FNC 2015: Ninth Floor, a documentary film about the ‘Sir George Williams computer riot’ will be shown where the events took place

Concordia professor Clarence Bayne (left), director Mina Shum and producer Selwyn Jacob across the street from the Henry F. Hall Building of Concordia University. (National Film Board of Canada photo.)

“Sirens reverberated through downtown Montreal as fire trucks and police cars rushed towards the three-year-old Hall Building. Surrounded by riot police clashing with protestors, the ninth floor of the jewel of Sir George Williams University was on fire. Black smoke billowed from open windows and onlookers watched with horror and disbelief.” (Excerpt from an anniversary article by Justin Giovannetti in the student newspaper The Link, Feb. 10, 2009.)

It’s known in local lore as the “Sir George Williams computer riot.” In May 1968, a biology professor at Sir George Williams University was accused of racism against his Caribbean students. After months passed without action from the university administration, students occupied the ninth floor computer centre in February of 1969. Eventually, computers were trashed, windows were broken, and punch cards floated down onto the snowy street below. The riot squad moved in; someone started a fire. The damage was in the millions of dollars.

Computer punch cards and other paper litters the ground below the Henry F. Hall Building of Concordia University in February, 1969. (Concordia Archives photo via Nationa Film Board of Canada web site.)

On Friday, Oct. 9, 2015 we Montrealers will have a rare opportunity involving time, memory and (physical space). In the ground floor in Room H-110 of the Henry F. Hall Building, of Concordia University, we can watch a documentary about the events that took place all those years ago, just a few storeys above. (Before the occupation, a committee to discuss the complaints against the teacher had taken place in H-110 itself.)

Among the people who attend tonight, some will have little to no knowledge of what happened, some will have watched footage on the nightly news back in the day, some might have been part of the occupation. Some might be second-generation Concordia students.

What will it feel like? I can’t imagine, but I intend to find out. I’m sure there will be many interesting questions and comments. Director Mina Shum and members of the Concordia Caribbean Student Union will be among the guests at the screening.

Ninth Floor was shown at the Toronto Internationl Film Festival (TIFF) and received positive reviews. Some U.S. writers expressed surprise and disappointment that Canada is not always the kinder, more gentle nation that we (and they) might like to think that we are.

For those who cannot go on Friday, Oct. 9, there will be another screening at noon on Friday, Oct. 16, 2015, in the J. W. McConnell Building across the street.

Ninth Floor is being presented by the Festival du nouveau cinéma and Cinema Politica of Concordia University. There is a Facebook page for the screening of Ninth Floor.

You can also read about Ninth Floor on the FNC web site. The 2015 Festival du Nouveau Cinéma runs until Oct. 18, 2015.

Fantasia 2015: Buy your tickets ASAP – procrastination could lead to tears

Tickets to the Quebec film Turbo Kid were all snapped up minutes after the box office opened at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Munro Chambers, left, plays the Kid, and Laurence Leboeuf plays Apple.

When it comes to buying tickets for the Fantasia International Film Festival, sooner is much better than later. You might be lucky enough to buy a ticket a few minutes before a film starts, but don’t count on it. Fantasia veterans know this, which is why there is always a very long line outside Concordia University’s Hall Building the first day that tickets go on sale.

Reports on Facebook say that a few hardy souls arrived at 5 a.m. on Saturday, July 11, though the box office would not be opening until 1 p.m.

Tickets for the Japanese film Attack on Titan were in high demand as well. Haruma Miura, above, plays Eren.

Once ticket sales began, two films sold out within minutes, and by the end of the day, six films were sold out.
The two super popular selections were Attack On Titan (Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015 at 21:30) a Japanese film based on a manga and an anime TV series, and Turbo Kid (Thursday, July 23, 2015 at 19:00), a Quebec film that’s been winning praise and prizes at film festivals in the U.S., U.K., Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. It will be heading to South Korea and New Zealand soon. An extra screening of Turbo Kid has been added, at 23: 55 on Friday, July 31.

John DeFore of the Hollywood Reporter calls Turbo Kid: “An endearingly sincere romp through ’80s popcorn-flick tropes” and “a pitch-perfect pastiche that never mocks its inspirations.”

