film reviews

Film Review: A WRINKLE IN TIME (USA 2018)

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A Wrinkle in Time Poster
After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him.

Director:

Ava DuVernay

Writers:

Jennifer Lee (screenplay by), Jeff Stockwell (screenplay by) | 1 more credit »

Stars:

Storm Reid, Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon

 

A WRINKLE IN TIME is the new Disney family fantasy based on the 1962 science fantasy novel written by American writer Madeleine L’Engle.   The book won the Newbery Medal, Sequoyah Book Award, and Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and was runner-up for the Hans Christian Andersen Award.  This is Disney’s second film adaptation following the 2003 TV movie.

The film follows daughter, Meg (Storm Reid) who with the help of Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling) and Mrs. Whatsis (Reech Witherspoon) and accompaniment of adopted brother (Deric McCabe) search for her 4-year missing scientific father, known as Dr. Murry (Chris Pine).  They encounter different characters and strange animals and things before finally  rescuing the father after wining the fight of light vs. the darkness.

Music and soundtrack are not impressive.  The ending song “I believe (in me)” by DJ Khaled is the typical ‘America is great, I can do anything’ mentality that President Trump so often engages that non-Americans are sick of. The soundtrack has the ‘wowing’ sound that is supposed to enhance at the audience’s ’wow’ factor.  The music also goes up and down in mood as if to constantly remind the audiences how to feel during the film.

The script and film concentrate more on the rescue of Dr. Murry that on the universal fight of good vs. evil.  The result is a rather sappy film.  The family reuniting scene does not bring tears into the audience’s eyes as the film is bad that there is little emotion to be felt anywhere.

The film delivers mixed messages among them: “Be a warrior:” “I can do anything”; and others.  But unfortunately the negative message of putting work before family also comes through.  There is also an odd moment when the camera shows that Meg has forgiven her taunting schoolmate, Veronica.

The cinematography By German D.P. Tobias A. Schliessler is impressive and the film looks occasionally stunning though all this would be put better into perspective if the film was not all over the place.

The film is enough to give one a splitting headache.  Besides the screeching children – young actor McCabe has an especially high-pitched shrill voice.  If he not taunting his sister when ‘possessed’  he will certainly be taunting the audience with his voice.  The other scene is the bouncing ball scene whee a dozen or so boys in a neighbourhood simultaneously bounce their basketball as they go: “Thump, thump, thump…” indefinitely.

A WRINKLE IN TIME is noticeable for making a point of having a higher percentage of African Americans and women working in the film.  Director DuVaernay’s resume includes only one past documentary MIDDLE OF NOWHERE and SELMA, quite different for big budget sci-fi films.  Making the Murry family mixed, the husband white (Chris Pine) and the mother black (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) for no apparent reason except to be currently politically or racially correct, does not really work either.  

Disney has had a solid string of hits, the latest being the Oscar winning animated COCO and the box-office hit BLACK PANTHER.  A WRINKLE IN TIME, which is plain awful puts a huge wrinkle in this trend of hits.  It is noticeable worse than the second of Disney’s ALICE IN WONDERLAND movies and prove that good intentions do not necessarily turn out good movies.  The element of wonder is missing in this fantasy picture.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4U3TeY2wtM

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Film Review: THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT (USA 2018)

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The Strangers: Prey at Night Poster
Trailer

A family staying in a secluded mobile home park for the night are visited by three masked psychopaths, to test their every limit.

Director:

Johannes Roberts

Writers:

Bryan Bertino (original screenplay), Ben Ketai (screenplay) | 1 more credit »

Stars:

Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison, Martin Henderson

 

THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT serves as a loose sequel to the 2008 horror schlock THE STRANGERS that was written by Bryan Bertie who also co-wrote this sequel with Ben Ketai.

A family – mother, father, estranged daughter and her brother spend a night at a mobile campground owned by their uncle only to find him murdered and cut up.  ‘The strangers’ make the family their next target who hold up in one cabin.  The strangers wear various masks and dispatch their victims with weapons like knives and axes.  The killers are Dollface (Emma Bellomy), Pin-Up Girl (Lea Enslin) and the man in the mask (Damian Maffei).

