Episodes
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Best known in cinephile circles for his collaborations with director Richard Linklater in the Before trilogy and BOYHOOD, Ethan Hawke is also no stranger to the Toronto International Film Festival as a writer, director, and actor. His latest directorial effort, SEYMOUR: AN INTRODUCTION, played at TIFF ’15, while he also personified the late jazz trumpeter Chet Baker that year in BORN TO BE BLUE. In 2016, he returned to the Festival for dual appearances in THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN and MAUDIE. This year at TIFF, the Hawke appears in Paul Schrader’s terse religious drama FIRST REFORMED, playing an ex–military chaplain grieving the death of his son. TIFF UN/CUT has unearthed a career-spanning conversation from 2014 in which the sensitive and soul-searching multi-hyphenate was joined by Jesse Wente, Director of Film Programmes at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Listen as Ethan Hawke tells you the story of his life as an actor, director, screenwriter, novelist, and — first and foremost — film lover.
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Sarah Polley began her career in film at the age of four, appearing in the Disney movie ONE MAGIC CHRISTMAS. After her roles in Atom Egoyan’s THE SWEET HEREAFTER, Terry Gilliam’s THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN and Doug Liman's GO gained her attention as an emotionally intuitive and intelligent young actor, she attended the Director’s Lab at the Canadian Film Centre in 2001. Polley’s first feature AWAY FROM HER, an adaption of the Alice Munro short story “The Bear Came over the Mountain,” which she wrote and directed, nabbed her a nomination for “Best Adapted Screenplay” at the 2008 Academy Awards. Her follow-up films, 2011’s TAKE THIS WALTZ and the 2012 documentary STORIES WE TELL (all of which have premiered at TIFF) have cemented the filmmaker as one of Canada’s most indelible auteurs. In this episode of TIFF Un/cut, you’ll hear Sarah Polley interviewed onstage by documentary programmer Thom Powers in a discussion originally conducted for the 2012 Industry Doc Conference when STORIES WE TELL premiered at TIFF. They discuss the knotty complexities of revealing family secrets, how to show many sides of one story, and why documentary is her favourite medium. Sarah Polley’s newest project, a forthcoming miniseries adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s 1996 novel ALIAS GRACE on which she serves as showrunner and executive producer, will premiere at TIFF ‘17 with the series’ star Sarah Gadon and director Mary Harron in attendance.
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Hear from one of our country’s most inspiring artists, who is still making documentaries about her Indigenous community at age 84 At age 84, Alanis Obomsawin is still crafting incisive documentaries about the Indigenous crisis in Canada with over 40 projects to her name in collaboration with the National Film Board. At the heart of her work is the act of listening to other people tell their stories as a way of survival. Her latest work, titled Our People Will Be Healed, is a portrait of the community in one of Manitoba’s largest First Nations populations and will premiere at TIFF ’17. The following audio is a conversation conducted by TIFF Digital Producer Malcolm Gilderdale when Obomsawin’s heartbreaking film We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice played the Festival last year. Hear the filmmaker detail how she first became drawn to telling the stories of her people, why she’s always fought for education, and how being an artist means believing in your own self-worth. You can attend a free screening of her breakthrough 1993 documentary Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance this Sunday, August 27 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, as part of Canada On Screen. Want to hear more inspiring conversations with your favourite filmmakers? Subscribe to TIFF UN/CUT over at iTunes, and please rate and review us!
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In 2016, Richard Linklater brought his awesome casual hangout movie — and “spiritual sequel” to DAZED AND CONFUSED — EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! to TIFF Bell Lightbox. After screening the film, Linklater sat down for a talk moderated by Theresa Scandiffio, the Senior Director of TIFF's Adult Learning department. Their conversation spans Linklater’s entire journey in film, from SLACKER, to DAZED AND CONFUSED, to the BEFORE movies, to BOYHOOD, to EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!!, viewed through the lens of defining moments. Hear why Linklater is drawn to character-based ensemble films, the joys of working with emerging actors, and the three books every young film lover should read. You can catch a screening of Linklater’s infectious 2003 comedy SCHOOL OF ROCK (written by TIFF '17 filmmaker Mike White) on August 16 at TIFF Bell Lightbox, as part of our TIFF Kids Summer series.
