University of Toronto Film Festival 2014, March 31

The University of Toronto Film Festival hosts its 13th annual edition of the student short film showcase tonight. Screenings will take place at Hart House, 7 Hart House Circle, in the downtown campus of the University of Toronto.

All screenings are free and open to the public.

Loop installations will be ongoing in the North Dining Room, South Dining Room and Board room. Screenings in the Music Room begin at 6pm, with a reception to take place at 7pm. Screening of the main portion will begin at 8pm (includes an intermission) followed by an awards presentation at 10:30pm.

43rd Annual Juno Awards – winners

The Juno Awards were held this week in Winnipeg, culminating with the televised gala at MTS Centre. The show was co-hosted by Serena Ryder, Classified, and Johnny Reid. Performers included Brett Kissel, Classified, Dean Brody, Gord Bamford, Matt Mays, OneRepublic, Sarah McLachlan, Serena Ryder, Tegan and Sara, The Sheepdogs and Walk Off The Earth. Robin Thicke withdrew from his controversial scheduled performance due to ongoing issues with his vocal cords.

The big winner of the night was the sister duo Tegan and Sara, taking three awards. They won Single of the year ("Closer"), Group of the Year and Pop Album of the Year (Heartthrob).

Montreal's Arcade Fire were on tour and weren't able to attend, but they "performed" (pre-taped recording) a world-premiere for the show. They also picked up a pair of awards, winning Album of the Year and Alternative Album of the Year for Reflektor.

Call for submissions: TIFF Talent Lab

The Toronto International Film Festival is now accepting submissions for its 2014 edition of Talent Lab.

Founded in 2004, Talent Lab is an intensive multiple-day artistic development programme that provides emerging talent with an unparalleled opportunity to learn from the world's best film artists. The 2014 Talent Lab runs from Wednesday, September 3, to Saturday, September 6.

Using the Festival's outstanding relationships with acclaimed filmmakers, Talent Lab leads participants in group discussions on a range of topics focused on the artistic side of filmmaking, sharpening the skills and confidence of a new generation of filmmakers.

Call for submissions: 2014 Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS!

TIFF Industry presents Telefilm Canada PITCH THIS! for the 15th consecutive year at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival!

Six participant teams have six minutes to pitch their feature film idea to a live audience of over 250 industry professionals. The winners, selected by a jury of international industry experts, are awarded $15,000 from Telefilm Canada to develop the project further.

Eligibility

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.

TIFF selects Seoul, South Korea for 2014 City To City programme

TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHTS THE CINEMA OF
SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA WITH 2014 CITY TO CITY PROGRAMME

HONG KONG — Cameron Bailey, Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, today announced that the 2014 City to City programme will focus on Seoul, South Korea.

“Seoul is one of the most exciting cities on the planet, and you can feel that energy in its films,” said Bailey. “South Korea's capital continues to produce consistently strong cinema, from art house to commercial. Seoul’s best auteurs win major festival awards, while its genre masters are sought after in Hollywood and its actors have won fans all across Asia. This year we want to introduce our audience to Seoul’s next generation. We are lucky to be based in Toronto, home to one of the most ardent audiences for Korean cinema.”

16e soirée des Jutra – winners

The 16th soirée des Jutra was held tonight at a gala ceremony at the Monument-National in Montreal's Quartier des spectacles. The evening was hosted by Pénélope McQuade and Laurent Paquin.

Daniel Roby's Louis Cyr : l'homme le plus fort du monde (Louis Cyr: The Strongest Man in the World) was the top winner of the night. It had led the field with eleven nominations and came away with nine awards including Best Film, Best Actor (Antoine Bertrand), Best Supporting Actor (Guillaume Cyr), and the Jutra Billet d'or for box-office success.

Louise Archambault's Gabrielle was next with five trophies. Archambault herself won for Best Director and Best Screenplay while Mélissa Désormeaux-Poulin won for Best Supporting Actress. Gabrielle was Canada's submission for the Foreign Language category of the Academy Awards.

2014 Prism Prize – winners

On Sunday, March 23, director Emily Kai Bock was announced as the winner of the 2014 Prism Prize for Arcade Fire’s Afterlife music video at the Prism Prize Award Reception at The Everleigh in Toronto, Ontario. Emily Kai Bock, who was also nominated for Majical Cloudz’s Childhood’s End this year, was on hand to accept the $5,000.

“Emily made some truly remarkable videos last year,” said Prism Prize Founder and Director Louis Calabro, “it says something that two of Emily’s pieces were on the Top Ten Shortlist. Ultimately, I think our jurors chose Afterlife because it’s thoughtful and well-paced, and because – frankly – it looks beautiful.”

Canadian Society of Cinematographers 57th annual CSC Awards – winners

The Canadian Society of Cinematographers held their 57th Annual CSC Awards tonight at the Westin Harbour Castle, Conference Centre. The event was hosted by film critic and television personality Richard Crouse.

Pierre Gill won for Theatrical Feature for his work on Juan Diego Solanas' science-fiction film Upside Down and also won the TV Series category for Copper. Gill had also been nominated for feature The Colony. He was the only multiple winner of the evening.

