Experience the story of the Oscar-winning Indigenous artist from her rise to prominence in New York’s Greenwich Village folk music scene through her six-decade groundbreaking career as a singer-songwriter, social activist, educator and artist. When the massive anti-war anthem UNIVERSAL SOLDIER made her one of the biggest rising stars of the 60s folk scene, as Billboard's best new artist, success was just around the corner. Alas, when she used her newfound platform to speak out about issues affecting Native Americans, she was blacklisted from American radio, curtailing her career overnight.
This remarkable film sheds light on an artist who, at 81, is still thriving, creating, and evolving in every area of her life, helping the world to ripen a little more every day.
Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On features never-before-seen archival material, new performance footage and interviews with Buffy, Joni Mitchell (singer, songwriter, artist), Sonia Manzano (Maria on Sesame Street), John Kay (lead singer-songwriter of Steppenwolf), Robbie Robertson(singer-songwriter, The Band), Jackson Browne (musician), George Stroumboulopoulos (music journalist), Andrea Warner (author) and more.
Directed by Madison Thomas and written by Madison and Andrea Warner based on Warner's Authorized Biography of Buffy Sainte-Marie.
Proceeds to Ancaster Food Drive.
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Ron Lancaster, International Math Consultant
Time: 90 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
Buffy Sainte-Marie's presence on screen, just being herself, is the best part - her spirit shines, her wit and warmth blast through the screen and her many talents inspire. Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On is a must-see to learn and lift us up. Anne Brody/What She Said
A raw, searing portrait of an artist and activist who has been ahead of her time every step of the way. Alan Hudson/Exclaim!
Despite all of the challenges of her life, Sainte-Marie’s infectiously hopeful energy and radiant smile seem impermeable to cynicism and despair. “I don’t like misery of any kind,” she said. “So if something starts bothering me, I either put up an umbrella or I go inside. I do something about it, because I’m really uncomfortable being unhappy. I try to keep my nose on the joy trail.” Lindsay Zoldatz/NY Times
With a mix of previously unseen archival footage, interviews with friends, family, and colleagues, as well as unprecedented access to the artist herself, Madison Thomas’ Buffy Saint-Marie: Carry It On, is an eye-opening look at the Saint-Marie’s personal life and professional career, from her early days as a folk artist in New York City, her turn as a mother and TV personality, her work as a composer and writer, but always – always – an activist. Marina Antunes/Alliance of Women Film Journalists
Carry It On shows an artist out of step and ahead of her time. When it comes to the six-decade career of Sainte-Marie, we always heard her. Now we’re finally listening. Brad Wheeler/The Globe and Mail
Fearless and ahead of her time, a vibrant 80-year-old Buffy tells her own story as an abuse survivor, educator, and musical trailblazer. Canadian First Nation filmmaker Madison Thomas captures the power and beauty of this talented living legend in an informative, engaging piece of folk-music history. Karen McMullen/DocNYC
Awards
Director's Guild of Canada: Winner of the Allan King Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking - Madison Thomas
Telus Audience Choice Award: Winner of music on screen award
2022 TIFF Tribute Awards: Buffy won the Jeff Skoll Award in Impact Media, recognizing leadership in creating a union between social impact and cinema.
A Message From Buffy Sainte-Marie
https://buffysainte-marie.com/?p=12606
$750 donated to The Hamilton Out of the Cold and $1000 to the de Mazenod Door Program
Living is a 2022 British drama film directed by Oliver Hermanus from a screenplay by Nobel winning author, Kazuo Ishiguro. It was adapted from the 1952 acclaimed Japanese film, Ikiru, directed by Akira Kurosawa, which in turn was inspired by the 1886 Russian novella The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy. Set in 1953 London, it depicts a bureaucrat in the county Public Works department (played by Bill Nighy) who when facing a serious illness reconsiders the value of his life's works.
Living had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The film has received very positive reviews and international acclaim, and at the 95th Academy Awards received nominations for Best Actor (Nighy) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Ishiguro).
