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TIFF17: What I Saw/My Favourite Film

Sally Hawkins as Elisa in "The Shape of Water" 

Photo source: www.tiff.net

Of the 34 features that I saw at TIFF17, my absolute favourite is The Shape of Water, directed by Guillermo del Toro and written by del Toro and Vanessa Taylor. 

1. Ava
2. Disappearance
3. Euphoria
4. Euthanizer
5. Ex Libris - The New York Public Library
6. Eye on Juliet
7. Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami
8. I Love You Daddy
9. In Conversations with…Gael Garcia Bernal
10. In Conversations with…Javier Bardem
11. Ladybird
12. Let the Corpses Tan
13. Mary Goes Round
14. Miami
15. Nina
16. Other Side of Hope
17. Our People Will Be Healed
18. Porcupine Lake
19. Ravens
20. Roman J. Israel, Esquire
21. Short Cuts (various Programme selections)
22. The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales
23. The Current War
24. The Gospel According to Andre
25. The Hungry
26. The Other Side of Hope
27. The Racer and the Jailbird
28. The Royal Hibiscus Hotel
29. The Shape of Water
30. The Square
31. The Swan
32. The Third Murder
33. Valley of Shadows
34. Vampire Clay
35. What Will People Say

TIFF17: The First Film

"Ex Libris - The New York Public Library"

Photo source: www.tiff.net

I wanted to ease into TIFF17, so my first screening was the Frederick Wiseman documentary Ex Libris - The New York Public Library. Yep, you got that right. I decided to kick off the festival with a three-hour film. Why? Because I'm a library geek and how could I  go wrong with a master documentarian? Still, I watched the film with the general public in mind. Beyond its appeal to like-minded people, this doc has a lot to say about current social and political conditions in the United States. We don't just see people borrowing books, we get a glimpse into the various boroughs in which these libraries are located. The make-up of each area determines the library's usage: some borrowers don't have access to the Internet, cutting them off from what's happening around them and father afield. With hook-ups and laptops available from the library they now have access. While some areas have a high volume of digital borrows, books flourish in others, and culturally diverse materials/talks/courses, help sustain and build community--think sign language and braille! I was especially impressed by the inclusion of discussions on race  as it pertains to the history and composition of the country. I attended a Press and Industry screening, but I'm sure those who attend the public screening will be impressed with the scope of the film, leading to some socially relevant questions during the Q & A.

Visit: www.tiff.net for upcoming screening dates and times.

TIFF17: Chatting Short Cuts Programmes with Jason Anderson

TIFF17 kicks off Sept 7 and I don't want you to forget the Canadian and International short films that will be screening at the festival. The beauty of the Short Cuts programmes is that you get the chance to see little gems communicating ideas that you can ponder or laugh about later. I haven't see all the films, but I did get the opportunity to let TIFF programmer, Jason Anderson share his delight in his team bringing these 8 film programmes to the big screen at TIFF. Have a listen and then visit www.tiff.net for detailed information.

SummerWorks 17 Review: Mother Sea/Manman la mer & What Do You See?

DOUBLE BILL: Mother Sea/Manman la mer teamed with What Do You See? Please note that you will be stamped for reentry as there is a changeover break between the two shows.

Mother Sea/Manman la mer
Written by Djennie Laguerre
Directed by Rhoma Spencer
Program Description: In the tradition of Haitian storytelling, Mother Sea / Manman la Mertakes us on a journey that joins magic, love, and redemption. It is the story of a woman who can see the future in her dreams but is cut off from her abilities by her mother’s fear. After healing from a mysterious sickness, her dreams disappear along with her sense of self. 25 years later, only her grandmother can restore her faith and her ancestral lineage.

Seasoned storyteller, Djennie Laguerre, always invites her audience to follow along on her journeys. When she says "krick" she invites you to respond "krack", meaning you hear and acknowledge what she sharing, whether its serious or funny. Djennie starts off well with the tale of a young girl discovering her difference, and we are invited into her world of Quebecoise and Haitian aunties. Krick. Krack. However, as the girl's power to see the future is suppressed by her mother (krick!) and depression follows, the responding krack! is barely heard from the audience: the call and response is missing its energy. Djennie is not seeing us, so there is no one guiding the collective. This may be an intentional decision to mirror her character's mood, but it's not an effective choice as it alienates us from the storyteller. Still, Djennie weaves a good tale, and I, along with the rest of the audience, fell in love with the strength and vibrancy of the Haitian grandmother. This is a work in progress, and as such, things are subject to change. Perhaps by your performance, Djennie will have gone back to embracing her audience with her usual warmth from beginning to end.

What Do You See?

Choreographed and Performed by Jasmyn Fyffe

Program Description: A new, intimate, probing solo dance-theatre work that seeks to explore a plethora of ideas around the female black body.