It takes 30 minutes before the first victim is discovered, in this case, the uncle.  (Alfred Hitchcock took a full hour to reveal the first victim in THE BIRDS).  Director Roberts spends the time investing in the family issues.  Parents Cindy (Christina Hendricks) and Mike (Martin Henderson) love each other, but have problems with the youngest daughter, Kinsey (Bailee Madison) who they are sending to boarding school.  The son, Luke (Lewis Pullman) is the model child, playing baseball while obeying what mummy and daddy ask.  When daughter storms out at one point, brother is sent after her to calm her down.  They discover the body while the parents go in search for them after a weird visitor asking for Tamara show up twice.

At this point, horror fans will likely ask themselves that with this super slim storyline, what tactics will be used to pass the time.  The answer is a variety of them like: the family playing silly games; false alarms like a dog that appears out of nowhere and scare them and never show up again in the campground or in any part of the movie; useless dialogue and lots of walking around.  (The family spends a lot of time running from the predators.)

The next question horror fans will ask is which of the 4 of the family will be dispatched first or is the script going to keep them alive.  The answer comes right after the 30 minute mark when poor mother gets a knife right in the back.  At least this solves the enmity between mother and daughter that was pre-eminent during the first 30 minutes.  Father gets it next, pretty badly while in the car leaving the younger siblings to care for themselves.  “Leave us alone.”  is the line that is screamed out to the strangers and repeated a number of times in the film.

Several obvious question come up – the most important of which is the reason the strangers are on a killing spree.  Daughter gets to spring this magic question to one of her stalkers right before dispatching off with her.  And her answer: “Why not?”

Same reason millions of moviegoers are paying good bucks to see low-budget slasher flicks like this one: Why not?

Roberts is a British director specializing in cheap horror flicks, his first being SANITARIUM, a 5000 quid production released around the world.  THE STRANGERS shows a little promise but nothing really something to scream about.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdPz3NKf9fg

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Film Review: MY ENEMY, MY BROTHER (Canada 2017)

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The true story of 2 enemies from the Iran-Iraq war; one saves the other’s life on the battlefield, then they meet again by sheer coincidence 20 years later in Canada. Inspired by their …See full summary »

Director:

Ann Shin

 

Base on her short documentary about an Iraqi and Iranian who became good friends, MY ENMEY, MY BROTHER is an expanded full length feature that is a basically an enactment of the documentary.

The film tells the real-life story of two former enemies from the Iran-Iraq war who become blood brothers for life.  The film begins with Najah in his town of Basra in Iraq.  The camera pans to show the roads, vehicles and sights of Basra, a good educational experience for many who have never seen the sights of an Iarqi city.  The film traces the young Najah, falling in love and getting married with son in the sight of Allah.  But things turn bad.  The Iran-Iraq war led to him being imprisoned for 17 years.  Finally freed, he finds Basra totally destroyed and he is unable to find his wife and son.  Najah now lives in Vancouver.

The other characters in the film is Zahed.  When the audience first sees Zahed, he is a Iranian child soldier.  

Director Shin has her political say as well, blaming the Russians and Americans, the two countries that benefit monetarily from selling arms to Iran and Iraq.  Clearly as always, it is the individuals who suffer.

Najah and Zahed meet in Vancouver 30 years after Zahed, an Iranian child soldier saves Najah, a wounded Iraqi soldier’s life, they are now about to embark on an emotional journey back to Iran and Iraq for the first time in 20 years. The film chalks their journey takes them into the heart of present-day conflicts in a region ravaged by war and ISIS. Their quest is a surprising affirmation of redemption and humanity.

Najah and Zahed play themselves in this documentary which is really a series of re-enactments.  If the film starred actors instead, the film would be classified a non-fiction film instead.

But the film is till not without flaws.  Director Shin seems too intent to re-enact everything even Najah’s childhood.  The audience is not told how Najan and Zahed came to immigrate to Vancouver.