Proceeds to the Hamilton Out of the Cold and the DeMazenod Door Program
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Mackay, Brehm, Smith, Professional Organization
Time: 102 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
Living is not a big movie, despite the pedigree of its creators. But it is an artistically masterful one—a film that, while deceptively simple, may linger in your mind for years to come. AV Club/Matthew Huff
Really quite something: a rare remake that only augments and enriches the original. For Bill Nighy, meanwhile, it feels in every sense like the role of a lifetime. Empire/John Nugent
It’s a film that could have so easily smacked of an exercise, but its beauty feels thrillingly natural, and its considerable emotional power is honestly earned. The Telegraph/Robbie Collin
Living acknowledges the bitter irony of impending death bringing a man back to life. Nighy makes it look effortless; he gives an Oscar-worthy performance that made me cry almost as much as Takashi Shimura did in Kurosawa’s classic. Boston Globe/Odie Henderson
It’s the star himself who, even more than the decor and the change of cultural scenery, lifts Living out of the realm of a remake and into something far more profound. It becomes another story of a man at long last learning how to embrace the world, yet one that is completely substantial and shattering and, yeah, even life-affirming on its own. Rolling Stone/David Fear
This is Nighy’s film and his impact is felt even when he’s nowhere to be seen. But when he is, it’s all the more stunning, not least down to cinematographer Jamie D Ramsay’s striking visuals which pay homage to ’50s melodramas, with colours so vivid it feels like it’s too good to be true and will snap back to reality at any moment. Little White Lies/Ella Kemp
Awards
Academy Awards: Nominated for Best Actor (Bill Nighy), Best Adapted Screenplay (Kazuo Ishiguro)
BAFTA: Nominated For Best British Film, Best Actor(Nighy), Best Screenplay (Ishiguro)
Screen Actor's Guild: Nominee for Best Actor (Nighy)
AARP Movies for Grownups: Won Best Screenwriter (Ishiguro); Nominee for Best Actor (Nighy)
British Independent Awards: Winner Best Production Design; Nominee Best British Indy Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress(Aimee Lou Wood), Best Costume, Best Music
Hollywood Music in Media: Winner Best Original Score (Indy film)
Los Angeles Film Critics Awards: Winner Best Actor (Nighy)
Palm Springs International Film Festival: Winner Best Actor (Nighy)
Virginia Film Festival: Winner Audience Award - Best Narrative
8 Wins and 45 nominations
Attendance: 201
$750 donated from the screenings of Broker and Viking to the Cancer Assistance Program
Five years after winning the Palme d’Or for Shoplifters, Academy Award nominated filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda returns with Broker, starring Cannes Best actor winner Song Kang Ho (Parasite). The film follows two brokers who sell orphaned infants, circumventing the bureaucracy of legal adoption, to affluent couples who can’t have children of their own. After an infant’s mother surprises the duo by returning to ensure her child finds a good home, the three embark on a journey to find the right couple, building an unlikely family of their own. Written and Directed by Kore-Eda Hirokazu (Shoplifters, Like Father Like Son
Korean with English Subtitles
Running Time: 129 min
Proceeds to the Canadian Cancer Assistance Program $750
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Alan Moffett
Awards
Asian Film Awards: Winner Best Director
Blue Dragon Awards: Winner - Ji-eun Lee (Popularity Star)
Cannes: Winner Best Actor - Sang Yang-Ho, Winner Best Director - Kore-Eda Hirokazu
Chunsa Film Art Awards: Winner - Best New Actor: Ji-eun Lee
Hawaii International Film Festival: Winner - Vision in Film Award - Kore-Eda Hirokazu
Korean Association of Film Critics: Winner - Best New Actress - Ji-eun Lee
Music Film Festival: Winner - Best International Film - ARRI/OSRAM Award
Norwegian International Film Festival: Winner - Bray of Sunshine Award - Kore-Eda Hirokazu
Time: 104 min
BUY TICKETS HERE(available by or before Monday March 20): https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
... the stage is set for a quietly eccentric road movie that appears to be about the nature of families (a perennial Koreeda theme) but is really about the yearning for intimacy in the modern world of alienation. Kevin Maher/Times (UK)
Broker is nothing if not a film of surprises... a swaddled-up mix of road movie, social realism, crime cliffhanger and even knockabout comedy. Genres collide. A little like life. Danny Leigh/Financial Times
The production feeds both the intellectual and emotional appetites of those who appreciate intimate motion picture experiences and that seems almost as foreign in today’s American cinematic climate as the language spoken by the characters. James Berardinelli/Reel Views
The charm of Kore-eda’s films is the layering of complex characters, and he puts a lot of heart and time into each of them, sculpting intricate emotions and relationships that connect with the viewer. Jenny Nulf/Austin Chronicle
What could have been a train wreck if it were an American comedy/drama turns into a funny, sad, brittle, beautiful and absolutely strange odyssey wherein the image of family gets distorted and reimagined in the most touching way imaginable. Randy Myers/San Jose Mercury News
“Broker” doesn’t feel overplotted, overly cute or excessively melodramatic. Kore-Eda has an emotionally direct style, a way of fusing naturalism and fable that recalls the neorealist magic of Vittorio De Sica. A.O. Scott/NY Times
Bittersweet and beautiful, Broker sits easily amongst Kore-eda’s finest films, and as one of the best filmmakers working today that is surely saying something. Alexandra Hellwe-Nicholas/AWXF.org
Awards
Canadian Screen Awards: Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actor (Stephen LaPlante), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume, Best Hair, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/broker
Attendance: 80
Donated $750 from the screenings of Broker and Viking to the Cancer Assistance Program
The Viking Society is recruiting volunteers for the first manned mission to Mars. The goal is to form a B-team that will mirror the mission here on Earth in order to find solutions to the interpersonal problems that the Mars-bound crew is experiencing. The film tells the story of David, a high school gym teacher, who seizes this opportunity to revive his dream of becoming an astronaut and making a difference. Viking is a little absurd, falling somewhere between a high-concept comedy and a straight up allegorical tale. It's a story about the gap between our dreams and reality.
Nominated for 10 Canadian Screen Awards
French with English subtitles.
