PRESENTS FILM CIRCUIT. Newsletter SUMMER The Grand Seduction

Transcription

1 PRESENTS FILM CIRCUIT Newsletter SUMMER 2015 The Grand Seduction

2 IN THIS ISSUE Letters... 2 Film Circuit at a Glance... 4 By the Numbers Film Circuit Speaks... 6 Q&A with Daniel Perlmutter... 7 Winter Film Festivals... 8 Spotlight On: The Kingston Canadian Film Festival Managing Your Series People s Choice Awards Canada s Top Ten Film Festival Upcoming Events Film Circuit Staff LETTERS Director of Film Programmes, TIFF Bell Lightbox The long and particularly cold winter of 2015 is over at last, which means cinemas everywhere are preparing to usher in the warm season s usual bounty of superhero movies and disaster epics. Film Circuit provides a respite from all that bombast, with many great films ready to be discovered by your audiences this summer and fall. There s the latest and possibly last film from British master Ken Loach, Jimmy s Hall, and the Sundance hits Brooklyn, a story of Irish immigration to America in the 1950s, and I ll See You in My Dreams, starring Blythe Danner as a widow who re-enters the dating world. As we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Film Circuit, your dedication to audiences and the movies we all love is reflected in continued growth: 2014 saw record attendance across the country, with new series launched in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and across Ontario. Film Circuit strives to make going to the movies an event, and bringing an onstage component to film screenings is a great way to create an added sense of occasion and increase audience loyalty. There are many opportunities to invite local guest speakers, as we ve seen from recent partnerships with LGBT groups for screenings of Pride and outreach to the Alzheimer s Society for Still Alice. This season we ve introduced the Film Circuit Achievement Awards as a way to recognize and celebrate the hard work and dedication that goes into making your series even more special; I strongly encourage you to submit your nominations, and I look forward to celebrating the winners at our annual Film Circuit Summit at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, where we ll also mark the 40th anniversary of TIFF. Jesse Wente Like us on Facebook! facebook.com/filmcircuittiff Follow us on Manager, Film Circuit We re thrilled this year to be celebrating Film Circuit s 20th anniversary as a division of TIFF. With the passion and support of our dedicated partners across the country, we have mounted over 30,000 screenings and brought films to an audience of over 4.6 million people. These achievements would not be possible without your support, and for that we thank you. We at Film Circuit are currently hard at work introducing a new volunteer incentive to help community partners recruit eager film enthusiasts and TIFF is thrilled to recognize our diverse volunteers nationwide. Please don t hesitate to contact us for information on how we can help in your community. The Film Circuit team is very much looking forward to welcoming many of you back to the Festival in September for our Film Circuit Summit, where, in addition to the kind of programming and events offered last year, we ll present the new Film Circuit Achievement Awards in recognition of the outstanding contributions made within your communities. For more information on how you can nominate your event or an individual in your group, please refer to page 13 or contact filmcircuit@tiff.net. Finally, I m pleased to introduce the newest member of our team, Lauren Coughlan. Lauren joins us as Film Circuit Administrative Assistant, and some of you will remember her from her previous role as our Film Circuit intern. Welcome back, Lauren! From all of us here at Film Circuit: have a wonderful summer season! Meaghan Brander

3 Greetings from Print Traffic! Beyond the obvious anticipation for warmer, longer days, we re also excited for the upcoming Film Circuit summer season. Here are a few notes and reminders for this busy film-going time of year: As theatres and groups are becoming more familiar with KDMs (Key Delivery Message) for DCP encryption, the process for using them is gradually becoming more transparent and refined. That being said, we still have some distance to go. Confirming receipt of the KDM and DCP is not enough: we need theatres to confirm that the content on the drive and the screening date/ time match the KDM. Keys are time-sensitive and could potentially expire before the screening time if booked incorrectly. By ensuring that the KDM contains the correct information, we can avoid last-minute scrambles to acquire replacement keys. We have also received complaints from various groups about the projectionist one-sheet being removed and not replaced in the drive container. This sheet includes the last credit, along with other vital information for the theatre. Please always ensure this sheet has been replaced before shipping the DCP on to the next group. Last, we want to take this opportunity to thank you all for your tremendous contribution to Film Circuit. We appreciate your hard work, patience, and professionalism. We really couldn t do this without you. Jennifer MacFarlane Manager, Print Traffic Advice from TIFF Marketing Doing targeted outreach based on the subject and themes of your films can be a simple and cost-effective way to get the word out regarding screenings. As many families are looking for things to do with their kids while school is out, summer is the perfect time to get them into your cinema to enjoy the family-friendly films we have available this summer! For youth-appropriate titles like Boychoir and The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet, consider reaching out to parenting blogs, toy stores and day camps in your region. See what free listings are available online for summer activities and list your screenings as a summer event. You can apply this approach to any of your films: reach out to a local gallery about an art-themed film, to book clubs and libraries about literary adaptations, and to cultural groups about foreign films the possibilities are endless! Of course, you may want a break over the summer, too, so consider getting a team of volunteers together to distribute flyers and information about your programming at local fairs, festivals and farmers markets. I m always happy to brainstorm more ideas with you directly! Feel free to contact me anytime at Erin Higgins Senior Marketing Manager, TIFF Here are some tips: A Note from TIFF Communications Spring is here and fast giving way to summer which means that right now is the perfect time to focus on growing new relationships with media. Daniel Perlmutter s comedy Big News from Grand Rock has been a Film Circuit hit, striking a chord with audiences from coast to coast. [See page 7 for our Q&A with Perlmutter.] This film follows the struggles of a small-town journalist trying to save his newspaper from bankruptcy. The film shines a light on an undeniable reality in Canadian media, specifically print: cutbacks, and a resulting loss of resources for coverage. This can mean leaner staffing, reduced pages for arts coverage, picking up copy from major news wires or syndicated columnists rather than local reporters, and, in some cases, community papers closing altogether. This change in the industry has been dramatic and brings with it a shift in the ways we work to secure coverage for our film programming. Getting publicity for your screenings isn t impossible, you just have to be crafty like Leonard in Big News (except for the part where he makes up fake news stories). Online Media: Film blogs, community blogs, film review websites, and local listings sites are all great places to get coverage for your screenings. A quick web search will reveal the main sites in your region. You can gauge their popularity and influence by checking how active their comments sections are and how many Twitter followers and Facebook likes they have. Community pages: While the Arts & Culture pages are often the first ones on the cutting-room floor, the News and Community pages stand strong and, by the nature of their content, are locally written. Try reaching out to local news writers or the editor of the community calendar pages. I m always happy to help with research and brainstorming ideas for new media contacts. Don t hesitate to reach out. Geneviève Parent Senior Communications Manager, TIFF SUMMER

