Director, Ingrid Veninger Scores Again!

Director, Ingrid Veninger (right) with daughter, actress Hallie Switzer

Toronto Film Critics Associationpresented Filmmaker 

Ingrid Veninger with the Jay Scott Prize for Emerging Talent tonight at the annual TFCA Event, held at the Carlu.

Bruce McDonald presented the Award to Toronto filmmaker Ingrid Veninger (i am a good person/i am a bad person, Modra, Only). The prize is accompanied by a $5,000 cash award.

"Jay Scott was a critic who loved to discover adventurous talents inventing themselves on the outskirts of the industry," said TFCA President Brian D. Johnson, film critic for Maclean'smagazine. "Ingrid Veninger is a true independent, a maker of intimate films that seem born of the moment. Her work is infused with a spirit of generosity that extends to her presence in the film community as Toronto's queen of low-budget cinema." 

"Receiving the Jay Scott Prize for Emerging Talent from the Toronto Film Critics Association is a great honour," said Ingrid Veninger. "It's impossible for me to imagine not making movies; but sometimes the obstacles seem insurmountable and a little bit of encouragement goes a long way. In 1990, I saw Jay Scott at the TIFF screening for 'H'. I had a small role in the film and he smiled at me after the screening. This might not seem like a big deal, but it meant a lot to me, because his smile was full of encouragement. Now, I make personal, micro-budget films and I hope they are genuine and provocative. I work with talented and committed people who want a filmmaking adventure. And I am grateful to every person who comes out to see the films in the end, because that exchange with an audience is the point of the entire process. Tomorrow, the $5000 award money is going right into my next feature --  a fantasy, musical, lesbian, road trip -- I like to imagine that Jay would like it."

Established in 1997, the Toronto Film Critics Association is comprised of Toronto based journalists and broadcasters who specialize in film criticism and commentary. All major dailies, weeklies and a variety of other print and electronic outlets are represented.

The TFCA is affiliated with the International Federation of International Film Critics (FIPRESCI). Members have sat on juries at festivals in Cannes, Toronto, Berlin, Venice, Miami, Palm Springs, Vienna, Chicago, Pusan, Moscow, San Francisco, Warsaw, Amsterdam and London, among others.

Website: http://www.torontofilmcritics.com

Material Source: GAT PR

Photo Credit: donna g Above photo of Ingrid and Hallie snapped at 2011 Toronto International Film Festival's Canadian Press Conference. Royal York Hotel.

TIFF 11: My Top Ten Faves!

Still dealing with a cold, but thankfully it's winding down. I finally feel well enough to post my Top Ten TIFF Faves as well as the list of what I saw this year at the 36th annual Toronto International Film Festival. How was your TIFF?

MY TOP TEN (alpha order)
THE TURIN HORSE-Hungary (Béla Tarr) (My #1 Absolute Favourite!)
See Review




Coriolanus-UK (Ralph Fiennes) i am a good person/i am a bad person-Canada (Ingrid Veninger)

TIE: This may seem a strange coupling since Ralph Fiennes is an internationally known actor/director, and Ingrid Veninger is Canadian filmmaker who may be known only by those who love Canadian film and make a point of watching them. Despite the range of budget and styles the sense of the personal permeates every frame of these films. Despite the fact that Coriolanus looms large with weighty performances from Fiennes, Vanessa Redgrave, Gerard Butler, and Brian Cox, i am a good person equally invades the soul with performances by Veninger and her real life daughter Hallie Switzer. I enjoyed watching these two filmmakers bring their very personal visions to the screen.

Cut-Japan (Amir Naderi) Death of a Superhero-UK (Ian FitzGibbon)
Sometimes, because of my schedule of interviews and meetings, I go into films blindly, not knowing what they are about. While Cut and Death of a Superhero are not tied, they made my Top Ten list because both were wonderful revelations. Cut and its treatment of the death of cinema (the protagonist laments the fact that cinema which used to be both art and entertainment has been reduced to entertainment only) brought me into an elegiac world of film and Death of a Superhero, although dealing with a terminally ill teen delighted me with the solid acting delivered by its small cast and with its life-affirming (never indulgent) message.