Film Review: Nymph()maniac

Writer/Director: Lars von Trier
Producer: Louise Vesth
Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgård, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf, Christian Slater, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman, Willem Dafoe, Mia Goth, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Connie Nielsen, Michaël Pas, Jean-Marc Barr, Udo Kier
Erotic European Art Film
Volume I: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Volume II: 2 hours, 10 minutes

Lars von Trier's latest film arrives with a lot of baggage. He's known to be a talented provocateur, as well as immensely polarizing. One of the few male directors who consistently writes meaty roles for women, he's nonetheless accused of misogyny. After receiving a Palme d'Or in 2000 for Dancer in the Dark, he returned in 2011 with an arguably greater film Melancholia. It was overshadowed after a press conference went off the rails when he told a personal story about how he grew up identifying as a Jew and only discovered when his mother was on her deathbed that his real father was her German boss. His facetious remarks about wanting to be a Jew only to discover he was a Nazi were grossly misunderstood and misrepresented in the media, with the result that he was declared "Persona non Grata" by the Festival de Cannes.

27th Images Festival announces 2014 lineup

The 27th Images Festival is right around the corner, with 10 days of groundbreaking film screenings, live performances and media-based installations taking place throughout Toronto April 10 - 19, 2014. The Images Festival continues to showcase the innovative edge of international contemporary media art, exhibiting a wide range of work and disciplines through its ON SCREEN, OFF SCREEN and LIVE IMAGES programming.

OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHT
Kicking off the festival at the Royal Cinema on April 10 @ 7 PM, is an intimate and epic film by the Indian collective CAMP (artists in attendance). From Gulf to Gulf to Gulf was shot over four years with a variety of high definition and mobile phone cameras, providing a remarkable window into the usually invisible world of merchant seamen who traverse the Arabian Sea to the Persian Gulf. Having screened at Experimenta Festival, FID Marseille and Documenta, we are thrilled to bring this incredible film to Toronto audiences for our opening night.

Hot Docs announces complete lineup for 2014 festival, Apr 24-May 4

197 DOCUMENTARIES FROM 43 COUNTRIES TO SCREEN AT NORTH AMERICA’S LARGEST DOC FEST

Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival announced its full film line-up for the upcoming 21st edition, April 24–May 4, at a press conference this morning at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema in Toronto. From 2,435 film submissions, this year’s slate will present 197 titles from 43 countries in 12 screening programs.

“We are so proud to be showing these incredible films and combining them with amazing live events and experiences.” says Hot Docs director of programming Charlotte Cook. “We truly hope it will be a festival of ideas, discussion and amazement and we’re looking forward to bringing the best filmmaking in the world to the world’s greatest audience.”

Osheaga 2014 announces full lineup

Le Festival Musique et Arts Osheaga has announced the complete lineup for the 2014 edition of the festival. The event is set to take place from August 1-3 at Parc Jean-Drapeau.

Headliners include hip-hop duo OutKast, rock outlaw Jack White, English rockers Arctic Monkeys, dark & sombre singer-songwriter Nick Cave, dubstep king Skrillex, Swedish pop star Lykke Li, punk-rock quartet Against Me!, Australian electro band Cut Copy, indie pop trio Foster the People and gypsy-punk group Gogol Bordello.

OSHEAGA welcomed 135,000 fans last year, selling out all tickets for the second year in a row. Presented by Virgin Mobile in collaboration with Molson Canadian, the 2014 edition promises to once again offer an outstanding experience to local and travelling music lovers who enjoy nothing more than seeing and listening to countless talented artists outdoors on a hot summer weekend.

Cinéfranco announces full program for 2014 festival, Mar 28-Apr 6

Discover International Francophone Cinema at Cinéfranco 2014

The Royal in Toronto
Friday, March 28 – Sunday, April 6, 2014

A special Free pre-festival program of Francophone Canadian shorts with filmmakers in attendance
Wednesday, March 26 2014, 6:30pm at Magic Lantern Cinema, Carlton St

Tuesday, March 11, 2014: Cinéfranco, English Canada’s largest celebration of international Francophone cinema returns to The Royal in Toronto from Friday, March 28, 2014 to Sunday, April 6, 2014 for its 17^th edition.

Catch up with your favourite stars and directors, and discover new talents through the 25 feature films and 14 shorts screening at Toronto’s beloved annual showcase of the best of Francophone cinema. Films from Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Morocco and Portugal will grace the big screen, including 14 North American Premieres, 7 English Canadian Premieres and 2 Canadian Premieres.

2014 Canadian Screen Awards – March 9 winners

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is pleased to announce that 33 CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS were presented tonight during the CBC Broadcast Gala, hosted LIVE by comedy legend Martin Short from the prestigious Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto.

“Tonight we gather in the company of our country’s brightest and most glamorous talent to celebrate the best in Canadian film and television,” says Martin Katz, Academy Chair. “I am honoured to celebrate and applaud this year’s outstanding nominees and winners. Their work brings us together, around screens big and small, enriching our communities through story,” he said.

“At 65 years young, we’re only getting better,” says Helga Stephenson, Academy CEO. “This anniversary marks a celebration of our Canadian screen idols, from Mary Pickford to John Candy to Tatiana Maslany, these world renowned stars have helped to shape a national legacy and continue to create new opportunities for our growing Canadian star system. On behalf of the Academy, I applaud all of tonight’s outstanding Canadian Screen Awards winners and Academy Special Award recipients,” said Stephenson.