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The great Jill Soloway is the creator, writer, director, and executive producer of TRANSPARENT. While Soloway was at TIFF '16 with the show's third season, they delivered a keynote address at the TIFF Industry Conference on the female gaze — which we’ve reproduced here. On this week’s TIFF UN/CUT, Soloway’s keynote address explores the power of the gaze and the ways in which the cis male gaze has historically limited and controlled our view of ourselves and each other. Soloway reclaims the power of the gaze to reflect diverse and important voices while championing protagonism as a means to creative revolution. Jill is currently an ambassador for TIFF’s Share Her Journey campaign, a five-year initiative prioritizing gender parity within the film industry. To find out more about the campaign, please visit http://www.tiff.net/shareherjourney/
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This week on TIFF UN/CUT, we hear from Canadian film and art legend Michael Snow. From Flightstop, his iconic collection of life-size Canada Geese sculptures that hang in Toronto's Eaton Centre, to his landmark experimental films La Région Centrale (1971) and Wavelength (1967) (the title of which inspired the Toronto International Film Festival's programme of experimental works, Wavelengths), Snow's work as a visual artist and filmmaker has been celebrated around the world. In this episode, we hear an extended conversation about Snow's early career, his influences, his initial encounters with the medium of film, life as an artist in Europe, Canada, and New York in the late 1950s and early 1960s, his relationship with fellow artist Joyce Wieland, and the interplay in his work between the visual arts, music, and film.
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The first wave of Festival announcements has passed, and among the bombshells is the news that honourary Torontonian Guillermo del Toro’s latest film will premiere at TIFF ‘17. THE SHAPE OF WATER is many things — an aquatic love story between a lonely janitor (Sally Hawkins) and an amphibian, an ironic commentary on the American dream, a tribute to star Michael Shannon’s jawline — but fans of the auteur’s creature features and his twisted sense of humour will not be disappointed. Not only has del Toro made a moving ode to old Hollywood cinema, but it is also his most emotional and deftly realized work yet. One of the perks of having the Mexican filmmaker make his home in Toronto is del Toro’s annual Masterclass, held at TIFF Bell Lightbox. 2016 saw him lecture expertly on the work of Luis Buñuel, delivering in-depth analysis on the films Los Olvidados, El Bruto, Nazarin, Virdiana, Susana, and El. This week’s TIFF UN/CUT airs a masterclass conducted while del Toro was deep in production mode for 2015’s Crimson Peak. The topic of conversation is, naturally, Gothic romances, as the cineaste analyzes three films in his identification of the genre’s conventions. In this recording, you’ll hear del Toro do a deep dive into Robert Stevenson’s 1943 adaptation of Jane Eyre, which boasts an impressive pedigree in its cast and crew with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine starring as Mr. Rochester and Jane Eyre, a score by Bernard Herrmann, and a script co-written by Brave New World author Aldous Huxley. It’s an engaging and fascination discussion from an auteur who's just as comfortable citing the Brontë sisters as he is breaking down Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series.
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George A. Romero, the father of the zombie film and a fiercely independent filmmaker, passed away last week at the age of 77. On this week's episode of TIFF Un/cut, hear an in-depth conversation with Romero conducted by then-TIFF Midnight Madness Programmer Colin Geddes in 2012. From NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, his low-budget 1968 film which made tons of money at the box office and reframed the whole idea of the zombie in the public imagination, all the way through to his final film as director, 2009's SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, Romero's inventiveness and societal awareness were unparalleled. In this episode, you'll hear all about Romero's process of making movies, his take on modern zombie stories, and that time he and a very young Martin Scorsese got into a fight over a copy of a classic opera film.