Before entering the space, we are encouraged to choose a label and stick in on Jasmyn's back as she stands in silence, naked torso facing the theatre wall. Once we are seated, she remains against the wall, silently, sinuously manipulating fabric, until her hip covering now enshrouds her body. We are then invited by flashing APPLAUSE signs to participate as cheering audience members to a game show a twist. We have become complicit in an ugly truth, and as theatre glides into a movement piece, we are magnetized by Jamyn's incredibly emotional countenance and dancing ability. The labels are revealed, and, even if you didn't select one, we all know how damaging some labels can be. As the title suggests, the piece is subject to your interpretation, so what you take away will be based on your personal knowledge and experiences. One thing that many will agree is that Jasmyn Fyffe is an extraordinary talent. 

REMAINING PERFORMANCES  

Mother Sea/Manman la mer AND What Do You See?

The Theatre Centre BMO Incubator

1115 Queen Street W, Toronto, ON

Saturday August 12th 2:30pm - 3:45pm 

Sunday August 13th 12:00pm - 1:15pm

SummerWorks 17 Reviews: DIVINE, SPAWN

DIVINE 
Written by Natalie Frijia, 
Directed by Claire Burns
Program Description: Ontario is out of water and a pair of bandits search for their last hope – a water diviner by the name of Penn. Stories say she can crack the world like a coconut and make water bubble to the surface with nothing but her hands. But the bandits aren’t the only ones hunting her down. nithungAnd what if there’s nothing left for Penn to divine?


My Thoughts: Amanda Cordner (Penn) has a self-assured stage presence that commands attention. That's what makes a great lead, but, even if she was playing a supporting character, your eye would still follow her, she's that captivating. Unfortunately, not even Cordner's talents can save this mess. The convoluted plot is compounded by affected Western accents that are often difficult to understand, resulting in a loss of thematic focus.  The acting ranges from excessively broad to stilted, and some of the  extraneous "bandits" contribute nothing to the story. What should have been an intriguing dystopian tall tale, instead becomes a comedy as dry as the deserts referred to in the play itself. 

REMAINING PERFORMANCES
Factory Theatre Mainspace
125 Bathurst Street
Saturday August 12th 7:00pm - 8:15pm

Sunday August 13th1:30pm - 2:45pm

SPAWN
Written by Cheyenne Scott
Directed by Gein Wong
Program Description: Theresa is haunted by the traditional Coast Salish story of the Salmon Spirit, and the death of her mother who drowned in the Pacific Ocean. Now that she’s pregnant, her disconnected family must prepare for a new generation.

My Thoughts: I enjoyed watching this young couple deal with an unexpected pregnancy and their need to create a family, something neither really had for various reasons. The production design, with natural wood as a stand-in for furniture and riverbanks, cascading blue fabric to simulate water, and the background projection of nature all work with the metaphor of spawning.  The inclusion of indigenous folktales and historic truths grounds the work, reinforcing what the young couple must build upon and struggle against as they create their new family. 

It may seem strange to say that a cast of 4 is too large, but in the case of SPAWN, I believe the story would have been more compelling if focussed on the two young leads (Samantha Brown as Theresa and Dillan Meighan-Chiblow as Mikey).  Yes, the main plot surrounds Theresa and her relationship with her father and estranged grandmother, but I found those characters slowed the pace of the action; their contribution could have been summed up through dialogue between the young couple, and an expanded role for the charismatic, Meighan-Chiblow.

REMAINING PERFORMANCES
Factory Theatre Mainspace
125 Bathurst Street
Saturday August 12th 9:30pm - 10:30pm

Sunday August 13th 3:45pm - 4:45pm

Tickets: (general admission $15) Complete details: http://summerworks.ca/tickets 

Photos courtesy of www.summerworks.ca

Citizen Jane: Battle for the City

Its fascinating to watch the historic battle play out between Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses in Matt Tyrnauer's documentary, Citizen Jane: Battle for the City. Voicing Jacobs is Marissa Tomei while Moses is voice by Vincent D'onofrio. Archival documents and communication about city planning as well as footage of cities like New York and Chicago illustrate some of the damage created by architects and top down planners of the past. We are able to see what works and what doesn't, how the same issues are being repeated today (block towers again in China and India) and how citizens must mobilize in order to have a say in how cities are developed. The question of who gets to decide is still one that is being debated all over the world, especially as cites are growing at a never-before seen rate.

