23rd Annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival; April 30 – May 10

Anarchists and superheroes, mother-daughter relationships, The Twilight Zone, Canadian archival gems, Robert Redford’s first big role…. All this and much more will be unleashed at the 2015 Toronto Jewish Film Festival (TJFF), running April 30 to May 10, at various venues across the city.

Showcasing 110 films from 18 countries, two International Premieres, four North American Premieres, and 46 Canadian Premieres, this year’s TJFF is a film festival lover’s dream.

TJFF 2015’s exceptional selection of features range from powerful, critically acclaimed dramas, to light-hearted comedies, and dark psychological thrillers. Among them: The Kindergarten Teacher, a complex morality tale on a teacher’s obsession with her student’s extraordinary talent (selected as part of Critics Week series at Cannes); Dough, an endearing comedy starring Jonathan Pryce, set in London’s East End; Bulgaria’s 2015 Oscar® submission Bulgarian Rhapsody, a coming-of-age love story set during the Second World War; You Must Be Joking, a 20-something New Yorker’s quest to find meaning beyond her paralegal job; Atlit, a comical, dramatic and touching story on the bond of sisterhood; and Let’s Go!, the new film from acclaimed director Michael Verhoeven (The Nasty Girl).

18th Cinéfranco 2015, April 10–19

Featuring films from directors such as Micheline Lanctôt, Kaouther Ben Hania, Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar
Starring Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Carré, Agnès Jaoui, Brigitte Pogonat, among many others

Cinéfranco 2015, English Canada’s largest celebration of international Francophone cinema finds a new home at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto from Friday, April 10, 2015 to Sunday, April 19, 2015.

In its 18th year, Cinéfranco once again explores the diverse cinemas of the Francophone diaspora, the riches of Francophone cultures and showcases the talents of established as well as rising Francophone filmmakers and artists. With 22 feature films and 7 shorts, including many award-winning and highly acclaimed films from festivals around the world, there is something for all lovers of cinema, from comedy fans to thriller aficionados. Films from Belgium, Canada, France, Tunisia, The United Arab Emirates and Morocco will grace the big screen, including 7 North American Premieres, 9 English Canadian Premieres, 1 Canadian Premiere and 1 Ontario Premiere.

Call for submissions: Shaw Media Diverse Voices Program for emerging documentary filmmakers

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and Shaw Media are pleased to announce the Shaw Media Diverse Voices Program, which will provide six to eight emerging Canadian filmmakers of diverse backgrounds with training in documentary and factual television production. Taking place during the 2015 Hot Docs Festival, the program will guide participants through an intensive training module and seminar series, career management workshops, and networking events with industry professionals. The Shaw Media Diverse Voices Program will focus on documentary and factual television production and show running, including proposal preparation, the production cycle, financing, co-production, and access to broadcasters.

“Representation of diverse voices in the documentary and television production industries is a vitally important issue for Hot Docs and our community,” said Elizabeth Radshaw, Hot Docs Industry Programs Director. “With Shaw Media’s generous support, this program will help develop core skills of producing and filmmaking.”

First artists announced for the 36th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

Jesse Cook, Snarky Puppy, The Stanley Clarke Band, Steven Wilson, The Bad Plus with Joshua Redman, Bebel Gilberto, Eliane Elias, Dee Dee Bridgewater and a Tribute to Piaf by Richard Galliano and Sylvain Luc

We’re delighted to announce the very first artists of the 36th edition of the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, presented by TD in collaboration with Rio Tinto Alcan—just in time to add them to everyone’s Christmas wish lists!

Tickets for these concerts go on sale this Friday, December 5 at noon… although Spectra Newsletter subscribers (subscription is free at infolettrespectra.ca), can purchase them Thursday, December 4, from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

2014 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival announces complete programming

This morning, the complete 15th Anniversary imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival programme was announced at the TIFF Bell Lightbox by Executive Director Jason Ryle, and guests including TIFF's Cameron Bailey and actor Glen Gould.