Proceeds to the Cancer Assistance Program
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Alan Moffett
Time: 104 min
BUY TICKETS HERE (available by or before Monday March 20): https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
Viking is endearing and intelligent, but most especially a profound masterwork from visionary filmmaker Stephane Lafleur. Faisal Al-Jadir/Film Inquiry
All the humour in Viking is entirely relatable; the crew’s problems, the minor breakdowns in discipline, and the constant decline into human pettiness are all the funnier for being perfectly believable. Monica Reid/Far Out Magazine
Viking is a space movie that’s firmly grounded with both feet planted right here on Earth. It’s easily Lafleur’s best film yet. Pat Mullen/That Shelf
When Stanislaw Lem published Solaris, he wrote, “We have no need of other worlds. We need mirrors…” I am not sure Viking is exactly what the Polish science-fiction author had in mind, but I am glad we had this conversation. Kurt Halfyard/ScreenAnarchy
Viking is the latest entry into the cinematic canon of great space movies in which nobody actually goes to space (e.g., Proxima). Alex Heeney/Seventh Row
The actors have a strong grasp on the material and bestow the script with their own subtle nuances that makes watching Viking quite fun. Tomas Trussow/The Lonely Film Critic
The entire premise feels like a very Canadian joke, almost patriotic in its knowing self-deprecation. Marc Asch/Screen Slate
Awards
Canadian Screen Awards: Nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actor (Stephen LaPlante), Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume, Best Hair, Best Sound Mixing, Best Sound Editing
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21440560/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/viking_2022
Attendance: 356
Audience ratings for I Like Movies (263 submitted their ratings)
5: Excellent - 23%
4: Very Good - 44%
3. Good - 24%
2. Poor - 7%
1. Very Poor - 2%
Intense movie lover Lawrence Kweller, 17, wants more than anything to be accepted into NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, to learn to be a filmmaker. So much that he hasn't even applied to another college, despite the fact that he lives in Burlington, Ontario.
He and his best friend, Matt Macarchuck make films together, but Matt eventually grows tired of Lawrence belittling him and embarrassing him, especially when Lawrence doesn't even have time for their weekly ritual of watching Saturday Night Live because he's found a job in a video store.
Lawrence continues to alienate all the important people in his life including his mother and store manager and staff. Will he be able to turn things around.
Directed and Written by Chandler Levack
Starring: Isaiah Lehtinen, Romina D'Ugo, Krista Bridges, Percy Hynes White
Proceeds to the Neighbour to Neighbour Food Bank and Tutoring Program $900
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Dundas Sunrise Valley Rotary Club
Runtime: 99 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
Levack has done a remarkable job with her feature-film debut, playing with tropes that have time-honoured traditions but are always in need of a refresh. Amil Niazi/Globe & Mail
A film that is small but not slight, sweet but not cloying, and the kind of thing that can make even a cynical critic like movies again. Katie Rife/Indiewire
It’s not just a tribute to movies, but a tribute to what the best movies can accomplish — encouraging us to look out as much as we look in. Drew Gregory/AutoStraddle
It authenticates catharsis through the fantastical world of cinema while giving us a vital lesson in the real-world toxicity that can feed into that culture. I Like Movies is a pitch-perfect coming-of-age story. Darryl Griffiths/MovieMaker
Imagine if Superbad were directed by a woman who didn’t allow the toxic masculinity and misogyny to go unchecked, while also l giving her genuinely funny and moving characters the room for growth and empathy. I Like Movies does that. Radheyan Simonpillai/CTV's Your Morning
A heart-tugging, film-loving smartypants with a wicked tongue rules! The character study, tell-all and comedy-drama seems fun ‘n’ games to start but develops complexity and emotional power. Terrific stuff! Annie Brodie/What She Said
Awards
Calgary International Film Festival: RBC Emerging Artist-Chandler Levack
Miami Film Festival: Jordan Ressler First Feature Award
Santa Barbara International Film Festival: Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema - Best Film
Vancouver Critics Circle Awards: Best Canadian Film, Best Screenplay, Best Lead Performance and Best Supporting Male Performance
Victoria Film Festival: Best Canadian First Feature
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14913282/?ref_=ttawd_awd_tt
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_like_movies
Attendance: 386
Audience ratings for I Like Movies (355 submitted their ratings)
5: Excellent - 65%
4: Very Good - 27%
3. Good - 6%
2. Poor - 2%
1. Very Poor - 0% (only 1 person)
So-young is a Korean single mother raising her adolescent son Dong-hyun in the suburbs of Canada during the 90s. Determined to provide a better life for him than the one she left behind in her native country, she does her best to overcome the constant racial and cultural challenges that confront them. As Dong-hyun gets older, he becomes increasingly curious about his Korean heritage and in particular, about his father – a topic that So-young refuses to address. Instead, she is set on continuing to build on her new life. This only exacerbates the tense relationship between her and Dong-hyun.
