Festivals-a-Go-Go: Nov. 24 – Dec.1, 2011

November 25, 2011 | By

"It STILL swings!"

Before we get to this week’s tally of festivals, series, etc., it seems Hot Docs have set Wed. Dec. 7 as the official opening of the Bloor Cinema. As recounted back in September at Torontoist, the Bloor was in the midst of a major interior / exterior overhaul, and had just added KinoSmith founder Robin Smith as Hot Doc’s chief programmer.

The Doc Soup series returns to the Bloor Dec. 7 with Pamela Yates’ Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, and the assumption – if the Bloor’s ready to handle patrons – will be the gradual roll-out of regular programming, following the organization’s desired 4:1 ration of docs / other.

I’m certainly keen to see how the cinema’s been upgraded, but hope it will remain another viable source for second run, cult, and essentially affordable movies which students and those enraged by the major chain’s pricing depend on to get their movie fix. As a colleague remarked, the Bloor also maintained a casual atmosphere, which I hope Hariri Pontarini Architects have preserved in some tangible fashion.

Next: on Tues. Dec. 6th, the TIFF Bell Lightbox will announce their selections of Canada’s Top Ten in feature & short films, of which I’ll do my usual tally of what is & isn’t on DVD.

Why is this important? Because there is a contingent of filmgoers who seek out some films on DVD to A) decide whether it’s worth seeing a specific film on the big screen; B) balance their budget with rental & theatrical viewings; and C) sometimes buy / rent the DVD for extras that will add further info on a film of interest (such as those loaded Criterion editions).

It’s all symbiotic, really.

Lastly: Rue Morgue’s next Cinemacabre is slated for Jan. 19, 2012, and the new year begins with a screening of The Dead, via the Toronto Underground Cinema.

Coming this Sunday: a quick wrap-up of notable news posted at RM’s site, although I’m going to jump ahead and alert fans who were unable to secure the beautiful poster for the Guillermo del Toro In Conversation at the TBL back in November that limited quantities are still available in gold and silver coloured editions. Visit the RM post for further info about where to get em’, how much, and what other cool posters are available.

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Film Festivals & Screenings on-the-go in T.O.:

Amnesty International Reel Awareness Film Festival: NFB, Thurs. Nov. 24 – Sun. Nov. 27
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Canadian Labour International Film Festival: Innis Town Hall, ending Sun. Nov. 27
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European Union Film Festival: The Royal, ending – Wed. Nov. 30
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TIFF Bell Lightbox:
Hollywood Classics: The Cinema is Nicholas Ray: ending Tues. Dec. 13
Icy Fire: The Hitchcock Blonde: ending Thurs. Dec. 1
Wages of Fear: The Films of Henri-Georges Clouzot: ending Tues. Nov. 29
Current Exhibit Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess: ending Jan. 22, 2012

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Non-Festival / non-series / venues still really good & worth checking out:

The Projection Booth

Toronto Underground Cinema

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Mark R. Hasan, Editor
KQEK.com ( Main Site / Mobile Site )

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