REEL CANADA Blog : Tags : Mambo Italiano

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.

Above: RC's Winnipeg representative Terri Cherniack (left) and executive director Jack Blum (right) flank guest filmmaker and Eco-warrior Emily Hunter.

After something of a “soft opening” last week in Stonewall, we blew into Manitoba with a more robust event at River East Collegiate:  six films, six hundred kids.  Organized almost entirely by a couple of great teachers, Pat Chellack and Anita Kumar, the films were chosen along certain thematic lines – social justice, sustainability, global poverty.

This was because River East is a “UNESCO School”, which is something I didn’t know existed until I went there.  Apparently there are some 9,000 UNESCO schools in 180 countries around the world, from primary to high school, vocational and teachers colleges.  They are all especially dedicated to promoting peace, democracy, human rights, sustainable development, and intercultural learning.

 Anita Kumar and Pat Chellack

Anita Kumar is relatively new at River East, but she’s been a UNESCO teacher from day one, at the middle school that preceded this posting and as an organizer of conferences and other extra-curricular projects.  She was eager to have REEL CANADA return to Winnipeg for a special conference that is happening there next December, involving teachers and students from across Canada, Israel and Germany.  (Really.)

River East partners with Free the Children and Habitat for Humanity, and, to name just one of its many initiatives, its students have raised $14,000 to build a school in Sierra Leone.

It was great to plug Canadian film into the mix. 

Social-issue docs like SHARKWATER, THE CORPORATION, SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL, and PROM NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI made for great jumping-off points for discussions of sustainability, capitalism, genocide and racism.  Eco-warrior and REEL CANADA superstar Emily Hunter came in person to get the kids fired up about what they themselves could do to change the world for the better.  And Peter Raymont joined us via Skype to talk about the challenges of accompanying General Romeo Dallaire on his return to Rwanda ten years after the genocide shocked the world.

Equally exciting was to witness the creativity of these teachers as they got their students looking beneath the surface of films like THE ROCKET and MAMBO ITALIANO to explore the themes of social justice around which each of those films revolve.  For THE ROCKET they were helped by the Skype appearance of Dan Diamond, Canada’s foremost hockey authority, who speaks with such insight into the meaning of the Richard Riots of the 50’s.

All in all it was a perfect blend of film fun and serious purpose and we were pleased to support River East in its association with UNESCO.

On Tuesday April 17th, REEL CANADA makes a splash in Winnipeg with a three-venue, six-film event for over 400 students at River East Collegiate. The school is managing the tech and logistics for this event, while REEL CANADA brings in the films, the talent, and the awesome discussions about Canadian culture and identity, of course. We're thrilled to be working with Pat Chelack, the teacher at River East who first contacted us not long ago with big dreams of a festival event before the end of the school year. 

In the morning at River East we'll be screening THE CORPORATION (with a Q&A via Skype with Kat Dodds, producer of the multi-media web project for the blockbuster documentary), THE ROCKET (with a Q&A via Skype with NHL Publisher and hockey-whiz Dan Diamond) and SHARKWATER (with eco-warrior, filmmaker, and REEL CANADA superstar Emily Hunter in attendance, live). 

In the afternoon, students will be watching the documentary SHAKE HANDS WITH THE DEVIL (with a Skype Q&A with director Peter Raymont) as well as the films PROM NIGHT IN MISSISSIPPI and MAMBO ITALIANO.

River East collegiate is a UNESCO Associated School, which means that they're dedicated to supporting international understanding, peace, intercultural dialogue, sustainable development, and quality education. The school contacted REEL CANADA in the hopes of putting together a festival on social justice and environmental issues to complement and support the work they're already doing in those areas. The doc-heavy programme of thought provoking films will spark some engaging dialogue and hopefully inspire some bright young Winnipeggers to change the world!