Nevertheless, the story is an extremely moving one and therefore makes the film compelling to watch.  The likelihood that an Iranian saves an Iraqi, an enemy is in itself slim and the fact that the two actually meet 20 years late and discover themselves is nothing short of a miracle.  The scene where Zahed has a meal with Najah’s family is nothing short of inspiring, demonstrating there is still good in human beings.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42YFUwCnWzE

 

Special to the screening: War Games

Accompanying the theatrical release of MY ENEMY, MY BROTHER is the world premiere of EYE OF THE BEHOLDER a dramatic and spectacular 30-minute FREE VR experience made available in the lobby for all theatre goers prior to the screening. Set in a conflict zone, players encounter another soldier in a bunker who may be friend or foe. Whether the player decides to collaborate with or combat the other in the ensuing challenges, determines who gets out alive. This short VR experience questions how we pre-judge others, and is a teaser for a longer VR game that will be released later in 2018.

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Film Review: NELLY ET SIMON: MISSION YETI (Canada 2017)

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Mission Kathmandu: The Adventures of Nelly & Simon Poster
Quebec City, 1955. Nelly Maloye, an ebullient novice detective, accidentally crosses paths with Simon Picard, an ambitious research assistant in anthropology at the local university. Backed…See full summary »

Directors:

Pierre Greco (co-director), Nancy Florence Savard (co-director)

Writers:

Pierre Greco (co-writer), André Morency (co-writer)

Stars:

Sylvie Moreau, Guillaume Lemay-Thivierge, Rachid Badouri

 

A Quebecois animated feature, it would be assumed that English Canada would get the English version.  The film opens after premiering at TIFF kids 2018.

The film is set in Quebec 1956.  The Nelly and Simon of the title are two friends that embark on an expedition in the Himalayas in search of the Yeti, a sort of missing link.

Nelly Maloye is a very amateur private eye who stumbles into the research lab of Simon Picard.  Picard is a young anthropologist.  Frustrated and nearing the end of his research grant, Simon has yet to find evidence of the existence of the elusive Yeti and prove his hypothesis that the Yeti is the missing link in human evolution.  Given a three-month reprieve by his wealthy yet suspicious investor, Simon reluctantly accepts Nelly’s help as they set out on a mission through the Himalayas in search of the Yeti.  Using an explorer’s journal that supposedly contains the location of the mythical creature’s den, the two must learn to combine their methodological and improvisational approaches if they are going to be able to navigate the challenging terrain. 

Nelly and Simon caters mainly for younger kids, judging from the humour.  The animated humour contains lots of slapstick (Simon, the sherpa all falling down in the underground cave and swept away in the underground stream; the dancing and laughing Yeti tribe).  The characters frequently gesture with frantic movements and there are kid anecdotes like good luck or bad luck story told to the sherpa.  The animation looks great, though not concentrating on detail – similar to a cross between the look of the INSPECTOR GADGET cartoons on TV and the look of the Belgium comic book “The Adventures of Tin Tin”.  The use of shadows enhance the atmosphere of the private investigator’s world.

The film aims at a message (though too obvious) for the younger folk too, that all species (like the Yeti) need to be respected and not turned into a circus.  The bad guys are once again the establishment like Simon’s boss and Simon’s financier, Edward who wants to make money from the discovery of the Yeti.  Edward is clearly the villain of the piece, and he gets what is coming to him (in slapstick terms) at the end.

One wishes that for this grand adventures set in the mountains and with the discovery of a tribe of (Shrek-looking ) Yeti’s, the film could have been funnier.  Perhaps the Quebecois jokes did not translate well into the English version.

For adults, the film can be a bit childish, especially with the introduction of a rather unfunny chatty myna bird named Jasmin.  The film also lags in the middle.  Still there is no excuse for an animated feature not to cater to both adults and kids, films like SHREK and even the fairytale BEAUTY AND THE BEAST serving as examples.

SIMON ET NELLY is an ok family animated feature but one wishes it could have been catered more to the adults.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvukQXpI3Ws

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Film Review: THOROUGHBREDS (USA 2018) ****

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Thoroughbreds Poster
Trailer

Two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindle their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart. Together, they hatch a plan to solve both of their problems-no matter what the cost.

Director:

Cory Finley

Writer:

Cory Finley

Stars:

Kaili Vernoff, Paul Sparks, Svetlana Orlova

 

THOROUGHBREDS is about two upper-class teenage girls in suburban Connecticut rekindling their unlikely friendship after years of growing apart.  Before one can dismiss this as a boring teen chick flick (though it is a bit of a teen chick flick), THOROUGHBREDS is a deliciously black comedy that won the Best Film Award at the Denver International Film Festival and nominated for Best Film at the London Film Festival.  And it is a very good film!