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Before he created the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, which inspired HBO's award-winning series GAME OF THRONES, George R.R. Martin was a kid growing up in an underserved neighbourhood, selling made-up stories for a penny each, until he raised his prices to a nickel. In this hour-long talk hosted by TIFF Cinematheque director Jesse Wente and recorded at TIFF in 2012 just before GAME OF THRONES' second season launched, Martin talks about how his childhood influenced his creative life, what he learned working in TV before GOT began, and how he built the massive and intricate world of Westeros.
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This week on TIFF UN/CUT, hear a master class from the subject of a current retrospective. Something in the Air: The Cinema of Olivier Assayas traces the French auteur’s eclectic catalogue, from his early music videos for electro-pop stars Jacno and Winston Tong, to his documentary portrait of Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien, to his brilliant work in narrative film and his recent career-high collaborations with Kristen Stewart on CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA and PERSONAL SHOPPER, which have brought him even greater acclaim and a whole new audience. This week, you can catch Assayas’ first feature DISORDER, a portrait of France’s mid-’80s post-punk scene (and undoubtedly, a Joy Division reference), as well as his 2002 cyberthriller DEMONLOVER (which sports a score by Sonic Youth!). At the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, where Assayas presented his film SOMETHING IN THE AIR — a youthful and semi-autobiographical portrait of young political activists living in a Parisian suburb in the early ‘70s — the director also participated in an onstage master class moderated by Brad Deane, Senior Manager of TIFF Cinematheque and programmer of the current Assayas retrospective. You’ll hear how Olivier’s screenwriter father made him think twice about making movies early on in his career, which Bresson films blew his mind, and why he never intended to be a film critic for Cahiers du Cinéma.
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As Canada celebrates its 150th birthday this weekend, it's time to look back at this country's greatest cinematic achievements. A sizeable amount come from Toronto filmmaker David Cronenberg, who having made 21 features between 1969 and 2014, has received top honours at Cannes, the Berlin Film Festival, and TIFF. In 1999, Cronenberg was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2002, and received Cannes’ Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006. In 2014, after a worldwide exhibit of his film’s artifacts titled David Cronenberg: Evolution was held at TIFF, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada for his contribution as “Canada’s most celebrated internationally acclaimed filmmaker.” He also has the uncanny ability to make car crashes sexy and heads literally explode (the moment in SCANNERS, which inspired Morgan Spurlock to become a filmmaker). In fact, Canadian film would be nothing without his signature Cronenbergian "body horror." To honour a living legend, still making movies at age 74, we've unearthed a 2014 onstage talk between David and his two key collaborators, producer Jeremy Thomas and makeup and special effects designer Stephan Dupuis. You can listen to the full TIFF Uncut podcast below and if you're feeling festive, watch a free screening of Cronenberg's 1983 film VIDEODROME, part of a free Canada on Screen marathon of movies screening July 1 at TIFF Bell Lightbox.
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What was Hollywood even like before Laverne Cox? The ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK star has made historic in-roads for the trans population, forever changing the conversation of representation in film and television after becoming the first openly transgendered actor and activist to win an Emmy Award and appear on the cover of Time magazine. In 2014, Laverne Cox came to TIFF for an in-depth "In Conversation With" during Toronto's World Pride Week celebrations, presented by TIFF and the Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film Festival. TIFF Un/cut lets you listen to the full discussion below, moderated by Wilson Cruz, Director of Entertainment Industry Partnerships at GLAAD (also known as the actor who played Ricky Vasquez on MY SO-CALLED LIFE).
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On this episode of TIFF Un/cut, TIFF Kids short filmmakers Eduardo Bertaina (THE LOUDEST SILENCE), Arvid Klapper (BAKA), and Meloni Poole (TRIGGA) talk to host Chandler Levack about making films for - and starring - children. They discuss the idea that films for kids don’t need to be bouncy or animated (3:50), discuss collaborating with young actors (8:28), good strategies for getting strong performances from children (15:14), establishing a “parent/child” relationship between actors on set (20:20), tackling serious subjects in films aimed at children (22:50), the moment in childhood that makes you want to become a filmmaker (28:13), and the incredible intelligence of children as film viewers (33:35).
