The Moving Stories Film Festival & "Hollywood Holiday Glamour!" at TINARS
Want to see some of this season's hottest titles on the big screen before they are turned into feature length blockbusters? The Moving Stories Film Festival is a hilarious, odd and poignant collection of short films based on recent books from all over the world. Judith Keenan and Paul Quarrington curated the program. Special guests include James McCreath and Brian G. Smith. Following the screening, BookShorts kicks off the festive season with their annual party, "Hollywood Holiday Glamour" – A This Is Not A Reading Series event presented by Pages Books & Magazines, BookShorts Literacy Program, Gladstone Hotel, EYE WEEKLY, and Take Five On CIUT.
At the Gladstone Hotel Ballroom, 1214 Queen St West, Toronto
Wednesday, November 26 at 7:30 p.m. (doors 7:00 p.m.) $5 Cover (includes first drink ticket)
MOVING STORIES FILM FESTIVAL is a program of film screenings, curated for their theme of celebrating books and the written word on film. The overall curatorial objective of the Festival is to set the standard of excellence in content, execution and entertainment value for this genre of short film. Our aim is to ensure that all the artists we work with - those in words, films and music - benefit now and in the longer term through their industry and public experience in the Festival.
Moving Stories celebrates the natural affinities between film and literature in a dedicated forum that heightens the audiences' appreciation of both. Audiences benefit by being introduced to a broad, representative, and diverse range of exciting authors through the lens of passionate filmmakers whose cinegraphic interpretations add a deeper level of appreciation for the written work. The 2008 program will be the very first film festival of its kind.
TORONTO, NOVEMBER 26, PROGRAM
ON-STAGE INTERVIEW:
Paul Quarrington In Conversation With James McCreath
FILM SCREENING, PART ONE:
THIS HOUR HAS SEVEN DECADES
Dir. Irene Duma / Canada / 5:30 / Mockumentary / Based On This Hour Has Seven Decades by Patrick Watson
A delightful tongue-in-cheek look at a broadcast journalist suffering through some serious storytelling sins.
THE CAVE
Dir. Michael Ramsey / USA / 3:00 / Fiction / Based on The Republic by Plato
An evocative claymation adaptation of the allegory of the cave, a classic commentary on the human condition.
A LIFE'S PASSION
Dir. Gary Thomas / Canada / 6:30 / Docu-Drama / Based on Renaldo by James McCreath
A cinematic biography of James McCreath, a man who turned the intensity of his real-life story into an epic novel of faith, hope and love.
NO BIKINI
Dir. Claudia Morgado Escanilla / Canada / 9:00 / Fiction / Based on Close to Spider Man by Ivan E. Coyote
A young girl pretending to be a boy discovers the freedom that comes with no bikini.
FOOD, SEX, AND SALMONELLA
Dir. Kate Hollett / Canada / 4:00 / Documentary / Based on Food, Sex, and Salmonella by David Waltner-Toews
An epidemiologist presents a graphic display of cause and effect tales in a light-hearted tale of bacteria, viruses, and parasites that have made their way into our food supply.
A LETTER TO COLLEEN
Dir. Andy London / USA / 8:30 / Fiction / Based on A Letter to Christine by Andy London
Haunted by the events of his 18th birthday, Andy London writes a letter to Colleen in an attempt to put his demons to rest.
THE GARGOYLE
Dir. Bert Kish / USA / 5:30 / Docu-Drama / Based on The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Author Andrew Davidson recounts the story of Sei, a beautiful Japanese glassblower caught in a dilemma of love and loyalty.
ON-STAGE INTERVIEW:
Paul Quarrington In Conversation With Brian G. Smith
FILM SCREENING, PART TWO:
NIGHT WORK: A SAWCHUK POEM
Dir. Justin Simms / Canada / 5:00 / Fiction / Based on Night Work: The Sawchuk Poems by Randall Maggs
A poignant reflection of hockey legend Terry Sawchuk, this dramatic short underscores his lasting impression on a young man in a small Newfoundland town, to whom he is both hero and human.
THE PERFECTION OF THE MOMENT
Dir. Corey Lee / Canada / 5:00 / Comedy / Based on Kilter: 55 Fictions by John Gould
A man faced with a series of choices stops questioning and ultimately abandons himself to the perfection of the moment
NAGASAKI CIRCUS
Dir. Rachel Peters / Canada / 6:00 / Fiction / Based on Nagasaki Circus by Martin Ewen
A masterful puppet show evocative of Lost in Translation takes viewers behind the curtain of a surreal circus, complete with chimp, elephant, poodles and stilt-walking pantomime.
PAVANE
Dir. Paul Quarrington / Canada / 5:30 / Fiction / Based on The Ravine by Paul Quarrington
Connected by debilitating memories, bottomless drinks, and the pretense of being strangers, Phil and Jay play out a darkly comic ritual in an effort to redeem themselves, and each other, of a shameful childhood.
SPROUT THIS!
Dir. Brian D. Smith / Canada / 4:00 / Fiction / Based on Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
The mother of Swedish auteur "Lars" has some strict criteria around the making of a film in her sprout store. Can Lars and adult film star Frankie Bombs from Peterborough pull it off?
"HOLIDAY HOLLYWOOD GLAMOUR!"
BookShorts kicks off the festive season with their annual party !
ATTENDING ARTISTS
JUDITH KEENAN is Executive Director and Founder of BookShorts Inc. and its sister company BookShorts Literacy Program. She produced her first book-inspired video in 1994 in New York City for best-selling Canadian author Douglas Cooper, and has not looked back since. Her production credits number more than 100 news features, 16 short films, an 8-episode national television series and much more. Visit BookShorts at http://www.bookshorts.com
PAUL QUARRINGTON is an acclaimed, award-winning novelist, screenwriter, musician, and filmmaker (Pavane). His 2004 novel, Galveston, was shortlisted for the Giller Prize, and his novel Whale Music won the Governor General's Award for Fiction in 1989. Quarrington also won the 1988 Stephen Leacock Medal, and Canada Reads 2008, for his novel King Leary. Quarrington curates and hosts the Moving Stories events with program founder Judith Keenan.
JAMES McCREATH is the author of the self-published epic novel, Renaldo. He will be flying in from Florida to join Gary Thomas, who directed A Life's Passion, the short film based on Renaldo, at the event. The two are fresh from the film's US premiere at Miami Short Film Festival and a national broadcast on CBC Reflections
BRIAN G. SMITH is a TV producer, writer and director specializing in comedy. An award-winning alumnus of Toronto's 'The Second City', he has created television, theatre and multi-media in Canada and the Caribbean. Smith's featured mockumentary, Sprout This!, won first prize in the '69 Hour Film Challenge' at Darryl's Hard Liquor and Porn Film Festival.