When the film opens, Lily (Anya Taylor-Joy) is tutoring Amanda (Olivia Cooke).  These two have been friends before but have not seen each other for a while.  Apparently, Amanda’s mother has hired her, besides the tutoring, so that the isolated Amanda can have a friend.  Amanda is a person who feels nothing, though she has learnt to fake feelings that include crying on cue.  Lily on the other hand, feels everything.

As the plot thickens, they decide to do away i.e. kill, Mark (Paul Sparks), Lily’s stepfather as he is a complete dick and besides doing her and her mother no good, does no good for anyone else in the world.  They blackmail the local drug dealer, Tim (Anton Yelchin in his last role) to do the killing while they stay away as an alibi.  However, when Tim chickens out and never shows up, the story gets nastier.

THOROUGHBREDS demonstrates the worse in men, without any sexual allegations (as going on in today’s current events) involved.  This is personified in Lily’s stepfather, Mark.  Mark is self-centred, obnoxious, rude and plainly a bad human being.  Finley’s script is clever enough to reveal this side of the male character.

Another brilliant touch is the character development undergone by both Lily and Amanda.  It is not really character development but character change.  As the story progresses, Amanda’s character flows into Lily’s and vice versa.  By the end of the film, it is difficult to distinguish the two, as the two start to work together.

The film also brilliantly contains one line that poses a very important question to everyone: “Do you think your life is worth living?”  This line also explains Amanda’s reason for going through her final deed in the story.

The soundtrack is varied.  The suspenseful moments are accompanied by a tribal soundtrack complete with the sound of bongo drum beats and screeching while other moments by classical songs like “Ava Maria”.

Finley’s music is divided into untitled chapters, each one radically different from the previous.

One might complain that the film’s pace is a bit slow, but the film is nevertheless compelling.  One might also complain that the characters are distant and one cannot feel close to the characters.  This might be true but one should not feel close to characters on a black comedy.  The film also contains some Hitchcockian moments that would do the Master of Suspense proud.  Warning: spoiler alert (skip the bold italics but I wish to make the point.)   The actual killing of the stepfather is not shown on screen, but the segment showing the blood on the gloves and apron of the murderer is more effective.

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2017 under the title THOROUGHBRED.  Indie news accurately describes the film as HEATHERS meets AMERICAN PSYCHO.  If you like your entertainment twisted, you are in for quite the ride!  
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qylb0dvPOf8

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Film Review: FLOWER (USA 2016)

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Flower Poster
Trailer

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A sexually curious teen forms an unorthodox kinship with her mentally unstable stepbrother.

Director:

Max Winkler

Writers:

Alex McAulay, Matt Spicer|1 more credit »

Stars:

Zoey Deutch, Kathryn Hahn, Adam Scott

The film begins with teen Erica (Zoey Deutch) giving a blow job to a sheriff Dale (Eric Edelstein) in his cop car while being filmed on the cell phones by Erika’s friends  (Dylan Gelula, Maya Eshet).  They threaten Dale, extort money, split the money and go their own ways.  An exciting start of the film, no doubt and what transpires through the rest of the film matches the incident in terms or surprise and vulgarity.

The story settles on Erica and her mother (Kathryn Hahn from BAD MOMS) who loves her but gives her free reign.  Erica makes the extra cash not only for herself but to earn enough for bail to spring her father in prison.  Mum has a new boyfriend and Erica promises to be nice to his son, her new step-brother, Luke (Joey Morgan) who has just been sprung from re-hab.  Luke is mentally unstable, fat and is troubled after he accused a teacher of molesting him.

The sparks start flying when the teacher Will (Adam Scott) is seen at the local bowling alley.  Erica decides to help her step-brother.  Good intentions using bad tactics never result in things going well.  Director Max Winker (son of Happy Day’s ‘Fonzie’ Henry Winkler) plays the film as a black comedy which largely works despite a few flaws.