4 FILM CIRCUIT AT A GLANCE British Columbia Campbell River Chilliwack Courtenay Cranbrook Creston Duncan Fernie Fort St. John Gibsons Golden Grand Forks Invermere Kamloops Kelowna Langley Maple Ridge McBride Merritt Mission Nanaimo New Westminster North Vancouver Penticton Port Moody Powell River Prince George Prince Rupert Quadra Island Qualicum Beach Quesnel Revelstoke Salmon Arm Smithers Surrey Trail Vancouver Vanderhoof Vernon West Vancouver Williams Lake Alberta Banff Blairmore Calgary Canmore Cochrane Drumheller Edmonton Fahler Fort McMurray Grande Prairie High River Jasper Lethbridge Medicine Hat Nordegg Olds Peace River Pincher Creek Red Deer Rocky Mountain House Spruce Grove St. Albert St. Paul Sylvan Lake Saskatchewan Estevan Kindersley Moose Jaw Prince Albert Manitoba Boissevain Brandon Flin Flon Gimli Portage La Prairie Ontario Alliston Ancaster Arnprior Aurora Bancroft Barrie Bayfield Belleville Bracebridge Brantford Brockville Burlington Cambridge Campbellford Chatham Cobourg Collingwood Cornwall Fenelon Falls Forest Georgina Goderich Gravenhurst Haliburton Halton Hills Hamilton Hanover Huntsville Kincardine Kingston London Madoc Markham Meaford Midland Milton Newmarket Niagara Falls Niagara-on-the-Lake North Bay Oakville Orangeville Orillia Orleans Oshawa Ottawa Owen Sound Palmerston Parry Sound Pembroke Perth Peterborough Picton Port Hope Renfrew Richmond Hill Sarnia Sault Ste. Marie Simcoe Sioux Lookout Smith Falls St. Catharines Stittsville Stouffville Stratford Thunder Bay Tillsonburg Timmins Welland Windsor Woodstock Quebec Hudson Montreal Potton Newfoundland Grand Falls-Windsor New Brunswick Fredericton Saint John Woodstock Nova Scotia Annapolis Royal Bridgewater Liverpool New Glasgow Wolfville Prince Edward Island Charlottetown Summerside Welcome New Groups! Ottawa, Ontario (January 2015) Almonte, Ontario (February 2015) Niagara Falls, Ontario (March 2015) Welcome Back! New Liskeard, Ontario (May 2015) Kindersley, Saskatchewan (September 2015) 4 FILM CIRCUIT Newsletter

5 BY THE NUMBERS Film Circuit s Top 10 Highest- Grossing Films of Philomena 2. The Lunchbox 3. Gabrielle 4. The Grand Seduction 5. Inside Llewyn Davis 6. Calvary 7. Le Week-end 8. The Trip to Italy 9. Wadjda 10. Tracks Film Circuit s Top 10 Highest- Grossing Films of 2015 (January 1 March 31, 2015) 1. Pride 2. Force Majeure 3. My Old Lady 4. Whiplash 5. Mr. Turner 6. Mommy 7. Red Army 8. Rosewater 9. Elsa & Fred 10. Boyhood Film Circuit s Most Anticipated Films of 2015 Please contact your programmer for availability. Remember I ll See You in My Dreams Hyena Road Jimmy s Hall Brooklyn Closet Monster Beeba Boys Film Circuit s Top-Grossing, Single-Booking Film of 2015 (January 1 March 31, 2015) Film: Boyhood Attendance: 831 Community: Niagara-on-the-Lake Gross: $9, Philomena Jimmy s Hall Gabrielle Film Circuit Attendance Leaders of 2014 Collingwood... 16,215 Barrie... 14,479 Charlottetown... 12,145 Windsor...10,664 Vernon... 10,388 Ancaster...9,120 Niagara-on-the-Lake...7,665 Wolfville... 6,979 Salmon Arm...6,764 Thunder Bay...6,744 Boyhood Mommy Denotes Canadian film SUMMER

