Exclusive Interviews

Spotlight on: Raindance Canada

Written by Katherine Brodsky Monday, 19 October 2009 23:00

Raindance Canada, one of our beloved partners, is dedicated to fostering and promoting independent film in Canada and around the world. Raindance spans the full spectrum of the art, craft and business of independent movies - from guerilla style low or no budget productions to big budget indie blockbusters. Their tagline is: "We don't Teach Filmmaking. We make filmmakers." And they live by it.

Raindance Canada, an affiliate of Elliot Grove's Raindance UK, was founded in 2005 by Hector Arenas, who passed away October 17, 2008, but the organization continues to forge on in his name "with the same passion, vision and dedication to the film industry and exceptional talent we have here in Canada," according to Anthony Young, Raindance Canada's current Director.

First Weekend Club caught up with Anthony Young to discuss the organization, their roots, vision, programs, and of course, the Canadian cinematic landscape:

1) What is the philosophy behind Raindance Canada?

While we are based in Toronto, our philosophy is to foster and promote a strong independent media arts community in Canada, and around the world, with an ever increasing emphasis on working with minority groups and the underprivileged. Raindance spans the full spectrum of the art, craft and business of independent movies, from guerilla-style low or no-budget productions to big budget indie blockbusters. We make it a point of always offering a free course during our premier bi-annual spring and autumn events, and strive to keep our courses affordable as we know how difficult it can be to be able to afford an education in film or break into the industry.

Our courses are the backbone of what we bring to the table, and are designed to offer insight and knowledge from the novice to the seasoned filmmaker. We believe Canadians have great potential to compete and be recognized on the world stage of independent filmmaking and its movement, but we also realize this can not be accomplished until the Canadian public start supporting our homegrown work and talent. The Canadian independent filmmaking industry will progress in proportion to the rate of support it receives. We focus on the business of the film industry because while many have the talent to make film, they don’t always know how to navigate the business end of it – so we teach them how to do exactly that. This is exactly why at Raindance, we don’t (just) teach filmmaking, we make filmmakers.

2) Why was Raindance Canada created? I know it stems from the Raindance Festival in the UK... What's the connection?

We strongly believe the market for independent filmmaking movement has flourished over the years, and that we have only touched the surface of the potential available to and from independent filmmakers in our country. The 17th annual Raindance Film Festival, founded by Elliot Grove, was just held in London, England with a record increase of 83.4% in box office sales. Even in the present financial crisis, the percentage increase speaks for itself.

Considering the history of independent filmmaking around the world, there has never been a better time to break into independent filmmaking and the film industry than right now. We see there is a much needed market within this arena here in Canada, and because of the effectiveness and structure, we were compelled to implement and mirror the already successful model that our sister company in the U.K. has been using for many years.

Elliot Grove [founder of Raindance UK] is Britain’s premier independent film champion and founded the internationally renowned Raindance Film Festival in 1993, and Britain’s most important industry event: The British Independent Film Awards in 1998. In 2007, he founded www.raindance.tv - Europe’s leading portal for independent films on the internet.

Raindance Canada is an affiliate of Raindance UK, which is moral supporter of our mission and incentives towards what we see as necessary within the Canadian film industry. Raindance Canada is a subsidiary dedicated to advocating through the support and development of Canadian film and filmmakers’ skills and ultimately success in the film industry, here and around the world.

3) How connected is Raindance to Canadian cinema? And why?

We see Canadian cinema as oppressed and overshadowed by our neighbours to the south since the silent movie era. Understandably so, since there’s been very little support from community and government as a whole for this independent art form and business enterprise, however, we see this as non-absolute. Until the merit and potential is recognized for independent filmmaking in Canada, and this attitude and approach changes, both from the public and private sectors, we will not see much change or improvement. Nevertheless, Raindance Canada will persevere in voicing and championing the importance of continued support and advocacy of independent film and home grown talent.

4) Your tag line is: "We don't teach filmmaking. We make filmmakers." Explain.