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In [his essay]( http://www.tiff.net/the-review/straub-huillet-wind-trees/index.html) for the TIFF Cinematheque retrospective [*Not Reconciled: The Films of Jean-Marie Straub and Danièle Huillet*](http://www.tiff.net/#series=Not-Reconciled:-The-Films-of-Jean-Marie-Straub-and-Danièle-Huillet), James Quandt writes that “Even the pair’s non-operatic films feel musically composed and delivered.” It’s an observation which Stanford University’s Erik Ulman echoed in a recent talk he gave at the UC Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive. “One of the things that attracted me to Straub and Huillet’s work is that they are extraordinarily musical filmmakers,” says the composer and music lecturer, noting how the duo’s deep knowledge of music carries over into the way they compose both their soundtracks and their images. Ulman’s short talk, generously provided to us by our friends at BAM/PFA, is a fascinating introduction to both Straub-Huillet’s essential early films [*Not Reconciled, Machorka-Muff* and *The Bridegroom, the Comedienne and the Pimp*](http://www.tiff.net/events/machorka-muff-followed-by-not-reconciled-and-the-bridegroom-the-comedienne-and-the-pimp/) (screening this Saturday, March 4) and to the team’s cinema in general. *Thanks to Erik Ulman and Kathy Geritz, Film Curator at BAM/PFA*.
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Documentary audiences are growing everyday. With the rise of new exhibition platforms and an increased presence in the theatrical landscape, docs are a powerful medium to reach a wide audience. The activists, the anarchists, the voices of the disenfranchised - these documentarians use the burgeoning cinematic medium as a call to action and to ignite social change. This session was designed for an industry professional audience. Guest Hugh Gibson Guest Alethea Arnaquq-Baril Guest Jamie Kastner Guest Tiffany Hsiung Moderator Sarafina DiFelice
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Documentary duo Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier of Mercury Films have collaborated on some of the most commercially successful and visually stunning documentaries in Canadian history, including Watermark and Manufactured Landscapes (selected by TIFF as one of 150 Definitive Works in the Canada on Screen programme). This conversation will explore their expansive body of work, including the upcoming films Man Machine Poem, documenting The Tragically Hip’s historic final tour, and Anthropocene, the third collaboration with renowned photographer Edward Burtynsky. This session was designed for an industry professional audience. Guest Jennifer Baichwal Jennifer Baichwal was born in Montreal and raised in Victoria, British Columbia. Her documentaries The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams' Appalachia (02) and Manufactured Landscapes (06) premiered at the Festival. Her other films include Act of God (09), Payback (12), and Watermark (13). Guest Nicholas de Pencier Nicholas de Pencier is a documentary filmmaker, producer, and director of photography. His cinematography work includes Let It Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles (98), The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachia (02), The Hockey Nomad (03), and Al Purdy Was Here (15), and he also produced the award-winning Manufactured Landscapes (06), Act of God (09), and Watermark (13). Black Code (16) is his directorial debut. Moderator Sean Farnel Sean Farnel is an independent writer, producer, and marketing consultant. He has established himself as a leading curator of documentary media over a 15-year career at the Toronto International Film Festival and Hot Docs, and has collaborated with directors and producers while developing and executing market launch plans.