Fable of the Fish-Phillipines (Adolfo Borinaga Alix Jr.)/ Where Do We Go Now?* (Nadine Labaki) *Winner: Cadillac People's Choice Award
TIE: Another tie here for these two fables about very serious topics told with boughts of humour that you have to buy into or the film will not work for you. In the case of Fable of the Fish, a tale about a woman who gives birth to a fish, it's all in the face of actress, Cherry Pie Picache. She has a face that will break your heart. One tear from her and you want to yell at the screen for someone to comfort and support her. In Where Do We Go Now? Muslim and Christian women try various subversive tactics in order to maintain peace among the men by shutting out news of political and religious conflict that surround their isolated village. The tricks the women devise are simply a device for us to consider the debilitating impact of war and what we can do to maintain peace. Both films made my list because they are simple stories about maternal love and community that twenty years from now will still engage audiences.

The Good Son-Finland (Zaida Bergroth) See Review The Last Dogs of Winter-Canada (Costa Botes) See Review
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia-Turkey (Nuri Bilge Ceylan) A Simple Life-Hong Kong (Ann Hui)
For my thoughts on Once Upon a Time in Anatolia click here. As for A Simple Life, Andy Lau was my draw to this film, and I was certainly not disappointed by his performance in this film. Lau stars as Roger, a film director whose aging amah (nanny) has taken ill. In between travelling to film sites, and doing film deals, Roger shows his connection and love for his amah by arranging her care in a nursing home and keeping her involved in his life. I appreciated the way in which director Hui, shows both the class differences and years of family connection between Roger and Ah Tao (Denise Ip) through dialogue and phone calls and visits from Roger's family and friends. The love shines through in this film and it is no wonder that actress Denis Ip won the Best Actress Award at this years' Venice Film Festival for her role as Ah Tao. A gentle and satisfying film with wonderful chemistry between Lau and Ip.

Superclásico-Denmark (Ole Christian Madsen) Click here for review.




WHAT I SAW (*indicates that I have reviewed the film)
Avalon* Winner: The Prize of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize) for the Discovery programme
Beloved*
Caprichosos de San Telmo
The Cat Vanishes
Coriolanus
Countdown
Cut
Death of a Superhero*
Doppelganger Paul*
The Education of Auma Obama*
Fable of the Fish
The Flying Machine*
A Funny Man
Generation P
The Good Son*
Le Harve*
Hick
Hysteria
I am a good person/I am a bad person*
The Island President*
Juan of the Dead*
The Last Dogs of Winter*
Life Without Principle
Lipstikka*
The Loneliest Planet*
Miss Bala*
My Worst Nightmare
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia*
Page Eight
Paul Williams Still Alive
The Silver Cliff
A Simple Life
Sons of Norway
Summer Game
Superclásico*
Think of Me*
The Turin Horse*
Where Do We Go Now?

Photos Coutesy of: www.tiff.net

TIFF 11: May I Recommend/Skip It

Single tickets went on sale September 3rd and many of my friends and listeners stood in line, waited on line, and called TIFF to buy tickets. While they were doing that, I was busy with TmTm, interviewing Kirk Cooper of Film Market Access (FMA) and one of his interns, Victoria Clowater. Victoria is one of 8 film students/filmmakers that will be exploring the industry side of TIFF courtesy of FMA's Toronto Program: 5 in the Internship and 3 in Networking (FMA also has a Cannes Program.) Victoria had first heard about FMA when she caught a TmTm broadcast while driving back to school (UNB) last year. Also joining me on the show was the director of Patch Town, Craig Goodwill and the cast: Julian Richings, Toya Alexis, and Rob Ramsay. Patch Town screens in Program 1 of Short Cuts Canada, the strongest of the shorts section in this 6 program section.

With the long week-end upon me, I didn't get a chance to post any thoughts about some of the films that I have had a chance to screen before TIFF starts on September 8th. Here goes the first of many other posts to come.

So, What do I recommend?

I am a good person/I am a bad person: A CanCon indie film that is just as good as Veninger's last film, MODRA. Mother-daughter experience without any unnecessary drama or tears. It's always good to go and hear the director talk about her work, but if you cannot afford to see this at TIFF watch for the Mongrel Media release at Canadian cinemas, but go the first week as a second week is never guaranteed for Canadian films!

