Possible Worlds: It's A Wrap!

Sydney's Canadian Film Festival is now over, though a selection of the films are now touring around the country. We're all suffering from Post-Festival Blues Syndrome and recovering quietly from the parties and hard work that went into this great event.


Our guest filmmakers Louise Archambault (Familia, Atomic Saké) and Michael Sparaga (Sidekick) have flown back to Canada, and out lovely Kino filmmakers have vanished into the wild (wearing koala ears no doubt). They keep sending us lovely emails saying how wicked a time they had in Sydney and thanking the locals for their heartfelt hospitality. Come back anytime!

Nick Jaffer was our lucky winner of the trip for two to the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, making us all very very jealous. On Closing Night we also announced the winner of the Audience Awards:

• Best Feature: Bon Cop Bad Cop by Erik Canuel;
• Best Short: Big Girl by Renuka Jeyapalan;
  
• Best Documentary: Midnight Movies, From the Margin to the Mainstream by Stuart Samuels;

Thanks to everyone who voted!



Personal highlights of the Fest:

• The huge crowds at the Opening Night Party, the lovely music by Dan and Luke and Alex, Louise Archambault's energetic Q&A (despite a long flight and severe jetlag);
• Michael Sparaga's animated post-screening discussion following the international premiere of Sidekick, Canada's first superhero movie;
• The fun, creative vibe at the massive block party in Surry Hills, following the screening of Next: A Primer on Urban Painting. The free party featured live painting demonstrations by artists from Australia and New Zealand, DJ's, a BBQ, free Kokanee beer and was open to everyone.
• Jaimie Leonarder's spirited into to Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream. The documentary ended up winning the Audience Award and it wasn't just nostalgia: there's a real appetite for cult films, midnight screenings and counter-culture cinema. Bring it on!
  
• The thrill of seeing the results of the Kino filmmaking experiment at Kino Kabaret on closing night. Congratulations to all the filmmakers, actors, technicians, singers, painters, musicians and extras who participated. [I've been assured no koalas or starfish were hurt during the making of these films]. We're hoping to launch a monthly Kino night very soon, so watch this space.

In the end the Festival welcomed over 1,400 film lovers to the Chauvel Cinema during the week. We didn't get a chance to meet each and every one of you but there will be other opportunities. And sooner than you might think!

Have you been spotted? See the pics from the fest here!

Block Party!

Last night we were treated to an impressive live painting demonstration at Next: A Street Party, following the screening of the international street art doco Next: A Primer on Urban Painting at Sydney's Canadian Film Festival.

Hundreds of people turned up to the film premiere at the Chauvel and subsequent block party at The Record Store in Surry Hills. Five artists from Australia and New Zealand participated in a large-scale painting demonstration as crowds gathered, watched, drank free Canadian beer and hung out to the sounds of local DJ's.

Bouts of rain couldn't dampen the painters' spirits as residents joined film festival guests and street art enthusiasts for beer and sausages. Check out the result on the walls of The Record Store, near the corner of Crown and Goulburn streets in Surry Hills.

Possible Worlds, Sydney's Canadian Film Festival started Thursday with the Australian premiere of Familia, presented by Montreal filmmaker Louise Archambault to a packed auditorium at the Chauvel Cinema. Subsequent screenings have included ACoN benefit 3 Needles, box-office smash Bon Cop Bad Cop and Sidekick, Canada's first superhero movie, presented by Toronto writer and producer Michael Sparaga.

For festival pics, click here.
For the full line-up visit www.possibleworlds.net.au.

Next: A Street Party

The Kinoites Arrive!

This morning Marianne and I got up at 7am to pick up the first international guests from the airport. Fresh off a 30-hour flight from Montreal, Eza, Ianic, Marina and Jules were already thinking up ideas for films to shoot in Sydney!

The team are in Sydney to take part in Kino Kabaret, a week-long collaborative film experiment which will see them shoot short films alongside up-and-coming Aussies, to be shown on the closing night of the Canadian Film Festival.

Marvelling at the heat (it's 0°C in Montreal right now), the Canadians were ecstatic to finally be in Australia. As it was too early to check them into the hotel, we took our wide-eyed guests for a Paddington walkabout, trying to avoid the puddles of vomit from last night's celebrations (following Austalia's victory at the tri-nations tournament no doubt). We ended up having coffee at Jacquie's, where we were sat next to Australian actor Hugo Weaving.

Eventually the filmmakers were able to leave the glamour behind and check into their fleabag motel for a well-deserved shower. Today they will start exporing Sydney, no doubt scouting for locations for the films about to be shot here.

You can meet the Quebec filmmakers on Wednesday December 6th, when they present their short films shot during the festival. We wish them the best of luck!

Possible Worlds: Do well with little, do better with nothing, and do it now!

See the result of a mad filmmaking experiment at this lively cabaret-style screening!

Kino's motto is simple: 'Do well with little, do better with nothing, and do it now!'. Headquartered in Montreal, the global phenomenon in low-budget filmmaking known as Kino has finally landed in Sydney.

Kino Kabaret teams half-a-dozen experienced Canadians with half-a-dozen up-and-coming Aussies for a week-long journey in spontaneous filmmaking. These fearless Kinoites will spend Festival week writing, shooting and editing short films around Sydney. Come cheer them on as they unveil the unpredictible but doubtless inventive results!

Wednesday 6th Dec. at 6:30pm - Chauvel Cinema, Sydney - $15

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THE PARTY: Tickets to the screening are only $15 and include admission to the Kino Sydney Party at the Chauvel, co-hosted by the Quebec Oz Club!

The party features an open bar, lovely home-cooked food from Quebec and great music!

You can also win some of these hot lucky-door prizes:
- Bathers Pavilion will donate a $200 gift certificate for their restaurant and? 4 autographed books (The Bathers' Pavilion Menus & Recipes)...
- Kif Kaf will donate a beautiful wooden gift box with tea pots and organic tea - value $150...
- Allegria Designs will donate two $50 gift vouchers...

For full program listings, visit www.possibleworlds.net.au.