Using the term "housewife", a reductive term in the pre-feminist era, the powers that be thought they could reduce the impact that Jane Jacobs and her organized groups of like-minded citizens had on preventing the lower Manhattan expressway from being developed in the early 1960s. Boy, were the ever wrong! Yes, she was a housewife, and she used that power to do what housewives have always done, connect with each other and their community. The difference was that Jane was also a journalist who had investigated how her city and others worked. She saw things from the ground up, so she knew how important people were to the sustainability and growth of a city. She had written numerous articles about different aspects of New York from flower to fur district and had written the still-relevant, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities". She knew that cities were living things that required diversity of people,  neighbourhoods, streets, and business.  As one woman says in the documentary, she felt safe walking down to the store at night because the old men in the cafes were out socializing and kept an eye on her. Their presence, meant that she was seen, and in their seeing, would know if any one was bothering her. These are the stories that Jane knew and the people with whom she was familiar, if not individually, than as a collective that made the city function. What her adversary, Robert Moses did not know, was the power and needs of such people.

While in the  pre-war years, Moses was an urban planner who developed public meeting and recreational  spaces, post-depression, post-World War II era Moses and his ilk thought that demolishing tenements and replacing them with high density apartment blocks was the answer to accommodate people and the growing car consumerist culture. What urban planners of the day didn't take into consideration was that in separating work from recreation and home, they developed blocks of isolation where people were no longer able to interact with the vibrancy of the streets. Expressways were seen as the "arteries of progress" where in fact, they were preventing stoop culture and community-building.

Jane Jacobs was instrumental in defeating Toronto's own Spadina Expressway plans when she and her family moved Toronto. Citizen Jane is now playing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and in select theatres across the country, just in time for the global initiative Jane's Walk scheduled May 5, 6, and 7th. The festival consists of free citizen-lead walking tours where the emphasis is on people connecting within their communities and exchanging thoughts about their neighbourhood.  Details about a walk in your city can be found at www.janeswalk.org

"David Lynch: The Art Life", A Painterly Doc

courtesy of Pacific Northwest Pictures

Filmmaker Jon Nguyen and his team adroitly capture a cinematic reflection of subject David Lynch in the aptly titled documentary, "David Lynch: The Art Life". The colours of Lynch's artistry and recollections are painted in tones of smoke, charcoal and dirty silver, the occasional burst of natural yellow (enrobing a solitary Lynch as he works outdoors) and the thick layers of the reds and greens Lynch applies to his canvasses. 

Watching artists at work is a treat for me: seeing what they choose to create, why they choose to bring it into existence and the impact of their mental and physical states on what they produce. With Lynch acting as his own narrator, we get the opportunity to hear personal details of his idyllic childhood in Boise, Idaho, the family's move to Alexandria,Virginia where a teenage Lynch felt as if he was living in perpetual night, his time at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, where the miasma of racism and fear that hung over the city nevertheless inspired his work, and how a long shot lead him to the world of film in L.A.

If you're a Lynch fan, you're going to love his artwork. Dark, nightmare-inspiring, and even alien. Lynch's own father reacted to his work by suggesting he probably shouldn't have children. Perhaps if his father, indeed, his family,  had sat down and listened to Lynch talk about his art, they would have understand fully his need to create, to build other worlds through art. Then again, even if they did listen, they might be frightened by the thoughts that lead to his globular iterations on canvas, amorphous images on paper and puzzling manifestations in film.

Although, I was familiar with David Lynch's films (Eraserhead, Blue Velvet) and his avant-garde television classic, Twin Peaks, and despite Mulholland Drive being a favourite of mine, I had never taken the time to find out more about his life. If there are, perhaps one too many shots of Lynch sitting with cigarette smoke curling and wafting through the air, that indulgence can be forgiven for slowing down the film a bit. After seeing this documentary, I now have a better understanding of how some peculiar dreams, some real encounters and the synergy of Lynch's life/painter's life lead to such creations as the Log Lady in Twin Peaks, an ear in a suburban lawn in Blue Velvet, and Lynch's body of work.

On screen at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, the Vancity Theatre, Edmonton’s Metro Cinema, and Ottawa’s Mayfair Theatre on April 7th

Drabinsky's Sousatzka A Waste of Talent

Sitting in the audience of Sousatzka on Opening Night, there were moments when I hung my head at what was allowed to be presented on the stage of the Elgin Theatre. 

Montego Glover and Victoria Clark

photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

Based on the novel Madame Sousatzka by Bernice Rubens, this incarnation is a Garth Drabinsky produced version in which a young piano prodigy (actor Jordan Barrow) is caught between the demands of his mother (Montego Glover) and a very forthright music teacher (Victoria Clark). The show attempts to link the oppression faced by Sousatzka in Nazi occupied Warsaw and the oppression faced by those living under Apartheid in South Africa, in particular, Soweto. This glorious theme of unity is undermined by the production's own ignorance. How could they be so blind to their offensive portrayal of Soweto, and South Africa. When they chose to include projections of the savanna, did no one investigate the fact that Soweto is an urban setting, not grassland? When the script made fun of someone's name did they not realize that such cheap jokes would not be welcome in 2017, especially when the lead character has a name like Sousatzka? When they were choreographing the dances, did they not think to hire someone who could manifest on stage the high energy and distinctive forms of South African dance? With the Warsaw elements being fully and beautifully realized, the shoddy Soweto section makes songs such as "Rainbow Nation" absurd.