Proceeds to the Good Shepherd and the Hamilton Food Bank $500 each
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Retired Women Teachers of Ontario: Hamilton Branch
Runtime: 117 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
This is a tender, ambitious, meticulous and deeply empathetic work. Barry Hertz/Globe & Mail
Nothing less than a heartbreaking, funny and often astoundingly beautiful piece of work, Riceboy Sleeps is a new Canadian classic. Dorothy Woodend/The Tyee (BC)
What connects the various elements is an assured director's hand and eye. Shim has spoken of the semi-autobiographical nature of the film, and that personal attachment is clear in every frame. His distinct familiarity with the story results in a film that is a marvel to experience and feel. Rachel Ho/Exclaim.ca
It’s magnificently shot, the story is beyond moving and it holds an enveloping atmosphere, creating a full circle moment and an almost cathartic experience. Rebecca Cherryl/FilmCarnage.com
Korean-Canadian filmmaker Anthony Shim’s masterful Riceboy Sleeps takes what could’ve been a humble story about the immigrant experience and deftly expands it to emotionally and narratively epic levels. Andrew Parker/The Gate
Awards
Toronto Film Critics Association - Best Canadian Film - $100 000
Toronto International Film Festival: Platform Prize - $25 000
Busan International Film Festival: Audience Award
Canadian Screen Awards: Best Screenplay
Cinefest Sudbury: Outstanding Canadian Film
Directors Guild of Canada: Discovery Award
Glasgow Film Festival: Audience Award
Marrakesh International Film Festival: Best Actress
Palm Springs Film Festival: Young Cineastes Award
Vancouver Int. Film Festival: Audience Award & Best Canadian Film
Windsor International Film Festival: Best Canadian Film
San Diego Asian Film Festival: Audience Award and Best Film
Seattle Film Festival: Audience Award and Jury Prize
Toronto Int. Asian Film Festival: Best Asian Film and Best Actor
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13456340/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/riceboy_sleeps
517 attended, 366 submitted ratings
5 Excellent 246 (67%)
4 Very Good 108 (30%)
3 Good 10 (2.5%)
2 Poor 2 (0.5 %)
1 Very Poort 0 (0%)
Cáit is a nine year-old girl from an overcrowded and impoverished family in rural Ireland. Quietly struggling at school and at home, she has learned to hide in plain sight from those around her. As summer arrives, Cáit is sent to live with distant relatives, farming people, like her own, but hard-working and wanting for nothing. She slowly blossoms and discovers a new way of living, but in this house where affection grows and there are meant to be no secrets, Cáit discovers one painful truth.
A tender coming-of-age story from writer-director Colm Bairéad and introducing the astonishing Catherine Clinch in her debut performance, The Quiet Girl is one of the most acclaimed and moving films of the year, and winner of seven Irish Film and Television Awards including Best Film. Adapted from the novella, Foster, by Claire Keegan.
Irish with English subtitles.
Proceeds to Ancaster Community Services and the DeMazenod Door Program $750, $500
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: To be announced
Runtime: 94 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
Through heart-wrenching, nuanced and arresting performances by Clinch, Crowley and Bennett, The Quiet Girl technically lives up to its name, but speaks volumes about the transformative power of what it means to be loved. Anne T. Donahue/Globe & Mail
In a world of noise — and noisy, jumbled films — this story of found family speaks loudest when saying nothing. Michael O'Sullivan/Washington Post
A genuine work of art by a genuinely empathetic artist, and one of the single most moving, heartfelt, and heartbreaking movies from any country in the last decade. That only sounds like hyperbole until you see it. David Fear/Rolling Stone
Made with sensitivity and care by first-time writer-director Colm Bairead, combines serene editing, quiet reserves of strength, and subdued performances that allow you to think and feel instead of just watch. Rex Reed/Observer
The Quiet Girl is a small gem of a film. The acting is excellent and the simple but affecting story, with its setting of a lush green and surprisingly sunny Ireland, packs an emotional wallop. David Stratton/The Australian
An unexpectedly beautiful assembly of narrative, image and sound which takes its cue from the title to build quietly to an emotional catharsis. Fionnuala Halligan/Screen International
Awards
Nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Film
AARP Movies for Grownups Award: won Best Foreign Film
Berlin International Film Festival: won Best Feature Film and Children's Jury - Film
Denver International Film Festival: won Narrative Feature
Dublin Film Critics Award: won Best Film and Best Irish Film
Dublin International Film Festival: won Audience Award and Best Director
European Film Festival : won European Cinematography
Irish Film Awards: won Best Film, Director, Actress in a lead role, Editing, Cinematography, Original Score, Production Design
London Critics Circle Film Awards: won Foreign Language Film and British/Irish Film
Montclair Film Festival: won Audience Award World Cinema
New Mexico Film Critics: won Best Music Score
Newport Beach Film Festival: won Jury Award Best Film
Santa Barbara International Film Festival: won ADL Stand UP Award
Taipei Film Festival: won International New Talent Competition - Audience Award
Valladolid International Film Festival: won Audience Award and FIPRESCI and Silver Spike Best Film
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15109082/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_quiet_girl
358 paid attendance plus 16 staff were at our two screenings of The Starling Girl on June 12. $900 was donated to the Ancaster Society for the Performing Arts from the proceeds. The response to the film was extremely positive.
279 submitted ratings for The Starling GIrl
5: Excellent 96 (34%)
4: Very Good 111 (40%)
3. Good 51 (18%)
2. Poor 20 ( 7%)
1. Very Poor 1 (< 1%)
Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy of dancing with the church group is tempered by worry that her actions are sinful and she is caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and her religious devotion. With the return of Owen (Lewis Pullman), an enigmatic youth pastor, Jem soon finds herself attracted to his worldliness and charm.
Writer-director Laurel Parmet delicately balances difficult issues in this morally complex story. A stellar Eliza Scanlen beautifully conveys Jem’s tentative, impetuous and conflicted journey toward understanding her growingly complicated ideas about herself, her family, and the faith that has always guided her life.