The 15th Annual imagineNATIVE returns October 22-26, 2014 with the most compelling and distinctive Indigenous works from around the globe featuring: 130 films and videos; nine Radio Works; seven multi-platform New Media works; four art exhibitions featuring 19 media artists; 11 industry panels and public workshops; and 17 commissions. imagineNATIVE will feature 175 artists representing over 70 distinct Indigenous nations from 12 countries.

imagineNATIVE Announces Feature Films & Documentaries and The Witching Hour Program

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, with presenting sponsor Bell Media, announces the return of The Witching Hour: Late Night Shorts Program and the Festival’s feature length films and documentaries. Opening night of the festival will be, People’s Choice Award-winner at TIFF’s Midnight Madness, What We Do In The Shadows, on Wednesday, October 22 at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema with director, Taika Waititi in attendance.

The 15th anniversary of the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival will present feature length films from October 22-26, 2014 such as Black Panther Woman, about Marlene Cummins, an Indigenous teen full of political conviction, becoming a member Brisbane’s chapter of the Black Panthers, one of many in Australia in the early 1970s. As part of the Australia Spotlight, on Sunday, October 26, this powerful film will reveal how many Indigenous women paid a hefty price for their loyalty to a cause they thought was about equality for all.

Thursday, October 23 holds the World Premiere of The Lodge, a stunning stop-motion animation adopting equal parts Goldilocks and the traditional Anishnaabe legend of the Dandelion. The Lodge challenges colonial concepts of savagery, critiques the de-humanizing of Indigenous peoples and explores the powerful medicine of our animal relations. Later that night, the deadliness of Russian winters reaches psychologically destructive new ground in the International Premiere of A White Day by director Michail Lukachevskyi of the Yakut Republic.

Call for submissions: Innoversity Summit Pitch Competition

BELL MEDIA PRESENTS THE INNOVERSITY SUMMIT PITCH COMPETITION

Bell Media presents The Innoversity Summit Pitch Competition - a unique media competition with a staggering amount of prizes in TV Scripted, TV Unscripted, feature film, short film and digital media. Prizes valued at over a quarter of a million dollars.

16 finalist teams are selected and coached to compete for a terrific array of prizes, including months of priceless private mentorships with media industry giants and face to face coaching by Canada’s top media professionals, who have won hundreds of international awards including the Emmy, Sundance, Berlin and the Peabody Award.

Call for submissions: ReelWorld's Indie Film Lounge

The ReelWorld Film Festival has announced its call for submissions for participants in their development program for diverse and emerging filmmakers called Indie Film Lounge.

The Indie Film Lounge is a career-maker

Each year, we offer 20 emerging and racially diverse artists (E20s) a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

2014 Festival du Cinéma Latino-américain de Montréal, Apr 24-May 8

LATIN AMERICA LIVES HERE

From April 24 to May 8, Cinema du Parc is featuring a selection of the best Latin-American films, a few Spanish films, and a Portuguese film by a Brazilian director, which is opening the festival. Sixteen films were chosen from Berlin, Cannes, Toronto, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires and Guadalajara in 2013-2014.

Come discover the hidden wealth of talented directors, actors and actresses from countries whose films we don’t get to see all year long. As long as there isn’t a Latin-American movie on the bill in Montreal every week, a festival like this will always have a raison d’être.

Call for submissions: 12th Annual Regent Park Film Festival

The 12th Annual Regent Park Film Festival – Call For Submissions is Now Open!

Regent Park Film Festival is Toronto’s only free-of-charge, multi-cultural, film festival dedicated to showcasing the best local and international film and video works. The stories we celebrate resonate with the inner city, community-driven, trans-national, transient context of Regent Park, as well as with other similar communities all over the world.

Regent Park is the oldest and largest public housing project in Canada. It is home to a diverse group of communities, prominently new immigrants and Indigenous peoples. Regent Park is currently undergoing a long-term revitalization, where mixed income housing is being introduced into the community.

The stories celebrated resonate with the inner city, community-driven, trans-national, transient context of Regent Park, as well as with other communities in Toronto, across Canada and all over the world. We encourage local, national and international participation.

