TIFF Bell Lightbox
Films We Like presents GRACELAND. Starts May 10, TIFF/ Bell Lightbox, Toronto
07/05/13 11:40 Filed in: Graceland
Certain to induce shivers, Graceland offers a frank depiction of political corruption and child sex slavery in the Philippines. The film will now have its Canadian public opening at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on May 10, 2013.
Synopsis: Family man Marlon Villar is the long-time driver of Manuel Chango, a corrupt Filipino congressman. One afternoon, while driving his and Chango’s preteen daughters home from school, the three are violently ambushed in a kidnapping attempt. When the
attempt goes horribly awry, the wrong girl is taken, and the driver's life takes a sudden, terrifying turn. Left as the only witness to the crime, Marlon’s loyalty is called into question. As events unravel further, he, Chango, and their families become ensnared in a downward spiral of betrayal and deceit that will ultimately leave no one innocent.
Download high-rez images and press kit.
Publicity inquires, please contact Jasmine Pauk (Publicist)
GRACELAND [Trailer] – On iTunes/VOD 3/28 & in Theaters 4/26 from Drafthouse Films on Vimeo.
IN YOUR DREAMS, Stevie Nicks documentary scheduled for exclusive Canada Wide Release beginning April 15th in Toronto!
14/03/13 13:04 Filed in: In Your Dreams
Special Screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto on April 15th with Stevie Nicks appearing LIVE for Q&A sessions after both showings.
Toronto – March 14, 2013.Following the tremendous positive response to the Stevie Nicks documentary "In Your Dreams", an intimate portrait of one of rock's most enduring and legendary artists, at the Hamptons International Film Festival and the Mill Valley Film Festival, this up close portrayal of Nicks recording her critically acclaimed "In Your Dreams" CD in collaboration with Dave Stewart is now scheduled to screen in exclusive engagements in theaters across Canada starting in Toronto at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on April 15. Tickets will be available to the public for the two special screenings of In Your Dreams at 7 p.m. at 7:30 p.m. on April 15, with three regular screenings taking place on April 16 – 18 at 8:30 p.m. at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Tickets go on sale March 20 for TIFF Members and on March 27 for non-members at tiff.net.
The "In Your Dreams" film is being distributed by Films We Like in Canada. Co-produced and co-directed by former Eurythmic Dave Stewart, "In Your Dreams" is a portrait of the elusive Nicks as she and Stewart embark on a musical journey to write and record the critically acclaimed album "In Your Dreams." Nicks called this "the greatest year of my life" and felt compelled to share the joyful experience that she terms "the day the circus came to town" with her fans. The record was co-written by Nicks and Stewart and produced by Stewart and Glen Ballard. Watch the trailer at www.inyourdreamsmovie.com
Nicks, one of the lead singers and emotional catalyst for Fleetwood Mac, is embarking on a world tour with them beginning April 4th in Columbus Ohio. A multi Grammy Award winning artist and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Nicks allowed cameras inside her magical old mansion high atop the hills of LA with a wild cast of musicians and friends. The inner life of the legendary Nicks has by her design long been kept at a distance from the public. We learn in "Dreams" that her world features, costume parties, elaborate dinner feasts, tap dancing, fantasy creations and revealing songwriting and recording sessions all of which are captured on film. Also cameos by Edgar Allan Poe, Mick Fleetwood, Reese Witherspoon, a massive white stallion in the backyard, owls and naturally a few vampires who appear in several "home movie" style music videos.
Along with tracking the Nicks/Stewart creative partnership, "In Your Dreams" has plenty of other cinematic payoffs including rare never before seen personal scrapbook stills from Nicks' childhood and family life, and a wealth of candid backstage and performance shots taken over the last 35 years. The documentary was produced by Dave Stewart's production company, Weapons of Mass Entertainment.
Nicks, who has sold millions of records as a solo artist and writer of such iconic songs as "Landslide," "Gold Dust Woman" and "Edge of 17," is regularly cited by stars as diverse as Taylor Swift, Kid Rock, Courtney Love, Sheryl Crow, The Dixie Chicks and John Mayer as an iconic favorite and heroine and is a continuous inspiration to the world's top fashion designers.
