TIFF BELL Lightbox Mar 31 - Apr 14

PROGRAMMING AT TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX

March 31 – April 14, 2011

SPROCKETS TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH

The 14th annual Sprockets festival takes place April 5-17, 2011 and showcases more than 100 films from 28 countries for children aged 3 through 18. The festival offers an exclusive opportunity for audiences to see films from around the world on the big screen, Q&A with filmmakers and guests, plus FREE on-site activities each weekend. This year, Sprockets has expanded its programming to public weekends, April 9-10 and 16-17.

Guests this year include the young director of Finding Kind (2010), Lauren Parsekian, discussing girl-on-girl bullying; filmmaker Greg Jacobs and one of the stars of the slam poetry documentary, Louder Than A Bomb; and filmmaker Arne Birkenstock from Chandani: The Daughter of the Elephant Whisperer. Preceding the screening of The Sound of Mumbai: A Musical is a performance by the local youth orchestra, La Jeunesse Youth Orchestra.

Sprockets presents the World Premiere of Pixar Animation Studio’s newest short, Hawaiian Vacation, a Toy Story Toon, on Opening Night. As part of the Sprockets Opening Night programme on Friday, April 8, audiences will also be treated to a sneak peek at scenes from the upcoming Disney Pixar release, Cars 2. Sprockets attendees will learn how the magic is made during a special behind-the-scenes presentation by a Pixar animator who worked on both Hawaiian Vacation and Cars 2. For more movie listings, visit tiff.net/sprockets.

TIFF CINEMATHEQUE

Kaboom! The Films of Gregg Araki

The Gregg Araki retrospective runs from April 8 to 20, kicking off with the iconoclastic filmmaker introducing both his latest release, Kaboom (2010), a career-defining paranoiac-dystopian sex comedy, and his breakthrough masterpiece The Living End (1992). Araki’s career intertwines themes of tragic romantic love and alienated youth set against the backdrop of post-punk anthems, hyper-stylized Valley Girl vocabulary and eye-popping art direction. Additional films in the series include Araki’s debut feature, the Warhol-inflected Three Bewildered People in the Night (1987); the celebrated abuse drama Mysterious Skin (2004), featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt; Splendor (1999), a screwball comedy that uniquely meshes the worlds of Preston Sturges and Jean-Luc Godard; Smiley Face (2007), his beloved slap-happy stoner comedy; Totally F***ed Up (1993), an expedition into the melancholic teenage wasteland of the ’90s; and Nowhere (1997), the Araki-described ‘Beverly Hills 90210 on acid’ starring Shannen Doherty, Rose McGowan, Ryan Phillippe, Heather Graham, Mena Suvari and Christina Applegate.

Kaboom (Kaboom also screens as a New Release)
Friday, April 8 at 7:30 pm

The Living End
Friday, April 8 at 9:15 pm

Three Bewildered People in the Night
Saturday, April 9 at 9:15 pm

Mysterious Skin
Sunday, April 10 at 7:00 pm

Splendor
Tuesday, April 12 at 7:00 pm

The Long Weekend (o’ Despair)
Wednesday, April 13 at 7:00 pm

Hollywood Classics: February 5 to April 6, 2011
This season, TIFF Cinematheque debuts a deluxe year-round series of American films, both canonical and cult, celebrated or unjustly obscure, largely presented in new, restored or rare prints.

Human Desire, Fritz Lang

Sunday, April 3 at 1:00 pm

Tuesday, April 5 at 6:30 pm

IN CONVERSATION WITH…

In Conversation with… Woody Harrelson: Thursday, April 7

Actor Woody Harrelson takes the stage at TIFF Bell Lightbox to look back on some of the highlights of his long and unique career. Effortlessly shifting from broad comedy to serious drama, Harrelson has worked with such renowned directors as Oliver Stone (Natural Born Killers), Milos Forman (The People vs. Larry Flynt, for which Harrelson received an Academy Award® nomination for Best Actor), Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line), Richard Linklater (A Scanner Darkly) and Joel and Ethan Coen (No Country for Old Men).

