Category Archives: Film Festivals

Charlie Zone opens

March 1, 2013 flawintheiris

A heads up for FITI readers living in Halifax, Cape Breton or Toronto, Michael Melski's thriller Charlie Zone is opening today at a cinema near you.It's a tale of the dark underbelly of Halifax, one that I totally believe exists but is rarely represented in locally made movies. I think the last time I took…Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: Rust & Bone, the wrap-up

September 21, 2012 flawintheiris

A week flies by when you're at the movies every night. And though there were plenty of films I would have liked to have seen, I'm very happy with what I managed to take in this year. Highlights for me included Sarah Polley's startlingly intimate Stories We Tell, Michael Haneke's Love (Amour) and Thomas Vinterberg's…Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: The Hunt and the final day

September 20, 2012 flawintheiris

It's not very often I walk out of a screening room totally wrung out, where I white-knuckled right through a movie. I remember it happened during Match Point. Happened again last night at The Hunt. It's another of the collection of excellent Danish films showing at this year's AFF.Mads Mikkelsen has had a great career in…Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: Love (Amour)

September 19, 2012 flawintheiris

When I read the glowing reviews for this film coming out of Cannes (where it won the big prize, the Palme D'Or), it was described as about an elderly couple dealing with dementia. I wondered if it would be like Away From Her, but that film was never referenced in comparison. Makes sense, now that…Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: Love Is All You Need, Antiviral and Tuesday

September 18, 2012 flawintheiris

Love Is All You Need is exactly the kind of romantic comedy Hollywood has almost entirely forgotten how to make. It gave me a rush, for both it's delicate balance of realism and sentiment and from sheer recognition of a beloved genre that I've missed: oh, yeah, this is how it's done when it's done…Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: The End of Time (I was wishing for it) and Monday

September 17, 2012 flawintheiris

The experience of watching The End of Time was encapsulated by a local filmmaker and fellow audience member upon exiting the Park Lane: It was like sitting next to someone at a party who first engages you in conversation but then rants and rambles all over the place, occasionally making sense but mostly boring you…Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: Inch’Allah, Evelyne Brochu, et cetera

September 16, 2012 flawintheiris

The past couple of years that I've been attending the Village Sound Party, hosted by Jason MacIsaac and his colleagues, have been very good times. Their studio space and backyard crammed with film and music people, a live band or two along with flowing beverages and plates full of sushi make for a seriously convivial…Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: Holy Motors, Saturday night

September 15, 2012 flawintheiris

"Was so discombobulated after Holy Motors I couldn't continue on to Chained," tweeted one of my fellow audience members at the Oxford showing last night.I know how she felt.Holy Motors is the new film from French director Leos Carax, and its damn hard to summarize. We start with black and white vintage stock footage of…Read More

The Atlantic Film Festival 2012: Parties and premieres, The Disappeared review

September 14, 2012 flawintheiris

The AFF opening night party is always a blast—even when the heat makes for a human stew, as it did at last year's venue. Last night's edition did not disappoint. Big kudos to the organizers who had the food and free cocktails—champagne followed by rye and ginger—running all evening. The site, the cavernous Cunard Centre,…Read More

Atlantic Film Festival 2012: Here we go

September 13, 2012 flawintheiris

It's "Christmas for Carsten," as a friend of mine called it. I've been attending and/or writing about The Atlantic Film Festival since 2003. Invariably I see at least one film that blows me away, something I wouldn't have seen otherwise at the local multiplex monopoly.For those who don't know, the AFF is an annual event,…Read More