Whistler Film Fest scores industry’s stamp of approval By Greg Ursic
I
t’s fitting that the recent Whistler Film Festival Society’s “On Location” fundraising event at Northshore Studios fell on the longest day of the year given the slate of major announcements on tap. Now in its 12th year, the Whistler Film Festival (WFF), which executive director (and co-founder) Shauna Hardy Mishaw explains came into being “almost by accident”, has become one of the premiere boutique festivals in the world. And this is no mere boast. As Hardy Mishaw notes, of the roughly 2,000 film festivals in the world, Variety magazine, considered to be “the Hollywood bible”, endorses 30 festivals a year, and in 2011 they chose to partner with WFF. And they’re back again for 2012. Asked what that means for WFF, Hardy Mishaw doesn’t hesitate: “Publicity. With media coming on board Shauna Hardy with five days of coverage it Mishaw is huge.” And where Variety goes, other media outlets are sure to follow, such as Bell Media which, this month also announced a multimedia partnership with WFF. Adding to the excitement is the China Canada Gateway for Film® Script Competition. The competition — open to Canadian writer/producer teams — has been in discussions for several years and is the “first international co-production of its kind with China. [Winning] ensures the distribution of the film in the Chinese marketplace [the second biggest in the world] and funding, which is a huge opportunity,” Hardy Mishaw says. If you’re interested you have until August 17th to pitch your synopsis for consideration. And if that wasn’t enough, there’s more to come. To help shepherd WFF to the next level, it brought Paul Gratton on board as the director of programming. In his varied 30-year career Gratton — an avowed tequila aficionado — has run an arthouse theatre, worked for Cineplex and helped jumpstart Canadian Pay TV. (“I was there in 1982 when the flip was switched [and] ran Superchannel.”) When CHUM TV wanted to apply for an arts channel, they approached Gratton. He laughs, “I
said “But you’re dirty rock ‘n’ rollers” and they said “That’s why we want you to join us.’ So I started Bravo with a desk in the hallway across from the men’s room.” But Gratton is a film buff at heart and was ready for some fun. “I’ve seen 19,000 films since 1963 at the age of 10 and I have the notes to prove it,” he says with a big smile. So what’s his vision for the festival? He chuckles. “It’s such an unfair question after 24 hours, but I’ll answer it anyways.” He notes that with the steep economic decline in Europe, rich film subsidies there will fall, so you have to follow the audiences. “India, China and Korea have large populations and a growing middle class, so I’m going Pacific Rim.” The BC connection isn’t lost on Gratton either. “BC is about service production, and of course Canadian films, but it’s also about special effects and I’d like to see panels that reflect that.” But he also wants to expand beyond being a destination or industry festival. “How do you get Vancouver audiences that are well served by its festival to drive two hours? Well you program things that they don’t,” and Gratton clearly isn’t worried about shaking things up. “I’ve got nothing against emulating a Midnight Madness kind of thing; it’s become one of the most important strands in Toronto.” And then he drops the “C” word: “I’d like to bring in some movies that are effects driven, and may not be considered to be ‘appropriate’ for festivals, such as commercial film — I see nothing wrong with opening with a 3D movie.” Following on that theme, he adds, “[or]a commercial Bollywood film and bring some of the stars up. I guarantee you their fans will make the two-hour journey to see them.” Asked for his thoughts on women in film (especially in light of the recent controversy at Cannes where no female directors had a film in competition) Gratton was straightforward: “ I don’t believe in programming for political correctness, but having said that, in Canada there has always been a strong contingent of female filmmakers [and] you’re sure to find solid representation of women directors at the festival.” Just as we’re about to finish, Gratton is pulled away for the fourth time during our interview. He jokes, “We’re going to have the ‘most-interruptedinterview-series,’” and closes with “Those are my thoughts after 24 hours. Give me a call next week and I’ll have a whole different story for you.”
