Category Archives: Canadian

Atlantic Film Festival 2013: Day 7: Arctic Defenders and Muscle Shoals

September 19, 2013 flawintheiris

Renowned Halifax-baseed documentarian John Walker's Arctic Defenders comes from a personal place, his fascination since his childhood in Quebec for the Inuit—of course, at the time, known as Eskimos. When he was able to get aboard a ship to Resolute Bay in 1968, it eventually led to his understanding of what had happened in the…Read More

Atlantic Film Festival 2013: Day 6: Prisoners and Watermark

September 18, 2013 flawintheiris

Well, last night I made a showtime call to see Prisoners, rather than Blue Is the Warmest Colour (La Vie D'Adele) or A Field In England. Even though I know it's opening later this week, I went with my filmgoing heart in the moment. And it wasn't long before I had filmgoing remorse.Quebec director Denis…Read More

Atlantic Film Festival 2013: Day 5: Atlantic Shorts 7, Awards, Changes and Conflicts

September 17, 2013 flawintheiris

First off, I just wanted to mention the first battery of awards that have been given out at the 33rd edition of the Atlantic Film Festival. More will be coming at the conclusion of the AFF on Thursday, but here's a bunch to start. Congratulations to all!Best Original Score/SongDavid ChisholmBunker 6Presented by Hideout StudiosBest Atlantic…Read More

Atlantic Film Festival 2013: Day 2: There Are Monsters, Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction and Bunker 6

September 14, 2013 flawintheiris

A couple things about me I should admit right up front. First off, I'm a lightweight when it comes to horror. I've seen a lot of classics, a few torture pornos and a few remakes, but generally, the kinds of things that seasoned horror fans would chuckle at, they terrify me.The second thing I need…Read More

Atlantic Film Festival 2013: Something About Cultural Cliches…

September 13, 2013 flawintheiris

Had an interesting conversation today with a friend—also a Come From Away (CFA) like me—and it got me thinking about the cultural mythmaking present in The Grand Seduction. The film is a remake of a film from Quebec, but there are particulars included in the English-language version I don't remember in the original. For instance,…Read More

Atlantic Film Festival 2013 Day 1: Paddle To The Ocean, The Grand Seduction and the Gala bash

September 13, 2013 flawintheiris

Though the Gala Opening movie is The Grand Seduction, Don McKellar's new picture, the first film of the festival I took in was Paddle To The Ocean, which shows on Friday at 4:30pm as part of Atlantic Shorts 1. I found it to be the perfect get-feet-wet (see what I did there?) entry for the…Read More

Atlantic Film Festival 2013: Here We Go

September 12, 2013 flawintheiris

The Atlantic Film Festival, running from today, September 12, through September 19, is a joyous time. I love all of it, but mostly the energy in the moments before the screening starts, or in the line-ups outside. "Are we about to see something life-changing tonight?" is always the question. The AFF has provided me with first-time…Read More

American Mary review

June 6, 2013 flawintheiris

Written and Directed by Jen and Sylvia SoskaSo great to see a homegrown horror with some new ideas. And especially good to see Ginger Snaps' Katherine Isabelle again on the big screen.The new ideas in the Soska twins' film are front-loaded. We start with Mary, a medical student who seems to really know her stuff,…Read More

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

Recommended: a blog and short film

December 5, 2012 flawintheiris

I have the good fortune of being part of a community of film lovers and filmmakers here in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I just wanted to take a minute to give a shout out to a couple of those.Dave Howlett has written for Flaw in the Iris. His specialty is horror movies. He's got a great and…Read More