gfomm09_brochure
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2009 GFOMM BrochureTRANSCRIPT
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november 6–8
moving 09festival
This year’s festival program was developed with a team of 17 pre-screeners who collectively produced more than 120 reviews of the long list
of documentaries. Our current program was selected from their recommendations. They watched productions that they would never otherwise have seen and are now excited to recommend to our
community. We hope that our eclectic and engaging selections stimulate your brain, heckle your hackles and move your heart. Bill Barrett, for the Selection Committee
Saturday, 2 pm ❙ Ed VideoWhat Would Jesus Buy?Rob VanAlkemade ❙ 91 minutes ❙ 2008wwjbmovie.com ❙ PG – brief mild languageReverend Billy and his Church of Life After Shopping are on a mission to save us all from our shopping sins by satirizing North American consumer culture. Producer Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) helps aim the congregation’s crosshairs at North America’s Christmas season buying frenzy. Staging retail interventions and causing corporate havoc, Reverend Billy and his choir prophesize the coming of the Shopocalypse: The end of mankind from consumerism, over-consumption and the fires of eternal debt.
Saturday, 4 pm ❙ eBarTulkuGesar Mukpa ❙ 75 minutes ❙ 2009films.nfb.ca/tulkuGesar Mukpa was three when he became one of the first people born in the West to be recognized as a tulku, a reincarnated Buddhist master. With help from Tibetan teachers like his own father, Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, he has spent his entire life trying to figure out what that really means. In Tulku, he sets out to meet with four other Western tulkus to find out how they reconcile modern and ancient, East and West
— ultimately pondering whether it might be time to abandon the ancient practice of recognizing tulkus.
Saturday, 4 pm ❙ Alma GalleryThe Strangest DreamEd Bednarski ❙ 90 minutesfilms.nfb.ca/strangest-dream/Nuclear physicist Joseph Rotblat was contracted by the U.S. government to help build the first atomic bomb – but was the only member of the Manhattan Project who refused to participate on moral grounds. Rotblat’s story encompasses the history of nuclear weapons, the founding of the Pugwash Conferences to halt nuclear proliferation and a Nobel Peace prize. Featuring interviews with his contemporaries, The Strangest Dream balances fears about the future of nuclear weapons with the hope of morally engaged scientists and citizens working to dismantle them.
Saturday, 7 pm Gala ❙ Norfolk St. United ChurchTiger SpiritMin Sook Lee ❙ 74 minutes ❙ 2008 ❙ tigerspirit.caDivided by war in the 1950s, the two Koreas are still separated by ideologies, politics and struggle. Also divided are the families caught on either side of the divergent nations. To document stories from young defectors, divided families, tour guides and a tiger-hunting videographer, Director Min Sook Lee returns to her birthplace and investigates the question: How will the two Koreas be put back together?Director Min Sook Lee in attendance.
Thursday, November 5
Thursday, 8 pm ❙ 120 MacKinnon, U of GH2OilShannon Walsh ❙ 75 minutes ❙ h2oildoc.comH2Oil follows a voyage of discovery, heartbreak and activism in the stories of those attempting to defend water in Alberta against tar sands expansion. It takes four barrels of glacier-fed water to extract one barrel of crude oil. The tar sands are one of the most significant and destructive projects of our time.
Friday, November 6
Friday, 7:30 pm Gala ❙ Norfolk St United ChurchIntangible Asset Number 82Emma Franz ❙ 90 minutes ❙ intangibleasset82.comA respected jazz drummer journeys to meet an elusive South Korean shaman and grandmaster musician. By posing questions about why music matters, Franz’s film becomes a philosophical investigation as much as it is a showcase of fascinating musicians rarely heard outside of Korea.
