2012 Toronto Jewish Film Festival, May 3–13

Tonight, the 20th Annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival opens with a gala screening of A Bottle In The Gaza Sea by Thierry Binisti.

Among the highlights of the festival include a double bill of OSS 177: Lost In Rio and This Is Sodom by this year's Oscar-winners Michel Hazanavicius and Jean Dujardin.

The festival will feature a special program, The Sound Of Movies: Masters Of The Film Score. Some of the composers profiled include Canadian film composers Howard Shore and Mychael Danna, as well as Elmer Bernstein, David Shire, Jerry Goldsmith and Lalo Schifrin.

A number of the programs, events and screenings are free. The festival also provides free admission for students with ID, subject to availability from the rush line.

The festival continues until May 13 at Al Green Theatre (Miles Nadal JCC, 750 Spadina Avenue at Bloor) and other locations.

http://tjff.com/

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Opening Night - A Bottle In The Gaza Sea

Toronto Jewish Film Festival is pleased to open the 20th edition of the Festival with a France/Canada co-production

A BOTTLE IN THE GAZA SEA
Directed by Thierry Binisti

Thursday, May 3, 2012
8:00pm Cineplex Odeon Varsity and VIP Cinemas -  55 Bloor St W (inside the Manulife Centre)


Opening Festivities Include Tasty Teasers  From Crêpes à GoGo and By The Way Café
- a stimulating selection of crêpes and falafels for guests entering the theatre.

 “...a gripping, unsentimental drama with a lot of action, **** (4 stars out of 5)”
- Montreal Gazette

Tal experiences a terrorist attack at her local café, but refuses to succumb to hatred and blame. She optimistically slips a message of peace in a bottle that she asks her brother to throw into the sea while he is on patrol near Gaza. Eventually, she receives an email response from NaÏm, a teenaged Palestinian who calls himself “Gazaman”. The two develop a virtual friendship through their email exchanges. Based on the novel by Valérie Zenatti, this lovely and hopeful film avoids any easy answers. Featuring a terrific cast that includes Hiam Abbass (Lemon Tree, The Visitor) and Salim Dau(Arab Labor).

A Bottle in the Gaza Sea is the second feature for director Thierry Binisti, who has spent years nurturing his directorial skills in television, where his three-part mini-series, The Blue Bicycle aired over a decade ago, and still remains one of the biggest rating successes for the public channel France 2.

Producer Anne-Marie Gelinas will be in attendance on behalf of the film.

The Festival now screens in six venues: the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor St. W. at Bathurst St.) the Al Green Theatre (750 Spadina Ave), the Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Cinemas (4861 Yonge St. at Sheppard Ave.), the Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Ave.) Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Ave) and the Cineplex Odeon Varsity and VIP Cinemas (55 Bloor St W.)

All films at the Festival are rated by the Ontario Film Review Board. Film ratings  can be found at tjff.com.

PRICES (HST included)
Single Tickets: $13
Opening Night: $20
Closing Night $18
Senior/Student Tickets: $9 (ID required)
Weekday Matinees: $8 (Monday–Friday before 5 pm)

Free Student Admission: Subject to availability. Five minutes prior to each screening, students with ID will be admitted for free from a Rush Line.

Free Screenings: All free events require tickets and must be ordered in person at a TJFF box office. Tickets are subject to availability. One ticket per person/ per free event.

cash only at door (subject to availability)

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Free Screenings

20th Annual Toronto Jewish Film Festival presents
FREE SCREENINGS
Including a special Sensory Friendly Screening for Families and Children Affected by Autism

(Toronto, May 1, 2012) There are discount movie nights. And then there’s free. And this year the Toronto Jewish Film Festival is opening its doors - free of charge - to a number of screenings, as well as stimulating talks.