"She is really real. It doesn't matter if she is singing in the make-up room or in the middle of a TV interview. She is who she is, and she doesn't change." commented Stewart.
"This is our baby and we give her lovingly into your dreams. From our tribe to yours," concluded Nicks.
“In Your Dreams” screens in Canada as follows:
Toronto / TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King St W) / April 15, 2013
Tickets Available online Marc h 27: http://tiff.net
Fleetwood Mac concert: 16-Apr-2013
Ottawa / Mayfair Theatre (1074 Bank St) / April 19 & 20, 2013
Visit cinema website for further details: http://mayfairtheatre.ca
Fleetwood Mac concert: 23-Apr-2013
Winnipeg / Winnipeg Cinematheque (100 Arthur St) / May 4 & 5, 2013
Visit cinema website for further details: www.winnipegfilmgroup.com
Fleetwood Mac concert: 12-May-2013
Saskatoon / Broadway Theatre (715 Broadway Avenue) / May 13, 2013
Visit cinema website for further details: http://broadwaytheatre.ca, 306.652.6556
Fleetwood Mac concert: 14-May-2013
Edmonton / Metro Cinema at the Garneau (8712 109th Street NW) / May 14, 2013
Visit cinema website for further details: http://www.metrocinema.org
Fleetwood Mac concert 15-May-2013
Calgary / Globe Cinema (617 8 Ave SW) / screening date TBC
Visit cinema website for further details: www.globecinema.wordpress.com
Fleetwood Mac concert: 17-May-2013
Vancouver / Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour St) / May 18, 2013
Visit cinema website for further details: www.viff.org/theatre
Fleetwood Mac concert: 19-May-2013
Montreal/ Cinema du Parc (3575 Park Ave) / June 14-17, 2013
Tickets available online: http://cinemaduparc.ticketacces.net/representations.cfm
Fleetwood Mac concert: 18-Jun-2013
-- 30 --
Running Time: 100min
Images and Press Notes
For further information, please contact:
V Kelly + Associates, 416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
LEVIATHAN: Opens March 15, 2013 at The TIFF Bell Lightbox
09/03/13 00:01 Filed in: Leviathan
Leviathan is a feature-length documentary about contemporary commercial fishermen at sea. It offers an appreciation for the sensory experience, labor, and the political and ecological stakes of one of human history’s oldest endeavors. The film was shot with eleven GoPro cameras swapping hands between the filmmakers and the fishermen in an effort to create a form of collective experimentation that gives free reign to the perspectives of both the fishermen and their catch.
Press Kit & High-Resolution Images
Upcoming Screenings
Directors are available for interviews.
For further information, please contact:
Jasmine Pauk
Publicist
Films We Like
STEP UP TO THE PLATE: Opens in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa and Regina on Dec 7
04/12/12 11:08 Filed in: Step Up to the Plate
The film chronicles the turbulent period when French chef Michel Bras, one of the most influential chefs in the world, decides to hand over his renowned 3-Michelin- Star restaurant to his son Sébastien. Having worked with his father for 15 years, Sébastien is ready. But it’s not easy to take over the family business when your father is a master in his field. Filmed in the gorgeous Aubrac region in the South of France, home to the Bras family for generations, Step Up To The Plate offers a rare glimpse into the Bras’ culinary process while capturing one of the most closely watched transitions in haute cuisine.
Watch the trailer!
High-Resolution Images
TORONTO
TIFF/ Bell Lightbox
350 King Street West, Toronto, ON
Tickets available online via the TIFF Website or by calling 416.599.TIFF (Toll Free at 1.888.599.8433).
VANCOUVER
Vancity Theatre
1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC
Tickets available online via the Vancity website.
OTTAWA
Mayfair Theatre
1074 Bank St, Ottawa
Tickets available at the box office.
REGINA
Regina Public Library
Central Library, 2311 12th Avenue, Sask
Tickets available at the box office.