Proceeds to The Ancaster Society for the Performing Arts (Ancaster Memorial Arts Centre) $900
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Retail Prophet
Runtime: 116 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
The language and strictures of their religious community are perfectly rendered by writer and director Laurel Parmet, who captures the complicated interplay of power and immaturity that can blossom in isolated communities. Alissa Wilkinson/Vox
Parmet’s strong script and surety behind the camera navigates the audience through this complicated story of religion and sexuality, patriarchy and power, brought to eerily accurate life by the ensemble of excellent actors. Katie Walsh/The Wrap
Parmet's less interested in cultish dread than a more naturalistic dullness of isolation and groupthink you'd find in any closed conservative society where women of faith have been sold a purity narrative. Robert Abell/Los Angeles Times
It’s a refreshing change to see this milieu treated with the level of nuance that Laurel Parmet brings to “The Starling Girl.” Peter DeBruge/Variety
The Starling Girl is so effective because it feels so specific to the character Parmet creates but remains accessible to people who haven’t shared her experience. The film is rich in detail, both in the sense of what it’s like growing up in a very religious community and what teenage rebellion looks like when just acting like an individual is enough to earn a stern talking to from an elder. Monica Castillo/RogerEbert.com
One of the smartest things about Parmet’s film is the way it portrays internalized misogyny in her female characters. The Starling Girl is a complex, often disturbing portrait of the way women have been pressured to shrink themselves and pass on that shame to their daughters. Somewhere inside them they know it breeds unhappiness, but for them it’s a small price to pay for admittance into the kingdom of Heaven. Jourdain Searles/The Hollywood Reporter
Awards
Palm Springs International Film Festival: Won Directors to Watch
Sundance Film Festival: nominated Grand Jury Prize
SXSW International Film Festival: nominated Audience Award
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt21156390/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_starling_girl
601 paid attendance plus 21 staff and sponsors were at our two screenings of The Miracle Club on September 11. $1200 was donated to the Cancer Assistance Program from the proceeds. The response to the film was extremely positive.
149 submitted ratings for The Miracle Club
5: Excellent 100 (67%)
4: Very Good 35 (23%)
3. Good 13 ( 9%)
2. Poor 1 ( 1%)
1. Very Poor 0 ( 0%)
Set in 1967, THE MIRACLE CLUB follows the story of three generations of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O'Casey) of Ballygar, outside Dublin, who hope to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that draws millions of visitors each year. Can they convince their local priest to provide some benevolent support? Will the arrival of their old friend Chrissie (Laura Linney) create any issues in their search of a miracle.
Time: 91 min
All proceeds to the Cancer Assistance Program. $1200
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Nicosia School of Art
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
“Filled with heart and humanity. It is a story of faith and forgiveness, heartbreak and healing, regret and redemption. This magnificent ensemble cast never misses a beat. Four generations of spectacular female performances. Laura Linney is at her best, holding audiences in her hand with effortless poise. Kathy Bates skillfully unveils a bitter sadness. It's a remarkable turn. Agnes O'Casey's heart pours off the screen. The legendary Dame Maggie Smith treats each moment with care and discovery. She is an absolute joy to watch. The Miracle Club is a quietly feminist film that honors the invisible labor of women, the complexities of motherhood, and the belief that change is possible, with or without a miracle.”– Liz Whittemore, REEL NEWS DAILY
“Bates gives a wild, flailing performance in the best sense.”– Mick LaSalle, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
“Bates is simply a treasure. The Miracle Club is a timeless tale that serves as a gift for audiences who simply want a good movie.”– Philana Marie Boles, MOVIE WEB
“The transcendent performances of this dream cast are alternately hilarious and heartbreaking.
“We get to see Kathy Bates crooning “He’s So Fine” in a church talent show, with 88-year-old Maggie Smith shimmying behind her as a backup singer. That alone, dear reader, is worth the price of admission, and then some.“– Bill Newcott, SATURDAY EVENING POST
“A fantastic cast. A minor miracle. Check your cynicism at the door, and let these talented actors share their stories.”– Clarence Moye, AWARDSDAILY
“Anything that brings Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Laura Linney together for a smart and engaging movie that will lift your spirits these days is a miracle all by itself. The Miracle Club is a reason to celebrate this summer, if only for the chance to see a sterling and beloved cast. Smith, Bates and Linney are superb.”– Pete Hammond, DEADLINE
“A celebration of friendship and forgiveness served up with warmth and gentle humour.”
– Allan Hunter, SCREENDAILY
“A perfect antidote to all the blazing big budget extravaganzas.”– Joanna Langfield, THE MOVIE MINUTE
“A true gem! Dame Maggie Smith, Laura Linney & Kathy Bates are treasures!”– Shelli Sonstein, Q104.3 NYC IHEART RADIO
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_miracle_club
https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/themiracleclub/
Attendance: 501 plus 13 staff
Rating: (321 submitted ratings 5: Excellent to 1: Very Poor
5 - 51%
4 - 35%
3 - 13%
2 - 1%
1 - 0%
A remarkable debut for writer-director Celine Song, Past Lives uses the bonds between its sensitively sketched central characters to support trenchant observations on the human condition. Nora and Hae Sung, two deeply connected childhood friends, are wrest apart after Nora’s family emigrates from South Korea. Two decades later, they are reunited in New York for one fateful week as they confront notions of destiny, love, and the choices that make a life, in this heartrending modern romance.
