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August 29 - Sept. 5, 2004 |
Jerry Ciccoritti among Canucks
Toronto International Film Festival announces new Canadian programmes at 29th edition
By Angela Baldassarre
Originally Published: 2004-08-08
The Toronto International Film Festival is evolving and one of its most drastic changes is the retirement of the Canadian Perspective programme which used to showcase exclusively Canadian cinema.
At this week's press conference, festival programmer Steve Gravestock announced the creation of two new programmes: Canada First!, which celebrates emerging talent with a total line-up of 10 feature films; and Short Cuts Canada which boasts 38 short films.
Opening the Canada First! programme is Michael McGowan's Saint Ralph, the "unlikely story of Ralph Walker, a ninth grader whose mother is sick," explains Gravestock. "Hoping to create a miracle that will bring her back to health, Ralph outruns everyone's expectations except his own in a deluded quest to win the 1954 Boston Marathon."
Other films in the programme include Chris Abraham's I, Claudia, based on Toronto actor and playwright Kristen Thomson's play of the same name, and stars Thomson as Claudia, "a pre-teen whose original and humorous story is told through the use of masks." Vancouver director Mark A. Lewis' Ill Fated is a "quirky, ironic fable that examines personal responsibility."
Montreal director Mike Dowse's film, It's All Gone Peter Tong, is a "comedic biopic that follows the tragic life of a legendary DJ who disappeared from the music scene following a battle with a hearing disorder."
Montreal's Simon Sauve's Jimmywork tells the story of a man "who concocts an elaborate scheme to steal the local rodeo's beer." Montreal director Wajdi Mouawad's Littoral is about a young man "whose cavalier way of life comes to a brutal stop when his father dies."
In Daniel Roby's Peau Blanche, a man falls deeply in love with a mysterious woman with extremely pale skin, "and soon realizes how little he knows about her." Toronto director Rob Stefaniuk brings Phil the Alien, "a comic odyssey" told through the bloodshot eyes of an alcoholic alien.
Montreal-based filmmaker Carole Laure's CQ2 (Seek You Too), explores the journey of a young woman who transcends her anger and depression through dance; and in Gary Yates' Seven Times Lucky, a veteran grifter loses $10,000 of the boss's money on a bad horse tip, and with his talented young protégé devises a risky scheme to get the money back.
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