For additional information, please contact:
Jasmine Pauk
416-971-9131
Jasmine@filmswelike.com
TABU by Miguel Gomes opens Fri Sept 21 @ TIFF/ Bell Lightbox
19/09/12 12:30 Filed in: Tabu
Miguel Gomes’
TABU
Opens in Toronto at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Friday, September 21
“TABU”, the masterful love story by Portugese filmmaker Miguel Gomes opens in Toronto on Friday, September 21 following its North American Premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in the Wavelengths program.
Synopsis
Inspired from the directors own life, and influenced by F. W. Murnau, Tabu is a tale of paradise lost and found. When an elderly neighbour dies, Pilar (Teresa Madruga) reconnects with an old lover. and learns of an episode from her past: a tale of love and crime set in an Africa straight from the world of adventure films. Gomes playfully interprets and rearranges historical events: whilst the first part of his film is in black-and-white and portrays a society wallowing in nostalgia, the second part delivers everything the lovers long for: stirring melodrama, slapstick, and passion.
Tabu won the Alfred Bauer Prize for Artistic Innovation and the FIRPRESCI Jury Prize at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival.
About Miguel Gomes
Former Lisbon film critic, Miguel Gomes directed several award winning short films. THE FACE YOU DESERVE (2004) was his debut feature, followed by the multiple award-winning OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST (2008) presented in the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes
About Films We Like
Founded by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, Films We Like is a boutique distributor of documentary, independent and international films in Canada.
Running time: 110 Minutes
Language: Portuguese (with English Sub-titles)
Download press notes and images.
Media Contact: V Kelly &Associates info@vkpr.ca (416) 466-979
TABU
Opens in Toronto at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Friday, September 21
“TABU”, the masterful love story by Portugese filmmaker Miguel Gomes opens in Toronto on Friday, September 21 following its North American Premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in the Wavelengths program.
Inspired from the directors own life, and influenced by F. W. Murnau, Tabu is a tale of paradise lost and found. When an elderly neighbour dies, Pilar (Teresa Madruga) reconnects with an old lover. and learns of an episode from her past: a tale of love and crime set in an Africa straight from the world of adventure films. Gomes playfully interprets and rearranges historical events: whilst the first part of his film is in black-and-white and portrays a society wallowing in nostalgia, the second part delivers everything the lovers long for: stirring melodrama, slapstick, and passion.
Tabu won the Alfred Bauer Prize for Artistic Innovation and the FIRPRESCI Jury Prize at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival.
About Miguel Gomes
Former Lisbon film critic, Miguel Gomes directed several award winning short films. THE FACE YOU DESERVE (2004) was his debut feature, followed by the multiple award-winning OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST (2008) presented in the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes
About Films We Like
Founded by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, Films We Like is a boutique distributor of documentary, independent and international films in Canada.
Running time: 110 Minutes
Language: Portuguese (with English Sub-titles)
Download press notes and images.
Media Contact: V Kelly &Associates info@vkpr.ca (416) 466-979
Miguel Gomes’ TABU North American Premiere at TIFF
16/08/12 10:06 Filed in: Tabu
Theatrical Release follows at TIFF Bell Lightbox Sept. 21
“TABU”, the masterful love story by Portugese filmmaker Miguel Gomes will have its North American Premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in the Wavelengths program.
Synopsis: Inspired from the directors own life, and influenced by F. W. Murnau, Tabu is a tale of paradise lost and found. When an elderly neighbour dies, Pilar (Teresa Madruga) reconnects with an old lover. and learns of an episode from her past: a tale of love and crime set in an Africa straight from the world of adventure films. Gomes playfully interprets and rearranges historical events: whilst the first part of his film is in black-and-white and portrays a society wallowing in nostalgia, the second part delivers everything the lovers long for: stirring melodrama, slapstick, and passion.
Tabu won the Alfred Bauer Prize for Artistic Innovation and the FIRPRESCI Jury Prize at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival.