Time: 106 min
All proceeds to Neighbour to Neighbour and Hamilton Food Share. $500 each
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Awards
Hollywood Critics Midseason Awards: won Best Indie Film, won Best Actress Greta Lee, won Best Screenplay Celine Song
Reviews
It’s hard to imagine Past Lives not being one of 2023’s most talked-about films, and it richly deserves the honor. Alissa Wilkinson/Vox
Song’s work here is incredible, as this story of the past and present, and what it means for the future is a carefully handled story told with love and heart. Greta Lee, Yoo Teo, and John Magaro make an incredible trio of performances, each of which hits on a unique and important perspective on this tale, in a film that you won’t want to leave, and will stick with you for long after. Ross Bonaime/Collider
A movie that liberates your tears and makes you fall in love with it. It is almost assuredly predestined to be the single best movie you see this year. David Fear/Rolling Stone
This heart-meltingly romantic and sad movie from Korean-Canadian dramatist and filmmaker Celine Song left me wrung out and empty and weirdly euphoric, as if I’d lived through an 18-month affair in the course of an hour and three-quarters. Peter Bradshaw/The Guardian
The dreamy, deliberate pacing of all of this never feels overlong. Instead, the film gathers you up in its hands and carries you along with it, resulting in what will surely be one of the best films of 2023. Chris Evangelista/Slash Films
The performances are impossibly strong and awards-season ready. Anything other than a best actress Oscar nomination for Lee will be criminal. Kevin Maher/Times (UK)
However you write its title, Past Lives is a great romance, a great coming-of-age story, a great tale about the ways technology can bring people together (but only so far), a great New York City film, a great story about immigrants — and a great movie, period. Matt Singer/ScreenCrush
It’s difficult to convey the multilayered beauty of Past Lives beyond just urging people to see it and lose themselves in its transfixing spell. David Rooney/The Hollywood Reporter
Past Lives is an exquisitely wistful drama that speaks with an honesty so affectingly crisp it will turn your conceptions of love, identity and fate on their head. Carlos Aguilar/TheWrap
A transcendent debut for South Korean-Canadian filmmaker Celine Song, this romantic drama is a masterclass in slow, simmering storytelling. It will stay with you, maybe even into your next life. Nick de Semlyen/Empire
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13238346/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/past_lives
443 plus 14 AFF staff in attendance.
Ratings (354 submitted)
5 Excellent: 268 (76%)
4 Very Good: 69 (19%)
3 Good: 16 (5%)
2 Poor: 1
1 Very Poor: 0
Milton lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard.Jules follows Milton (Kingsley) who lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a UFO and its extra-terrestrial passenger crash land in his backyard. Before long, Milton develops a close relationship with the extra-terrestrial he calls "Jules." Things become complicated when two neighbors (Harris and Curtin) discover Jules and the government quickly closes in. What follows is a funny, wildly inventive ride as the three neighbors find meaning and connection later in life - thanks to this unlikely stranger.
Time: 87 min
$1000 donated to the Hamilton Out of the Cold Program.
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Ian and Anne Campbell
Awards
Sonoma International Film Festival: Winner Audience Award
Reviews
“Jules” utilizes the alien encounter not to explore the possibilities of extraterrestrial life but to paint a portrait of life on Earth. It’s a simple tale, simply told, but with a lot of heart and humanity at the center of it all. Katie Walsh/Tribune News Source
A compassionate character study that accomplishes what few current films do: a sweet, simple sense of wonder. Thelma Adams/AARP Movies for Grownups
The cast is a delight, especially Kingsley, whose befuddled glances make your heart swell to the bursting point once you start to realize this is but a sci-fi-laced parable on the alienation that so many mature adults experience in today’s society. Randy Myers/San Jose Mercury News
Featuring sterling performances from an uncharacteristically underplaying Ben Kingsley alongside Harriet Sansom Harris and Jane Curtin, Jules emerges as a low-key delight. Frank Scheck/Hollywood Reporter
It's less a sci-fi parable... than a fairy tale reminding us that the tribulations of getting old are more natural than sad, and best done in the company of loved ones. Michael O'Sullivan/Washington Post
...it often feels as though (director) Turtletaub would rather you be curled up in your seat with a mug of cocoa than on the edge of it. But the sweetness isn’t entirely unwelcome — not every alien movie can be “Alien.” Clare Schaffer/NY Times
It's feather-light and visually unremarkable, but this fantasy/comedy about friendship and family is nonetheless a pure delight -- sweet, funny, and irresistibly huggable. Directed by Marc Turtletaub, a longtime producer of many excellent indie films (Little Miss Sunshine, Loving, The Farewell, etc.), Jules has an immediately disarming quality, perhaps due to the cozy small-town setting -- or perhaps due to the high-quality performances. Common Sense Media
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15428940/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/jules
134 plus 7 AFF staff in attendance
104 submitted ratings.