6 FILM CIRCUIT SPEAKS Films that connect communities Ron (top left), Steven (above poster) and friends show their enthusiasm for Red Army. Local hockey connection Cinefest Durham was pleased to see several new faces at our March 25 showing of Red Army, and we received many enthusiastic comments afterwards. What we didn t know until later was that one of those faces belonged to Ron Davidson, who has a personal connection to the film. His comment on Red Army offers a unique perspective: Kim Skene of the Tom Thomson Art Gallery is joined by Sandra Hong, Public Education Coordinator from community partner the Alzheimer Society of Grey-Bruce, at April s screening of Still Alice in Owen Sound, Ontario. As a member of Canada s national hockey team for five years, including the Olympics in 1980, I played against Fetisov and the Red Army team. This film does a masterful job of capturing the passion and spirit of the Soviet players and how it translated to absolute excellence on the ice. But much more than that, it reveals so much about the Cold War, the symbolism of the Red Army team in the Russian propaganda machine, and the role of the KGB behind the scenes. It is a must-see, whether you are a hockey fan or not. Red Army is completely engrossing it will take you on a roller-coaster ride of emotions, through the incredible successes and failures of the Red Army hockey team, the defections of its superstars to North America and the NHL, to their battles with their coach Viktor Tikhonov and the tragic impact he had on their personal lives. I can t wait to see it again. Born in Saskatchewan, Ron now lives in Whitby and is a Crown Prosecutor, the author of the book Play Better Hockey (2010), and a hockey coach. Ron was brought to the film by his neighbour Steven Frank, who knew Ron was big on hockey but had no idea he had played on the national team. Many exciting stories were shared with friends after the film. Elizabeth Brighton Cinefest Durham Oshawa, Ontario Community Pride Reel Movie Mondays brings thought-provoking films that we normally don t get to see to Red Deer. When the film-selection committee discussed programming for the Winter 2015 season, Pride seemed like a title that could open up some great opportunities. We tested promo codes that we sent out to local groups we thought might partner well for each film. We reached out to the Central Alberta Pride community with a members rate offer for our screening of Pride, which turned out to be our most successful promo partnering of the season. Many left the theatre saying they felt motivated after seeing the film, and we have been invited to speak at a future Central Alberta Pride meeting to discuss a potential partnership on a special fundraiser screening of a cult classic later this year. Our audience loved Pride, and this offer to partner and promote with another local group has helped us to start building a new friendship. Karli Kendall Reel Movie Mondays, Red Deer Museum + Art Gallery Red Deer, Alberta Pride 6 FILM CIRCUIT Newsletter

7 Q&A WITH DANIEL PERLMUTTER Writer-director Daniel Perlmutter spoke to us about his ensemble comedy Big News from Grand Rock, now screening in Film Circuit communities across Canada. Director Daniel Perlmutter with On the Circle s Patsy Douglas (left) and Kathie Heslip in Alliston, Ontario Big News from Grand Rock One of three full houses in Midland, where Big News From Grand Rock was filmed. Can you tell us how this project began? What made you want to take on this subject of a small-town newspaper editor making up stories in order to boost readership and advertising? The film got its start at PITCH THIS! [TIFF Industry s juried feature-film pitch competition held annually during the Toronto International Film Festival] in 2009, and it won. The idea was partially inspired by Shattered Glass a drama based on the true story of a reporter making up stories which seemed like it had potential for comedy. Another reason was my personal interest in small-town newspapers, though I ve never lived in a small town myself. Every time I m in a small town I like to pick up the local paper, and it just seemed like a great setting for a movie, so those two ideas came together as the basis for Big News from Grand Rock. How was Midland, Ontario, chosen to stand in for Grand Rock, and what was it like to shoot there? We looked at a lot of towns and even considered shooting in a Toronto studio, but that was never going to have the right kind of feel. It was really important to capture a sense that this was in a real community that was affected. I had been spending a lot of time in Midland, as my wife has family there, and I realized it was perfect, the kind of town I had been writing about this whole time. I got the producers to come up and they agreed it would be a great place to shoot. No one had ever shot a film in Midland before, so we approached people at the town hall, who brought it up at a town council meeting and agreed it was a good idea. We were really embraced by the town; filming there was an amazing experience. There was so much goodwill towards the production and we really wanted to involve Midland in the film; for me that meant getting local actors as well as people who had never acted before. We held open auditions and a lot of amazing talent came out. There are a lot of people in the movie who are from Midland so that was a great element of the production. What was it like to screen the film in Midland? That was one of the first Film Circuit screenings we did and it really felt like a homecoming. We had four sold-out shows and it felt like the whole town had come out to see the movie. The reception and response was great, and it was a true highlight for me to be able to screen the movie in Midland. You ve been travelling across Canada with the film. Do you find Film Circuit audiences in small communities respond differently to the film than audiences in Toronto and other cities? For one thing, a lot of the time these people are facing the same situation that is going on in the film, which is the loss of their newspaper, or their local paper is fighting to stay alive. Just before we started filming Midland lost their newspaper, which had been around for over 100 years. People definitely relate to that and that s an immediate concern for those audiences. Usually there is someone in the audience from the paper of the community that they re in, and often they ll say it s quite an accurate depiction of a smalltown newspaper though one unrealistic thing is having a staff of four people working full-time at the paper. For how goofy some of the characters are, it s always funny to hear that it captures something about working at a small-town paper. The audiences also respond well in general to the setting. They say they don t get to see that kind of small-town experience up on the big screen that much. When you work on a comedy for so long, you can start to forget what s funny, so to be able to get it out there in front of audiences and hear people laughing it is a great feeling. It took five years to get this movie made, and a lot of times you can work on something like this and it just kind of disappears but to have this life (on Film Circuit) where it s reaching all these audiences that it might not otherwise is just fantastic. Can you tell us a bit about your next project? I m finishing a script for a new film I hope to shoot next winter, a sort of horror-comedy set out in the country in a spooky cabin. Hopefully that won t take five years to make and will be a little faster to get going. SUMMER