Jordan Crucchiola of Wired writes: “Nothing we saw at Sundance was as much fun as Turbo Kid and the enthusiasm of the filmmakers poured through every frame, infectious enough to turn a room full of indie film fans into kids again.”
Ard Vijn of TwitchFilm says: “its creators and co-directors François Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell have infused the film with a mix of homage, parody and kick-assery that is very infectious. . .In every single part of filmmaking, Turbo Kid manages to rise above its expected level of quality.”

The other sold out films (in alphabetical order) are: Cooties (Friday, July 17, 22:00) a U.S. horror-comedy in which elementary school children turn into flesh-hungry little monsters. From the people who brought us Glee and the Saw movies. Very interesting combination, there!

Cop Car (Tuesday, July 28, 19:15) Two young boys steal a car belonging to an evil sheriff, who’s played by Kevin Bacon. Bacon will be here to present the films and answer questions.

Synchronicity (Wednesday, July 22, 19:15) a U.S. time travel film.

A scene from the Austrian film Therapy for a Vampire (Der Vampir auf der Couch) which will be shown twice at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Are those carpets gorgeous, or what?

Therapy For A Vampire (Tuesday, July 14, 19:00) an Austrian comedy which sees a vampire consult pioneering psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. (As I write this, there are still tickets available for a 12:45 p.m. screening on Friday, July 17, 2015.)
The Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14-Aug. 4, 2015. Read more about the festival at fantasiafestival.com

Fantasia film festival menu makes me hungry for the full, tasty feast

Mitch Davis, one of the general directors of the Fantasia International Film Festival, in his usual mood, which is very animated and highly enthusiastic! Davis has been known to knock over plants and other such stage props, which is probably one reason why there aren't any plants on that stage. Photo by Liz Ferguson — Mitch Davis, one of the general directors of the Fantasia International Film Festival, in his usual mood, which is very animated and highly enthusiastic! Davis has been known to knock over plants and other such stage props, which is probably one reason why there aren’t any plants on that stage. Photo by Liz Ferguson

On Tuesday, July 7, 2015, more than 200 people came to Cinéma de Sève at Concordia University to get the latest lowdown on the films, guests, venues and assorted events that make up the 19th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival.

The festival will show comedies, dramas, horror, thrillers, action films, animated films and documentaries. There will be spirits, vampires, martial artists, good cops and bad, adorable characters and despicable ones.

There were enthusiastic speeches from the usual suspects, and some trailers, too. I appreciate those trailers immensely – a description from someone who likes a film is nice, but there’s nothing like seeing for yourself!

I saw many intriguing snippets; some of the Japanese films look really quirky, and I mean that in a GOOD way! And I want to see most, probably all, of the 12 Korean films that will be shown at the fest.

Some films are probably too gory for me, because I’m a big scaredy-cat, but that’s OK, I know that others like them. It’s difficult enough to see all the films that I want to see, so being able to rule some out is almost a blessing.
This year, the festival will show 135 feature films from 36 countries; obviously only a few could be mentioned at the press conference. That’s where the Fantasia catalogue and/or web site come in. I do like having a printed catalogue and a printed schedule, but I also appreciate the Fantasia International Film Festival web site, where I can find films by name, country, genre, or director. That’s great for those who want to read about all the documentaries or all the films from a particular country.

In venue news, there will be outdoor screenings on Concordia grounds; the McCord Museum will show films suitable for children (Fantasia shows more of those than you might think!); some films will be shown in the lovely auditorium of the Grand Bibliothèque, near the Berri-UQAM métro.

Among the revelations – Fantasia will show Roar, a rarely-seen film from 1981 that’s been given a new lease on life through Drafthouse Films. I’ve read many articles about it in the past few months, so I’m really eager to see it.

Roar features more than 150 wild cats who were being kept as pets by writer/director Noah Marshall and his family. That family included actressTippi Hedren (from Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds) her daughter, actress Melanie Griffith, and two sons. They all act in the film. From what I’ve read, they were lucky to come out of the experience alive. Few people escaped unmauled, or unscratched, though. The film is being marketed with a catchphrase along the lines of: “No animals were harmed in the making of this film, but 70 people were.” Cinematographer Jan de Bont had his scalp torn off, and it took 120 stitches to sew it back onto his head.