5 Excellent 83 (80%)
4 Very Good 16 (15%)
3 Good 4 (4%)
2 Poor 1 (1 %)
1 Very Poor 0
The origins and history of Canada’s favorite children’s show, Mr. Dressup, which built a legacy of kindness, patience, inclusiveness and creativity on CBC. With never-before-seen footage and interviews, the documentary reveals Ernie Coombs’ passion for entertaining others with childlike wonderment and kindness, and the love for his wife and family.
From his early days working with Fred Rogers to his creative collaboration with puppeteer Judith Lawrence (voice and creator of Casey and Finnegan), to struggles to fund the iconic series, and finally, his second act touring college campuses, the documentary shows the highs-and-lows of the creative force that helped raise Canadian children for well over four decades.
A video interview with Director Rob McCallum will follow the screening. The interview is from The Movie Podcast with interviewers Daniel and Shahbaz. Their podcast, website and social sites are excellent and worth following.
Mr Dressup (104 submitted)
Time: 87 min
$1000 from the proceeds to the Hamilton Out of the Cold
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Olive Tree Wealth Management
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Awards
Toronto International Film Festival 2023: People's Choice Award - Best Documentary
Cinefest 2023: Audience Award - Best Documentary
Reviews
Millions of us watched Mr. Dressup as children, and I'd reckon the majority of us never truly appreciated what he meant to us during those impressionable years. Rachel Ho/Exclaim.ca
Stoics be warned. If you fought to not emotionally “break” during the Mr. Rogers doc Won’t You Be My Neighbor, you may be even more inclined to snap, “I’m not crying, you’re crying!” during Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe. Jim Slotek/Original Cin
Don’t come to Mr. Dressup: The Magic of Make-Believe, looking for dirt. There isn’t any. There are no bodies buried in the Tickle Trunk. It’s Mr. Dressup for goodness sake. It's a feel-good blast of nostalgia, a portal to a kinder and gentler time. Richard Crouse/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12277540/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mr_dressup_the_magic_of_make_believe
280 attended alone with 9 AFF staff
152 submitted ratings.
5 Excellent 83 (55%)
4 Very Good 46 (30%)
3 Good 20 (13%)
2 Poor 1 (0.7%)
1 Very Poor 2 (1.3 %)
For theSingle mom Flora (Eve Hewson) is at a loss about what to do with her rebellious teenage son, Max (Orén Kinlan). Encouraged by the police to find Max a hobby, Flora tries to occupy him with a beat-up acoustic guitar.
With the help of a washed-up LA musician (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Flora and Max discover the transformative power of music. From the musical mind of John Carney, Flora and Son explores the bond between a mother and son on a journey toward a new harmony.
Time: 97 min
$1000 from proceeds of the November 20th films to the Hamilton Out of the Cold
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Olive Tree Wealth Management
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Olive Tree Wealth Management
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
If you can walk away from a movie with a tune in your heart and a bounce in your step, then it’s safe to say that the film clicked in just the ways that were intended.
An old-school, old-fashioned and beautiful telling of a long-distance romance, but not without something new to say on kinships built in the digital age. This beautiful film will make your heart sing. Tomris Laffly/Harper’s Bazaar
A cozy Irish musical about the ways in which music can bond people together, the joy of creation, and the pleasure of someone unpacking their soul, all with that lovely Irish lilt. Kate Erbland/Indiewire
As made clear by Once, music has an inspirational and transformative strength in the movies of Irish filmmaker John Carney. His latest Dublin-set feature is almost as satisfying as his 2007 hit. Craig Mathieson/The Age (Australia)
Hewson is a delight and Gordon-Levitt is a charmer. If you're feeling low, try Flora and Son, it'll take a load off anyone's weary shoulders. Randy Myers/San Jose Mercury News
Flora and Son is a feel-good movie that largely earns its sentimental uplift, one sick burn and soaring musical number at a time. Ann Hornaday/Washington Post
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt25471950/
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/flora_and_son
Attendance 297 plus 11 AFF Staff
$1000 given to the Hamilton Out of the Cold from this film and Anatomy of a Fall
Your ratings:
Driving Madeleine (168 ratings)
5: 157 (93%)
4: 10 (6%)
3: 1 (1%)
2: 0
1: 0
A seemingly simple taxi ride across Paris evolves into a profound meditation on the realities of the driver Charles (Dany Boon), whose personal life is in shambles, and his fare, an elderly woman (Line Renault) whose warmth belies her shocking past. Charles is slowly lured in by her warm charm and directness, fascinated by the stories she wants to tell. Their ride takes them through the momentous locations of her life and we discover that she has had a shocking and very dramatic journey indeed. Their short friendship is sure to have a lasting impact as Madeleine listens to Charles confess his own worries, all of which she absorbs with candor and clarifying humor.