Highlights include:

A “Sensory Friendly” screening of Joseph and The Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, starring Donny Osmond, will offer families and children affected by autism a chance to see a movie on the big screen together—often for the very first time. Taking place Saturday May 12 at noon at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, this screening will provide a safe and welcome setting. The theatre will have the lights turned up and the sound turned down, and we invite audience members to get up, dance in the aisles and sing along!

Five minutes prior to any screening at the Festival, students with valid ID will be admitted for free from the Rush Line. Subject to availability.

Saturday May 5th, beginning at 12pm, at Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave (at the corner of St. George)

It’s Party time as TJFF celebrates its new venue with music, food, advance ticket sales and the following FREE events:

1pm: Film critic and author Kevin Courrier presents a talk, illustrated with film clips, entitled “Notes and Frames: The Neglected Art of Film Music”. This special talk traces the history of the great Jewish film composers—from the silent era to the present day. Kevin will explore whether or not a good score can save a bad picture and the impact of pop music on films.

3pm: Joshua Waletzky’s Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann is an Academy Award®-nominated portrait of one of the most influential film composers of all times. The legendary Herrmann wrote the music for more than 50 films—from Citizen Kane to Taxi Driver. A master at creating dramatic tension, Herrmann is best known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock. The documentary will be followed with an excerpt of an interview with composer Danny Elfman and director Tim Burton.

Additional Free Programs at TJFF 2012 include:

Sunday May 6 at 12pm at Al Green Theatre, 750 Spadina Ave.
The Oscar-nominated Joshua Waletzky has directed another excellent documentary on soundtrack magic, Music for the Movies: The Hollywood Sound. Movie music from the Golden Age of Hollywood was virtually invented by Jewish exiles from Nazi Germany, Europe and Russia. This entertaining documentary incorporates a wealth of film clips, and showcases such legendary composers as Max Steiner, Erich Korngold, Franz Waxman and Dimitri Tiomkin. The documentary will be followed with excerpts from exclusive TVO interviews with composers David and Thomas Newman.

Saturday May 12 at 2:30pm at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W.
Leonard Cohen (spotlighted in last year’s TJFF sidebar series, The Three Lennys) is the recipient of the Ninth Laureate of the Glenn Gould Prize, to be presented in Toronto on May 14. In honour of Cohen, the Festival presents a special programme, consisting of three films: I’m Your Man (animated short), I Am A Hotel, and Ladies and Gentlemen…Mr. Leonard Cohen. Co-presented with the Glenn Gould Foundation.

Saturday May 12 at 4pm at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor St W.
A must-see doc about one of the legends of film scoring, Fred Karlin’s Film Music Masters: Jerry Goldsmith is an illuminating homage to the musical genius of the Oscar-winning film and television composer Goldsmith (Chinatown, Star Trek, Twilight Zone). The film (not available anywhere else) includes a wealth of film clips, as well as rare interviews with Goldsmith and colleagues. The documentary will be introduced by film music journalist Mark Hasan.

Saturday May 12 at 7pm at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor St W.
Rodney Greenberg’s Movie Music Man: A Portrait of Lalo Schifrin is an enjoyable concert film featuring award-winning Argentinian-born composer/conductor Lalo Schifrin and guest jazz artists, Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Brown and Grady Tate. The film incorporates clips from Schifrin’s celebrated film scores (Mission Impossible, Bullitt, Cool Hand Luke). The programme also includes an excerpt from an exclusive TVO interview with composer Laurence Rosenthal (Beckett, The Miracle Worker).

Sunday May 13 at 11am at Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, 506 Bloor St W.
Film scholar Eric Goldman delivers a lecture with film clips entitled “The New Yiddish Cinema: Renaissance or Curiosity?” Filmmakers in France, Israel and the United States have recently turned to Yiddish as the central language of their films. Why is there renewed interest in what was thought to be the dying language of the diaspora, and who are the auteurs of the new era of Yiddish filmmaking?

All free events require tickets, which must be ordered in person at the TJFF box office. Tickets are subject to availability. One ticket per person/ per free event.

