AVails SPRING - 2019
THEATRICAL STARTS April 19, 2019
2018 - FRANCE - 99 MINUTES - COLOUR - ENGLISH, HINDI
A FILM BY ROHENA GERA
Ratna works as domestic live-in help with Ashwin, a man from a wealthy family. Although Ashwin seems to have it all, Ratna can sense that he has given up on his dreams and is somewhat lost… On the other hand, Ratna who seems to have nothing, is full of hope and works determinedly towards her dream. As these two worlds collide and the two individuals connect, the barriers between them seem only more insurmountable…
THEATRICAL STARTS June 7, 2019
90 MIN - USA, UK - 2018
A FILM BY ANDREW SLATER
FEATURING: JAKOB DYLAN, TOM PETTY, ERIC CLAPTON, RINGO STARR, STEPHEN STILLS, DAVID CROSBY, ROGER MCGUINN, BECK, REGINA SPEKTOR, GRAHAM NASH, CAT POWER, LOU ADLER, JOHN SEBASTIAN, JACKSON BROWNE, MICHELLE PHILLIPS, NORA JONES, JADE CASTRINOS
ECHO IN THE CANYON revisits the most influential music of the mid-60s from The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas, and how these iconic bands were all influenced by the Beatles and then went on to actually influence the Beatles. It was a moment in Laurel Canyon when being part of a great band was the most significant thing you could do as an artist, that pure moment before everyone went solo in the 70s.The canyon jammed with unparalleled creativity and collaboration inspiring these neighbors to create some of the most influential music in history.
2018 - USA - 84 MINUTESA FILM BY MADELEINE OLNEKFEATURING: MOLLY SHANNON, AMY SEIMETZ, SUSAN ZIEGLER, BRETT GELMAN
WILD NIGHTS WITH EMILY is the story of the secret life of Emily Dickinson (played by Molly Shannon). The poet’s persona, popularized since her death, is that of a reclusive spinster—a delicate wallflower, too sensitive for this world. This film explores the vivacious, irreverent side of her that was covered up for many years and recently revealed— most notably Emily’s lifelong romance with another woman, Susan Dickinson, the wife of Emily’s brother. After Emily died, the mistress of Emily’s brother would publish Emily’s poems. A fierce rivalry between Emily’s beloved and her brother’s mistress in making known the work of this great poet is also the story of two sets of passionate, illicit lovers in a mysterious struggle for a place in history.
2018 - USA - IN ENGLISH - 78 MINUTES
A FILM BY CHUCK SMITH
Underground filmmaker Barbara Rubin’s 1964 art-porn masterpiece “Christmas on Earth”, made when she was only 18 years old, shattered creative and sexist boundaries and shocked NYC's experimental film scene. Working with Jonas Mekas at the Filmmaker’s Coop, Rubin was instrumental in creating NYC's thriving underground film community and a rare female voice in a world of powerful men. A rebellious Zelig of the Sixties, she introduced Andy Warhol to the Velvet Underground and Bob Dylan to the Kabbalah. But beyond shaping the spirit of the Sixties, Barbara was seeking the deeper meaning of life. After retiring to a farm with Allen Ginsberg, she shocked everyone by becoming a Hasidic Jew. How and why did one of the 1960’s freest spirits submit to a religious life? For years, 94-year-old filmmaker Jonas Mekas has saved all of Barbara’s letters and cherished her memory. Working with Mekas’ footage and rare clips from the Andy Warhol archives, the film takes us inside the world and mind of Barbara Rubin; a woman who truly believed that film could change the world and then vanished into obscurity.
THEATRICAL STARTS April 5, 2019
4K - 5.1 - COLOUR - 80 MIN - Canada
PRODUCED AND DIRECTED BY RON MANN
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: CARTER LOGAN, MICHAEL HIRSHWRITER: LEN BLUM
Once the centre of the New York bohemia, Greenwich Village is now home to lux restaurants, and buzzer door clothing stores catering to the nouveau riche. But one shop in the heart of the Village remains resilient to the encroaching gentrification: Carmine Street Guitars.
THEATRICAL STARTS April 5, 2019
GERMANY - 110 MINUTES - 2.39 - 5.1 DIGITAL
A FILM BY CLAUS RÄFLE
Four young Jews survive the Third Reich in the middle of Berlin by living so recklessly that they become “invisible.”
Hanni, Cioama, Eugen and Ruth. Four ordinary German youths trying to navigate the scarcities and prohibitions of Berlin at the height of World War II. They hailed from different social classes and different neighborhoods, but they shared a single common secret: they were Jews.
THEATRICAL STARTS MARCH 22, 2019
SHOWTIMES
A FILM BY JIA ZHANG-KE
CHINA/ FRANCE/ COLOUR/ IN MANDARIN WITH ENGLISH AND FRENCH SUBTITLES/
FEATURING: TAO ZHAO, LIAO FAN
Qiao is in love with Bin, a local mobster. During a fight between rival gangs, she fires a gun to protect him. Qiao gets five years in prison for this act of loyalty. Upon her release, she goes looking for Bin to pick up where they left off.