Saturday, November 7
Saturday, 1 pm ❙ eBarRip: A Remix ManifestoBrett Gaylor ❙ 80 minutes ❙ ripremix.comWeb activist Brett Gaylor’s documentary about copyright and remix culture features musician Greg Gillis, better known as Girl Talk, whose live mash-ups of popular music create a wild and edgy dialogue between artists from all genres and eras. A probing investigation into how culture builds upon culture in the information age. Followed by Copy Right? panel discussion
Saturday, 1 pm ❙ Alma GalleryMy Toxic BabyMin Sook Lee ❙ 46 minutes ❙ 2009mytoxicbaby.comAs a new mother, Director Min Sook Lee scouts out the nursery only to find lotions, wipes, toys and plastic bottles brimming with compounds and chemicals she can barely pronounce. My Toxic Baby is her search for safe, sane and affordable ways to raise a child in a world embedded with toxic threats. Watch for appearances by Guelph residents Arlene, Pete and Meadow! Director Min Sook Lee in attendance.Followed by Raising a Green Baby panel discussion
Saturday, 9 pm Gala ❙ Norfolk St. United ChurchFinding FarleyLeanne Allison ❙ 62 minutes ❙ 2009 films.nfb.ca/finding-farleyFinding Farley is a young family’s cross-Canada adventure to visit Canadian literary legend, Farley Mowat, in a most unusual way. Rather than fly or drive the thousands of kilometers to see this aging Canadian icon, Leanne Allison, Karsten Heuer and their toddlerZev paddled, walked and sailed across the prairies, barrenlands and Maritimes, stringing together the settings of many of Mowat’s stories along the way.
Sunday, November 8
Sunday, 1 pm ❙ eBarProfessor Norman CornettAlanis Obomsawin ❙ 80 minutesnfb.ca/film/professor_norman_cornett_trailerA fascinating exploration of the uncommon pedagogy of professor Dr. Norman Cornett, who drastically reinvented his teaching methodology to banish fear and awaken joy. At least in part over his disdain for conventional course structure, Dr. Norman Cornett was dismissed by McGill University in 2007.
Sunday, 1 pm ❙ Alma GalleryThe ReckoningPamela Yates ❙ 95 minutes ❙ 2009thereckoningfilm.com Mature content, violent themesIn 1998 world leaders created the International Criminal Court, on the principle that there can be no continued peace without justice. Investigating this mandate, The Reckoning tells the story of dynamic, frustrated ICC Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo as he and his team tackle international justice — without a police force.Followed by a panel discussion with Jayne Stoyle, Executive Director of Canadian International Justice (www.ccij.ca)
Sunday, 2 pm ❙ Ed VideoCarts of DarknessMurray Siple ❙ 59 minutes ❙ 2008murraysiple.com ❙ nfb.ca/film/carts_of_darknessMature content, coarse languageThe homeless, bottle-collecting men of Murray Siple’s documentary bomb down the steep mountain streets of North Van at 50 km/h on grocery carts, screaming with glee and the competitive spirit. Siple captures the ups and downs of cart racing, bearing witness to lives made in the urban bush — men who subsist on the spoils of can and bottle collecting. Gorgeous and compassionate, this film is rife with questions about contemporary city living.
Sunday, 4 pm ❙ eBarBrokeRosie Dransfield ❙ 77 minutes ❙ 2009David Woolfsen runs A1 Trading, a pawnshop in Edmonton’s inner city, taking part in the economy of the last resort. An excellent cinéma-vérité documentary that captures the relationships that this world of bargaining, insults and desperation can create.
Sunday, 4 pm ❙ Alma GalleryBurma VJAnders Ostergaard ❙ 84 minutes ❙ 2008burmavjmovie.com ❙ STC – mature contentArmed with small, concealed handycams, and risking jail and torture, courageous young citizen journalists of Burma work undercover to document the historical and dramatic days of September 2007, when the Buddhist monks marched peacefully in the streets of Rangoon. The film offers a unique insight into high-risk journalism and dissidence in a police state.
Sunday, 7 pm Gala ❙ Bookshelf CinemaNollywood BabylonBen Addelman & Samir Mallal ❙ 75 minutes ❙ 2008films.nfb.ca/nollywood-babylon/In the low-budget, wacky world of Nigeria’s explosive movie industry, Jesus and voodoo vie for equal screen time. Welcome to Nollywood, the world’s fastest-growing national cinema. Full of juicy movie clips and buoyed by a score that fuses Afropop with traditional sounds, Nollywood Babylon celebrates the chaos of Lagos’ Idumota market, where films are sold and unlikely stars are born.
NFB for Younger KidsRecommended for ages 3–7Guelph Public Library, Main BranchSaturday, November 7, 10:30 am
Log Driver’s WaltzJohn Weldon ❙ 1979 ❙ 3 minutesDriving logs down the river has made this young man the best dancing partner to be found.