The Festival now screens in six venues: the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor St. W. at Bathurst St.) the Al Green Theatre (750 Spadina Ave), the Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Cinemas (4861 Yonge St. at Sheppard Ave.), the Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Ave.) Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Ave) and the Cineplex Odeon Varsity and VIP Cinemas (55 Bloor St W.)

All films at the Festival are rated by the Ontario Film Review Board. Film ratings can be found at tjff.com.

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The Sound Of Movies: Masters Of The Film Score

Inside the soundtrack of cinema

Toronto Jewish Film Festival presents the 2012 Sidebar series:
THE SOUND OF MOVIES: MASTERS OF THE FILM SCORE

(Toronto, April 19, 2012) The Toronto Jewish Film Festival presents the 2012 Sidebar series, The Sound of Movies: Masters of the Film Score. This 12-part series celebrates the lives and works of Jewish composers who create the music for the movies, through the artistry of the film score.

The Sound of Movies marks another chapter in a fascinating story, as the Festival continues its exploration of the predominant and extraordinary role that Jewish composers have played in the popular culture. Rhythm & Jews focused on the connections between Jewish and Black music, and how this phenomenon resulted in “the American songbook”—from the vaudeville, Tin Pan Alley and Brill Building eras, through to Broadway and the heyday of jazz and blues. Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance looked at the American Musical, through such luminaries as Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, Rogers & Hart, Harold Arlen and so many more. The Three Lennys showcased the musical genius of Leonard Bernstein and Leonard Cohen. In the same way that Jewish songwriters and lyricists excelled in their respective genres, most of the “greats” in the world of the film score have been Jewish. Many of them are classically trained or jazz-oriented, and creators of orchestral works and popular songs, as well as movie scores. The first wave—the group who actually invented film music—were exiles from Nazi Germany, Europe and Russia, and they had a profound influence on those who followed.

The series incorporates special guests, rarely screened gems, and events that showcase some of the most renowned and accomplished composers of all-time.

Films/Events Presented:
American Musical Theater: Elmer Bernstein
The Conversation (score by David Shire)
Evening Primrose (score by Stephen Sondheim, David Shire)
Film Music Masters: Jerry Goldsmith
The Last Butterfly (score by Alex North) and The Gingerbread Revolution
Michael Nyman in Progress
Movie Music Man: A Portrait of Lalo Schifrin
Music for the Movies: Bernard Herrmann
Music for the Movies: The Hollywood Sound
Notes & Frames: The Neglected Art of Film Music (Kevin Courrier talk)
Planet of the Apes (1968) (Composer’s Choice: Mychael Danna)
Something Wild (1961) (score by Aaron Copland)

Special Guests:

David Shire - Composer
Grammy and Academy Award®-winning composer, Mr. Shire (Saturday Night Fever, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Norma Rae, All the President’s Men, Farewell, My Lovely, and Zodiac) introduces the screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (featuring Shire’s masterful score) as well as the teleplay, Evening Primrose, which he worked on with Stephen Sondheim. Mr. Shire will talk about his remarkable body of work in film, theatre, television and popular music, with film critic and author Kevin Courrier.

The Conversation - Screening and Talk
Sunday, May 6
7:00pm
Innis College, 2 Sussex Ave

Evening Primrose
Monday, May 7
3:15 pm
Al Green Theatre
750 Spadina Avenue

Steven North (composer Alex North’s son; film producer)
Revered composer Alex North (Spartacus, Death of a Salesman, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Prizzi’s Honor) startled the world with his groundbreaking jazz score for A Streetcar Named Desire and received 15 Oscar® nominations during his illustrious career. His son, Steven North, Emmy Award-winning producer of The Last Butterfly (marking his father’s last score), talks about his father’s remarkable life and work with film music journalist Mark Hasan at a rare screening of this award-winning feature. The film stars Tom Courtenay as a French mime, recruited by the Nazis to deceive the Red Cross delegation during their visit to the Terezin concentration camp.