8 WINTER FILM FESTIVALS Shadows Co-Director Bill MacPherson with the new projector in Sault Ste. Marie. Shadows of the Mind Film Festival February 25 March 1, 2015 A reely delicious cake created by Judy Garden of Decadent Cakes in Cobourg. Northumberland Film Society s 10th Annual Weekend Film Festival January 30 February 1, 2015 The hilarious and inspirational comedy-drama Pride kicked off the 10th annual NFS Weekend Film Festival. Volunteers and audience members alike delighted in the 1984-set film, in which a band of activists from London s queer community form an unlikely alliance with striking Welsh miners. The next Saturday afternoon, director Sturla Gunnarsson introduced his acclaimed and stunning documentary Monsoon to the NFS audience. He stayed for an in-depth Q&A, offering insight on his experience chasing India s annual monsoons from Calcutta to Mumbai. Force Majeure swept through the Rainbow Cinemas on Saturday evening, after which attendees reassembled for the Gala Reception in Cobourg s venerable Victoria Hall. The gala featured a beautiful live performance by the Lavender Chamber Ensemble led by Tak Kwan, in addition to great food, great company, and most importantly great cake! Prepared by Cordon Bleu Pastry Chef Judy Garden, of Decadent Cakes in Cobourg, this scrumptious cake was a feat of cinematic illusion: assembled in the form of film reels, it also had icing-inscribed titles of the Weekend Festival films! The dessert was a very special birthday surprise arranged by our major sponsor, RBC Dominion Securities, who wanted to celebrate our 10 years of film festivals in Cobourg. On Sunday afternoon, Rainbow Cinemas hosted our final two screenings: Whiplash and Mr. Turner. The Weekend Festival proved to be a great success: our NFS patrons, many of whom were joined by visiting friends and family members, enjoyed themselves thoroughly! We re already looking forward to our 11th NFS Weekend Film Festival (January 22 24, 2016). Glenda Jackson Northumberland Film Society, Coburg, Ontario northumberlandfilm.ca Twenty-three films and documentaries, six days of screenings, three venues, and countless moderated panels, Skype interviews, and special guests. This past March, Sault Ste. Marie s Shadows of the Mind Film Festival wrapped its 16th showcase of meaningful and challenging films that shed light on mental health, addictions and social issues. The Filmed in the Sault, Screened in the Sault hometown series welcomed two special guests: director Terrance Odette (Fall) and producer Cliff McDowell (The Masked Saint). The hottest ticket in town was our sold-out CTV Opening Night Gala at Sault College s Willow Teaching Restaurant & Media Centre, where students prepared gourmet cuisine, followed by the crowd pleaser Pride. Other highlights included a special screening of Red Army with local Junior A hockey players and their coach in attendance; The Spectacular Now, which was sponsored by a youth organization who led a lively panel; and Reel Northern Flicks, a series of shorts that was launched in partnership with Sault College Digital Film Production programme. Along with sponsorships, attendance increases each year. Over 2,500 film-lovers attended our festival during one of the coldest winter weeks. The best attended screenings included Two Days, One Night, Whiplash, and Dr. Cabbie. Our closing night film was Human Capital. Audience feedback was very positive: many commented that the films also challenged their comfort zones. A premier Preview Night was held one week prior to the festival. Sponsors, media, patrons and interested community members were treated to snacks and refreshments and watched trailers of the lineup. Our new Christie HD DLP Projector and 26x15 foot motorized screen were unveiled: both the products of a grant from The Ontario Trillium Foundation. Bill MacPherson Co-Director, Shadows of the Mind Film Festival, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario shadowsfilmfest.com 8 FILM CIRCUIT Newsletter