Le Harve: A sweet gem of a film by one of my favourite directors, Aki Kaurismäki. This film about a young African refugee (Miguel Blondin) in Normandy is not your usual look at the immigrant story thanks to a winning performance from Andre Wilms as a genial shoeshine man who helps the young boy. , and the expected low-key and enchanting acting of . The community spirit that pervades the film contrasts greatly with the gravitas and irony of the Inspector (Jean- Pierre Darroussin) on the hunt for the refugee. Look for other Kaurismäki signatures in the film, like Kati Outinen, the inclusion of a dog named Laika, and music from Little Bob (Roberto Piazza).

Lipstikka: My eyes usually roll at flashbacks in movies, but the technique is used so well in this film that I found them just as fascinating as what the film depicted in its present tense. The film unfolds like a mystery with clues doled out amidst our growing fascination with the two women, friends from teenagehood in Palestine to adulthood and differing paths in London, England. Who are they? Is there a good and a bad gal? What is the secret from the past that underscores the tension between them? The complete truth is never revealed, it cannot be when memory is at play, but the film does offer a conclusion that will have you talking. Director, Jonathan Sagall, his cast and his filmmaking team have created a film in which each frame has substance and interest.

Once Upon a Time in Anotolia: What can I say, but BRILLIANT. Director, Nuri Bilge Ceylan's film is part of the Masters programme at TIFF, and this police investigation/procedural has more than earned its well-deserved place here. Screenwriters Ercan Kesal, Ebru Ceylan, and Nuri Bilge Ceylan have written a script that I could listen to with my eyes closed, the dialogue is so good; I could eavesdrop forever on the conversations between the cops in the car, the exchanges with their superior (the Inspector), the doctor, and even the prisoners. If I had my eyes closed, however, I would miss the Turkish countryside, the meandering road and the cinematography of Gokhan Tiryaki (his interiors are not to be missed either!) as the trio of vehicles travel throughout the night from place to place. Crime is a serious matter, of course, but the humour of this film reminds us that even at its most morbid, life is not always without its bright spots nor its beauty. The film is a bit too long, but so what! Bravo!

Summer Games: Don't expect sun soaked vineyards in this trip to Tuscany! Do expect a serious film with wonderful performances by the five young cast members who are the central focus of this drama about a families at a campground during the summer. Two brothers defend their mother from their abusive father; a girl demands information about her father from her single mother in between hanging out with her younger cousin, the brothers and the young Korean boy whose father owns a local convenience store. The children all reflect the angst of their parents even as they go off on their own forays making up games that push boundaries and reacting to the changing dynamics of teenage/childhood friendships. This peek into the lives of others is not without hope, so while you might bring out the hanky it won't be drenched to the point of wringing it out by the end of the film.

The Island President: One man is trying to make a difference in the world as he fights for his people's survival. The Maldives are sinking due to climate change: a physical fact the president is trying to show to the world. A former political prisoner, who rose to form the first democratic party in the Maldives, President Mohamed Nasheed is one man who cannot give in to the pressure of the larger economies, not when his land, culture and existence is at stake. A film that I would recommend to all, not only because of the social content, but because the president himself is so darn charismatic that you can't help rooting for him. Like a hero in a piece of fiction who never gives up, you want him to succeed and triumph and have his happy ending.

WAIT FOR THE MOVIE OF THE WEEK

Think of Me: This one is for the Industry buyers at TIFF who are looking for something suitable for Lifetime or the Women's Network. Not worth standing in TIFF line ups for, or the money you would have to spend to see it. Lauren Ambrose, who stars (as well as produces) is very strong in her role as a single mother trying to raise her young daughter while battling poverty in Las Vegas, but the episodic scenes makes it more suitable for television than cinema viewing.

SKIP IT
A Funny Man: Not one bit funny to me, and I usually love Nordic films. I must say, in its defence that actor, Nikolaj Lie Kaas is brilliant, but I didn't like the script for this bio pic about Danish comedian Dirch Passer nor did I like the way the film was directed.

Generation P: If you can tell me what this film is about, I will write the review. Still baffled.

The Cat Vanishes: Would have been a wonderful suspense if Alfred Hitchcock had been at the helm.

Toronto International Film Festival

Sept. 8-18, 2011

Info: http://tiff.net/thefestival