About Miguel Gomes:
Former Lisbon film critic, Miguel Gomes directed several award winning short films. THE FACE YOU DESERVE (2004) was his debut feature, followed by the multiple award-winning OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST (2008) presented in the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes
About Films We Like:
Founded by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, Films We Like is a boutique distributor of documentary, independent and international films in Canada.
Running time: 110 Minutes
Language: Portuguese (with English Sub-titles)
Download press notes and images
Miguuel Gomes will attend TIFF and is available for interviews.
Media Contact: V Kelly &Associates info@vkpr.ca (416) 466-979
“TABU”, the masterful love story by Portugese filmmaker Miguel Gomes will have its North American Premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in the Wavelengths program.
Tabu won the Alfred Bauer Prize for Artistic Innovation and the FIRPRESCI Jury Prize at the 2012 Berlin Film Festival.
About Miguel Gomes:
Former Lisbon film critic, Miguel Gomes directed several award winning short films. THE FACE YOU DESERVE (2004) was his debut feature, followed by the multiple award-winning OUR BELOVED MONTH OF AUGUST (2008) presented in the Directors' Fortnight at Cannes
About Films We Like:
Founded by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann, Films We Like is a boutique distributor of documentary, independent and international films in Canada.
Running time: 110 Minutes
Language: Portuguese (with English Sub-titles)
Download press notes and images
Miguuel Gomes will attend TIFF and is available for interviews.
Media Contact: V Kelly &Associates info@vkpr.ca (416) 466-979
Tabu trailer from Sydney Film Festival on Vimeo.
MARINA ABRAMOVIĆ: THE ARTIST IS PRESENT - Opens Friday, June 15th
22/05/12 16:11 Filed in: Marina Abramovic: the Artist is Present
With Marina Abramović, Ulay and Klaus Biesenbach
Opens Friday, June 15th
Toronto at the TIFF Bell Lightbox
Vancouver at 5th Avenue
Winnipeg at The Globe
Also Opens Friday, June 29th, Calgary at The Globe
and Friday, August 12, Broadway Theatre, Saskatoon
Toronto Press Screening Confirmed: Wednesday, May 30th, 10:00am @ TIFF Bell Lightbox
Matthew Akers’ Marina Abramović: the Artist is Present is opens in theatres on Friday, June 15th, 2012 in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Winnipeg.
Testing her mental and physical limits with shocking, compelling and sometimes dangerous performances, Marina Abramović has been challenging the way people think about art for nearly 40 years. Using her own body as a vehicle, pushing herself beyond her physical and mental limits––and at times risking her life in the process––she creates performances that challenge, shock, and move us. Through her and with her, boundaries are crossed, consciousness expanded, and art as we know it is reborn. She is, quite simply, one of the most compelling artists of our time.
She is also a glamorous art-world icon, a lightning rod for controversy, and a myth of her own making. She is most certainly unlike anyone you have ever met before.
Marina Abramović:The Artist is Present looks back on Abramović’s prolific career, and follows her as she prepares herself and a group of artists for a major retrospective of her work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The centrepiece of the show is Abramović’s mesmerizing new performance, The Artist Is Present, involving her constant seated presence in the gallery space for the length of the three-month exhibition, during which she is available for one-on-one silent interaction with members of the public. It will be the longest-duration solo work of her career, and by far the most physically and emotionally demanding she has ever attempted.
When she conceived it, she says, she knew instantly that it was the right piece because the mere thought of it "made me nauseous." The work's simplicity and purity has the potential to crystallize all that is best about her art, but it also demands that Abramović return to her roots––and forgo the overt theatricality that has characterized many of her recent performance pieces.
Countless intimate and individual connections are made between the artist and her scores of participants; through each encounter, as Abramović says, “performance becomes life itself.”
Matthew Akers is an accomplished producer, director, photographer and cinematographer. Recently, he was the series producer and cinematographer on a National Geographic television series about the medical marijuana industry in Colorado. He has worked on several other film series and documentaries including ones for PBS and HBO.
Marina Abramović is represented by Sean Kelly Gallery, New York.
