FROM THE DIRECTOR'S CHAIR

Toronto International Film Festival

It's that time of year again when fussy starlets, fame whores and four-eyed program-guide-clutching cinephiles descend on Toronto for the world's largest public film festival. Say what you will about ticket prices ($19.76 to $38.33 + tax/building-fund/service charge and your first-born), the Toronto International Film Festival does deliver on its promise. Many of my favourite films this year had their premieres at TIFF, including ones I just can't shake: The Beaches of Agnes and Hunger. And if it wasn't for TIFF, Slumdog Millionaire would have slipped into oblivion, depriving Bollywood drag queens of the infectious hit Jai Ho. The Pussycat Dolls' version of the song is such a revolting interpretation of the film's spirit, it makes you want to carry their heads on pitchfork, French revolution-style.

The most anticipated 'queer' film this year has to be Pedro Almodóvar's Broken Embraces. Despite lukewarm reviews upon its premiere at Cannes, many are lauding Penelope Cruz' pitch-perfect performance and the film's dazzling visual style. I don't especially mind Cruz (in Spanish-language films), but I do miss Almodóvar's more adventurous casting choices, such as my beloved Rossy de Palma.

Fashion designer Tom Ford will surely make eyes roll with his apparently self-indulgent directorial effort The Single Man, although there are positive vibes emanating from its Venice Film Festival debut. Starring Colin Firth and queer darling Julianne Moore (Kalin, Haynes, Van Sant), the film is an adaptation of Christopher Isherwood's novel of the same name. Playing a gay professor, Firth was apparently too shy for a nude scene, triggering a casting call specifying: "NO LOVE HANDLES" and "must be willing to shave certain areas if they don't match the actor (that is, back and buttocks.)"

For lesbians, there's double-trouble on the horizon with the first punch being a documentary on kiwi-twin-dyke-comic-musicians The Topp Twins. These girls have been described as 'more fun than a possum up your trousers' and I believe it from the trailer. There's also some Sapphic love, Vietnam-style, in Bui Thac Chuyen's Adrift. It seems like the queer wave that hit East Asia is finally making its way South. See our ticket giveaway for Adrift in an article below.

On the Canadian front, there's the Cannes award-winning feature from first-timer Xavier Dolan, J'ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother). Unfortunately, the trailer is only in French, but it's visually striking enough to hold anyone's attention. Hogtown filmmakers will be featured prominently in Short Cuts Canada, programmed by the lovely Kathleen Mullen who cut her teeth at Inside Out as Director of Programming. Pat Mills (Pat's First Kiss), Jaimie Travis (The Saddest Boy in the World) and John Greyson* are the directors to watch out for in this important TIFF sidebar. We're also happy to see Trevor Anderson's The Island (our opening night short last year) make its way into the fold.

Finally, for the more adventurous, there's João Pedro Rodrigues' much anticipated To Die Like A Man. O Fantasma had tongues flapping at Inside Out in 2001, not to mention the controversy it elicited in its native Portugal, for its unflinching drop down on your knees blowjob scene.

Everybody mentioned above has been sent an invitation to our upcoming Gay Flambé party on September 13. So you better buy your tickets fast and pick something nice to wear. Or wear nothing at all. Just remember to shave your buttocks if you want to impress Tom Ford.

* This report was written before John Greyson's pull-out of TIFF.
More on that in my next report.

PARTY TIME!

SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 13, 2009
NATIONAL BALLET SCHOOL, 400 JARVIS ST.
9:00PM to 1:00AM

Advance Tickets:
$8 Inside Out members / $12 general public
Available online, by phone (416.977.6847 credit card only) and in person (401 Richmond St. W., Suite 219 Mon-Fri 12-6PM / cash or credit card, Xtra! Office 491 Church St., Suite 200 Mon-Fri 9-6PM)

At the door
$10 members / $15 general

DJ DEKO-ZE and featuring steamy performances, sexy video projections and special celebrity guests

Presented by:
Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film and Video Festival
20th anniversary Festival: May 20 to 30, 2010

In partnership with Xtra!
Sponsored by Urban Source Catering, Steam Whistle and Barefoot Wine.

20th ANNIVERSARY: CELEBRATE WITH US

As we plan for the 20th anniversary Festival in May, 2010, we are interested in hearing your stories about the Festival and the special moments you have experienced at Inside Out. Beginning with this Issue of the E-newsletter, we will be posing a different question in upcoming issues and asking for your stories. We will highlight some of the stories in the following edition of the E-news as well as featuring stories on our website and in our marketing materials.

Our first question to you:

When did you first attend Inside Out and what is your earliest memory of the Festival?

Ok, so it is actually two questions! Send your stories to feedback@insideout.ca with the subject heading OUR STORIES. Please try to keep your responses to 50 words or less.