THEATRICAL STARTS March 15, 2019
2018 - 90 MINUTES - USA
A FILM BY SASHA WATERS FREYER
Decades before digital technology transformed how we make and see pictures, Garry Winogrand made hundreds of thousands of them with his 35mm Leica, creating an encyclopedic portrait of America from the late 1950s to the early 1980s in the process. When he died suddenly at age 56 in 1984, Winogrand left behind more than 10,000 rolls of film – more than a quarter of a million pictures! These images capture a bygone era: the New York of Mad Men and the early years of the Women’s Movement, the birth of American suburbs, and the glamour and alienation of Hollywood. He produced so many unseen images that it has taken until now for the full measure of his artistic legacy to emerge. Endorsed by his gallery and estate, Garry Winogrand: All Things are Photographable is the first cinematic survey of that legacy. The film tells the story of an artist whose rise and fall was – like America’s in the late decades of the 20th century – larger-than-life, full of contradictions and totally unresolved.
THEATRICAL STARTS March 8, 2019
IRAN - 2018 - 100 MINUTES - 1:85 - FARSI, AZERI (WITH ENGLISH + FRENCH SUBTITLES)
A FILM BY JAFAR PANAHI
Well-known actress Behnaz Jafari is distraught by a provincial girl’s video plea for help—oppressed by her family to not pursue her studies at the Tehran drama conservatory. Behnaz abandons her shoot and turns to filmmaker Jafar Panahi to help solve the mystery of the young girl’s troubles. They travel by car to the rural northwest where they have amusing encounters with the charming folk of the girl’s mountain village. But the city visitors soon discover that the protection of age-old traditions is as generous as local hospitality…
THEATRICAL STARTS February 8, 2019
SHOWTIMES
95 MINUTES - IN ENGLISH - 5.1 - USA
A FILM BY JEREMY WORKMAN
FEATURING: MATT GREEN
There are 8,000 miles of sidewalks, paths and roads in New York City, and for the past six years Matt Green has been walking them all–every street, every block, every pedestrian overpass, park lane and hiking trail. A journey that stretches from the heart of Harlem to the marshes of Staten Island, Matt’s walk is a pursuit of anything that catches his eye, be it a national landmark or a humble manhole cover. Over time Matt has amassed an encyclopedia of surprising New York trivia and underground history, informed by his own research and conversations with the amused but supportive New Yorkers he encounters along the way.
THEATRICAL STARTS January 18, 2019
SHOWTIMES
87 MINUTES - USA
A FILM BY LAURA NIX
INVENTING TOMORROW follows six young scientists from Indonesia, Hawaii, India and Mexico as they tackle some of the most complex environmental issues facing humanity today – right in their own backyards. Each student is preparing original scientific research that he or she will defend at ISEF, the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. Framed against the backdrop of the severe environmental threats we now face, we immerse the audience in a global view of the planetary crisis, through the eyes of the generation that will be affected by it most.
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A FILM BY GREG DURRELL
PRODUCED BY JESSICA EDWARDS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER GARY HUSTWIT
Through the lens of graphic design, Design Canada follows the transformation of a nation from a colonial outpost to a vibrant and multicultural society.
Nomination for Best Feature Documentary 91st Academy Awards
2017 - USA - 76 MINUTES
A FILM BY RAMELL ROSS
How does one express the reality of individuals whose public image, lives, and humanity originate in exploitation? Photographer and filmmaker RaMell Ross employs the integrity of nonfiction filmmaking and the currency of stereotypical imagery to fill in the gaps between individual black male icons. Hale County This Morning, This Evening is a lyrical innovation to the form of portraiture that boldly ruptures racist aesthetic frameworks that have historically constricted the expression of African American men on film.
2018 - CANADA - COLOUR - IN ENGLISH
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY JAMES BLOKLAND AND ANDREA MOODIE
WITH: STACEY ISEMAN, PHIL LORTIE, GWYNETH BAILLIE
AVAILABLE FOR FESTIVALS, TV and VOD ONLY
When Alice sets out to post one synonym for love every week for a year, she inadvertently sends a gentle ripple through her social network and discovers more about relationships than she imagined. Combining doc interviews with narrative drama, 52 Words for Love offers a humorous meditation on what it means to grapple with the vagaries of intimacy.
THEATRICAL STARTS NOVEMBER 9, 2018
2018 - 101 MINUTES - GERMANY/ FRANCE - IN GERMAN AND FRENCH WITH ENGLISH / FRENCH SUBTITLES
A FILM BY CHRISTIAN PETZOLD
German troops are fast approaching Paris. Georg, a German refugee, escapes to Marseille in the nick of time. In his luggage, he carries the documents of an author, Weidel, who has taken his own life in fear of his persecutors. Those documents include a manuscript, letters and visa assurance from the Mexican embassy.
THEATRICAL STARTS MAY 11, 2018
018 - USA - 80 MINUTES - IN ENGLISH AND JAPANESE
A FILM BY HEATHER LENZ
WRITER - DIRECTOR - PRODUCER - EDITOR: HEATHER LENZ
Trailblazer Yayoi Kusama’s turbulent quest to become a world famous artist is documented in “Kusama - Infinity”; as a rival of Warhol in the ‘60s, Kusama battled sexism and racism in America while her hallucinations of polka dots eventually led her to the Tokyo mental institution she has called home for over 30 years.
THEATRICAL STARTS APRIL 6, 2018
2017 - USA - ISRAEL - 82 MINUTES
A FILM BY ALISON CHERNICK
FEATURING ITZHAK PERLMAN
If there’s anyone who personifies the resilience, the vision and ultimately the contribution of the Jewish people, it’s Itzhak Perlman. The violin is the chosen instrument of Perlman, the vehicle he has used to overcome his own challenges and express himself to the world. In Perlman and his music, we hear the story of obstacles and survival, we trace the path of the Jewish people from the chaos of Europe to the promise of Israel, we see the comfort of home and family and witness how humor and talent combine with discipline and drive.