Running time: 89 min
Official Website: http://marinafilm.com
Trailer: http://filmswelike.com/films/marina/ or http://marinafilm.com/view-trailer
For further information, images and press notes: http://filmswelike.com/films/marina/
Toronto Press Screening:
Wednesday, May 30th, 10:00am @ TIFF Bell Lightbox
To RSVP to the press screening and for further information, please contact:
V Kelly + Associates, 416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
THE BALLAD OF GENESIS AND LADY JAYE - Press Release
09/03/12 14:21 Filed in: The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye
Berlin Film Festival's prestigious Queer 'TEDDY AWARD' prize
“The jury gives the best documentary award to The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye by Marie Losier. This film draws us into a whole new magical world of diversity where anything is possible; genders change, identities shift and two people can become one through pandrogyny. The jury feels that nobody could tell the story of this once in a lifetime love affair like Ms Losier, a filmmaker with the unique imagination to match her film’s subjects and the compassion to tell an extraordinary tale of queer pioneers into a simple and universal tale of love.”
GRAND PRIZE Indilisboa (Portugal)
CALIGARI AWARD Berlin Film Festival-Forum
AUDIENCE AWARD Buenos Aires Film Festival
ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT AWARD-Outfest Film Festival (Los Angeles)
SPECIAL MENTION International Competition (Chile)
AUDIENCE AWARD FESTIVAL DU NOUVEAU CINEMA (Quebec)
Here's an intimate, affecting portrait of the life and work of ground-breaking performance artist and music pioneer Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (Throbbing Gristle, Psychic TV), his other half and collaborator Lady Jaye, and their mutual expression of unity which lead them to becoming near-duplicates of each other.
Undergoing body modification surgery resulted in daring sexual transformations and the melding of their bodies. They called it the “Pandrogyne” project.
"It is neither a documentary nor a rockumentary. Rather, it is a love story and a touching one." -FILM THREAT
"Epic romance and art were among their accomplishments… so was looking alike. Man, if you think you and your partner are co-dependent, check these two out! They met in a fetish dungeon, and spent years having plastic surgery to look more like one another." -qPDX.com
"Losier’s film captures the poignant paradoxes, the ecstasies and burdens, of the transformation of life into art." -THE NEW YORKER
UPCOMING SCREENINGS
Opens March 16, TIFF/ Bell Lightbox, Toronto
April 1, 2, 11 & 12, Pacific Cinematheque, Vancouver
April 6 - 10, Mayfair Theatre, Ottawa
WATCH THE TRAILER
A MATTER OF TASTE Opens at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Thursday, September 29, 2011
17/08/11 16:07 Filed in: A Matter of Taste
“A MATTER OF TASTE” Serving Up Paul Liebrandt
A film by Sally Rowe
Opens at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sally Rowe & Paul Liebrandt in attendance
A MATTER OF TASTE takes an intimate look inside the world of an immensely talented and driven young chef, Paul Liebrandt. At 24, he was awarded three stars by the New York Times for unforgettable and hyper modern dishes such as "eel, violets and chocolate," "espuma of calf brains and foie gras," and "beer and truffle soup."
Critic William Grimes likened Paul to "a pianist who seems to have found a couple of dozen extra keys." Conversely, Gourmet critic Jonathan Gold called Paul's food "the result of a failed science experiment." He soon became a chef critics loved or loved to hate.
The film follows Paul over a decade and reveals his creative process in the kitchen, as well as the extreme hard work, long hours, and dedication it takes to be a culinary artist and have success in the cutthroat world of haute cuisine in New York City. Exploring the complicated relationships between food critics, chefs and restaurant owners, the film delves into the life of an uncompromising, thought provoking, young chef ahead of his time.
A MATTER OF TASTE features Paul Liebrandt, Chef, Croton; Frank Bruni, New York Times food critic 2004 – 2009; Thomas Keller, Chef Per Se; Eric Ripert, Chef Le Bernardin; Heston Blumenthal, Chef, The Fat Duck; Grant Achatz, Chef, Alinea; Drew Nieporent, Restauranteur; William Grimes, New York Times food critic 1998 – 2003.