The script co-written by Winkler with  Alex McAulay and Matt Spicer contains problems the foremost being credibility.  The audience is supposed to believe that Erica can make extra pocket money by giving blow jobs which she finds acceptable.  She also offered to give one to her step-brother out of pity.  When questioned, she likens the penis to be similar to a finger without a nail.  But a finger does not pee or cum either.  The script also has Eric fall in love with her fat step brother who actually have no redeeming qualities except for the only one good deed he had done.  Erica is also put up by her long-suffering mother, a point hard to believe.  When mum finally blows up, the story suddenly becomes believable with the mother/daughter confrontation segment making the film’s best part.

The film benefits from some excellent performances mostly from Deutch as the lead and comedian Kathryn Hahn as the mother.  Hahn has proven her comedic and dramatic potential in films like BAD MOMS but also demonstrates that if the vehicle is extremely bad as in A BAD MOM’S CHRISTMAS even she cannot save the movie.  Adam Scott plays the odd role (as least he is an actor daring enough to undertake risky roles like this one and the one in HOT TUB TIME MACHINE 2) as the pervert.

The film ends up a rather unbelievable morality tale that borders borders on farce because of the incidents in the story.  The film is supposed to demonstrate that good intentions are all that count.  But it also truthfully shows that if good intentions come about by criminal means there is a price to pay.  Luke ends up in prison and Erica under house arrest.  Entertaining to a point, one wishes the film could have been better.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmYcbgJBv7s

Film Review: MEDITATION PARK (Canada 2017)

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Meditation Park Poster
An aging woman questions her life after suspecting her husband is having an affair.

Director:

Mina Shum

Writer:

Mina Shum

Stars:

Sandra Oh, Liane Balaban, Tzi Ma

Before viewing MEDITATION PARK, one should be made aware of the legacy behind Hong Kong actress Cheng Pei Pei who executively produced and stars as the lead in the film.  Cheng Pei Pei was a star in her youth, who rose to fame from her first Shaw Brothers swords fighting action movie directed by King Hu, COME DRINK WITH ME.  She was rumoured to be the mistress of one of the Shaw moguls.  She continued her action roles in many other Shaw productions.  Her last well known role was Jade Fox in Ang Lee’s CROUCHING TIGER HIDDEN DRAGON.  She always sports the tomboyish short haircut, which she still does in MEDITATION PARK.  In MEDITATION PARK, Cheng Pei-Pei shines and shows star power as it is seldom seen.

Cheng stars as Maria, a devoted wife and mother who is forced to reassess her reverence for her husband after she finds another woman’s thong in his laundry.  She discovers that her supposedly devout husband, Bing (Tzi Ma) is not the perfect husband she thought him to be.  They are visited by their daughter (Sandra Oh) who wishes her mother attend the brother’s wedding.  The brother has been disowned by Bing.  Maria starts tailing her husband to find out more of his affair.  At the same time, Maria opens up her life and finds companionship through  her assortment of friends as well as through a neighbour (Don McKellar).   She finds that life has more to offer than just tending to her husband, and to one who has been unfaithful at that.

Shun’s (DOUBLE HAPPINESS) covers many issues the main one being, oddly enough, a senior’s coming-of-age.  Maria learns to stand for herself finally and do what is right.  Shun also brings in her Chinese culture in the Canadian setting.  Maria is shown as the typical Chinese elder, who stays home.  Maria speaks limited English and cannot drive.  When she tails her husband, she pays $240 in cab fare before learning how to ride a bicycle instead, a cheaper means of tailing her husband.

There are some magnificent performances on display here, Cheng Pei Pei’s being the most obvious.   Sandra Oh, who has been in Shun’s films in the past is always good and a pleasure to watch.  Her confrontation scene with her father, also brilliantly played by Tzi Ma is the film’s highlight.

Shun injects some sentimental moments through the character of a neighbour (McKellar) that Maria meets.  Kleenex should be handy for the segment where he announces the death of his sick wife.

Shun does not compromise her film for the typical Hollywood ending.  The father does not end up attending his son’s wedding as would be expected.  Maria and Bing do not reconcile in the usual way.  This is what stands out in Shun’s film, which is a big improvement over her past two efforts.  MEDITATION PARK should be seen for it being Shun’s best work and for Cheng Pei Pei’s controlled yet powerful performance.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMo7DdGdaq8

Film Review: HANNAH (Italy/France/Belgium 2017)

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Hannah Poster
Intimate portrait of a woman drifting between reality and denial when she is left alone to grapple with the consequences of her husband’s imprisonment.