Harrelson will also discuss the creative adventures he is embarking on with his new project in Toronto, as director of Bullet for Adolf, an original play he co-wrote with Frankie Hyman, running April 21 through May 7 at the University of Toronto’s Hart House Theatre. Eight characters come together in the hot Houston summer of 1983 in this comedy about opinions, ideas and friendships. http://www.bulletforadolf.com

In Conversation with… Gregg Araki: Saturday, April 9

Kicking off a full retrospective of his films, Gregg Araki joins TIFF Bell Lightbox Artistic Director Noah Cowan for an in-depth look at his career – from his scrappy beginnings to his current status as one of the recognized pioneers of American independent cinema. Araki will take the stage to discuss his career including the ultra-low-budget Three Bewildered People in the Night and The Long Weekend (o’ Despair), breakthrough film The Living End, the candy-coloured ultra-violence of The Doom Generation and Nowhere and the moving sexual abuse drama Mysterious Skin.

NEW RELEASES

Every week, TIFF will launch exclusive engagements, giving audiences multiple opportunities to watch the best of international and Canadian cinema’s past and present on the big screen. Regular $12.00/Students $9.50/Seniors $9.50

Release Date: Thurs. Mar. 31, 2011
Essential Killing
Jerzy Skolimowski, 2010, Poland/Norway/Ireland/Hungary, Peace Arch
Special Jury Prize, Venice Film Festival 2010
A Taliban fighter (Vincent Gallo) is captured, interrogated, tortured and then transported to an unnamed snowy destination in Europe. When he manages to escape, he must use all his wits to evade his pursuers whilst battling bitter winter cold and lack of food.

Release Date: Fri. Apr. 1, 2011
La Nostra Vita
Daniele Luchetti, 2010, Italy/France, Mongrel Media
Best Actor for Elio Germano, Cannes Film Festival 2010
Italian director Daniele Luchetti follows up his 2007 family drama hit My Brother is an Only Child with La Nostra Vita, another engrossing family drama set in current day Italy. Construction worker Claudio (Elio Germano) is madly in love with his expectant wife and hard at work on a suburban job when he discovers a body on the worksite and then tragedy befalls his own family. Desperate to provide for his grief-stricken children, Claudio extorts his boss in order to keep the dark secret of the body to himself. Luchetti’s sharp and gritty portrait of contemporary Italy touches on subjects ranging from illegal immigration to consumerism.

Release date: Friday, April 8, 2011
Kaboom
Gregg Araki, 2010, USA/France, eOne
Smith’s everyday life in the dorm – hanging out with his arty, sarcastic best friend Stella, hooking up with a beautiful free spirit named London, lusting for his gorgeous but dim surfer roommate Thor – all gets turned upside-down after one fateful, terrifying night. Tripping on some hallucinogenic cookies he ate at a party, Smith is convinced he’s witnessed the gruesome murder of an enigmatic Red-Haired Girl who has been haunting his dreams. What he discovers as he tries to find out the truth leads him deeper and deeper into a mystery that will forever change not only the course of his young life but the destiny of the entire world.

Special PresentationS and Film Series

Back to the ’80s: February 5 to April 2, 2011

Both reviled and revered, the 1980s saw the birth of a new kind of American movie: kid-focused, special effects-packed spectacles that drew the disdain of critics and the devotion of an entire generation. This spotlight, programmed by Twitch blogger Todd Brown relives these ’80s classics on the big screen until April 2.

Krull Peter Yates

Saturday, April 2 at 2:00 pm

Books on Film Club:  February 7 to June 27

TIFF Bell Lightbox introduces the Books on Film Club, presented in association with Random House of Canada. Hosted by CBC’s Eleanor Wachtel and featuring filmmakers, authors, experts and other special guests, this series of screenings and conversations celebrates the art of adaptation, examining exceptional films that began as outstanding novels.

Single Tickets are now available at the price of $35.

Lolita Stanley Kubrick

Monday, April 4 at 7:00 pm

Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita and Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita with Richard Corliss, Senior Writer for TIME Magazine, and author of Lolita, an examination of Vladimir Nabokov’s book and film by Stanley Kubrick.

Weekend in Italy: April 1 & 2

Three Italian contemporary films will screen at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Friday, April 1, 2011 and Saturday, April 2, 2011.

Presented in collaboration with L’Altra Italia Association.