The SweaterSheldon Cohen ❙ 1980 ❙ 10 minutesAn NFB classic based on the book The Hockey Sweater that appeals to hockey lovers of all ages.
The Cat Came BackCordell Barker ❙ 1988 ❙ 7 minOld Mr. Johnson makes increasingly manic attempts to rid himself of a little yellow cat that won’t stay away.
The DinglesLes Drew ❙ 1988 ❙ 7 minutesAn unexpected, violent wind disrupts the idyllic life of Doris Dingle and her family of three cats.
The Tender Tale of Cinderella PenguinJanet Perlman ❙ 1981 ❙ 10 minutesA zany version of the classic fairy tale, with the leading role played by a mistreated, romantic penguin.
What on Earth!Les Drew and Kaj Pindal ❙ 1966 ❙ 9 minutesMartians observe the Earth and conclude that the car is the main life form – and we are parasites.
Cactus SwingSusan Crandall, Beth Portman ❙ 1995 ❙ 6 minutesPete the Mountie is awakened in the badlands by a varmint band and witnesses a cactus line dance.
Cosmic ZoomEva Szasz ❙ 1968 ❙ 8 minutesJourney from the farthest point of the universe to the tiniest particle of existence, an atom of a human cell.
NFB for Older KidsRecommended for ages 7–12Dean Palmer PhotographySunday, November 8, 2 pm
AnimandoMarcos Magalhães ❙ 1987 ❙ 13 minutesBrazilian artist Marcos Magalhães brings an animated figure to life on the drawing board.
Log Driver’s WaltzThe SweaterSee Younger Kids Screening
Nightmare at SchoolCatherine Arcand ❙ 20079 minutesWho hasn’t felt apprehensive at the thought of starting high school? Step into a dream world
inspired by the work of Escher and Magritte.
BalablokBretislav Pojar ❙ 1972 ❙ 8 minutesAn animated short exploring the human phenomenon of resorting to violence over reason.
ArkelopeRoslyn Schwartz ❙ 1994 ❙ 5 minutesAn animated short that takes a pointed look at endangered species and human indifference.
Journey of the BlobBill Maylone ❙ 1989 ❙ 10 minutesA boy makes a decision about how to dispose of a green glob he has concocted.
La SallaRichard Condie ❙ 1996 ❙ 8 minutesThe classic tale of temptation is revealed in the form of a comic opera.
What on Earth!See Younger Kids Screening
venues Alma Gallery 133 Wyndham St N
Artisanale37 Quebec St (at the Bookshelf)
Bookshelf Cinema 41 Quebec St
Ed Video Media Arts Centre 40 Baker St
Dean Palmer Photography26 Eramosa Rd Note: This is a peanut-free zone.
eBar 41 Quebec St
Guelph Public LibraryMain Branch, 100 Norfolk St
Norfolk Street United Church75 Norfolk St (at Cork)
University of GuelphMacKinnon 120
ticketsThe Bookshelf 41 Quebec St
Headquarters 10 Carden StThurs. Nov. 5 to Sun. Nov. 8, 12 – 6 pm
Tickets also available at the door.
pricesFestival Pass: $50Students/Seniors Festival Pass: $40Galas: Norfolk Street United Church and Bookshelf Cinema: $10Other screenings: $5 suggested donationGuelph Public Library: FreeChildren 12 and under: Free for all events
executive sponsor
producing sponsors
artistic sponsors
community sponsors
festival supporters
Cinema
Justice
Friday, 9:30 pm ❙ Artisanale
Festival Launch Party
All patrons, volunteers
and sponsors welcome.
Sponsored by OPIRG – Guelph
Sunday, 9:00 pm ❙ eBar
Festival Wrap Party
All patrons, volunteers
and sponsors welcome.
Selection Committee Chair: Bill Barrett
Sponsorship & Finance Coordinator:Vaughn Barclay [email protected]
Venue & Communications Coordinator: Carolyn Meili, [email protected]
Volunteer Coordinator: Karin Turkington, [email protected]
Illustration: Ryan Price, catch23.ca/ryanprice
Design: Gareth Lind, linddesign.ca
cred
its
GFOMM is looking for volunteers. If interested please contact our volunteer coordinator Karin Turkington at [email protected]
volunteer!
Tuesday, November 3 ❙ Bookshelf Cinema
National Film Board
Children’s Program
Private screening for Central Public School
& Social
Alma Gallery