Director:

Andrea Pallaoro

Writers:

Andrea Pallaoro, Orlando Tirado

Stars:

Charlotte Rampling, André Wilms, Stéphanie Van Vyve

 

Charlotte Rampling plays HANNAH.  HANNAH is a Charlotte Rampling vehicle.  If you do not like her, this is a film definitely to avoid.  Rampling is in every scene of the film and she is heavily relied on to make this movie.  In her hey day, Rampling was one of the highest paid European stars.  She was young and beautiful and starred in sexy films like films like THE NIGHT PORTER, and blockbusters like ORCA THE KILLER WHALE.  She finally won an Academy Award nomination for 45 YEARS a few years back after playing sexually frustrated character roles as in UNDER THE SAND and SWIMMING POOL.  

When the film opens, HANNAH is accompanying her husband (Andre Wilms) to what appease to be a prison.  Her husband is to be imprisoned for reasons unexplained and Hannah has to deal with it.   The film is an intimate portrait of a woman drifting between reality and denial when she is left alone to grapple with the consequences of her husband’s imprisonment.  Besides the fact, other thins are not going all for Hannah.  Her dog is not eating, her son does not want to see her any more and prevents her from seeing her grandson, for again reasons unexplained.  The only solace is her emlyerm which she works for as a cleaning lady.  She appears to be kind, giving Hannah her old clothes that she no longer can wear that are still attractive.  Hannah must cope.  Hannah breaks down and cries in the bathroom on day.  This is pretty much the film.  Not much story, not much plot, not much explained n terms of reasons things occur to Hannah.  To director Pallaoro, those explanations are unimportant even though one might argue that they are to make the story more believable and to have the audience therefor care for for Hannah.

Director Pallaoro shows that Hannah is not the only person in the world having difficulties.  On Hannah is riding the metro one day, she witnesses a young black lady in the same train screaming at an unseen passenger how she has had it and cannot take it anymore.  She bangs the train doors and finally exits the trains while Hannah is clearly disturbed by the incident.

A film that runs on similar lines as Hannah and one that demands comparison is Chantal Akerman’s JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLS which detailed its heroine Jeanne Dielman leading a hums drum life that eventually leads to her suicide in the film’s shock ending.  Akerman’s film was 3 hours long, repeatedly showing Dielman performing identical household chores.  While this sounds boring, it is not, especially when the film ending with a shocking suicide.  Pallaoro’s film, however does not work as well.  Akrman understands her character whereas Pallaoro does not seem to know what to do with HANNAH.  Despite Rampling’s riveting performance, though fans of hers have seen her in roles like this, HANNAH is a hard watch and will be a definite bore to many.  HANNAH is a depressing film involving a character that can never seem to redeem herself as everything else around her is going wrong.  Do we need to watch a film like this?

The film is shot in French.  Rampling is English educated in France.

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jq6mB1Syt-I

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Interview with Festival Director Mike Messier (AVALONIA Film Festival)

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Avalonia Festival is named in honor of a continent lost is the mists of time, as if dissipated by magic; thus we are here to celebrate the unique Art of our own world of creation. Avalonia Festival II is now accepting submissions of short films, teasers, trailers, film photography and film posters.

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Matthew Toffolo: What is your Film Festival succeeding at doing for filmmakers?

Mike Messier: Our website Avalonia Festival sets us apart because we actually give our filmmakers the option to either share their actual film ​(or a teaser or a promotional still image)​ on our site to represent their film. This promotes both the work​ itself​ and the filmmaker​ ​as well as their cast and crew. ​Many or even most other film festivals concentrate so much on the live experience but are negligent to the online community which does not make much sense these days, as it’s very hard to get people to actually attend anything in person, while it’s relatively easy to get them to engage online. For those who can attend our live event on April 20, the admission is free ,while many festivals are very expensive So, Avalonia Festival plays well both as an in-person and an on-line experience. ​

In addition, Avalonia Festival’s Circle of Champions​ i​s a celebration of our Award Winning films with personalized Awards for each film. This is no copy and paste job​ for these Awards​! A lot of work goes into making the website very unique and to actually provide content and a web presence ​Avalonia ​filmmakers can be proud to be a part of!

