REEL CANADA Blog : Tags : Cineplex

MAMBO ITALIANO at Laurier Macdonald

We had an amazing couple of days in Montreal earlier this month. On Wednesday, April 3rd, we pulled into Laurier Macdonald, an English high school in the Italian neighbourhood of St Leonard, which also happens to be the setting for MAMBO ITALIANO, the coming-out family comedy co-written by Steve Galluccio based on his fantastically successful stage play of the same name. It is always great to watch the kids get excited about seeing streets and landmarks that they actually know turn up on the big screen and this was no exception. Steve himself spoke to the students afterwards and answered some very pointed questions about the autobiographical nature of the story, such as how he dealt with showing the film to his own family. By way of an answer, Steve told the funny and touching story of the film’s opening night, when he realized that he had not actually told his family that he was gay, and that the screening itself would be his own coming out.

MAMBO ITALIANO co-writer Steve Galluccio talks to students at Laurier Macdonald

The afternoon was rounded out with a screening of another Montreal movie, THE TROTSKY, and an appearance by animator Jonathan Ng, who discussed the way movement, drawing and drama intersect for him in his “martial arts/breakup” short, REQUIEM FOR A ROMANCE.

Animator Jonathan Ng

In the evening, REEL CANADA hosted an extraordinary dinner for the Quebec filmmakers that support our program, including a few we were only just meeting for the first time. Our guests included REEL CANADA alumni Kevin (producer of BON COP/BAD COP) and Jacob Tierney (director of THE TROTSKY), Michel Poulette (director of LOUIS 19: LE ROI DESONDES), Don McKellar (director/writer of LAST NIGHT), and Kevin Duhaney, Daniel Keith Morrison and Tristan D Lalla (cast members from the dance film HOW SHE MOVE), as well as new friends to the program, Louise Archambault (one of the directors of THE NATIONAL PARKS PROJECT) Wiebke von Carolsfeld (director of MARION BRIDGE), and Stéphane Lafleur (editor of MONSIEUR LAZHAR). Telefilm’s Sheila de la Varende was on hand to help with hosting duties.

High school students at REEL CANADA's Cineplex Day

The next day was the Big One: 1,300 kids from across the entire Riverside School Board on the south shore of Montreal gathering at the Cineplex Brossard. (The board was so pleased with our event at Centennial Regional HS last year that dynamo board chair Moira Bell insisted that we do something for the entire district.)

This one really tested our team’s organizational muscle as we juggled different school schedules, bus routes and 3,000 pieces of pizza (thanks to PIZZA PIZZA for the generous help!) but somehow we pulled it off without a hitch.

BON COP/BAD COP director Erik Canuel

Érik Canuel, director of BON COP/BAD COP, spoke to two packed theatres, passionately exhorting the students to be aware of the way Canadian movies were part of their identity. This message – as well as his “colourful” language – got a big rise out of both students and teachers.

THE TROTSKY writer/director Jacob Tierney

In other venues, Jacob Tierney talked about his perennially popular THE TROTSKY, hockey historian Jean-Patrice Martel shared a lot of insight into the historical accuracy of THE ROCKET, and the HOW SHE MOVE actors had their audience screaming with excitement.

HOW SHE MOVE actors Daniel Keith Morrison & Kevin Duhaney

Hockey historian Jean-Patrice Martel answering student questions on THE ROCKET 

Thanks to LEARN Quebec for helping to support our Montreal tour, and to the incredible Val McLeod of the Canadian School Boards Association for wrangling every detail into place. We look forward to coming back to Montreal next year.

Students and teachers from Toronto District School Board at Sheppard Grande Cinemas

It's amazing to think that we've been doing these multi-school Cineplex events in Toronto for five years. The first year, we started with the nine alternative schools that are part of the Toronto District School Board, and nearly all 500+ alternative school students from across the city attended. The second year, we opened it up to the entire board, and got about a dozen schools in. Every year, the event gets a little bit bigger, and the audiences get more diverse. Some schools come year after year, but we attract new ones every single time. This year, a record 20 schools participated. 

Dwain Murphy (left), Daniel Keith Morrison (left middle), Jack Blum (right middle), and Kevin Duhaney (right).

At this year's event, we kicked things off with a screening of the hilarious short PEDESTRIAN JAR, with director Evan Morgan in attendance to talk to a packed house, before they settled into a screening of GUNLESS. Across the way in another equally full auditorium, another group of students watched SHARKWATER, which was followed by a spirited and inspiring talk with Emily Hunter. But the room (and the enthusiastic crowd) was our HOW SHE MOVE audience, which was treated to a visit by Dwain Murphy (who plays the lead role, Bishop, in the film) as well as co-stars Kevin Duhaney and Daniel Keith Morrison, the only bonafide dancer in the bunch (Kevin and Dwain modestly claim to be actors who only pretended to know how to dance). 

How She Move Q&A

At lunch, Pizza Pizza came in with 100 pizzas to feed the 1000 students who came to the event. It was a madhouse, but nobody was left hungry, and by the time the afternoon screenings started, we saw a lot of happy faces heading back into the cinema (with seconds or thirds of pizza tucked under their arms). 

In the afternoon, students watched BOLLYWOOD/HOLLYWOOD, BON COP BAD COP and THE ROCKET - truly a program with something in it for everyone. As we were leaving the Cineplex Sheppard Grande at the end of the day, I overheard one student say to a friend that the film he saw (BON COP) was "dope". I didn't realize that slang was even in use anymore, but back in my day, it meant "awesome". 

 Guest filmmaker and Eco-warrior Emily Hunter.