9 Upcoming Film Festivals Gimli Film Festival Gimli, Manitoba July 22 26, 2015 gimlifilm.com Toronto International Film Festival Toronto, Ontario September 10 20, 2015 tiff.net Atlantic Film Festival Halifax, Nova Scotia September 17 24, 2015 atlanticfilm.com Murray Battle (Director of Knowledge Network) Madeleine Grant (director-producer of The Backward Class) and Rudy Buttignol (President and CEO of Knowledge Network) Kamloops Film Festival March 5 14, 2015 The 2015 Kamloops Film Festival (KFF) screened 15 films over 10 days to a record-setting audience of over 4,200! The KFF is enthusiastic about sharing the best Canadian and international films films that wouldn t otherwise be screened locally with our audiences. We are committed to programming an eclectic mix of films, hosting filmmakers, and engaging attendees through value added events. This year we offered a VIP Reception, an opening-night mingle, the KISS (Kamloops Independent Short Shorts) Film Competition, a Film for a Cause (with proceeds donated to a local charity), a raucous Closing Night Party, three KFF post-film talks at local cafés, and four Q&As with over 15 special guests including directors, producers, writers, and stars! KFF 2015 made milestones on many levels, including the size of the hardworking 19-member committee, who managed to pull off this behemoth festival with smiles and determination. The main draw for this year was the film lineup; attendance numbers climbed significantly from a record-setting Still Alice was our only sold-out screening, but every film had over 100 attendees, with the per film average sitting at almost 300. KFF attendees love the extra engagement events and guest Q&As, and usually become part of our REEL community. As we look toward our 20th anniversary in 2016, we are excited to continue to grow and evolve this amazing little festival! Bigger and better is the goal, so we are thrilled for more films, more events, more guests, and a whole lot more fun! Dušan Magdolen Chair, Kamloops Film Festival, Kamloops, BC kamloopsfilmfest.ca Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival Sudbury, Ontario September 19 27, 2015 cinefest.com Calgary International Film Festival Calgary, Alberta September 23 October 4, 2015 calgaryfilm.com Vancouver International Film Festival Vancouver, British Columbia September 24 October 9, 2015 viff.org AGH BMO World Film Festival Hamilton, Ontario October 16 25, 2015 aghfilmfest.com Barrie Film Festival Barrie, Ontario October 16 25, 2015 barriefilmfestival.ca Windsor International Film Festival Windsor, Ontario November 2015 windsorfilmfestival.com Grand River Film Festival Cambridge, Ontario November 2 7, 2015 grff.ca Shuswap Reel Weekend Festival Salmon Arm, British Columbia November 6 8, 2015 shuswapfilm.net Congratulations to cinésarnia, who celebrated their 20th anniversary in April with a film festival and special guests Laura Good, Film Circuit Senior Programming Coordinator, and film writer/broadcaster Thom Ernst. Whistler Film Festival Whistler, British Columbia December 2 6, 2015 whistlerfilmfestival.com SUMMER

10 SPOTLIGHT ON:THE KINGSTON CANADIAN FILM FESTIVAL February 26 March 1, 2015 Big News From Grand Rock director Daniel Perlmutter with Director of Programming Jason Anderson Full house for opening night at Kingston City Hall The Kingston Canadian Film Festival (KCFF) is Canada s largest festival dedicated solely to Canadian cinema. Launched in 2001 by Alex Jansen then a film student at Queen s University the festival began as a three-day event at a local independent theatre. In its first year, fifteen of the twenty screenings sold out. In 2002, the festival added a second venue and a fourth day, and significantly increased the number of screenings. KCFF has continued to expand its programming, and in a few short years has launched the KCFF Film Lab, programs including Local Shorts, French Film, Music and the Moving Image, and Youth Shorts, retrospective screenings, and much more. The entire festival has also taken over multiple venues (not all traditional movie theatres!) in downtown Kingston. KCFF kicked off its 15th edition on February 26. Presenting a lineup of over 100 feature and short films, including new releases, world premieres, classics of cinema, international award-winners, locally produced films and youth shorts, the festival saw attendance increase by 21% over 2014, with total attendance just shy of 6,000. This year s KCFF offered much more than an in-cinema experience. Over the four days of the festival, attendees enjoyed 15 free workshops, in addition to outreach sessions for underserved community groups. Festival favourites like the Breaking In career event and Low-Budget Filmmaking remained popular. New workshops showcasing the intersection of film and other media opened doors to new audiences. David Footman, Scripted Event Director at Ubisoft Toronto, and Peter Kuplowsky, who worked on the TIFF Nexus Gaming project, delivered an amazing talk on the development of film and interactive gaming. Other speakers included Ethan Russell, best known as the only rock photographer to have shot album covers for The Beatles, The Who and The Rolling Stones, who discussed documentary photography and filmmaking; and Christina Zeidler, a filmmaker and the visionary owner of Toronto s Gladstone Hotel, who spoke about project development and collaboration. KCFF s Music & the Moving Image program presented four live concerts from artists with a significant connection to film. Performing to a packed house, Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo played a set that included projections of photos and film clips from the East Coast road trip he took in search of his birth mother. Paul Spence, who played Deaner in the Cancon classic FUBAR, delivered a high-voltage performance with his band Night Seeker during the festival s opening night party. There were performances by Lederhosen Lucil, By Divine Right, Ron Hawkins of Lowest of the Low, and multiple DJ sets. Four festival receptions provided a great opportunity to network and meet festival-goers, sponsors, and more than 70 special industry guests. Audiences flocked to the sold-out opening night gala presentation, Big News from Grand Rock, which featured a special Q&A with director Daniel Perlmutter. Other audience favourites included In Her Place (dir. Albert Shin), Felix and Meira (dir. Maxime Giroux), Maps to the Stars (dir. David Cronenberg), Berkshire County (dir. Audrey Cummings), and After the Ball (dir. Sean Garrity). The Eye on Canada People s Choice Award was ultimately presented to Suzanne Crocker for her documentary All the Time in the World. KCFF closed with a sold-out screening of the award-winning Mommy (dir. Xavier Dolan), which was a perfect way to cap off four days of the best Canadian cinema. Marc Garniss Festival Director, Kingston Canadian Film Festival Kingston, Ontario 10 FILM CIRCUIT Newsletter

