[Press Release by Matt Ravier]
Possible Worlds – Sydney’s 3rd Canadian Film Festival – presents a selection of the best new features and documentaries made north of Hollywood, many of which will screen in Australia for the very first time. The Festival will screen 16 new films at Dendy Opera Quays and venues across Sydney from Nov. 27th to Dec. 2nd.
Welcoming prestigious filmmakers to Sydney, the Festival provides a rare chance for Australians to watch the best new Canadian films and meet the artists. Running alongside the film premieres will be filmmaker Q&A’s, photo exhibitions, wine tastings and of course, parties.
OPENING NIGHT
The Festival will open with the Australian premiere of Denys Arcand’s DAYS OF DARKNESS (L’AGE DES TENEBRES). Days of Darkness is a cerebral comedy brimming with keen and caustic observations on Western Society. It stars Marc Labreche, Rufus Wainwright, Diane Kruger and Emma de Caunes. Denys Arcand, arguably Quebec’s most famous filmmaker, is best known for The Barbarian Invasions which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 2004. Arcand is also the director of such classics as Jesus of Montreal and The Decline of the American Empire.
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
Audiences can look forward to films in both French and English, some of which will be presented by visiting filmmakers. “Canadian cinema is enjoying a renaissance right now as a hip, authentic alternative to Hollywood cinema” says artistic director Matt Ravier. “From hilarious comedies to thought-provoking drama, from action blockbusters to political documentaries, the red hot line-up includes something for everyone.”
Two site specific screenings will be followed by raucous parties. The Sydney premiere of irreverent comedy YOUNG PEOPLE F***ING will take place at Bobbi’s Pole Studio and will also feature silent naughty films, international DJ’s and pole dancing performances. Ambitious heavy metal documentary GLOBAL METAL will screen at Utopia Records, followed by an after-party featuring live metal bands.
Those looking for serious, thought-provoking fiction will look no further than EMOTIONAL ARITHMETIC, a powerful ensemble drama starring Susan Sarandon, Gabriel Byrne, Max Von Sydow and Christopher Plummer. In the style of Paris Je T’Aime, TORONTO STORIES brings together four thirtysomething directors to create a culturally diverse cinematic mythology for a city which rarely gets a chance to play itself..
Toronto filmmaker Kenton Vaughan will fly to Sydney to present his documentary THE MUSEUM to fans of design and architecture. The film charts Royal Ontario Museum director William Thorsell’s tumultuous attempt to build an iconic, transformative landmark in partnership with celebrity architect Daniel Libeskind, the global brand behind Ground Zero in New York. The film will have its Australian premiere at Sydney’s Australian Museum.
This year, four French-Canadian films join Days of Darkness with Australian debuts at the Festival. Taking a page from Hollywood, box-office hit NITRO brings fast and furious action to our screens. Last seen in the award-winning C.R.A.Z.Y, Michel Côté once again gives a superb performance in family melodrama MY DAUGHTER MY ANGEL (MA FILLE MON ANGE), as a father desperate to save his daughter from a descent into the underbelly of Montreal’s porn industry. THE BANQUET (LE BANQUET) is an incendiary ensemble piece about the ripple effects of student protests in a large Quebec university.
The Festival will close on December 2nd with EVERYTHING IS FINE (TOUT EST PARFAIT), an accomplished debut drama about teenagers caught in the aftermath of a brutal tragedy, which is currently taking the Festival circuit by storm.
This year’s Sydney Canadian Film Festival runs from November 27th to December 2nd 2008. Tickets will be available from November 10th at www.moshtix.com.au, 1300 GET TIX (438 849) and all Moshtix outlets. More information on the Festival is available at www.possibleworlds.net.au