SALLY ROWE – DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
New Zealand born Sally Rowe began working in film in 1992 as an apprentice
editor, assistant and editor in Thailand, Los Angeles and New York, respectively. In
2001, she returned to set as a script supervisor on numerous independent features,
commercials and the entire run of Comedy Central’s Emmy nominated “CHAPPELLE’S
SHOW.” A MATTER OF TASTE marks her directorial debut.
Running time: 68 minutes Official site: www.amatteroftastethefilm.com
For press notes and images: www.filmswelike.com
For further information, to book interviews w Sally Rowe, Paul Liebrandt
V Kelly & Associates
416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
A film by Sally Rowe
Opens at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Thursday, September 29, 2011
Sally Rowe & Paul Liebrandt in attendance
A Matter Of Taste - Trailer from Sally Rowe on Vimeo.
A MATTER OF TASTE takes an intimate look inside the world of an immensely talented and driven young chef, Paul Liebrandt. At 24, he was awarded three stars by the New York Times for unforgettable and hyper modern dishes such as "eel, violets and chocolate," "espuma of calf brains and foie gras," and "beer and truffle soup."
Critic William Grimes likened Paul to "a pianist who seems to have found a couple of dozen extra keys." Conversely, Gourmet critic Jonathan Gold called Paul's food "the result of a failed science experiment." He soon became a chef critics loved or loved to hate.
The film follows Paul over a decade and reveals his creative process in the kitchen, as well as the extreme hard work, long hours, and dedication it takes to be a culinary artist and have success in the cutthroat world of haute cuisine in New York City. Exploring the complicated relationships between food critics, chefs and restaurant owners, the film delves into the life of an uncompromising, thought provoking, young chef ahead of his time.
A MATTER OF TASTE features Paul Liebrandt, Chef, Croton; Frank Bruni, New York Times food critic 2004 – 2009; Thomas Keller, Chef Per Se; Eric Ripert, Chef Le Bernardin; Heston Blumenthal, Chef, The Fat Duck; Grant Achatz, Chef, Alinea; Drew Nieporent, Restauranteur; William Grimes, New York Times food critic 1998 – 2003.
SALLY ROWE – DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
New Zealand born Sally Rowe began working in film in 1992 as an apprentice
editor, assistant and editor in Thailand, Los Angeles and New York, respectively. In
2001, she returned to set as a script supervisor on numerous independent features,
commercials and the entire run of Comedy Central’s Emmy nominated “CHAPPELLE’S
SHOW.” A MATTER OF TASTE marks her directorial debut.
Running time: 68 minutes Official site: www.amatteroftastethefilm.com
For press notes and images: www.filmswelike.com
For further information, to book interviews w Sally Rowe, Paul Liebrandt
V Kelly & Associates
416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
I WISH I KNEW - Press Release (Toronto)
09/11/10 11:47 Filed in: I Wish I Knew
A film by Jia Zhang-Ke
Opens in Toronto on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at TIFF Bell Lightbox
Critically acclaimed Chinese director Jia Zhang-Ke (24 City, Still Life, The World) turns to the history and people of Shanghai in his newest film I Wish I Knew, a poetic tribute to Shanghai that looks back at the city’s many pasts with both wistful nostalgia and tragic clarity.
Shanghai, a fast-changing metropolis, a port city where people come and go. Shanghai has hosted all kinds of people – revolutionaries, capitalists, politicians, soldiers, artists, and gangsters. Shanghai has also hosted revolutions, assassinations, love stories. After the Chinese Communists' victory in 1949, thousands of Shanghaiers left for Hong Kong and Taiwan. To leave meant being separated from home for thirty years; to stay meant suffering through the Cultural Revolution and China's other political disasters.
