I had the pleasure of seeing one of the opening screenings of Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie at the Cumberland 4. A true bonus, director Sturla Gunnarsson and David Suzuki were on hand for a question and answer after the screening. This a must see film and it earned a well deserved People’s Choice Documentary Award this year at TIFF.

David Suzuki’s contribution to science, the environment and Canada are well documented and respected. His legacy continues. The question of what additional things he hopes to do for the planet before he dies is not important. We should be asking ourselves what legacy we wish to leave future generations.

Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie
Opened this weekend in Toronto
at Cumberland Four
159 Cumberland Ave.
Toronto, ON,
M5R 1A2

Rated PG

Wow! Some great news on a Friday. There is talk of a revival of Carlton Cinemas. Magic Lantern Theatres and Rainbow Cinemas have been committed to keeping the tradition of neighbourhood and community movie theatres alive and will be working to bring back the Carlton. I can’t think of a better entity to do that. They hope to reopen it in June 2010. It will be great to go venture east of College subway again to catch a great indie, first-run, documentary, Foreign or Canadian-made features at the Carlton once more. A small piece of this city’s cinematic history is being revived!

I’m a sucker for classic cameras. Waiting to get my hands on a piece of history , an Olympus PEN. In the age of megapixels and mega marketing one must remember a good camera still comes down to a good lens. A good photograph, doesn’t need even that, just the vision of a photographer. (I’ve seen plenty of amazing pictures with a plastic lens or no lens at all – using a pinhole)

The fact that a nearly 50 year old camera could still be functioning says a lot for the workmanship at that time. Its speedy 32mm f1.9 lens and ability to shoot 72 pictures on a roll of 36 film tips the film camera vs. digital balance for me. Not sure how many rolls of film I’ll get to put through this beauty but it will be a fun ride.

The moment of truth has finally arrived. Ten teams from across the country participated in SHOOT TO THRILL, a skateboard film challenge presented by Color Magazine. The Pro division of the competition was shot analog. Shooting a short film in just 72 hours would have been hard enough for each team of 5 participants (3 skaters, a director and photographer). To try that near toxic mix using only 10 rolls of 16mm film would be a nightmare! Much like regular film you the masterpieces or disasters are only truly discovered after the film is developed.

The stress is over, the editing done and the winner of the $8,000 SHOOT TO THRILL prize has been chosen. Check out the amazing skateboarding and art for Free tonight at the Bloor Cinema. All 10 short films will be screen and the winners of both the photography and movie will be revealed. It will be great to see what Canada’s pro skateboarders have put together. Looking forward to seeing Team Vancouver’s film shot by Fred Montagne (“French Fred“) as well as Toronto’s team featuring Corey Sheppard.

RED BULL SHOOT TO THRILL
Presented by Color Magazine

TORONTO, NOVEMBER 21st
Bloor Cinema
506 Bloor St W
9pm
all ages – FREE

It all kicks off this Thursday. Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America’s largest documentary festival and runs from April 17-27, 2008. The festival strings together amazing selections (more than 100 cutting-edge documentaries) from Canada and around the world, past and present. 2008 marks marks its 15th anniversary.

From the photography of Edward Burtynsky, the lives of Carnies, to a Toronto family’s challenge to NOT throw out their garbage. A whole spectrum of interesting and cutting edge documentary films to choose from. Forget reality TV and catch reality on the big screen.

Daytime/Matinees shows (before 6pm) are $10, evening shows are $12 and late night shows (after 11pm) are only $5!

HOT DOCS
April 17 – 27, 2008
Tickets are available at the DOCUMENTARY Box Office, 87 Avenue Road (2 blocks north of Bloor), Hazelton Lanes (Upper Level) by phone at 416-637-5150, or online.