Jordan Barrow photo by Cylla von Tiedemann

Overall, the songs, music and dance in Sousatzka are the weakest I have ever seen in a major commercial production. At one time, the music coming from the pit reminded me of my junior high music class on a bad day. I felt sorry for the orchestra having to play such juvenile compositions. I also felt sorry for the actors. No fault can be placed upon Tony winner Clark (The Light in the Piazza, Gigi), Tony nominee Glover (Memphis, Les Miserables) and Tony winner Judy Kaye (The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked), whose resplendent voices had no matching lyrics to showcase their immense talents. The weak balletic moves I saw on stage would have had the students from the National Ballet School laughing out loud; the punk rock music scene had lots of plaid but the dancing was underwhelming, lacking the inherent hardcore physicality and simmering violence of that music scene.

I can't help but think that the ovation the show received on opening night was a an acknowledgement of the actors having to perform in such dreck.

Sousatzka is a pre-Broadway production that, in my opinion, isn't ready for any stage. If it should go to Broadway in its current state, the critics will have a most delightful time crafting their scathing reviews and they will be justified.

If you must:

Sousatzka (until April 9th)

Elgin Theatre
189 Yonge Street
http://sousatzkamusical.com/

Director John Shooter on Radiant Vermin

Note: Apologies to all for this late interview post. I was blindsided by a horrible cold that sapped my energy and  concentration.

donna g: Radiant Vermin makes the second time that Precisely Peter Productions is presenting a play by Philip Ridley. Was this always the intent, or were you spurred on by the success of Pitchfork Disney?

John Shooter: Philip Ridley is one of my favourite playwrights. I love his imagery, his sneaky twists and turns and the fact that, even his darkest, most gruesome plays are laced with black humour! I intend to do a trilogy of his plays.

donna g: Plans with your first venue fell through. Once you got past the panic, how did you deal with the resulting challenges?

John Shooter: I intended to stage Radiant Vermin in Double Double Land. However, following the fire (of a DIY creative venue) in LA (which killed 36 people), many such venues around the world have now been under strict inspection and have been forced to close. Even if they do in fact comply with health and safety rules. Unfortunately, Double Double Land is one such venue and we only found out three days before we were due to start rehearsing. The DDL guys are really great though and are working hard to get their venue reopened as soon as possible. I loved working with them and hope to go back there in the future.

I had to find a new venue extremely quickly and managed to find Dirty Talk, run by music producer James Beare. It's an amazing venue and James has been phenomenal in allowing us to utilise the space in any way we wanted. We couldn't have wished for anything better. I'd also love to bring another show back here. Of course, moving venues means rethinking the show in some ways. Entrances and exits are very different in both venues but, due to the understanding and generosity of the cast and designers, the change was as smooth as could be!

donna g: You've only been in Toronto a handful of years yet you've managed to create theatre in established spaces as well as the historic Campbell House and even hip corners of Kensington Market. Nothing seems to hold you back. What keeps you going?

Marium Carvell

John Shooter: What really keeps me going is the fact that l have met and worked with such extraordinarily talented people. I often work with people l had never met before starting a show and they are always so kind and generous and take a chance on me. I finish each show on a high and am sad that our time together is over. But, l store the memories and believe that we'll work together again. If this wasn't the case, l doubt l'd have the enthusiasm to continue. They inspire me and so do the plays, of course.

donna g: Radiant Vermin has been getting positive reviews since its Opening Night. Are there any chances of an extended run, or are you already thinking of your next project?

Julie Tepperman & Jonas Widdifield

John Shooter: Radiant Vermin is a magnificent play but it has been so challenging to pull off and do it justice. But in the hands of these wonderful actors and designers, l think they did it. They are superb. This play has a certain rhythm to it and asks to be performed at breakneck speed with boundless energy. There is no fancy set, lighting or sound and so relies primarily on the skill of the actors to bring the story alive. There's nowhere for them to hide. This is a great achievement on their part. I'm not entirely sure what my next project will be. I have several ideas though and so l hope you'll watch out for us. Regarding an extension, that would be great but these pigeons need to rest. They've put out everything into this show and never faltered.

Radiant Vermin
A Precisely Peter Production
Until March 19th
Dirty Talk
167 Augusta Avenue (just north of Dundas)
Kensington Market
facebook.com/PreciselyPeterProductions