancouver-born Priestley, who shot to fame as heartthrob Brandon Walsh in Beverley Hills, 90210 in the 1990s, works and lives in Los Angeles. His debut as a director, Cas & Dylan, starring... find out more
Night Moves a cool rumination on eco-terrorism: Review
August 07, 2014
For a film about such an emotionally charged subject — environmental activism and eco-terrorism — Night Moves is an unexpectedly cool customer. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing in the hands of Indy filmmaker Kelly Reichardt, who treats the subject with such careful deliberation... find out more
'Night Moves' is that rare breed of quiet thriller
August 07, 2014
In order for the earth to replenish all those good things we need like water and food, we ultimately have to take care of it. While there are plenty of ways to leave less of a carbon footprint on our planet there are some of feel that more extreme measures are necessary. "Night Moves" is a story... find out more
Personal Torment Spurs Environmental Radicals in 'Night Moves'
August 07, 2014
An eco-terrorist's deep-rooted personal troubles are at the heart of Jesse Eisenberg's latest film, "Night Moves," but don't go digging for any clues to the origins of his torment. Eisenberg said they simply aren't in the script, nor do they need to be, since his tightly wound character has little... find out more
TIFF Reveals homegrown award season contenders like Kyle Thomas' "The Valley Below" and Ruba Nadda's "October Gale."
August 05, 2014
The Toronto International Film Festival on Wednesday revealed its Canadian lineup, including world premieres for homegrown films by Ruba Nadda, Sturla Gunnarsson and Kyle Thomas. Away from its Hollywood star-making machine, the September event will debut Nadda's October Gale, which stars Patricia... find out more
NOW Toronto's Norm Wilner Q&A's with Kelly Reichardt
August 04, 2014
Kelly Reichardt makes small, focused movies about great big stories. Wendy And Lucy used a young drifter’s separation from her dog to take the pulse of a nation teetering on the edge of economic collapse. Meek’s Cutoff turned a tale of 19th-century pioneers lost in the Oregon territory... find out more
'Cas & Dylan' hits DVD & VOD August 12
August 03, 2014
Hey, Orphan Black fans, do you want to see another side of the talented Tatiana Maslany? Maslany scores another winner with her vibrant performance as Dylan alongside Oscar-winner Richard Dreyfuss in Cas & Dylan. Cas & Dylan, the directorial narrative feature debut of Jason Priestley, comes to... find out more
PNP's Great Canadian Road Trip Giveaway
April 07, 2014
Pacific Northwest Pictures is excited to announce it will be giving away amazing prizes from the Wickaninnish Inn, British Columbia Automobile Association, and Tim Horton’s as part of its “Great Canadian Road Trip” contest, in conjunction with its new film in release, CAS & DYLAN. ... find out more
PNP appoints Director of Distribution & Acquisitions
April 05, 2014
With Pacific Northwest Pictures reaping box office rewards, the indie distributor has promoted Lindsey Hodgson to director of distribution and acquisitions. Hodgson joined PNP in January 2013 after earlier distribution stints at Alliance Films and Union Pictures. PNP is now busily expanding Roger Michell’s... find out more
Cas & Dylan Wins TIFF Film Circuit Audience Award
April 04, 2014
Cas & Dylan, the directorial debut from Jason Priestley, has been selected as the best Canadian film in the 10th edition of TIFF’s Film Circuit People’s Choice Awards. The Film Circuit national outreach program brings Canadian and international independent films to communities across... find out more
Tatiana Maslany wins Canadian Screen Award
March 10, 2014
TORONTO -- "Orphan Black" star Tatiana Maslany, Denis Villeneuve's surreal mind-bender "Enemy" and the action adventure tale "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones" were among the early winners at the Canadian Screen Awards, which host Martin Short launched with a slew of Rob Ford jokes, barbs... find out more
Lindsay Duncan talks Le Week-end
March 08, 2014
In Britain, she is something of a national treasure: beautiful, elegant, sophisticated and unafraid of roles that are none of those things. She has had a long and high-profile theater career that has included star turns in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof”... find out more
Cheap Thrills delivers exactly what it promises, and then some.