Call for submissions: MIBFF's Youth & Diversity program

For the 10^th anniversary of the Montreal International Black Film Festival being held from September 23 to 28, 2014, the Fabienne Colas Foundation is launching a call for applications for its brand new program "Youth and Diversity".

This program offers professional mentorship in the audiovisual production of a short film to 10 young and promising filmmakers from the Black Communities. They will be guided through the many steps in audiovisual production (screenwriting, directing, editing, post-production, etc.), and will create a documentary short (maximum 5 minutes). This process will be carried out under the professional tutelage of an industry professional with professional equipment. Their final work will be screened at a special event of the 10^th Montreal International Black Film Festival.

2014 ReelWorld Film Festival announces full programming lineup

ReelWorld Film Festival announced today that it is presenting 79 films and videos during its eight-day festival, being held from April 2 to 6, 2014 in Toronto and from April 11 to 13, 2014 in Markham.

In her opening remarks, Founder and Executive Director Actress Tonya Williams said: "We're bringing 25 features to screens in Toronto and Markham this year, along with 37 shorts, eight webisodes and nine music videos. Once again we're introducing audiences to new Canadian talent from the Aboriginal, Asian, Black, Latino, Middle Eastern and South Asian communities."

The 2014 ReelWorld Film Festival is showcasing 70% Canadian content, and presenting films from Australia, China, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Grenada, Guadeloupe, India, Iraq, Jamaica, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, The Philippines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, The United Kingdom, and the USA.

45th Annual NAACP Image Awards – nominations

The nominees for THE 45TH NAACP IMAGE AWARDS were announced today during a live press conference at the TV One presentation to the Television Critics Association during its Winter 2014 Press Tour in Pasadena, CA. David Oyelowo (“Lee Daniels’ ‘The Butler’”), Joe Morton (ABC’s “Scandal”), Keke Palmer (VH1’s “CrazySexyCool”), Bresha Webb (TV One’s “Love That Girl”) and Gina Torres (USA’s “Suits”) announced the categories and nominees with NAACP Image Awards Committee Chairman, Leonard James and President and CEO of TV One, Alfred Liggins.

The NAACP Image Awards celebrates the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors. Winners will be voted upon by NAACP members and announced when the envelopes are opened on Friday, February 21 during the Awards Ceremony for non-televised categories. The remaining categories will be announced LIVE on stage during the two-hour star-studded TV One telecast on Saturday, February 22 (9:00 p.m. ET/PT tape-delayed). The telecast will also include a one-hour pre-show airing live from the red carpet (8:00 p.m. ET/PT tape-delayed).

2013 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, October 16-20

Female Filmmakers Dominate at the 14th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival
Where Artists are Heroes!
October 16 – 20, 2013

The 14th annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, running October 16 – 20, 2013, returns to Toronto this fall to host the world’s largest festival of Indigenous film and media arts. The Festival has announced 101 films, including documentaries, features and shorts, and proudly presents a program dominated by female filmmakers with more than half of the screening works at the Festival made by women, a noteworthy representation.

Meanwhile, with TIFF premieres of both Jennifer Podemski’s indie drama Empire of Dirt and Jeff Barnaby’s debut feature film, Rhymes for Young Ghouls, the Native-Canadian presence at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival did not go unnoticed. With both of these films, and 99 more, screening at this year’s imagineNATIVE festival, Aboriginal art will idle no more with increased presence at the world’s most foremost festivals.

Toronto International Film Festival announces 2013 Live Read, IMAX, Next Wave, Manifesto

FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES FURTHER WAYS TO EXPERIENCE AND NAVIGATE 11 DAYS OF FILM
Enhanced experience with IMAX screenings
A look at the creative process with the return of Jason Reitman’s Live Read
Special selections through Next Wave and Manifesto initiatives

TORONTO – The 38th Toronto International Film Festival® today announced details of initiatives and special programming introduced to enhance the filmgoers’ Festival experience.