11 MANAGING YOUR SERIES One Year In: Canada s Anti-Spam Legislation On July 1, 2014, Canada anti-spam legislation (CASL) came into effect. Have you taken the necessary steps to make sure your screening series understands and complies with the law? You have a 36-month transition period from when the law came into effect (until July 1, 2017) to make sure you have obtained express consent from your audience members receiving any form of electronic communication from you. After July 1, 2017, violating CASL can result in the following: Legitimate complaints about unsolicited s may be turned over to the CRTC, which may investigate to determine if the message violates CASL. If you are judged to be in violation, the CRTC has a range of enforcement tools available. There are no automatic penalties for violations. The CRTC judges each case based on a series of factors, including the nature of the violation, your history with CASL, whether you benefited financially from the violation and your ability to pay a penalty. Penalties for the most serious violations of the Act can go as high as $1 million for individuals and $10 million for businesses. Civil cases cannot be brought before the courts until July Source: fightspam.gc.ca To be compliant with CASL, if you send a commercial electronic message to an electronic address, you need to have the recipient s consent, to identify yourself, to offer an unsubscribe mechanism, and to be truthful in messaging. Express Consent: You must have a form of valid consent. What is express consent? Express consent is when a person has clearly agreed (orally or in writing) to receive your electronic message. It is not time-limited, unless the recipient withdraws his or her consent Identification: Clearly identify yourself and your organization. You must include your mailing address. You must also include a phone number for accessing an agent or a voice messaging system, an address, or a web address for the screening series on whose behalf you are sending the message. Unsubscribe mechanism: Provide an unsubscribe mechanism that is functional for 60 days. Truth in advertising: Your messages must not be false or misleading. They must not have false or misleading sender information, subject matter information, URLs and/or metadata. Source: fightspam.gc.ca Make sure to keep all records of express consent, because if any complaints are registered you must be able to provide the necessary proof of consent. Please note: The information provided here is a plain language reference point to the law and does not stand for the law itself. The official CASL website ( provides in-depth explanations on the difference between express/implied consent and great examples of obtaining consent and implementing unsubscribe mechanisms. Please also consult your committee s legal counsel for advice pertaining to your specific circumstances. Call For Nominations: Film Circuit Achievement Awards 2015 Have you submitted your group yet for our inaugural Film Circuit Achievement Awards? The deadline to submit your nominations is May 31, Volunteer of the Year This award is open to all volunteers who assist with the operation of your Film Circuit screening series/festival and is not limited to our contacts on the organizing committee. Eligible candidates for this award must not receive a wage/salary/honorarium from or as part of being a member of the organizing committee. Eligible individuals can nominate themselves or be nominated by a fellow volunteer or member of the organizing committee. PRIZE: Movie & Merchandise Prize Pack (Approximate Retail Value: $250) Best Community Promotion of a Canadian Film Promoting a Canadian film can be challenging but also very rewarding. We are interested in some of the special marketing, publicity, or partnership methods you have used to get the word out for one of your Canadian film screenings. PRIZE: $250 towards the winning community s new season promotional/ marketing materials. Best Special Event Tell us about the work you put into one your special events, such as an opening or closing night screening, gala, workshop, themed screening, volunteer appreciation party, etc. We are interested in anything you have done to customize your screening or add to the experience of attending/helping with your series. Examples might include specialty catering, costume nights, or dance parties. PRIZE: $500 towards the winning community s next special event for a Film Circuit screening. Screenings held between June 2014 and May 2015 are eligible. Winners and prizes will be announced during the TIFF Film Circuit 2015 Summit weekend. For the full rules and regulations, or for additional copies of the nomination ballot, please contact filmcircuit@tiff.net. MANAGING YOUR SERIES SUMMER