2) What would you expect to experience if you attend the festival this year (2018)?

We will share our Award Winning Films ​at Avalonia Festival II on April 20, 2018 ​in a really great venue called Rhodywood Studios ​in Providence, RI ​with cozy seating, great picture and sound and complimentary snacks. Even better? Free admission for the audience. Winning filmmakers who are able to attend will have a few moments for a Q and A with the live audience.

3) What are the qualifications for the selected films?

Films must be 11 minutes or under to qualify as a “Short Film”, 3 minutes or under to qualify as a “180” film or 60 seconds or less to qualify as a 1 minute movie. We have many categories available to honor all types of films from doc to horror drama to music video to comedy to all points in between. We even have genres for films starring animals. We have no preference whether a film has already premiered at other festivals or is available online. We do prefer if the filmmakers allow us to share their film on our actual website, a status which is both optional for each film and can be changed down the road if need be​ with notice from the filmmaker​. Teasers, film posters and film photography may also enter in their own specific categories.

4) Do you think that some films really don’t get a fair shake from film festivals? And if so, why?

I can’t speak about the fairness of other festivals across the board because there are literally thousands if not tens of thousands of film festivals out there in the world. However, I will say, having entered many festivals myself and being both successful and, at times, disappointed, with my experiences, here are some lessons:

1) Art is a subjective medium, especially film. Being rejected by one, or even a thousand, film fests does not make any particular film “bad.” So do not be discouraged if your particular film is not a “festival darling”. Keep making movies!
2) Some films, quite simply, are just better geared for festivals, given whatever “trend” or “mood”, is going on at the moment of selection. So, that is not to say to conform your style or content to whatever is trendy, but just to say to “give yourself a break.”
3) Look over the fests you are entering and see how they match up in content with what your film is. For instance, there are fests that play specifically to low budget, edgy material. There are fests specific to Vampire films. There are some fests are fests with categories specific for Women Filmmakers, various ethnic groups, LGBQT etc so keep that in mind when choosing which fests to enter.
4) Also, considerations may be made by some fests for filmmakers within driving range of the actual live event. ​It’s more exciting to think that the actual filmmaker will be there in person, and so festivals may have a natural instinct to honor films geographically closer. ​
5) Shorter films usually have an advantage just by logistics. Feature films that have a possibility to make money are much more likely to get a distribution deal of some significance and shorts play better in fests. These things can change, though.

What I really tried to go from the get-go with Avalonia Festival is to have an online presence that honors both the filmmakers and the worldwide audience. If someone gives my website two hours of their time, they can really feel attuned to what the Avalonia Alumni is capable of. I ask any other film festival to show me a better​ -​ or more engaging – and free online – experience than Avalonia Festival.

5) What motivates you and your team to do this festival?

I wanted to provide a festival that would be the type of festival I would like to be a part of as a filmmaker myself.

I wanted to have a festival that had a website that actually gave the name of the winning films and even shared these films online for the biggest possible audience, beyond the seating capacity of whatever venue was used for a live audience. I’m not sure why so many​, otherwise wonderful, ​film fests have​ such lackluster or vague websites but they do. Anyone who wants to hire me to run their film festival website is encouraged to contact me and I’ll help them.

The other motivation is that Avalonia Festival is intended to bring views to my own project Distance from Avalon​ ​which is my Gothic narrative story about a school teacher and his philosophy about parallel universes. When people look into Avalonia Festival, they are also encouraged to look into Distance from Avalon.

6) How has your FilmFreeway submission process been?

So far, so good. I found FilmFreeway to be very user friendly as a filmmaker myself, and its entry process helped me win about half of my film and TV Awards. Running Avalonia Festival on it is also​ relatively​ easy, time consuming at times, but nothing I can’t handle. ​

7) Where do you see the festival by 2023?

That’s a great question. My ideal scenario were to be a global expansion and by that time, the Distance from Avalon films will have been made and I’ll be a highly respected and cherished individual. So we will see.

8) What film have you seen the most times in your life?