Fantasia will also show Haemoo, a Korean film based on a tragic, real-life life incident. Kim Yun-seok is the star, it was produced and co-written by Bong Joon-ho (Snowpiercer, The Host, Memories of Murder, etc., etc), and directed by Shim Sung-bo, who was one of Bong’s co-writers for Memories of Murder.

Maybe this was announced earlier and I didn’t see it, but Kevin Bacon will come to present the film, Cop Car. Bacon plays a very bad sheriff hot on the trail of two young boys who have stolen his cruiser. There will be a Q&A after the film, and Mitch Davis encouraged everyone to come and ask Bacon lots of questions. He was chortling, in an infectious way, at the possibilities.

For me, the Fantasia press conference, and the festival itself, is like an ideal version of a high-school reunion – fun, friendly, all smiles, no bullies.

There is so much to say about the Fantasia International Film Festival; I guess the best thing is to write several posts, and not to go on and on with this one!

But I would like to say “thank you” to Fantasia organizers for holding their press conference in a place that had enough seats for the invitees. I wish that every organization would do that! Standing up for more than one hour, while also trying to take notes – it isn’t fun at all!

The Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 14 to Aug. 4, 2015.
Tickets can be bought online from Admission and at the box office. Many films sell out amazingly quickly and many will only be shown once, so if something sounds good to you, avoid disappointment and buy tickets sooner rather than later.

Montreal International Animated Film Festival – lots to see in four days

108 Demon Kings is based on the classic Chinese novel The Water Margin.

Montreal has dozens of film festivals, but it seems that there’s always room to squeeze in another one.

The Montreal International Animation Film Festival starts tonight, Thursday, April 16 and will run until Sunday, April 19, 2015. The festival will include animated features, shorts, panel discussions, a masterclass, a market AND time for partying.

The screenings and discussions will take place at the downtown campus of Concordia University; the partying will be at Restaurant Rosalie, a short walk away at 1232 de la Montagne.

The films come from Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Iran, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey and the U.S.

Local animators taking part include Gerald Potterton, Co Hoedeman and Steven Woloshen.
The opening night film is described this way on the MIAFF web site: “The Land of the Magic Flute is a captivating browser-experience produced by the Interactive Media Foundation in Berlin. . . .sound-artist Philippe Lambert will be performing an intuitive and impressionistic rendition of his soundtrack composition. Playing with elements of Mozart’s original composition recorded by the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra, Lambert creates a soundscape that takes the opera into new spheres.”

Descriptions of some of the other feature films on the program are below.
108 Demon Kings is set in12th century China and based on the classic novel The Water Margin. It’s directed by Pascal Morelli who also directed Corto Maltese, which was a popular selection at the Fantasia Film Festival several years ago.

108 Demon Kings is set in 12th century China and based on the classic novel The Water Margin.

Aunt Hilda! (Tante Hilda!) is the botanist heroine of an ecological fable from France/Luxembourg that has genetically-modified organisms running rampant over the planet.

Hungarian film Manieggs: Revenge of The Hard Egg is about a guy who’s seeking revenge after spending two weeks in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. All the characters are said to be eggs, though they also remind me of Minions and mini-Lego characters, too. The film looks like bizarre fun, at any rate.

According to its trailer, Anima Buenos Aires is “full of art, magic and humour.” Tango music, too.

On Friday afternoon there will be a screening of Gerald Potterton’s Heavy Metal (1981). The six episodes within the film feature an evil green orb, swords and sorcery, sci-fi, stoners, zombies, and giant breasts, with music from Black Sabbath, Blue Oyster Cult, Cheap Trick, Devo, Donald Fagen, DonFelder, Grand Funk Railroad, Journey, Nazareh, Sammy Hagar, and Stevie Nicks, and voice work provided by SCTV guys John Candy, Eugene Levy, Al Flaherty, Harold Ramis, Al Waxman, John Vernon, and former Lovin’ Spoonful member Zal Yanovsky.