12 11 TH ANNUAL FILM CIRCUIT PEOPLE S CHOICE AWARDS The Lunchbox The Grand Seduction Don McKellar s The Grand Seduction and Ritesh Batra s The Lunchbox were selected by Film Circuit audiences across Canada as winners of the 11th annual Film Circuit People s Choice Awards. The Grand Seduction was named Best Canadian Film and The Lunchbox was selected as the Best International Film. McKellar was thrilled by the honour, and had many thanks to offer Film Circuit audiences: I adore Film Circuit and nothing gives me greater pleasure than to see my movie playing across the country for far-flung appreciative crowds. The Grand Seduction was explicitly located in a Newfoundland outport, but everywhere it travelled people told me how much they identified with its characters and themes. This award really validates the need for films that explore and celebrate specific Canadian regions. It s the shortest path to a popular national cinema. I ve always felt that making a truly popular Canadian film is the greatest challenge any director can face. If you move to Hollywood and have the tenacity and good fortune to make a successful film, you will be one of hundreds who have done so. But if you achieve the same degree of renown in Canada you have joined the ranks of a dauntless few. My most sincere thanks to the Film Circuit and the noble film buffs they serve for helping me taste the impossible. Film Night International in Perth, Ontario, had the largest proportion of their audience vote, and will receive a free screening courtesy of Film Circuit. Thank you to all the voters and congratulations to our winners! Don McKellar 12 FILM CIRCUIT Newsletter

13 14 TH ANNUAL CANADA S TOP TEN FILM FESTIVAL Mommy Monsoon In Her Place Since TIFF Bell Lightbox opened, TIFF s annual celebration of the best in Canadian cinema has grown by leaps and bounds. Featuring an impressive lineup selected by a panel of journalists, filmmakers and film industry members, the 2014 edition emerged as the best attended event to date not only in Toronto, but at other venues around the country as well. This year s festival featured several new wrinkles, including the addition of Canada s Top Ten Student Shorts, and the Festival s first offsite In Conversation With... event, held in Vancouver. Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award-winner Sandra Oh (Sideways, Double Happiness, TV s Grey s Anatomy) joined TIFF Artistic Director Cameron Bailey for an onstage interview before an engaged crowd at Vancouver s The Cinematheque; the organization is a longtime supporter of the programme and the longest-running venue for the festival outside of TIFF Bell Lightbox. Cameron and Sandra were joined by Vancouver-based filmmaker Ann Marie Fleming, who is collaborating with the actress on a new animated feature, Window Horses. Back in Toronto, the festival s annual Canada Cocktail Party featured a rousing performance by Vancouver s We Are the City, the band behind drummer Andrew Huculiak s debut feature and Top Ten selection, Violent. TIFF Bell Lightbox also hosted two packed In Conversation With events: filmmaker Avi Lewis and writer Naomi Klein spoke about the issues facing our planet, and offered a sneak peek at Lewis upcoming feature, This Changes Everything, inspired by Klein s book; and action hero and former Torontonian Keanu Reeves drew audiences from far and wide, including one attendee who travelled all the way from Japan. Director Bonnie Sherr Klein and University of Calgary professor and author Rebecca Sullivan presented Klein s still powerful and relevant look at the costs and contradictions of the porn industry, the controversial classic Not A Love Story. The documentary was screened in conjunction with the publication of Sullivan s new monograph on the film, published by TIFF and the University of Toronto Press. The Top Ten feature lineup boasted mainstays like Xavier Dolan, whose Mommy was a massive hit at Cannes, snagged awards all around the world, and was the fifth consecutive Dolan film to be on the list; David Cronenberg, who presented his Cannes prizewinner Maps to the Stars; and acclaimed Québécois director Stephane Lafleur. Lafleur s luminous Tu dors Nicole also made its debut at Cannes, and its young star Julianne Côté won the Best Actress prize from the Vancouver Film Critics Circle. Marie-Hélène Cousineau (Before Tomorrow) returned to the Top Ten with her timely and devastating documentary Sol, which she co-directed with Susan Avingaq. But this time the list was dominated by newcomers, from first-time director Andrew Huculiak to Albert Shin, whose amazing and beautifully nuanced sophomore feature, In Her Place, would subsequently win prizes at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards and garner an astounding number of Canadian Screen Award nominations. In his feature directorial debut, Mathieu Denis (Corbo) gave us one of the most indelible takes on a key moment in our nation s history. Maxime Giroux, long considered one of the most fearless young filmmakers in Quebec, made his first appearance on the list with Felix and Meira, a drama about the unexpected romance between a disaffected thirtysomething and a young Hassidic mother yearning for a different life. Felix and Meira also won the Best Canadian Feature Film award at this past Toronto International Film Festival. It was a very strong year for documentaries, something particularly evident in the last two inclusions on the features list: Harold Crooks harrowing The Price We Pay, a feature on the costs we all pay for corporate tax havens (the film is currently a major topic of conversation in France); and Sturla Gunnarsson s Monsoon, a visually stunning look at the massive weather system which engulfs India every year and affects everything from the stock market to bookies, farmers and protected species. Monsoon was given top honours at Top Ten, picking up the festival s inaugural People s Choice audience prize. Steve Gravestock Senior Programmer, Festival Programming, TIFF SUMMER

