Bluenose-Ability Film Festival December 1-3 Halifax Central Library 5419 Spring Garden Road free baff.ca If the Atlantic Film Festival left you hungry for more local films, your wait is over. The second annual Bluenose-Ability Film Festival is taking place at the Halifax Central Library from December 1 to 3. The festival is Canada’s only disability film […]
Film + TV
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The Edge of Seventeen isn’t a “teen film”
“So with the slow graceful flow of age/I went forth with an age-old desire to please/on the edge of 17,” sings Stevie Nicks in her 1982 classic. The hero of the new comedy The Edge of Seventeen, Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld), also has a desire to please, though in a refreshing twist it’s mostly for her […]
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Black Cop feature film shoots in Halifax for 12 days
Filmmaker Cory Bowles says he likes to explore questions through his work. His latest questions: What if a black police officer wanted to respond to systematic police violence? What if he did so by directing his frustrations at non-minorities? Bowles’ current project, Black Cop, touches on satire and humour as well as drama. It’s based […]
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Arrival‘s beautiful humanity
If you needed a person to save the world through words, of course you’re going to send someone like Amy Adams, whose particular brand of steely warmth—she is kind and empathetic but you should not mistake her for a pushover—has carried her from a bit part on The Office to the top of the movie […]
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American Honey is “natural and intoxicating”
Andrea Arnold is British, but American Honey is very much a movie about the United States, lovingly constructed in the storied independent style of that country. Not only does it feature a singalong to the Lady Antebellum song it’s named after (“Nothin’ sweeter than summertime/and American honey”), it also has Riley Keough, granddaughter of Elvis […]
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The Accountant‘s simple math
Ben Affleck is The Accountant in The Accountant, but he’s not just any accountant—he’s one with high-functioning autism, several aliases, an Airstream full of stolen fine art and literally killer hand-to-hand combat skills. (Shades of…Jason Bourne?) In The Accountant, a ridiculous yet entertaining action movie that’s at least aimed at adults, Affleck’s Christian Wolff is […]
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The other mother of dragons
When Emmy Award season finally came to its climactic end last Sunday, after three different ceremonies to honour the best in American TV, Game of Thrones walked away as the winningest fictional show ever. To get an idea of the depth of talent on GOT, consider some of the show’s nominees who didn’t win this […]
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10 other films to see at the 2016 Atlantic Film Festival
With the Atlantic Film Festival launching its eight-day marathon of 200-odd movies Thursday night, you will already have a sense of a few of the hyped offerings. There are the Atlantic gems, Weirdos, Maudie and Werewolf (see accompanying story), the international pictures beloved of European festival-goers Julieta and I, Daniel Blake, and Kristen Stewart continuing […]
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Werewolf, Ashley McKenzie’s fearless debut feature
“I do what feels right to me, and I follow my instincts,” says Ashley McKenzie, the director, writer and editor of Werewolf, her debut feature. “I had a feeling, writing the script, knowing we should never see the ocean. Growing up in and now living in a town where I can look out a window […]
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TIFF Days 3-5
Sunday is a big, long day, although at least my first movie’s at 10am for once. Vikram Gandhi’s is subject to a technical issue, slowing and stopping twice in the middle. It’s the kind of thing that can cost you a whole screening—I remember [puts on prospector hat] back in the film days (2009), the […]
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TIFF Days 1-2
This is at least my 10th TIFF. I use the festival as a yardstick, ie “I saw that two TIFFs ago” which often happens with “new” releases—they skip a whole calendar year and then everyone’s talking about an old movie. I’ve learned to let things go, like defining the festival you’ve had by the final […]
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How to get a job where you can make a Difference
Your standard student/artist job—server, barista, retail—is rarely in short supply in a town like Halifax, but Video Difference has always been one of the most coveted, and one of the hardest to land. Owner Tom Michael put together a three-part process: A standard job application describing work experience, education and the like; a slightly altered […]