There are several short film programs arranged by theme: Death & Horror, Emerging Cinema, ExPeRimEnTal, He(art), I Have an Issue, Offspring Kid Program and La femme.

“Best of Ottawa” has nine shorts “Recommended For Mature Audiences Only” from the Ottawa International Animation Festival, “Best of Annecy” has eight shorts from the famous festival in France, while “Best of Kanata” is a selection of 12 films by Canadian Aboriginal filmmakers.
Visit the website lemiaff.com for prices and more information.

Cinema Politica Mondays: Righteous pranksters The Yes Men are coming to Montreal! Meet them and see their latest film!

If you’re already familiar with The Yes Men, the following information might be all you need from me: 7 p.m., Monday, March 16, 2015, Room H-110, Concordia University.

For the rest of you. . . The Yes Men are bringing the latest documentary about themselves, The Yes Men Are Revolting, to Montreal. This is the third film about them, so they must be pretty interesting, right? Right! And the film was invited to the Toronto Film Festival in 2014 and the Berlin Film Festival this year.

The Yes Men are multi-talented multi-taskers. They are authors, activists, co-conspirators, inspired impersonators, performance artists, political pranksters, practical jokers, rabble rousers, social-justice warriors. Or, to put it more briefly, they’re “the good guys.” (Well, I think so, and I know that many others do, too.)

The Yes Men are Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonnano, though they are aided and abetted by hundreds of like minded souls. They use humour, chutzpah and their considerable wits to expose injustice. They hope that their antics will shame corporations or politicians into doing the right thing.

The Yes Men are canny users of the media. They often get their message out through phony web sites, phony press releases, or at press conferences where they impersonate someone in a position of authority.

Their most audacious prank was on BBC TV in 2004. On the 20th anniversary of a deadly chemical leak in Bhopal, India, Bichlbaum impersonated a “Dow Chemical spokesman” who said that the company would take full responsibility for the disaster and spend $12 billion on clean up and compensation. (Dow Chemical had bought Union Carbide in 2001, but refused to accept any responsibility for the victims or for cleaning up the site, which was still contaminated, 20 years after the leak.)

At least 8,000 people died within 72 hours of the gas leak at a Union Carbide plant, 15,000 more died in the following years, and 100,000 had debilitating illnesses “for which treatment is largely ineffective.”

The hoax got lots of international attention, though sadly it did not prompt Dow Chemical to change its stance.

The Yes Men have impersonated representatives of the World Trade Organization, Halliburton,
U.S. Chamber of Commerce and U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. They even have “Canadian content.” During a Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen they created several fake web sites that said Environment Canada was committed to making huge reductions in greenhouse gases, and that Canada would pay $13 billion in compensation to African countries that were adversely affected by climate change. They spoofed an oil and gas conference in Calgary, and they put Justin Bieber’s face on an asthma inhaler. (That was on a web site created to mock greenwashing by coal companies. You can read the post I wrote about it here.)
When reviewing the previous films, The Yes Men (2003) and The Yes Men Fix the World (2009) some critics wrote that they would have liked to know more about what makes the Yes Men tick, what prompts their activism. While I’ve not seen The Yes Men Are Revolting, reviews I’ve read indicate that we do learn more about the day-to-day lives of the duo and how their political work has an impact on their family relationships.

There is no fixed price for admission to the screening of The Yes Men Are Revolting, it’s a pay what you can situation, though the suggested price is $5 to $10.
I suggest bringing some extra cash, in case there is some The Yes Men merchandise for sale. Their online store has T-shirts, DVDs, posters, books, spoof editions of New York Times, New York Post AND “one Survivaball: Couture for Climate Calamity. Extremely Limited Edition – $10,000.00” I suspect that the last item is a joke. The thing does exist, but are they really selling it? Maybe we will find out on Monday night.

The Yes Men Are Revolting, directed by Laura Nix & The Yes Men / United States / 2014 / 90 ‘ / in English

Screening, with The Yes Men in attendance, at 7 p.m., Monday, March 16, 2015, 1455 de Maisonneuve West, Room H110, Concordia University, Montreal

The Facebook Event page is here.

Learn more about The Yes Men here.

Learn more about Cinema Politica here.