14 UPCOMING EVENTS Canadian Open Vault: Canada s All-Time Top Ten July 1, 2015 August 22, 2015 Our fourth poll of the top ten Canadian films of all time (following on the surveys conducted in 1984, 1993 and 2004) features some notable changes, in both procedure and results. For the first time, we split the respondents into two groups: those on the creative side (directors, producers, industry, etc.) and those on the critical side (journalists, academics and programmers), which resulted in several interesting trends in voting patterns. Four recent films made their first-ever appearance on the list: Jean-Claude Lauzon s Léolo, Guy Maddin s My Winnipeg, Sarah Polley s Stories We Tell, and Jean- Marc Vallée s C.R.A.Z.Y. In the most significant change of all, Claude Jutra s Mon oncle Antoine which had placed first in each of the previous three polls was edged out of the top spot by Zacharias Kunuk s Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner. This is likely the first time that a film by an Aboriginal filmmaker has topped a poll of national cinema, which is a testament to the film s unique and powerful approach to storytelling. Stories We Tell 1. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (Zacharias Kunuk, 2001) 2. Mon oncle Antoine (Claude Jutra, 1971) 3. The Sweet Hereafter (Atom Egoyan, 1997) 4. Léolo (Jean-Claude Lauzon, 1992) 5. Jésus de Montréal (Denys Arcand, 1989) 6. Goin Down the Road (Don Shebib, 1970) 7. Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, 1988) 8. C.R.A.Z.Y. (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2005) 9. My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin, 2007) 10. Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012)/Les Ordres (Michel Brault, 1974) Visit tiff.net/canadas-all-time-top-ten for more information on screenings and special guests in attendance. 40th Toronto International Film Festival September 10 20, 2015 This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Toronto International Film Festival and we have big plans to ring in this milestone. Stay tuned for news of special events! We hope you will be able to join us in Toronto for the celebrations. Film Circuit Summit September 18 & 19, 2015 Art McKay (L) and Penny Hendricks (R) of Belleville s Quinte Film Alternative, with Margaret Duncan of Cambridge s Idea Exchange, at the 2014 Film Circuit Summit. Film Circuit organizers should also look out for more details of the annual Film Circuit Summit, which takes place on September 18 and 19. The Summit is an opportunity to attend curated private screenings and professional development programming, meet with Film Circuit staff, and network with Film Circuit organizers from across Canada. We will also be announcing the inaugural winners of the Film Circuit Achievement awards (see page 12 for nomination details). We at the Film Circuit office are hard at work on this year s Summit and look forward to welcoming you to Toronto! 14 FILM CIRCUIT Newsletter

15 Coming Soon Stars of the Silver Screen Oct 30 Jan 24 in the HSBC Gallery This exhibition has been organized by The Andy Warhol Museum, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, and is presented in collaboration with TIFF. SUMMER

16 FILM CIRCUIT Film Circuit TIFF Bell Lightbox Reitman Square 350 King Street West Toronto, ON M5V 3X (Press 3 for Film Circuit) STAFF Meaghan Brander Manager, Film Circuit Programmes films for Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba mbrander@tiff.net (416) Ming-Jenn Lim Senior Coordinator, Film Circuit Programmes films for Atlantic Canada, development of new and existing communities, guest requests and bookings mjlim@tiff.net (416) Laura Good Senior Programming Coordinator, Film Circuit Programmes films for Ontario, Quebec and all short-film programming lgood@tiff.net (416) Alison Zimmer Coordinator, Film Circuit Programmes films for Blu-ray and Francophone locations, oversees social media and publications azimmer@tiff.net (416) Lauren Coughlan Administrative Assistant, Film Circuit Coordinates festival registrations, distributes all promotional material, box-office information, shipment back-billing and administrative fees lcoughlan@tiff.net (416) ext Jennifer MacFarlane Manager, Print Traffic Handles Mongrel Media jmacfarlane@tiff.net (416) Steven Landry Senior Coordinator, Print Traffic Handles Sony Pictures, Twentieth Century Fox, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros, filmswelike, Video Services Corp. slandry@tiff.net (416) Logan MacDonald Print Traffic Assistant Handles eone Films, KinoSmith, Pacific Northwest Pictures, A71, D Films, most independents and all short films lmacdonald@tiff.net (416) ext Geneviève Parent Senior Communications Manager, TIFF Publicist for all Film Circuit locations gparent@tiff.net (416) Erin Higgins Senior Marketing Manager, TIFF Marketing support for all Film Circuit locations ehiggins@tiff.net (416) I ll See You in My Dreams