As aforementioned, Raindance focuses on discovering, fostering and championing new talent and audiences – the lifeblood of the film industry. We know academia offers the technical knowledge necessary to know HOW to make a film, but it doesn’t always teach what experience and knowledge of the industry can inhibit creatively. We feel there is no other film organization equivalent in scope or influence offering what Raindance Canada offers Canadian filmmakers. We don’t solely concentrate on the educational curriculum, but provide the necessary tools, resources and connections to ensure our members get what they need to succeed in their filmmaking endeavors. We believe the success of an individual filmmaker requires a good base on the marketing aspect within the industry. Hence, we focus on a crucial component that filmmakers often don’t give much attention to and think much of - the business of filmmaking. The proven structure we offer works, clearly, and the outcome of the concept we have resulted in some of ‘A’ list filmmakers coming out from an association with Raindance over the years.

5) What's the best thing about Raindance?

Again, not to be repetitive, but the best thing we bring to our membership and to the film industry in Canada are the tried and true courses and workshops that provide the knowledge, skills and tools necessary for those that have the desire to pursue a successful career in this industry. Writers, producers, directors of Slumdog Millionaire, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Sliding Doors, Janice Beard 45 wpm, Waking Ned, and Memento have all attended our intensive masterclass Lo-to-No Budget Filmmaking class before making their first films. So did Guy Ritchie, Mathew Vaughn and Christopher Nolan…just to name a few. We offer the same to Canadians, and hope to focus our ongoing efforts on inspiring Canadian filmmakers to make their own breakout films, which will, in turn, feed the local industry to become a thriving industry in its own right. We feel this is the very best thing we do.

6) How has Raindance Canada changed over the years?

Since the inception of Raindance Canada four years ago now, we have been providing our much heralded intensive Lo-to-No Budget Filmmaking and Write & Sell the Hot Script masterclasses. These are the two classes responsible for launching some of the most sought after filmmakers today. We have worked diligently to create more cutting edge programs, events, information with bi-monthly newsbulletins, regular articles from filmmakers, and networking opportunities to filmmakers towards their success, and bring in established Canadian filmmakers to share their experiences and knowledge to our members and course attendees. By doing so, we are able to provide the much needed information for our independent filmmakers to succeed with the development of their projects.

Like anything in life, knowledge is key to success, and we work towards giving filmmakers the information they need to be successful, but at the same time help to save them money or keeping their film budget in line with their abilities to make film. We have been told time and time again that what we bring to the filmmakers is so needed within the community and simply isn’t offered elsewhere. Take the past two Filmmakers’ Foundation Certificate series we had this year in May/June and September/October which allowed Raindance Canada to provide the invaluable information about the Canadian film industry shared by local tutors as requested by our membership. The programs we have been hosting demonstrate that our members and the public are more aware of the importance of supporting Canadian independent films and filmmakers in order for the industry to survive, thrive and come into its own.

7) Where do you see Raindance Canada 3-5 years from now...where do you hope to take it?

We are looking to implement more programs in response to the changes in the industry on an ongoing basis in order to provide a solid place where up and coming and established filmmakers can gain the necessary tools, resources and connections needed to further their film projects. We have numerous hands-on events that we’d like to add to our program structure in the future. There’s been a thorough consideration of having a Raindance Canada Film Festival, which would focus on Canadian filmmakers, but want it to be open to international submissions because we know that the film medium is the most global forum there is today. We plan to begin offering special screenings of great, existing Canadian films with Q & A’s with the filmmakers in the new year, and it is our hope to eventually open an in-house editing and film production house, as well as to have the equipment on hand to help filmmakers with their productions. We also hope to establish the Hector Arenas Filmmaker’s Fund, a bursary award to newcomers to Canada who apply in order to jump start their film career here. We work towards the day that we have the staff and financial resources necessary to support these goals, and will be working towards gaining the sponsorship necessary to accomplish them.

8) What are some things in the immediate future for Raindance Canada that excite you?

We will continue to advocate the importance of supporting and promoting Canadian indie filmmaking and its local arts and the sheer magic of movie making because everyone of us at Raindance is truly a lover of film and/or involved in film ourselves. Those who support Raindance Canada support not only our beliefs and mandate, but also to setting a world stage for Canadian filmmakers to move them out of the shadow of Hollywood. We will continue to bring more of what we see as essential for success to help enhance the awareness of our home grown film and filmmakers.

Knowing how integral it is to connect within the film industry, we recently began an informal monthly networking social event called Boozin’ ‘n Schmoozin’ which allows filmmakers the forum necessary to meet, connect, share and inspire their individual filmmaking efforts.

