Directors Jim Brown and Gary Burns shooting The Future is Now! Courtesy of The National Film Board of Canada. |
The Canadian Film Institute in Ottawa has put together a new
screening series that aims to engage moviegoers with Canada’s leading
independent filmmakers. The series, titled The Enlightened Screen, allows Bytowners
to explore the best that Canadian cinema has to offer through interactive
screening sessions. Select films in the series will include guest artists and
Q&A periods after the film.
The Enlightened Screen begins with one of Canada’s most
unique and celebrated independent filmmakers, Gary Burns. Burns gained notice
in the late 1990s when Canadians took note of his thoughtfully amusing take on
contemporary (re: suburban) alienation. The Enlightened Screen brings six of
Burns’ films to Ottawa with a mix of drama and documentary. (His latest film, The Future is Now!, is a true explosion of
the two forms.) Burns is a fitting choice to open the series, for as the CFI
notes, his films are “cinematically stylish searches, at once comedic and
serious, for signs of intelligent life in the Canadian universe.”
The
Suburbanators (1995, 87 min.)
Thursday, October 18, 2012, 7:00 pm.
Kitchen
Party (1997, 92 min.)
Thursday, October 18, 2012, 9:00 pm.
waydowntown (2000,
83 min.)
Friday, October 19, 2012, 7:00 pm.
-Winner for Best Canadian Feature Film 2000 Toronto
International Film Festival
-Genie nominee for Best Director
A
Problem with Fear (2003, 92 min.)
Friday, October 19, 2012, 9:30 pm.
-Nominated for 2 Genie awards including Best Supporting
Actress (Emily Hampshire)
Radiant
City (co-directed with Jim Brown; 2006, 93 min)
Saturday, October 20, 2012, 7:00 pm.
-Genie Winner for Best Documentary
The
Future is Now! (co-directed with Jim Brown; 2011, 91 min.)
Saturday, October 20, 2012, 9:00 pm,
*Please
note that the CFI will be hosting a Q&A with Burns on October 19th
All screenings will be held at the Library and
Archives Canada Auditorium, 395 Wellington St. Tickets for each film are $12.00 each for general audiences
and $8.00 for CFI Members, seniors, and students.
Please visit the Canadian Film Institute’s website
for more information.