For the first time, the Festival proudly presents official selections and special screenings in stunning IMAX. Jason Reitman’s Live Read returns for an all-star read-through featuring a surprise cast. The Next Wave initiative sees a committee of young film enthusiasts highlight Festival films that appeal to their peers while, for the first time, the Manifesto initiative tasks the community organization with selecting films for audiences interested in the urban arts.

Call for submissions: Giving Voice: Filmmakers Working with Filmmakers

CBC’s digital channel documentary and the Documentary Organization of Canada | l’Association des documentaristes du Canada (DOC) are proud to present

Giving Voice: Filmmakers Working with Filmmakers, a documentary masters apprenticeship program.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN
DEADLINE: MAY 24TH, 2013

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Giving Voice mentorship program is the opportunity for documentary professionals from across Canada to apprentice with a master documentary filmmaker on a specific project. The program represents a unique opportunity for documentary filmmakers searching for their creative voice.

2013 Toronto Jewish Film Festival, April 11-21

The 21st annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival opens April 11 with CowJews and Indians: How Hitler Scared My Relatives and I Woke Up in an Iroquois Longhouse—Owing the Mohawks Rent - a film about righting history’s wrongs, that’s been dubbed “Borat meets Michael Moore.”

TJFF is proud to kick things o! with Marc Halberstadt’s playfully provocative CowJews and Indians. This sardonically funny film draws a straight line between the meagre reparations his family received from Germany in 1951 for Nazi-confiscated property, and the ongoing patchwork of treaties and outright land theft that has been the legacy of North American aboriginals.

The festival's closing film will be Roberta Grossman's Hava Nagila: The Movie.

This year the Toronto Jewish Film Festival will be nothing short of amazing with incredible films, documentaries and shorts from around the world. The Festival kicks off its 21^st year on April 11^th and runs through to the 21^st in multiple venues across the city.

2013 ReelWorld Film Festival, Apr 9-14

The 13th Annual ReelWorld Film Festival kicks off tonight in Toronto with the North American premiere of Contract by Shirley Frimpong-Manso. A reception takes place at 5pm, followed by the gala screening at 7pm at Canada Square Cinema.

The closing screening will be Aayna Ka Bayna by Samit Kakkad. Other festival screenings taking place include La Playa D.C. by Juan Andrés Arango, Made In Canada by Scott Boyd, A Decent Arrangement by Sarovar Banka, Lost Lagoon by Rob Leickner, Orisha Suite by Nicole Brooks, Windows of Hope by Evelyn Cindy Magara, Remington and the Curse of the Zombadings by Jade Castro, Sunset Stories by Ernesto Foronda and Silas Howard, Cairo 678 by Mohamed Diab, Croker Island Exodus by Steven McGregor, AKP Job 27 by Michael L. Suan, Hoodrush by Dimeji Ajibola, and My Last Round (Mi Ultimo Round) by Julio Jorquera.

Call for submissions: Innoversity Pitch Competition

The Innoversity Creative Summit has announced their call for submissions for their 2013 Innoversity Pitch Competition.

The Innoversity Pitch Competition offers four talented teams a chance to make their production dream come true. Winners in each category will receive development funds, post-production services and professional mentorship - everything you need to launch your project. The deadline for entries is April 15, 2013 at 11:59pm EST.

The four possible categories are 1. TV: Scripted; 2. TV: Unscripted; 3. Digital Media Storytelling; and 4. Short Film.

Call for submissions: Regent Park Film Festival

The 11th Annual Regent Park Film Festival – Call For Submissions is Now Open!

Regent Park Film Festival is Toronto’s only free-of-charge, multi-cultural, film festival dedicated to showcasing the best local and international film and video works. The stories we celebrate resonate with the inner city, community-driven, trans-national, transient context of Regent Park, as well as with other similar communities in Toronto, across Canada and all over the world. We encourage local, national and international participation.

The Regent Park Film Festival is in its 11th year of connecting community and film to present a unique festival experience for audiences and filmmakers alike. All activities at the Regent Park Film Festival are free-of-charge; we provide free childcare and pay artist fees.