Looking forward to reading everyone’s stories.
Deadline for responses - Monday September 21.

AROUND TOWN
TIFF Ticket Giveaway

Adrift

Directed by Bui Thac Chuyen
Vietnam (in Vietnamese)
More info

Saturday September 19 10:15AM AMC 4, Toronto Life Square

A sensual drama revolving around a newlywed couple that explores sexual awakening, lesbian desire and the changing social mores within modern Hanoi. Starring actresses Do Thi Hai Yen (The Quiet American) and Pham Linh Dan (Indochine).

*Inside out has a pair of tickets to give away for the Toronto International Film Festival screening, of the lesbian drama, Adrift from Vietnam. If you are an Inside Out member and the first to send an email to Kimahli (kimahli@insideout.ca) with the correct answer to the skill testing question below, you will win the pair of tickets.

What is the title of the Opening Night Gala film of Inside Out 2009 that premiered at last year's TIFF?




Short Cuts Canada at Toronto International Film Festival

Short Cuts Canada 2009 presents 41 titles, including queer premieres by Jamie Travis, Pat Mills and Trevor Anderson and other premieres by Paramita Nath, Caitrina Cantillon, Kazik Radwanski, Caroline Monnet, Cordell Barker, Chelsea McMullan, Ben Bruhmuller, Felix Dufour-Laperrire, Chris Landreth and many more. Screened in five programmes during the course of the festival, filmgoers have access to see new work by some of Canada's most exciting filmmakers. As well, you'll have the bonus of being the first ones to know about many emerging filmmakers. This year's five shorts programmes will all be conveniently located at Isabel Bader Theatre and Jackman Hall (at the AGO).

In addition to five fantastic programmes of shorts (where else at TIFF can one ticket allow you to see 7 films?), you can also see 7 of our shorts pre-feature throughout the festival. A sampling of six short films from this year's SCC, will be available online at TIFF.net starting September 9.

For Tickets:
http://www.tiff.net/boxoffice/howtobuy

CIRQUE DU SOLEIL
OVO

As of September 3rd, Cirque du Soleil will pitch its big top at the Port Lands in Toronto to present its latest touring show OVO.

OVO is a headlong rush into a colourful ecosystem teeming with life, where insects work, eat, crawl, flutter, play, fight and look for love in a non-stop riot of energy and movement.

Be among the first to witness this new creation! Buy your tickets for performances from September 3 to October 18. Become Cirque du Soleil member and get exclusive access to tickets for the extra week of performances as of September 5th, it is free!

ADD YOUR VOICE
Mpenzi Call for Submissions

Grace Channer's But Some Are Brave, Mpenzi 2009 Best Short Film

Inside Out Toronto LGBT Film and Video Festival is a strong sponsor of Mpenzi: Black Women's International Film and Video Festival®. This festival is seeking film and video submissions from established and emerging Directors and / or Producers and / or Writers, from among Straight, Lesbian, Bisexual, Queer or Questioning Black women, and Black Transgendered, Transsexual, and Intersexed women and men.

Submission is free. Productions for consideration include work in all genres (including drama, documentaries, educational, experimental and animation). Sponsored awards are presented in the categories below:

· short (1 to 25 min.);
· long form (26 to 60 min. maximum) completed within the last three years;
· feature length (61 min. minimum) completed within the last three years.

Should your entry be selected, you will be required to submit a screening copy in BETA SP and additional support materials. You may enter more than one film / video. The 6th annual Mpenzi: Black Women's International Film and Video Festival® provides a screening fee paid after the festival, which takes place in March 2010. A complete Call for Submissions, information on how to submit, and required Submissions Form is on our web site at www.mpenzi.ca . The Call for Submissions deadline is September 30, annually.

To request an extension, or for more information about submissions, contact director@mpenzi.ca.
For information about the Trinity Square Video Trailer Mentoring Project, contact trailers@mpenzi.ca.
For information about volunteering, contact volunteers@mpenzi.ca.
For general information about the festival or to join our mailing list, contact info@mpenzi.ca

IT'S A WRAP...

Final Word

Pride in the Nation's Capital

Inside Out partied with queers from Ottawa-Gatineau this past weekend as the Region celebrated it's Pride festival, appropriately deemed "Ottawa's most colourful festival". Jason and I were on hand to announce, to a receptive audience, that we will return to Ottawa for the 3rd Inside Out Ottawa-Gatineau LGBT Film and Video Festival, November 20-22, 2009, at the National Gallery of Canada. Over 30,000 Ottawans braved the at times drizzly weather and attended the parade as well as the post-festival celebration at City Hall. Good music, dazzling performances and spirited people - we had a blast. Stay tuned as we unveil our line-up on October 15th, 2009.

Kimahli Powell
Director of Development