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Canada’s impressive legacy of comedic talent led to the creation of enduring classics like SCTV, Kids in the Hall and Trailer Park Boys. Now, a new crop of talented voices have emerged on the Canadian television scene, reinvigorating the reputation of Canada’s comedic resonance at home and abroad. These cutting edge creators are here to discuss the serious business of being funny. This session was designed for an industry professional audience. Guest Jared Keeso Jared Keeso is an award-winning Canadian film and television actor. He had his television breakout role with Smallville (01–11), and also appeared in CBC’s Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story (10), for which he won a Gemini Award for Best Actor, and Bravo’s 19-2 (11–15). He has starred in the features Smokin’ Aces (07), Life as We Know It (10), A Beginner’s Guide to Endings (10), Elysium (13), and Godzilla (14). He also wrote, produced, and starred in the web series sensation Letterkenny Problems (13) on Funny or Die, and recently received a development deal to draft the show’s third season, which was reformatted as Letterkenny (16) for CraveTV and The Comedy Network. Guest Carolyn Taylor Carolyn Taylor is a Toronto-based writer and actor. She has written multiple seasons of This Hour Has 22 Minutes (93– ), for which she earned a Canadian Comedy Award, a Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award, and a Gemini nomination. Taylor has also written sketches and political commentary for CBC's The Hour (05–14) and YTV's That's So Weird (09–12). Her television acting credits include The Gavin Crawford Show (00–03), Sue Thomas F.B.Eye (02–05), Wild Card (03–05), and Queer as Folk (00–05), and she has also appeared in the features 19 Months (02) and Portrait of a Serial Monogamist (16). Taylor is the showrunner for the Baroness von Sketch Show (16), and she has written and acted in five original revues at The Second City. Guest Matt Johnson Matt Johnson was born in Toronto and studied film at York University. His debut feature,The Dirties(13), won the Grand Jury Prize at Slamdance. His other projects include Operation Avalanche (16) and nirvanna the band the show(16). Guest Jay McCarrol JAY MCCARROL is an accomplished Canadian musician, composer and actor. After co-creating and starring in the hit web series, Nirvana the Band the Show, he has composed music for over 50 film/theater/online projects. He served as the musical director at Second City in Toronto for several years and has written music for countless commercials including national spots for Bell Canada, Tylenol, Budweiser, and Coca-Cola. Brave Shores, a band started with Jay and Stefanie McCarrol, currently have national airplay on radio and television (Much Music). He is currently a co-creator, writer and actor on Nirvanna the Band the Show. Moderator Geoff Macnaughton Geoff Macnaughton was born in Toronto, Ontario. He has a Master's degree in Cinema and Media Studies from York University. He is the Senior Manager of TIFF's Industry team and co-host of the TIFF podcast Well, Nobody’s Perfect.
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The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has made waves with recent changes to the access of Certified Independent Production Funds. These efforts have provided Canadian productions with more flexibility to secure funding and increase quality CanCon — affecting all corners of the industry, including actors, writers, producers, distributors, and broadcasters. We will unpack the terms of the new regulations and look at their impact on the future of independent film and television production in Canada. This session was designed for an industry professional audience. Guest John Bain Guest Dave Forget Guest Ferne Downey Guest Marcia Douglas
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Those Who Make Revolution Halfway Only Dig Their Own Graves is one of the most ambitious – and deliriously-titled – films to come out of Canada in a long, long time. Co-written and directed by the two young Montreal filmmakers Simon Lavoie and Mathieu Denis, the film posits what could have happened after the 2012 Quebec student protests, otherwise known as the “Maple Spring.” It also won the “Best Canadian Feature” award at TIFF '16 and is now screening as part of Canada’s Top Ten Film Festival. During TIFF '16, Lavoie and Denis spoke to TIFF CEO Piers Handling about their cinematic influences, inciting revolution, and creating a new era of Canadian film. http://www.tiff.net/canadas-top-ten/
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In a wide-ranging conversation conducted at TIFF '16, experimental filmmakers Kazik Radwanksi and Matias Pineiro talk about their work, their process, and how they've developed their voices over the years. With discussion of working with actors and non-actors alike, the importance of doing work that is not in film in order to stay in touch with life, allowing chance to play a role, and many more insights, it's an invaluable look at the process of two of the most interesting filmmakers working today.
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