Like his last film, 2008's 24 City, Jia Zhang-Ke’s I Wish I Knew (Hai Shang Chuan Qi), which screened at 2010 Cannes in Un Certain Regard, and TIFF 2010, is a documentary/fiction hybrid about modern-day China. Where 24 City took a personal focus on the citizens of a Chinese town affected by the construction of a high-rise condominium, I Wish I Knew takes a broader view, examining the history of Shanghai as viewed from the present. Eighteen people from Shanghai, Taipei and Hong Kong recall their lives in Shanghai. Their personal experiences, like eighteen chapters of a novel, tell stories of Shanghai lives from the 1930s to 2010.
Jia Zhang-Ke said “I came to Shanghai with my movie camera and traced the footsteps of Shanghaiers who left this city for Taiwan and Hong Kong. Shanghai is closely tied to the lives of almost every important historic figure in the modern history of China. And events of national significance in the life of the city also destined Shanghaiers for lives of painful, life-long separation. When I sat face-to-face with characters in my film, and listened to them talk every so calmly about the hair raising events in their pasts, I suddenly realized what it was that I captured with my camera: a dream of freedom twinkling in their eyes. This moved me to tears”
Running time: 119 minutes
To download images, press notes and to a trailer http://www.filmswelike.com/films/iwish/
Media Contact: V Kelly & Associates, 416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
Opens in Toronto on Thursday, November 11, 2010 at TIFF Bell Lightbox
Shanghai, a fast-changing metropolis, a port city where people come and go. Shanghai has hosted all kinds of people – revolutionaries, capitalists, politicians, soldiers, artists, and gangsters. Shanghai has also hosted revolutions, assassinations, love stories. After the Chinese Communists' victory in 1949, thousands of Shanghaiers left for Hong Kong and Taiwan. To leave meant being separated from home for thirty years; to stay meant suffering through the Cultural Revolution and China's other political disasters.
Like his last film, 2008's 24 City, Jia Zhang-Ke’s I Wish I Knew (Hai Shang Chuan Qi), which screened at 2010 Cannes in Un Certain Regard, and TIFF 2010, is a documentary/fiction hybrid about modern-day China. Where 24 City took a personal focus on the citizens of a Chinese town affected by the construction of a high-rise condominium, I Wish I Knew takes a broader view, examining the history of Shanghai as viewed from the present. Eighteen people from Shanghai, Taipei and Hong Kong recall their lives in Shanghai. Their personal experiences, like eighteen chapters of a novel, tell stories of Shanghai lives from the 1930s to 2010.
Jia Zhang-Ke said “I came to Shanghai with my movie camera and traced the footsteps of Shanghaiers who left this city for Taiwan and Hong Kong. Shanghai is closely tied to the lives of almost every important historic figure in the modern history of China. And events of national significance in the life of the city also destined Shanghaiers for lives of painful, life-long separation. When I sat face-to-face with characters in my film, and listened to them talk every so calmly about the hair raising events in their pasts, I suddenly realized what it was that I captured with my camera: a dream of freedom twinkling in their eyes. This moved me to tears”
Running time: 119 minutes
To download images, press notes and to a trailer http://www.filmswelike.com/films/iwish/
Media Contact: V Kelly & Associates, 416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
UNCLE BOONMEE Opens at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Thursday, September 23, 2010
13/09/10 15:41 Filed in: Uncle Boonmee
filmswelike presents
UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES
(Lung Boonmee Raluek Chat)
Cannes 2010 Palme d’Or Winner by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Opens at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Thursday, September 23, 2010
After its North American premiere in the Masters program at TIFF 2010, acclaimed Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives opens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Thursday, September 23, 2010.
Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s magical-surrealist film tells the story of an old man suffering from kidney failure who prepares to die and encounters his dead wife, his missing son (who's been transformed into a laser-eyed monkey ghost) and a princess who has sex with a catfish. Inspired by a book by a Buddhist abbot recording accounts of people who remembered their past lives, the film was shot in Isan, in Thailand’s north-east where Weerasethakul spent his childhood.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul tells about the meeting that inspired the film; “A few years ago, when I was living in the north-east, I came across Uncle Boonmee. An abbot at a monastery near my house told me that there was an old man who had arrived at the temple to help out with the temple’s activities and to learn meditation. One day this man, Boonmee, came to an abbot and told him that while he was deep in meditation, he could see his past lives playing behind his closed eyes like a movie. He saw and felt himself to be a buffalo, a cow, even a body-less spirit that roamed around the north-eastern plains. The abbot was impressed but not surprised, because Boonmee was not the first person to tell him about such experiences.