With the biannual return of Elliot Grove to Toronto in early November, we bring to the local filmmaking community our exceptional, uniquely designed pitch competition Live!Ammunition!, designed to give local up and comers the opportunity to pitch their film idea to a panel of industry professionals to gain experience with the pitch, feedback on how to improve their idea and or approach, and even the potential to get their project picked up and produced. We also have on the course roster our ‘FREE 99 Minute Film School’ to jump start people’s film careers, and the concise but all too essential ‘Creating a Business Plan’, and then the well established ‘Lo to No Budget Filmmaking’ masterclass, each tutored by Raindance founder, Elliot Grove, who brings a wit and wisdom that always inspire his students to get busy making film - and THAT excites us very much!

With the past and future success of what we bring to the filmmaking forum in Canada, we are looking forward to expanding our model and programs coast to coast to be more inclusive of the exceptional talent we have in this great country. We can’t help but be excited to be a part of that movement and honoured to play a role in fostering our home grown talent to help them succeed in film. It is truly our view that their success IS our success. Of course, in order for us to provide more quality programs, expand our incentives, and grow into the same force with the same reputation Raindance UK has at present, we need the support of the public and industry to accomplish our goals. With mutual collaboration, we know we can make the Canadian independent filmmaking movement a force to contend with in Canada and internationally.

For more information, or to become member of Raindance Canada, please visit their website at www.raindancecanada.com.

Interview with Steve Gravestock, Canadian Programming, TIFF

Written by Katherine Brodsky

Photo: Michael Buckner/WireImage

Steve Gravestock is the programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival that is responsible for Canadian films. So it's no wonder that he is the man with the "scoop" on all the Canadian film going-ons at TIFF. He shares his thoughts with First Weekend Club on this year's selections & much more in this exclusive interview.

What are some highlights for Canadian films this year?

There's a great group of films coming from BC, including new films from Blaine Thurier (A Gun to the Head); Carl Bessai (Cole); Bruce Sweeney (Excited) – all filmmakers we’ve featured before; plus a feature debut called Machotaildrop; and a BC/Ontario co-production, a charming and quirky romantic comedy, called Year of the Carnivore, which is directed by Sook-Yin Lee, and will open our Canada First! programme.

There are also a number of great films from Quebec, including two films which played Cannes: J'ai Tué Ma Mère by Xavier Dolan (which is already a huge hit in Quebec and won three big prizes in Cannes) and Denis Côté's Carcasses. Côté is one of the most interesting and unique filmmakers working today – his style, in only his fourth film, is immediately recognizable -- and this is one of his most distinctive works so far. We also have the North American premiere of La Donation, by Bernard Émond. This is the final installment in his trilogy about faith, hope and charity -- one of the most impressive film series ever made here. This is a genuinely intense and emotionally affecting work – with a great performance by Elyse Guilbault -- about a doctor trying to decide whether to take over a practice in a remote rural area.

What are some of the films that you're most excited to see people's reactions to and why?

It will be very interesting to see how people respond to some of the films in Canada First!, particularly Alex Craig and Corey Adams' Machotaildrop; Alexandre Franchi's The Wild Hunt; and Rob King's George Ryga's HUNGRY HILLS. They're all very singular, in some cases very strange riffs on genre.

Machotaildrop is about a young kid who wants to be a skateboarding star, but most of the action takes place in this surreal mansion/compound in the middle of nowhere, with this overt emphasis on recycled junk. It has less to do with the slicker explorations of skateboarding culture, like Dogtown and Z-Boys, than movies like Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory or Jean Vigo's Zero for Conduct.

Franchi's The Wild Hunt begins as a sort of fantasy then shifts gears — radically — at least twice. George Ryga's HUNGRY HILLS is set in the 1950s and riffs off of Westerns. It sets up this moral structure/conflict which it undercuts in an intriguing and rather audacious manner.

There a slew of other films which toy with genre, including Reginald Harkema's Leslie, My Name is Evil, a hyper-stylized look at the Manson trial, one of the first great flashpoints for the culture wars that consumed the USA in the 1960s, though it’s as much about Iraq. Thurier's A Gun to the Head is like a domesticated film noir, which is kind of a contradiction in terms since most of the heroes in noir are rootless. The hero here gets caught up with some extremely eccentric gangsters, but really he just wants to get back home. Carcasses begins as a documentary but turns into a strange sort of allegory. Phil Hoffman’s All Fall Down combines personal essay with a kind of regional history. It’s a portrait of a writer whose life goes off the rails which is beautifully, rigorously structured and very affecting.