French with English subtitles
Time:90 min
All proceeds to the Hamilton Out of the Cold
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Olive Tree Wealth Management
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
Driving Madeleine is a beautiful film that shows the connection that humans from different walks of life can experience and share. Moving, profound and touching, it is a real treasure of a movie. Robert Monk/Flickering Myth
Christian Carion’s Driving Madeleine is a humane, life-affirming film. It’s not sentimental though it may make your tears flow. Underneath, it’s a scathing comment on changing attitudes over the decades to domestic violence. It’s a gem. Alexa Dalby/Dog and Wolf
Renaud and Boon make a delightful couple, lovers of Paris will be thrilled as the cab passes various famous landmarks or drives down lesser-known suburban streets, and the sentimental ending jerks the tears. David Stratton/The Australian
Madeleine’s story has many twists, going to a dark place. Renaud plays her as a survivor; someone who learned to endure. Her warmth is utterly irresistible. Paul Byrnes/Sydney Morning Herald
Both of the leads keep it low-key, with 95-year-old Renaud’s unfussy reminiscences dotted with defiant irony, and the initially unforthcoming Boon opening up under her cajoling as naturally as a flower. Phil Hoad/The Guardian
riving Madeleine is for the most part a heart-warming drama but hiding behind that is a strong sense of how unfair the laws in France were regarding women and their rights. Nadine Whitney/The Curb
Attendance 297 and 8 AFF Staff
$1000 donated to Hamilton Out of the Cold from this film and from Driving Madeleine
Your ratings
Anatomy of a Fall (164 ratings)
5: 94 (57%)
4: 55 (34%)
3: 13 ( 8%)
2: 2 ( 1%)
1: 0
For the past year, Sandra (Sandra Hüller), her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis), and their 11-year-old son Daniel (Milo Machado Graner) have lived a secluded life in a remote town in the French Alps. When Samuel is found dead in the snow below their chalet, the police question whether he was murdered or committed suicide.
Samuel's suspicious death is presumed murder, and Sandra becomes the main suspect. Little by little, the trial becomes not just an investigation into the circumstances of Samuel's death but an unsettling psychological journey into the depths of Sandra and Samuel's conflicted relationship.
English and French with English subtitles
Time: 150 min
All proceeds to the Hamilton Out of the Cold
Thanks to our Season Sponsor: Rastin's Wilson Street PharmaChoice Pharmacy
Thanks to our Film Date Sponsor: Olive Tree Wealth Management
BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.memorialarts.ca/events?category=Film
Reviews
It’s hard not to be drawn in. That’s the trick of Anatomy of a Fall. Sandra is a fascinating, one-woman puzzle box, thanks largely to the strength of Hüller’s performance. Clarisse Loughrey/Independent (UK)
If you like a film that keeps you guessing until the end -- and perhaps beyond -- then get yourself into the public gallery for this case. Powerhouse director Justine Triet has kept you a seat beside her. Harry Guerin/RTE (Ireland)
Anatomy of a Fall works brilliantly as a Hitchcockian thriller for today, but it has depths and resonances beyond the genre. We all construct our stories; they’re always partial; we never fully know each other. David Sexton/New Statesman
It's two and a half hours long, but it's so engrossing and it really evolves, because you think it is one kind of genre and over time it morphs into something else. And the ending is just perfect. Christi Lemire/Breakfast All Day
It has both suspense and intellectual ambition; plot revelations don’t just send the story in new directions, they expand the film’s cultural scope. Bilge Ebiri/New York Magazine
Triet masterfully turns our attention from potential crime-solving to the inner workings of two imperfect people and one complicated marriage. It’s absolutely riveting. Candace Frederick/Huffington Post
250 plus 12 AFF staff in attendance
The Monk and the Gun (176 ratings)
5: Excellent. 115 (65%)
4: Very Good 45 (26%)
3: Good. 16 ( 9%)
$900 donated to Hamilton Food Share from the proceeds
In this gentle fable from Bhutan, an American gun collector and a young monk match wits over what will happen to an antique gun, against the backdrop of the country’s first modernizing election in 2006
Thanks to our Season Sponsor Rastin's Pharmacy
Film Day Sponsor: Ron Lancaster
Proceeds to Hamilton Food Share
Time: 107 min
BUY TICKETS HERE: off sale
Awards
Tromso International Film Festival: Won Norwegian Peace Film Award
Fribourg International Film Festival: Won Feature Film
Cancouver Film Festival: Won Showcase Audience Award
Rome Film Fest: Won Special Jury Award
Mumbai Film Festival: Won Audience Choice Award
Illuminate Film Festival: Won Director's Choice Award
Won 6 Awards, nominated for 8 others
Reviews
Lusciously lensed by cinematographer Jigme Tenzing, the ensemble comedy examines how the country’s upcoming mock elections affect the titular monk, a rural family, an election official, and a desperate liaison from the city, all of whose lives collide in minor and major ways. Marya E. Gates/RogerEbert.com
The Monk and the Gun is a true crowd-pleaser, a poignant message wrapped up in a humorous and vibrant tale. Ferdosa Abdi/Screen Rant
Things come to a head in a way that is simultaneously slapstick-y and touching, and entirely in keeping with a movie that has never lost its sense of charm through an hour and a half of twists and turns and engaging mountain escapades. Steve Pond/The Wrap
An unexpectedly suspenseful shaggy dog story, as well as a pretty funny one, with subtly pointed barbs about American politics. Michael O’Sullivan/Washington Post
The film pulls off something truly bold: taking what are perhaps the most emotionally and symbolically loaded items in existence and subverting their meaning completely to end on a note of peace, joy, and hope for the future. Ross McIndoe/Slant Magazine
A droll, shrewdly satirical fable, in which Western values crash against a seemingly intransigent (but potentially more enlightened) South Asian culture. Peter DeBruge/Variety
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