Join Barbara Hall, Ken Greenberg for an opening night Jane’s Walk
Friday, April 21, 2017 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox
5:30pm at Jane’s Chairs in Memorial Square Park – 10 Niagara St.
7:00pm - Screening of Citizen Jane Battle for the City
Post-screening discussion with special guests Amanda Lewis, Hibaq Gelle & Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust
Regular TIFF Bell Lightbox ticket prices apply. Proceeds are donated by Films We Like to Jane’s Walk
Tickets are now on sale at TIFF Bell Lightbox: http://www.tiff.net/films/citizen-jane/
Also opening:
Vancouver: Vancity Theatre, Friday, April 21
Halifax: Carbon Arc, April 21
Victoria: The Vic Theatre, April 21
Ottawa: Bytowne, April 28
Montreal: Cinema du Parc, May 12
Winnipeg: Winnipeg Cinematheque, June 24
“Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody.” – Jane Jacobs
“This is a movie about how Jacobs’ ideas are as important today, if not more, than ever. Set in the context of the world today, it’s as much a warning as it is a celebration.” – Director-Producer, Matt Tynauer
Jacobs believed in walkable neighbourhoods, urban literacy, and cities planned for and by people. Staying informed about civic issues, learning the basic concepts of urban planning, and meeting the people who make the decisions are all good ways to do this -- Jane’s Walk.
Films We Like is pleased to partner with Jane’s Walk for an opening night event on Friday, April 21 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Experience a Jane’s Walk led by former Toronto Mayor Barbara Hall and Ken Greenberg, urban designer, teacher, author, and former Director of Urban Design and Architecture for the City of Toronto before a screening of the film Citizen Jane: Battle for the City and post-screening discussion with special guests including Amanda Lewis (Charlie’s FreeWheels); Hibaq Gelle (Premier’s Council on Youth Opportunities) and a speaker from Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust (PNLT). Regular TIFF Bell Lightbox ticket prices apply and the distributor Films We Like will be donating proceeds from the evening to Jane’s Walk.
Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, is a film about cities through the lens of Jane Jacobs, urban activist, writer and author of the 1961 paradigm shifting book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities.
In 1961 the book sent shockwaves through the architecture and planning worlds, with its exploration of the consequences of modern planners’ and architects’ reconfiguration of cities. Jacobs was also an activist, who was involved in many fights in mid-century New York, to stop “master builder” Robert Moses from running roughshod over the city.
Arrested in 1968 in NYC during her fight to stop the Lower Manhattan Expressway, Jacobs and her family moved to Toronto where she soon led the opposition to the Spadina Expressway and became a leader in the city’s movement for livable neighbourhoods and citizen participation in its urban planning.
Directed and produced by Matt Tyrnauer (Valentino: The Last Emperor), and produced by Robert Hammond, Co-Founder and Executive Director of New York City’s Friends of the High Line, Citizen Jane: Battle For The City retraces the battles for the city as personified by Jacobs and Moses, as urbanization moves to the very front of the global agenda. Many of the clues for formulating solutions to the dizzying array of urban issues can be found in Jacobs’s prescient text, and a close second look at her thinking and writing about cities is very much in order. This film sets out to examine the city of today through the lens of one of its greatest champions.
Jacobs was not a city planner by training, but rather a concerned citizen who spent time observing city life around her, first in New York City, then in Toronto. From her observations, she developed her theory about what makes a city a great place to live. After she passed away at the age of 100 yr. in 2006, Jane’s Walk was founded in Toronto by a group of her friends and colleagues who wanted to honour her ideas and legacy.
Director-Producer Matt Tyrnauer
Matt Tyrnauer is an American film director and a special correspondent for Vanity Fair. He directed the documentary feature Valentino: The Last Emperor, which was short listed for an Oscar nomination in 2010.
About Jane’s Walk
Jane's Walk is an international movement founded in Toronto offering free, citizen-led walking tours inspired by Jane Jacobs. The walks get people to tell stories about their communities, explore their cities, and connect with neighbours. Anyone can lead a walk -- because everyone is an expert on the place where they live!
About Films We Like
Founded by award-winning documentary filmmaker Ron Mann (Grass, Comic Book Confidential, Altman) Films We Like is a boutique distributor of documentary, independent and international films in Canada. Recent releases include Force Majeure, Finding Vivian Maier, and the Academy Award-winner Ida.
Running time: 92 minutes
Download press notes, images
Media Contact: V Kelly & Associates