WhistlerFilmFestival.com
Hookah trial challenges city’s bylaw on health-risk and Charter grounds By Shawn Conner
A
trial involving two hookah shops and the City of Vancouver is scheduled to resume this week. The June 26 – 28 court dates will continue the trial that began in November of last year. The trial follows fines issued by the city in 2009 against the Ahwaz Hookah House on Georgia and the Persian Tea House on Davie for violating an earlier city by-law banning the burning of any substance in public buildings. The first part of the trial lasted two weeks, but that wasn’t enough to hear all evidence, says lawyer Dean P. Davison, who is representing the shop owners Hamid Mohammadian of the Persian Tea House and Abbas Abdiannia of Ahwaz. Among those to appear when the trial resumes is Barbara Windsor. Now retired, the then-deputy chief licence inspector for Vancouver will testify as to the research efforts undertaken by the City into the health risks of hookah smoking. “What we are saying is that they have a burden to show there are health risks, and that those health risks outweigh protections under the Charter,” says Davison. “We’re talking about herbal hookah; there hasn’t
WEVancouver.com
been much research done on that. [The City] made this decision to ticket my clients without, I would suggest, having enough information on the actual health ramifications of smoking herbal hookah as opposed to tobacco hookah.” Hookah smoking is a part of Middle Eastern culture and religion, says the Persian Tea House’s Mohammadian. “In the Middle East, there’s a hookah shop on every street, like Starbucks,” says Mohammadian, who has been running the Persian Tea House for 16 years. The business now supports himself, his wife, their two children and a son-in-law. “Lots of people who are from the Middle East come to my shop. Right now we have many students from Saudi Arabia in Vancouver, and when they see my business they jump. They are really really happy.” The City had no official statement to make, due to the ongoing nature of the trial. “The definition in the bylaw says ‘burn or light any substance’,” says Davison. “It doesn’t specify what that substance would be.” He adds that the two herbal hookah shops burn the same charcoal Catholic churches uses to burn incense. He and his clients hope that the 2007 bylaw will be struck down, and rewritten to be more specific — and to allow herbal hookah smoking in Vancouver.
Kyle Rideout’s movie future may be in your hands Curtis Woloschuk
V
iewers who tuned into CBC’s Short Film Faceoff competition last Saturday and caught Kyle Rideout’s Hop the Twig would probably be surprised to learn 1) the ambitiously conceived and confidently executed piece is the experienced Vancouver actor’s first effort as a writer-director and 2) he somehow managed to pull it off on a miniscule $1,000 budget. Actor Kyle Rideout’s Hop the Taking its title from the 18th Twig is a contender in CBC’s Century slang equivalent for “kick the bucket,” Hop the Twig transports short film competition. If he wins the most online votes, he us back to a Gothic mansion where can win $40,000, which he’ll put young Audrey (Emily Kozak) has towards his next film. just figured out that her mother (Kelly Metzger) will die one day. As she fixates on the various fates that might befall her mom, we’re treated to comically macabre vignettes rendered in varied visual styles and augmented by animated flourishes. “I did actually have a moment when I was younger, lying in bed and realizing, ‘Oh my gosh... One day, my mother is going to pass away.’ It really terrified me,” says Rideout, who readily admits that he didn’t share his protagonist’s colourful imagination. “I definitely embellished a lot there.” Somewhat surprisingly, a few of those embellishments came courtesy of Bard on the Beach. While starring as Romeo, Rideout and the actress playing Juliet killed time by cataloguing “crazy ways of dying.” Of course, bringing these absurd death scenes to life required considerable resourcefulness on Rideout’s part. “We shot for seven days, which is a long time for a [10-minute] film. It was because it was shot over 30 locations,” he shares. “When Audrey was in her room and then goes down the hall to her mom’s room, that’s three different houses all combined... The mom’s bedroom is my grandparents’. The hallway is Hycroft. And then her bedroom is a church. It’s amazing what you can do with film. With two shorts to his credit (the other was Wait for Rain), Rideout has now set his sights on his first feature film: an 1800s psychological drama. The Short Film Faceoff’s $40,000 grand prize (based on online votes) would certainly allay the costs associated with “a period piece with animals and children and all the stuff that makes your budget increase.” But regardless of whether Hop the Twig walks away the winner, Rideout is confident that it’s prepared him well for the task that awaits. “People tell me that this is the most expensive sort of film to make. But I say, ‘Look at my first film. We can make it for cheaper.’” Hop the Twig can be viewed at www.cbc.ca/shortfilmfaceoff/. Voting commences at 8pm on June 30 and is open for 24 hours.
“‘
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The movie phenomenon that’s won the hearts of critics and audiences across the world is finally here!
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