The Last Butterfly - Screening and Talk
Monday, May 7
8:30pm
Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W.

PLEASE NOTE: The Festival has added a special, free “bonus” screening of the International Emmy Award-winning film THE GINGERBREAD REVOLUTION (directed by David Boulton, 1990, UK, 60 min). This brilliant documentary (which will screen after THE LAST BUTTERFLY) was made for Granada TV, and captures the extraordinary role that the artists and actors, appearing in the feature film, played in bringing down the Czechoslovak communist regime during the Velvet Revolution. Amazingly, events in reality are shown to mirror what was happening on the screen in the narrative, and provide “The Last Butterfly” with a fascinating context.

Mychael Danna - Composer
Celebrated Canadian composer (Moneyball, The Sweet Hereafter) has selected a film of his choice - the original Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston. Mr. Danna will introduce a rare 35mm archival print of the film, to be shown on the Big Screen. Mr. Danna will speak about Jerry Goldsmith’s amazing score and answer questions from the audience.

The Planet of the Apes - Screening and Talk
Sunday, May 6
3:30pm
Innis College, 2 Sussex Ave

The Sound of Movies includes 5 free ticketed screenings/events:
Rare documentaries on Jerry Goldsmith, Lalo Schifrin, Bernard Herrmann, and The Hollywood Sound (about the Jewish exiles who invented film music) as well as an illustrated talk on the history of movie music by film critic and author Kevin Courrier.

Plus:
Films on Elmer Bernstein, Michael Nyman and rare indie feature, Something Wild (1961) with a stunning score by Aaron Copland. Series also includes interview excerpts and shorts on Howard Shore, Danny Elfman and others.

Full listings at www.tjff.com

The Festival now screens in six venues: the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (506 Bloor St. W. at Bathurst St.) the Al Green Theatre (750 Spadina Ave), the Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Cinemas (4861 Yonge St. at Sheppard Ave.), the Toronto Underground Cinema (186 Spadina Ave.) Innis Town Hall (2 Sussex Ave) and the Cineplex Odeon Varsity and VIP Cinemas (55 Bloor St W.)

All films at the Festival are rated by the Ontario Film Review Board. Film ratings can be found at tjff.com.

PRICES (HST included)
Single Tickets: $13
Opening Night: $20
Closing Night $18
Senior/Student Tickets: $9 (ID required)
Weekday Matinees: $8 (Monday–Friday before 5 pm)
Free Student Admission: Subject to availability. Five minutes prior to each screening, students with ID will be admitted for free from a Rush Line.

Free Screenings: All free events require tickets and must be ordered in person at a TJFF box office. Tickets are subject to availability. One ticket per person/ per free event.
Opening Night – Advance purchase at tjff.com,
cash only at door (subject to availability)

PURCHASE TICKETS
Order tickets online at tjff.com or by phone: 416-324-9121 (12pm-6pm daily)

IN-PERSON ADVANCE TICKET PURCHASES
April 18 – May 3
Toronto Jewish Film Festival Box Office (basement level)*
19 Madison Ave
Monday – Sunday 12pm – 6pm
* No wheelchair access – please call 416-324-9121
for assistance by phone.

April 30 – May 5
Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Cinemas
4861 Yonge Street at Sheppard (Sheppard subway station)
Monday – Sunday 2pm – 6pm

FESTIVAL BOX OFFICES

Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (beginning May 7)
506 Bloor Street West at Bathurst
(Bathurst subway station)

Al Green Theatre, Miles Nadal JCC (beginning May 4)
750 Spadina Avenue at Bloor (Spadina subway station)

Cineplex Odeon Sheppard Centre Cinemas (beginning May 5)
4861 Yonge Street at Sheppard
(Sheppard subway station)

During the Festival, venue box offices open 1 hour
before the first scheduled screening of the day and
close 30 minutes after the start of the last screening of the day.