TIFF

  • Review: TIFF 2015: ‘Desierto’ skillfully employs the desert’s vastness (Includes first-hand account)

    Border management is a major topic garnering international attention at the moment. However, illegal immigrants crossing the border have been a significant and common issue for some countries for decades. Still, some citizens are more offended by the breach than others and some have been known to go as far as attempting to unlawfully defend their nation’s perimeters. Thankfully the horror of Desierto is fictional, but it does speak to a certain, sometimes pervasive, sentiment.

  • Review: TIFF 2015 — ‘Equals’ portrays a future of first and only loves (Includes first-hand account)

    It’s not the first time a work of fiction has proposed the key to peace on Earth is the eradication of emotion. After all most violence is an act motivated by feeling, whether it’s passion, hate, revenge or some other sentiment. However, the flipside of that argument is that it’s our emotions that make us human; without them, what would people become? Equals is one of these narratives that explores life on both sides of the fence.

  • Review: TIFF 2015 — ‘Dégradé’ portrays Gaza from a female point of view (Includes first-hand account)

    While theatre and cinema are related, it can be challenging to apply the rules of one medium to the other — though not impossible. In many ways, the stage has more limitations than film. However, those restrictions can be creatively applied to a movie in a manner that shapes its characters interactions with the world. Not necessarily just for an adaptation of a play, one can construct an original script that is similarly controlled. Results vary, but can be very stimulating. The action of Dégradé is almost entirely confined to a single room with a war unfolding beyond its doors.

  • TIFF 2015: Director and actor go with the flow in ‘River’ (Includes interview and first-hand account)

    Writing and directing one’s first feature-length film is already a daunting task, but setting it in a communist country halfway around the world is an added challenge that could have had mixed results. Jamie M. Dagg’s thriller, River, is set and shot in Laos, which was no vacation in spite of the exotic location. In addition to the “stifling heat,” there was “very little film infrastructure,” says Dagg. At the same time, “all these little things that seemed insurmountable problems contributed to the film.” The film’s star, Rossif Sutherland, agrees that the limitations were blessings in disguise; “We couldn’t have done it with a bigger budget and crew because we would have been too noticeable… You stick a crane in there and you lose the quality of what it is to be in that place.”

  • Review: TIFF 2015: ‘The Mind’s Eye’ is a throwback made with love (Includes interview and first-hand account)

    In fiction and non-fiction narratives alike, people have typically had one of two reactions to those that are different: ostracization and eradication, or envy and appropriation. While the former response can be seen through history, the latter is more often associated with science fiction and fantasy tales in which diversity comes in the form of superhuman abilities. In many cases, fear is connected to one’s incapacity to match their counterpart’s power. Thus, creating an equal playing field is the only means of salvaging peace. In The Mind’s Eye, one doctor’s efforts focus on people with telekinesis.

  • Review: TIFF 2015: ‘Colonia’ is a battle of wills with no clear winners (Includes first-hand account)

    Secret government operations serve many purposes and generally exist under the guise of providing protection to the country and its citizens. However, the means by which this security is attained often ranges from controversial to indefensible. Organized networks of terror and interrogation are not unheard of, but the arrangement exposed in Chile several decades ago is one of the most unsettling systems to come to light. Colonia goes behind the electrified fences to illustrate the oppression wielded in the name of God and country.