March 07, 2014
Cheap Thrills delivers exactly what it promises, and then some. First time director E.L. Katz made waves at SXSW last year with Cheap Thrills, to the point where distribution companies entered a bidding war for rights to this film. “I didn’t see it until it premiered, which was actually... find out more
IndieWire names 'Le Weekend' a March Must-see
March 07, 2014
 Last year’s "Before Midnight" ended with its feuding lovers imagining what it might be like to grow old together. While it involves a different set of characters, Roger Michell’s "Le Week-end" may answer that question anyway, as it involves a near-geriatric British couple (Jim... find out more
E.L. Katz talks, "Cheap Thrills"
February 19, 2014
E.L. Katz is chatting with me via Skype from Denmark early on Tuesday morning, but not because someone is dared him to go there or is paying him to be there. He’s actually generously giving me some of his now hard earned downtime to talk about his debut feature Cheap Thrills (opening this weekend... find out more
Relationships take a harsh boning in THREE NIGHT STAND
January 25, 2014
In the press notes for Three Night Stand, opening today (January 25) at the Rio Theatre, actor Sam Huntington observes that “it’s always a bit weird when you have to bone someone on screen.” For her own part, Meaghan Rath—Huntington’s co-star... find out more
PNP to have a 3 Night Stand with Canada
January 20, 2014
Pacific Northwest Pictures is pleased to announce that Three Night Stand will open theatrically in Canada starting Saturday, January 25th in Vancouver at the Rio.  It will then premiere in Toronto on February 1st at The Royal, followed by an engagement in Montreal at the Cinema du Parc beginning... find out more
Filmmaker Pat Kiely on How to Write a Script When No One Cares But You
January 17, 2014
Canadian filmmaker Pat Kiely has been making movies since high school, but Three Night Stand represents a milestone in the 34 year old’s career. With a combination of funding from the Canadian government and his own, now maxed-out credit cards, Kiely raised enough money to shoot his romantic... find out more
'Being Human' star Meaghan Rath teases Season 4 and her Indie film at Slamdance
January 15, 2014
While Huntington’s Josh and Hager’s Nora are dealing with Josh being stuck in wolf form on Being Human, it’s Huntington and Rath who play a couple in the romantic comedy Three Night Stand, which has its U.S. premiere at this month’s Slamdance Film Festival. They... find out more
Canadian Screen Awards: Maslany nominated for Best Lead Actress, feature film for CAS & DYLAN
January 13, 2014
Sci-fi series Orphan Black, TV comedy Less Than Kind and Denis Villeneuve's psychological thriller Enemy are among the top nominees for the Canadian Screen Awards. Organizers unveiled film, television and digital media contenders in dozens of categories at a packed press event in Toronto today. “This... find out more
Three Night Stand featured on ET Canada
January 10, 2014
Canadians are making some serious moves in Hollywood lately, with Sarah Gadon haunting her adult daughter in "Maps to the Stars", and Emmanuelle Chriqui playing the one that got away in "Three Night Stand". find out more
Canada 2013 In Review: PNP Steps up
January 02, 2014
The takeover of Alliance Films by Entertainment One to create a Canadian global-distribution giant left a vacuum that a host of new Canadian distribution veterans in 2013 moved to fill.  The new eOne-Alliance Films combo took the top-end of the market, leaving other upstarts like Laurie May's... find out more
'Cas & Dylan' star Tatiana Maslany recieves Golden Globe Nomination
December 12, 2013
Maslany, who was born in Regina, will compete for the coveted best actress in a TV drama category for her critically acclaimed turn in the sci-fi series Orphan Black. Canadian rising star Tatiana Maslany earned a coveted best dramatic TV actress nomination for her widely-praised performance in the... find out more
Jason Priestley's Directorial Debut Wins Audience Award at Whistler
December 11, 2013
Jason Priestley's directorial debut, Cas & Dylan, won the audience award at the Whistler Film Festival. Pacific Northwest Pictures plans a Canadian release for the Richard Dreyfuss and Tatiana Maslany-starring road trip comedy about a 61-year-old dying man who plans to end his life on his own... find out more
PNP will have a Three Night Stand at Slamdance 2014
December 11, 2013
Pacific Northwest Pictures is excited to announce that its film Three Night Stand has been selected for the 2014 Slamdance Film Festival.  The film will be participating in the Beyondcategory during the festival, which takes place January 17-23, 2014 in Park City, Utah. The film, written and directed... find out more
Lindsay Duncan Honored by British Independent Film Awards
December 09, 2013
The British Independent Film Awards were announced Dec. 8 at Old Billingsgate Market in London. James Nesbitt hosted.   Tony winner Lindsay Duncan (Private Lives, Les Liaisons Dangereuses) won Best Actress for her role in "Le Week-End," and James McAvoy, who recently starred in Macbeth in... find out more