By now, Disregard the Vampire – A Mike Messier Documentary.

I’ve probably seen the most, because of the three years I put into it. This doc, which you may share with your readers, Matthew, directly lead to the creation of Avalonia Festival. Beyond my own work, Highlander, a fantasy time travel piece from 1986, starring Christopher Lambert, is the film I have seen the most and always enjoyed it.

9) In one sentence, what makes a great film?

A great film exhibits a personal standpoint or observation of the world that both challenges and engages an audience.

10) How is the film scene in your city?

The film scene is my exact city of Wickford, Rhode Island is more or less myself but about 20 minutes north of me my friend Tommy DeNucci of Cranston, RI is getting ready to shoot Vault, a major motion picture in the gangster genre with big names and an hour south of me our mutual buddy David Gere is producing several big action and horror films out of Cromwell, CT. Between the three of us, there are some nice things happening.

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 20-50 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every single month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto, and Los Angeles at least 3 times a month. Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com for more information and to submit your work to the festival.

Film Review: BOOST (Canada 2016)

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Boost Poster
Hakeem and A-Mac are like brothers. Together facing immigrant life in Montreal, while ‘spotting’ cars after school. Boost gives us a glimpse into the awkward adventures of teenage boyhood, then the jolt, when that innocence ends abruptly.

Director:

Darren Curtis

Writer:

Darren Curtis

Stars:

Nabil Rajo, Jahmil French, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine

Out of the blue comes this African Canadian film no one has heard of that is quite certainly, the best Canadian film of the year.  It is one of the best I have seen, an excellent blend of drama and thrills with current issues also on display.  BOOST is set in the parc-extension of East Montreal and shot in both French and English, though no knowledge of French need be known to completely follow the film.

Hakeem (Nabil Rajo) and Anthony/“A-Mac” (Jahmil French), teenagers in the Parc-Extension neighbourhood of Montreal work at Hakeem’s uncle’s car wash while simultaneously maintaining a sideline pursuit of passing on tips about valuable cars to the neighbourhood’s gang of car thieves.  One day, after being expelled for 3 days from school for being rude to their teacher (Fanny Mallette), they decide to try their hands at undertaking an auto theft themselves.  Hakkem’s mother (Oluniké Adeliyi) who wants the best for her two sons, goes ballistic when she finds out what her son is up to.  Hakeem is the calm one but it is A-Mac that gets the two in trouble.

BOOST is a film that works on many levels while catering to different audiences.  As a genre movie, it can be considered a car heist film with many suspenseful set-ups especially the main one stealing a posh car while in the garage of the owner’s residence.  The car thieves are black youth, going to school, broke, suspended trying to make an extra buck for their families, maturing while making mistakes in life.  It is a coming-of-age story of the two youths.  At the same time, the film looks at the minority immigrant problem of  Montreal.

“Don’t think for a moment that I don’t know when you fuck up,” advises the uncle to Akeem in a dead serious voice.  There is a keen mix of care, caution and abandon in these words of advice, which is reflected in the craft of Curtis’ film.

A-Mac, Hakeem’s best friend is a friend for hell.  Hanging out with him means an accident waiting to happen.  In audience’s terms, it means edge of the seat suspense.  Will Hakeem get in deep trouble?  For example, when driving a stolen car, A-Mac defies to race another car and after, pick up a girl, Maxim for a ride.

This is writer/director Curtis’s directorial debut after winning a Telefilm Canadian writing grant.  The two main characters in the script were originally South Asian but changed to African Canadians after hiring the actors.  Director Curtis elicits superb performances, especially from his young actors, Rajo from Africa and French who plays his trouble seeking buddy from Scarborough.  Adeliyi who play the mother is from Toronto while Mwine whom plays the uncle is from Uganda.  Thee are Canadian actors too.  Theodore Pellerin, a white Canadian in the supporting role of the car wash floor assistant manager who also plays the lead role in another Canadian film, NEVER STAEDY, NEVER STILL which coincidentally also opens the same day as his film.  Pellerin is an actor to watch!

Many fresh talent in BOOST to watch out for, particularly its writer/director Curtis, who is actually white.  The most impressive debut direction this year!

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44_fuSQNmCY

 

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