From near and far, he had collected stories from villagers who shared their past lives with him. Later, he published a little book. On its cover one could read: A Man Who Can Recall His Past Lives.”
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is the final installment in Weerasethakul’s multi-platform art project called Primitive. Previous installments include a seven-part video installation and the two short films A Letter to Uncle Boonmee and Phantoms of Nabua.”
Working outside the
strict confines of the Thai studio system, Apichatpong Weerasethakul is an independent Thai film director, screenwriter, and film producer. He trained as an architect in Thailand before earning an MFA in filmmaking at the School of the Art Institute in Chicago. “I believe I was lucky to be in this place,” he told an interviwer. “I was encouraged to experiment with the idea that nothing was wrong. That’s the opposite from Thailand’s education system.” His feature films include Tropical Malady, which won a jury prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, Blissfully Yours, which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard program at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival, and Syndromes and a Century, which premiered at the 63rd Venice Film Festival and was the first Thai film to be entered in competition there.
Apichatpong Weerasethukal is the subject of a TIFF Mavericks session hosted by Dennis Lee on Saturday, September 18 @ 4pm at TIFF Bell LIghtbox where the film opens on Thursday, September 23, 2010. In the session, film critic Dennis Lim will interview Weerasethakul onstage and take the audience through his career, illustrated with film clips.
Running time: 114 minutes
High rez images, downloadable materials and press notes!
Media Contact
V Kelly + Associates
416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca
UNCLE BOONMEE WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES
(Lung Boonmee Raluek Chat)
Cannes 2010 Palme d’Or Winner by Apichatpong Weerasethakul
Opens at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Thursday, September 23, 2010
After its North American premiere in the Masters program at TIFF 2010, acclaimed Thai filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives opens at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Thursday, September 23, 2010.
Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s magical-surrealist film tells the story of an old man suffering from kidney failure who prepares to die and encounters his dead wife, his missing son (who's been transformed into a laser-eyed monkey ghost) and a princess who has sex with a catfish. Inspired by a book by a Buddhist abbot recording accounts of people who remembered their past lives, the film was shot in Isan, in Thailand’s north-east where Weerasethakul spent his childhood.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul tells about the meeting that inspired the film; “A few years ago, when I was living in the north-east, I came across Uncle Boonmee. An abbot at a monastery near my house told me that there was an old man who had arrived at the temple to help out with the temple’s activities and to learn meditation. One day this man, Boonmee, came to an abbot and told him that while he was deep in meditation, he could see his past lives playing behind his closed eyes like a movie. He saw and felt himself to be a buffalo, a cow, even a body-less spirit that roamed around the north-eastern plains. The abbot was impressed but not surprised, because Boonmee was not the first person to tell him about such experiences.
From near and far, he had collected stories from villagers who shared their past lives with him. Later, he published a little book. On its cover one could read: A Man Who Can Recall His Past Lives.”
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives is the final installment in Weerasethakul’s multi-platform art project called Primitive. Previous installments include a seven-part video installation and the two short films A Letter to Uncle Boonmee and Phantoms of Nabua.”
Working outside the
Apichatpong Weerasethukal is the subject of a TIFF Mavericks session hosted by Dennis Lee on Saturday, September 18 @ 4pm at TIFF Bell LIghtbox where the film opens on Thursday, September 23, 2010. In the session, film critic Dennis Lim will interview Weerasethakul onstage and take the audience through his career, illustrated with film clips.
Running time: 114 minutes
High rez images, downloadable materials and press notes!
Media Contact
V Kelly + Associates
416-466-9799, info@vkpr.ca