One of the interesting ways in which REEL CANADA introduces itself to a school board is by offering a board-wide event to which every school in a community can come, on a field trip. Usually these are held at theatres – and most frequently theatres provided by our Premiere Corporate Sponsor, Cineplex Entertainment.

In the Peel District, we’ve been putting on “Cineplex Days”, as we call them, for three years. In 2010, the inaugural Peel Cineplex day drew hundreds of high school students to the SilverCity in Mississauga. Last year, an equally large number of middle school kids attended a similar event. This year, we’re back to the high school group, this time at the SilverCity in Brampton (giving another community in the Peel District a chance to host).

Nadia Litz, a longtime supporter of our program, came out as a guest for the short film EVELYN: THE CUTEST EVIL DEAD GIRL, and Nadia was surprised when students mobbed her for her autograph. Nadia’s officially the latest inductee in the REEL CANADA heartthrobs hall of fame!

Nadia wasn’t the only short film guest that wowed the group from Peel. Comedians Adam and Dave, regulars on the “REEL CANADA circuit”, showed some of the short films from their Unreel Sports Series and took questions from a very excited crowd. REEL CANADA veterans Emily Hunter and Dan Diamond rounded out the day, talking to students about SHARKWATER and THE ROCKET, respectively. Both Emily and Dan have shown real dedication to the REEL CANADA cause this year, coming out to an incredible number of events in person and via Skype.

Because of a generous sponsorship from Pizza Pizza, we were able to provide a free pizza lunch to all participating students – something which they definitely appreciated (some came back not just for seconds, but even thirds). There’s no happier sight than a bunch of smiling, well fed kids, and the afternoon screenings were packed and animated. Students had lots of questions for PROM NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI producer Patricia Aquino, who said afterwards that it was one of the most engaged groups she’s ever spoken with, in dozens of screenings of the film to thousands of students.

On April 18th we did it all again at the Cineplex Sheppard Grande for a group of nearly 1,000 students from the Toronto District School Board. This event kicked off the Ontario portion of our National Tour.

Welcome to Canada.

That’s the name of the REEL CANADA program that began last year with one event and this year is growing like the US Space Program in the Sixties. This season a five-fold increase; next year who the hell knows?  Ten events?  Twenty?

It’s called the Welcome to Canada Program because it is aimed at recent arrivals to this country, whom we reach via their English as a Second Language classes.  For this initiative we’ve begun to grow beyond our traditional high school audience to include special events for adult ESL students.

I can’t begin to convey how emotional these screenings are. The audiences – coming as they do from an astonishing variety of backgrounds and cultures – are so open in expressing their gratitude, their sense of literally being welcomed by these movies which give them an immediate sense of the fabric of Canadian life and the values we share as a nation.

Last week 600 of them came to the Eau Claire Cineplex in downtown Calgary to view two feature films of their own choosing:  HOW SHE MOVE, the Toronto-based dance movie, and IRON ROAD, which dramatizes the experience of Chinese labourers building the railroad in the late 19^th Century. (They were also treated to WILD LIFE, the wonderful Oscar-nominated short animation by Calgarians Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbes).

As it turns out, each of these films, in its own way, deals with the challenges that immigrants face as they try to build a new life in this country, and the audiences responded to that theme very viscerally. But the big thrill came when after the screening they found themselves face-to-face with the respective stars of the two features.

Jack Blum (right) and actor Luke Macfarlane (right)

Luke Macfarlane (known to many from his five-year run on the ABC series BROTHERS AND SISTERS) set hundreds of hearts a-flutter when he took the microphone after the screening of IRON ROAD. Many female audience members began their “questions” with comments like “You are very handsome” and “I would like to know if you are married” (By happy coincidence, Luke, who lives in LA, was able to take advantage of the REEL CANADA appearance to enjoy an Easter celebration with his twin sister Ruth, who moved to Calgary a couple of years ago).

Actor Dwain Murphy (left) and Jack Blum (right)

Over in another screening room, HOW SHE MOVE star Dwain Murphy caused a similar sensation with an equally enthusiastic audience. Dwain considers himself an actor not a dancer, so when someone asked him to show some moves, he dodged the request charmingly, “It’s called ‘How She Move’, not ‘How He Move’.”

Given how critical it is to our country’s future to open our doors to hundreds of thousands of new immigrants each year, it is clear that REEL CANADA has stumbled on a way to speed up their integration into Canadian society that is exciting, emotional, human, and (most important) fun. If last week’s audience response is an indication, I’ve no doubt that the “Welcome to Canada” Program will continue to grow by leaps and bounds.

Our fifth annual Cineplex Day for the Toronto District School Board will be taking place on Wednesday, April 18th at the Sheppard Grande Cinemas in North York. After four successful events with the TDSB, teachers have the annual REEL CANADA event marked in our calendars, and as soon as this year's festival was announced, a staggering 1,300 students signed up for it. 

The students will be watching six films over the course of the day. In the morning, HOW SHE MOVE (with stars Kevin Duhaney and Daniel Keith Morrison in attendance), SHARKWATER (with eco-warrior Emily Hunter in attendance) and GUNLESS, which will be preceded by the short film PEDESTRIAN JAR (with director Evan Morgan in attendance). In the afternoon, BON COP BAD COP, THE ROCKET and BOLLYWOOD/HOLLYWOOD will entertain students and teachers alike. 

Over the course of our seven years in existence, over 75 TDSB schools have participated in the REEL CANADA program, and we're incredibly proud that the enthusiasm of teachers and students within the city continues to grow every year.