Tatiana Maslany Repeats as Best Actor at Whistler Film Festival
December 08, 2013
Orphan Black breakout star Tatiana Maslany on Sunday repeated as best actor at the Whistler Film Festival. Maslany won for best performance in a Borsos competition film for her role in Cas & Dylan, where she stars opposite Richard Dreyfuss in the Whistler opener by director Jason Priestley. She... find out more
Jason Priestley directs Richard Dreyfuss, Tatiana Maslany in Whistler opener Cas & Dylan
December 04, 2013
Jason Priestley hit the road for Cas & Dylan, his feature directing debut opening the Whistler Film Festival Wednesday, and found himself in familiar territory. In fact, the Winnipeg-to-B.C. route he took while making the comedy-drama with Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss and Orphan Black’s... find out more
Jeremy Irons embraces the dark and hidden side
November 29, 2013
There’s a line that Jeremy Irons delivers in his latest film, Night Train to Lisbon, opening this weekend, that offers an insight into how this Oscar-winning actor selects his roles. As a bottled-up Swiss schoolteacher who suddenly finds himself open to all the possibilities in... find out more
PNP Checks into Le Week-End
November 20, 2013
Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired all Canadian rights to Roger Michell’s rom-com Le Week-End starring Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan and Jeff Goldblum.   Hanif Kureishi wrote the screenplay to the story about a couple who return to the site of their honeymoon in Paris to... find out more
Emily Hampshire reflects on making ‘All the Wrong Reasons’ at Zellers
October 30, 2013
TORONTO – Filming overnight in a Halifax Zellers store on the set of All the Wrong Reasons was like fulfilling “a childhood fantasy in a way,” says actress Emily Hampshire. “Being able to go into a store when it’s closed down and you can take everything and play with... find out more
PNP Announces Canadian Theatrical Release of 'All the Wrong Reasons'
October 24, 2013
Pacific Northwest Pictures is honoured to announce that ALL THE WRONG REASONS is set to open theatrically at Cineplex Theatres across the country starting Friday, November 1st in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Halifax and Victoria, with additional cities and dates to be announced shortly. Shot in Halifax,... find out more
Violet & Daisy kicks off a theatrical run in Canada this weekend...features the late James Gandolfini in a beautifully acted supporting role.
October 18, 2013
Although it played in 2011 at TIFF and saw a release in the US earlier this year, the bizarre hitwoman action drama Violet & Daisy kicks off a theatrical run in Canada this weekend most likely because it features the late James Gandolfini in a beautifully acted supporting role. The rest of the... find out more
James Gandolfini and Alexis Bledel's 'Violet & Daisy' to Get Canadian Release
October 16, 2013
TORONTO – October 16, 2013: – Pacific Northwest Pictures announced today that they have acquired all Canadian rights to writer-director Geoffrey Fletcher’s VIOLET & DAISY starring Saoirse Ronan (Hanna), Alexis Bledel (“Gilmore Girls”), and James Gandolfini (“The... find out more
PNP Acquires Festival Fave Cheap Thrills
September 18, 2013
TORONTO: Pacific Northwest Pictures announced today that they have acquired all Canadian rights to E.L. Katz’s breakout hit CHEAP THRILLS from international sales company Films Distribution. The film was recently awarded the “New Flesh Award” for Best First Feature at the Fantasia International... find out more
Cory Monteith's 'All the Wrong Reasons' Wins Discovery Award
September 09, 2013
Toronto: Cory Monteith's 'All the Wrong Reasons' Wins Discovery Award 9/9/2013 by Etan Vlessing TORONTO – Call it the Cory Monteith halo effect. As prize-giving at the Toronto Film Festival got underway Monday, Canadian director Gia Milani picked up the juried Grolsch Film Works Discovery... find out more
Jason Priestley’s Cas & Dylan to open Whistler Film Festival
August 20, 2013
Jason Priestley’s Cas & Dylan to open Whistler Film Festival By Etan Vlessing | Playback Jason Priestley’s theatrical road movie Cas & Dylan is to open the Whistler Film Festival, organizers said Monday.Whistler will also close on December 8 with the... find out more
All The Wrong Reasons Selected for 2013 Toronto International Film Festival
August 07, 2013
Pacific Northwest Pictures is excited to announce that  All The Wrong Reasons has been selected for the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, where it will have its world premiere this September.  The film is the feature debut from award-winning writer and director Gia Milani, and... find out more
Cory Monteith’s last film All The Wrong Reasons heads to TIFF
August 07, 2013
Cory Monteith’s last film All The Wrong Reasons heads to TIFF This year’s Toronto International Film Festival lineup revealed BY CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI, THE CANADIAN PRESS AUGUST 7, 2013 | Vancouver Sun TORONTO — Jake Gyllenhaal, Daniel Radcliffe and the late Cory Monteith... find out more