Were you particularly surprised by any of the submissions?

There were a surprising number of films in genres one wouldn’t conventionally – or stereotypically maybe – see as Canadian. The most obvious is Peter Stebbings’ Defendor with Woody Harrelson as a mentally challenged man who believes himself to be a superhero. The movie also has Sandra Oh as the court psychiatrist who tries to determine whether Harrelson’s character, Arthur Poppington, is sane, and Elias Koteas as one of the chief villains, a corrupt cop. Kat Dennings, who was in Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, plays a prostitute who befriends him. I’m a comic book geek and I liked it better than some of the big comic book adaptations I saw this year. It does what a lot of the more critically praised comics series have done - it injects elements of realism into a fantasy genre. It was shot in Hamilton, incidentally, and it’s really smartly designed. Harrelson gives one of his best performances.

Rob Stefaniuk’s rock and roll vampire comedy Suck, which features this amazing list of cameos (Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, Henry Rollins, and Alex Lifeson has a great cameo), which are very sharply conceived. Stefaniuk is the head of this band that’s going nowhere when one of them runs into this scary Goth type and comes back looking ... paler. Suddenly, they’re wildly successful.

Jacob Tierney’s The Trotsky is almost a teen comedy, though markedly different from most. It’s closer to Wes Anderson in some ways. It follows a teenager (Jay Baruchel from Million Dollar Baby and Tropic Thunder) who believes he’s the reincarnation of Marxist revolutionary Leon Trotsky. He’s so convinced that he’s the reincarnation of Trotsky that he expects that he’ll marry an older woman named Alexandra, and he’ll be exiled twice and ultimately assassinated, just like the real Trotsky. His father punishes him by sending him to a public school, where he immediately starts a movement for a student bill of rights. It’s got a great cast – Michael Murphy, Emily Hampshire, Genevieve Bujold and Colm Feore. It’s one of the funniest, sharpest comedies I’ve seen this year.

Gary Yates’ High Life is this energetic, frenetic heist-gone-wrong picture which is very concisely made with some very strong performances. Matt Bisonette’s movie, Passenger Side, is a very intimate take on the road movie, while Ruba Nadda’s Cairo Time is a really touching romance with some exceptional performances.

I suppose it makes sense that we’d have three documentaries which debunk received knowledge this year. Neil Diamond’s Reel Injun analyzes the stereotypes about Native Americans and First Nations people in Hollywood movies, while Peter Raymont and Michele Hozer’s film about Glenn Gould, Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould, shows us a very different version of the icon, and Brigitte Berman’s film on Hugh Hefner, Hugh Hefner: Playboy, Activist and Rebel, does the same.

Do you feel like the competition amongst Canadian films is getting tougher?

Every year we see really solid movies we won’t be able to program for a variety of reasons and this year was one of the toughest. There are a lot of good filmmakers out there.

Are you seeing any trends?

Well, the bending of genres is prevalent this year, as I outlined, plus there’s lot of great work coming from British Columbia. Bruce Sweeney’s Excited is a wickedly funny comedy about a man who has bedroom problems, hasn’t had a date in nearly a decade and meets a woman he’s very interested in. It’s really sharp. Carl Bessai’s Cole is a drama about a young man trying to escape his life in a small town and is very sensitively and intelligently directed, a lovely film.

The Toronto International Film Festival has gotten very big, very high profile and very international. Why do you feel that it is important to keep a strong focus on Canadian film?
It’s one of the core missions of TIFF to spotlight Canadian films not just at the Festival, but through our year-round programming as well - at TIFF Cinematheque through retrospectives such as that of the recent Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes programme, featuring many classic Canadian films; Film Circuit provides under-served Canadian communities with access to Canadian and international films through grassroots distribution, marketing and exhibition; the annual Student Film Showcase which celebrates a diverse and exciting range of emerging student work including animation, documentary, fiction and experimental films; the Film Reference Library publishes the only online encyclopedia exclusively devoted to Canadian film with over 850 entries written by knowledgeable experts; Canada’s Top Ten is an annual event that celebrates and raises awareness of contemporary Canadian cinematic achievements. We have recently published Toronto on Film, an anthology about how Toronto is presented on film with an insightful wide-ranging essay by Geoff Pevere of the Toronto Star, which is the centerpiece of the book. (We’re doing a series of films based on the book at the TIFF Cinematheque in October.) With the University of Toronto Press, we’re co-publishing a book on Atom Egoyan’s The Adjuster by Tom McSorley. This extends to film-related projects and installations – our Future Projections programme at the Festival showcases talented Canadian media artists each year. Our new building at King and John, Bell Lightbox, will give us even more opportunities to showcase these kinds of projects.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for us.