Friday, April 1, 2011 (showtimes will be available on tiff.net on Thursday, March 31)

La Nostra Vita (2010)

Daniele Luchetti

Mongrel Media

Best Actor for Elio Germano, Cannes Film Festival 2010

Italian director Daniele Luchetti follows up his 2007 family drama hit My Brother is an Only Child with this engrossing family drama set in current day Italy. Construction worker Claudio (Elio Germano) is madly in love with his expectant wife and hard at work on a suburban job when he discovers a body on the worksite and then tragedy befalls his own family. Desperate to provide for his grief-stricken children, Claudio extorts his boss in order to keep the dark secret of the body to himself. Luchetti’s sharp and gritty portrait of contemporary Italy touches on subjects ranging from illegal immigration to consumerism.

Saturday, April 2, 12:15 p.m.

Salvatore. Questa è la vita (2006)

Gian Paolo Cugno

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Italia

Globo D’Oro 2008: Best Upcoming Director

Set in Sicily, follows an enterprising a 12-year-old orphan who supports himself, his sister and grandmother after his parents die. Working and living like an adult doesn’t leave him any time for school. A teacher, who takes the children situation to heart, will end up going to his house to give him lessons and the two of them will become inseparable.

Sicilian director, Gian Paolo Cugno will be in attendance to introduce the screening.

Saturday, April 2, 7:30 p.m.

La Bella Società (2010)

Gian Paolo Cugno

Globes Film s.r.l.

The film recounts life in Sicily, from the 1950s to the 1980s, through the eyes of two brothers Giuseppe and Giorgio who have been left without a father. Director Gian Paolo Cugno makes a historical choral fresco, emphasizing on the illusions, dramas and social transformations of his native land. Starring Marco Bocci, Enrico Lo Verso, Raul Bova, Maria Grazia Cucinotta and Giancarlo Giannini.

Sicilian director, Gian Paolo Cugno will be in attendance to introduce the screening.

THE FREE SCREEN

The Free Screen and the Images Festival pair up for another night of Radical Light: Alternative Film and Video in the San Francisco Bay Area, a touring series presented in conjunction with the Pacific Film Archive’s book of the same name. The second programme in this ongoing series, Stories Untold, explores themes, movements and the rich historical chronology of alternative film in a collection of striking short films by James Broughton, Curt McDowell, George Kuchar, Max Almy, Chip Lord, Mickey McGowan, Scott Stark and Anne McGuire. Curated by Steve Seid, Steve Anker and Kathy Geritz, the screening takes place on April 7.

EXHIBITIONS

Tim Burton – running to April 17, 2011

Only 4 Weeks Left for Audiences to Visit Before Balloon Boy Floats Away April 17!

A major exhibition, organized by the Museum of Modern Art, New York, explores Burton’s creative vision and his artistic development from early significant drawings he made as a teenager to sophisticated renderings used to create characters for his most treasured recent films. Tim Burton runs until April 17, 2011 at TIFF Bell Lightbox in Toronto. 

Starting Tuesday, March 29, the exhibition will be open from 10 am to 10 pm Tuesday to Saturday, and noon to 6 pm on Sunday. For the final week beginning April 11, the Tim Burton exhibition will also be open Mondays noon to 6 pm and daily Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 10 pm.

FREE! Drop-In Activities

Family Activities and Workshops

Every Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm, to April 3, parents and children can drop in to participate in the following free activities. Ages recommendation 8 and up

Crafty Characters

Create your own Burton-inspired creatures from our bins of quirky parts, pieces and craft supplies.

Animation Station

Take a favourite toy or a creature of your own design and bring it to life through the magic of stop-motion animation.

Be in the Scene

Through the magic of green screen technology, immerse yourself in the stunning sets of Tim Burton’s films.

Mary Pickford and the Invention of the Movie Star - running to July 3, 2011

The inaugural exhibition in TIFF’s new Canadian Film Gallery, Mary Pickford and the Invention of the Movie Star chronicles the life and career of one of the first and greatest stars of the silent cinema. Amassed over a 30-year period by private collector Rob Brooks, this exhibition draws on his extraordinary collection of 1,900 items including photographs, posters, memorabilia, postcards, and products endorsed by Pickford. The exhibition is curated by Sylvia Frank, Director of TIFF’s Film Reference Library and Special Collections.