Movie Review: The English Teacher is a comedy with a few teachable moments
May 30, 2013
Movie review: The English Teacher is a comedy with a few teachable moments Julianne Moore fearless in role of spinsterish teacher who becomes an unlikely hero  BY KATHERINE MONK, POSTMEDIA NEWS MAY 30, 2013 CAPSULE REVIEW: The English Teacher – Julianne Moore stars as Ms. Linda... find out more
Michael Angarano woos ‘The English Teacher’
May 29, 2013
Michael Angarano woos ‘The English Teacher’ By Victoria Ahearn  The Canadian Press TORONTO – Actor Michael Angarano has brought his boyish charm to a variety of roles, from the young version of an aspiring rock journalist in the film “Almost Famous” to an... find out more
PNP Acquires "Cheap Thrills" from Films Distribution
May 20, 2013
Films Distribution sells Cheap Thrills 20 May, 2013 | By Melanie Goodfellow | Screen Daily EXCLUSIVE: A Castle in Italy also racking up sales.Paris-based sales company Films Distribution (FD) have been enjoying a raft of sales with it black comedy E.L. Katz’s Cheap Thrills.The... find out more
Jason Priestley: 'I'm surprised I made it out of Beverly Hills 90210'
January 01, 0001
Come with me on a journey back to the early 90s. To bleached denim and bare midriffs. To when Beverly Hills 90210 was the biggest teen show on Earth and Jason Priestley was its biggest star. His character, Brandon Walsh, was the perfect all-American high-school heartthrob: white T-shirt, big quiff... find out more
Au Contraire film festival tackles the demons of mental illness
January 01, 0001
There is no sugar-coating its mandate: Au Contraire is a film festival on mental illness. The third edition, running Tuesday, Oct. 27 to Friday, Oct. 30 at the Maxwell Cummings Auditorium in the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, will once again showcase films that challenge the myths and change the... find out more
Coming Soon: October Gale
January 01, 0001
Coming Soon, an ongoing editorial feature from Playback, highlights the distribution strategies for soon-to-be released Canadian films. Here, we speak to Pacific Northwest Pictures’ Emily Alden, VP production and development, and Lindsey Hodgson, PNP’s director of distribution,... find out more
Contest: Great Canadian Road Trip Giveaway
January 01, 0001
Pacific Northwest Pictures is excited to announce it will be giving away amazing prizes from the Wickaninnish Inn, British Columbia Automobile Association, and Tim Horton’s as part of its “Great Canadian Road Trip” contest, in conjunction with its new film in release, CAS & DYLAN. ... find out more
Filmmakers Mars Horodyski and Dan Abramovici put heart, soul and all their money into indie film Ben’s At Home
January 01, 0001
Dan Abramovici and Mars Horodyski cleaned out their bank accounts to make ultra low-budget romantic comedy Ben’s At Home. And while nobody was paid, or has made a dime since — aside from canine star Schnitzel, who got all the kibble she could handle — that hasn’t stopped... find out more
'Le Wek-end" is a witty and romantic look at a long married couple.
January 01, 0001
Opening March 21st in Toronto,Vancouver and Montreal, the international hit film “Le Week-end” offers audiences something they don’t often get: an honest look at a marriage thirty odd years in – long after the “I do” that ends most Hollywood films.  Directed... find out more
Pacific Northwest Acquires ‘A PERFECT DAY’ Starring Benicio Del Toro and Tim Robbins
January 01, 0001
Pacific Northwest Pictures has acquired all Canadian rights to A Perfect Day, starring Benicio Del Toro and Tim Robbins, from WestEnd Films at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. The film had its world premiere in Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight, will have its screening in Toronto on... find out more
Plenty of Laughs can be Found with Cas & Dylan
January 01, 0001
Not many road trip style movies are both tearfully funny and musically joyous at the same time. In Cas & Dylan, the meeting of two unlikely individuals creates a deeply moving tale and a great character building drama. When Cas Pepper (Richard Dreyfuss) is a widowed oncologist diagnosed with... find out more
PNP to have a 3 Night Stand with Canada
January 01, 0001
Pacific Northwest Pictures is pleased to announce that Three Night Stand will open theatrically in Canada starting Saturday, January 25th in Vancouver at the Rio.  It will then premiere in Toronto on February 1st at The Royal, followed by an engagement in Montreal at the Cinema du Parc beginning... find out more
Relationships take a harsh boning in THREE NIGHT STAND
January 01, 0001
In the press notes for Three Night Stand, opening today (January 25) at the Rio Theatre, actor Sam Huntington observes that “it’s always a bit weird when you have to bone someone on screen.” For her own part, Meaghan Rath—Huntington’s co-star... find out more
Three Night Stand featured on ET Canada
January 01, 0001
Canadians are making some serious moves in Hollywood lately, with Sarah Gadon haunting her adult daughter in "Maps to the Stars", and Emmanuelle Chriqui playing the one that got away in "Three Night Stand". find out more