Exclusive interview with Jennifer Baichwal

Jennifer Baichwal

About Chance and Meaning

by Sarka Kalusova

Jennifer Baichwal has been directing and producing documentaries for 15 years. Her films have won numerous awards and screened all over the world.

Let it Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles, her first feature documentary, won a 1999 International Emmy for Best Arts Documentary. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 1998 and was nominated that year for a Best Feature Documentary Genie Award. It won Best Biography at Hot Docs in 1999.

The Holier It Gets documents a trek Baichwal took with her brother and two sisters to the source of the Ganges river with her father’s ashes. The film won Best Independent Canadian Film and Best Cultural Documentary at Hot Docs 2000, Geminis for Best Editing and Best Writing and was nominated for the Donald Brittain Award and the Chalmers Documentarian Award.

The True Meaning of Pictures is a feature length film on the work of Appalachian photographer Shelby Lee Adams. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2002 and was invited to the Sundance International Film Festival in January 2003. It won a Gemini award for Best Arts Documentary in 2003 and has played at numerous international festivals.

Manufactured Landscapes, a feature documentary about the work of artist Edward Burtynsky, premiered at TIFF in September 2006 and won Best Canadian Feature Film. It has since received a number of other awards, notably a Genie for Best Documentary, Al Gore’s Reel Current Award and the 2006 Toronto Film Critics’ Award for Best Canadian Feature and Best Documentary 2006. It was released worldwide in 2007-8, after a prolonged and successful run in Canada.

First Weekend Club's Sarka Kalusova had a chance to ask Jennifer a few questions about her latest project - Act of God, a documentary about being struck by lightning. The film launches the 2009 Hot Docs festival on April 30th and opens theatrically in Canada on May 1st.

Talking Movies with Richard Crouse

by Katherine Brodsky

Richard Crouse is a Canadian staple when it comes to film, known for his sharp take on cinema in his reviews on CTV's Canada AM, The Globe & Mail, The National Post, his six books, as well as informed and entertaining movie commentary hosting shows like Reel to Real(Canada's longest running television show about movies). and The 100 Best Movies You've Never Seen on Rogers Television Now, he has a new venture, aptly named: Richard Crouse's Movie Show. The show combines probing analysis of new theatrical films and DVDs, interview and investigative journalism to uncover "what it is about the medium of movies that holds us in such a state of thrall". Expect the unexpected. The show airs every Friday at 10:30 a.m. on Canada's Independent Film Channel and every Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on E!.

First Weekend Club had a chance to catch up with this very busy movie man and discuss his new show, the state of Canadian film, the art of being a film critic and much more...

Acclaimed Canadian director Atom Egoyan on "Adoration", filmmaking, arts & Canada

BY KATHERINE BRODSKY

Atom Egoyan is perhaps one of Canada's most prolific filmmakers, even gaining international attention with an Academy Award nomination for "The Sweet Hereafter" in 1997. Other films of note include "Exotica", "Ararat", and "Where the Truth Lies". He is known for exploring topics such as isolation, identity and technology through his films and his latest offering, "Adoration", delves deeply into these themes.

"Adoration" marks Egoyan's twelfth feature film and it has received a Golden Palm nomination at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as an award for Best Canadian Feature Film - Special Jury Citation at the Toronto International Film Festival (2008). Its story revolves around high school student Simon (Devon Bostick) who is caught up in family history, technology and a shocking and explosive lie that intertwines the lives of his uncle (Scott Speedman) and his French teacher (Arsinée Khanjian), while forcing him to reconcile conflicting memories of his deceased parents (Noam Jenkins and Rachel Blanchard). When Simon reinvents his life and posts it out on Cyberspace for all to see, his fictional story provokes strong reactions throughout the world, quickly spinning out of control...

First Weekend Club had a chance to speak with Egoyan about "Adoration", his past work, approach to film, and what it means to be a "Canadian" filmmaker.

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