Amy If you had any wistful feelings about Amy Winehouse’s talent falling from the earth, they likely turned to white-hot rage after viewing Asif Kapadia’s exploration of the life leading up to her overdose. A puppet of her father and her husband, Winehouse’s onscreen personality turns from healthy spitfire to skeletal mess in a slow […]
Film
Posted inNews + Opinion
Halifax’s 10 best close-ups
[Image-1] It’s what New York and Los Angeles have known for decades: There’s an inestimable thrill in seeing your town up on the big screen. It’s qualifying. It’s justifying. It’s mythic. And it’s a privilege we in Halifax will likely have fewer opportunities to enjoy as Nova Scotia’s cinematic storytellers leave town in gangs, thanks […]
Posted inArts + Music
North Mountain goes in a new direction
North Mountain Premiere Wednesday, September 23, 9:15pm Park Lane Cinema, 5657 Spring Garden Road $11.25 Bretten Hannam shot his first feature film, North Mountain, over 13 days in January down near Kejimkujik—the Mersey River and Caledonia area, not too far from where he grew up in the Annapolis Valley. It was brutally cold. “We finished […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
The bright film industry future that was
After a turbulent year in the film industry, we’ll soon celebrate great local stories during the Atlantic Film Festival. It’s remarkable that so much gets made as producers assemble creative teams and navigate between banks, broadcasters, distributors, governments and unions. The celebration this year will contain an element of sadness as the business shrinks. The […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Thursday’s 8 things you really should know
1 Evolve Festival kicks off today in the Antigonish-ish area of our beautiful province, and you probably haven’t even packed yet, have you? You were planning doing that after work, weren’t you? Luckily enough, our pal Adria Young has compiled a cheat sheet for festival packing that’ll help you avoid stinking, starving and having to […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Monday’s 7 things you gotta know
1 The casualties from the new Nova Scotian film industry have started to arrive. Last week Nova Scotia Business Inc. started accepting applications for film and TV productions under the Liberals’ new tax credit system. A Jim Henson Co. show planning to shoot here has ditched NS for British Columbia, and Screen Nova Scotia’s Marc […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
6 things to get you going this Tuesday
1 Nova Scotia’s film folks continue to express their anguish over the Liberal government’s changes to this province’s tax credit system. A new website chronicles some of the industry professionals who have moved—or seem to be planning to move—elsewhere for work. So far there’s six. A crowdfunding campaign has also been set up to recoup […]
Posted inArts + Music
In a HIFF
The Halifax Independent Filmmakers’ Festival has a local focus, but festival director Nelson MacDonald says you’d be wrong to assume that priority is a kind of parochialism. “I feel no obligation to show local films,” says MacDonald. “I show local films because they’re good.” In addition to two programs of local short films, the June […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Haters gonna hate: NS Liberals are their own PR problem
[Image-1] It’s not a great time to be a Liberal in Nova Scotia. Online and in conversation, anger at the government is only outmatched by charges of incompetence. Every month seems to bring a new crowd of rowdy protesters down to the Legislature. In short order, Stephen McNeil’s Liberals have pissed off health care workers, […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Joachim Stroink is a wanted man
[Image-1] Update: The posters may already be taken down. Stroink’s office called The Coast to let us know they couldn’t see any up when workers went out looking this afternoon. Well, somebody had a busy Tuesday night. Residents in the Halifax Chebucto riding were greeted today to posters demanding the capture of Liberal MLA Joachim […]
Posted inArts + Music
To be continued: Province and film industry strike a deal
[Image-1] It’s enough to get the cameras rolling again, but for how long? The provincial government and Screen Nova Scotia have reached a consensus, revealing a new system of incentives for the province’s filmmakers. The Liberal government has faced harsh criticism since slashing the tax credit two weeks ago, but meetings this week with Screen NS […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Film talks continue but is any progress being made?
[Image-1] Progress: that is the (hopeful) word of the day regarding the latest film tax credit meeting held Wednesday morning involving Screen Nova Scotia and finance minister Diana Whalen. Scott Simpson and Marc Almon of Screen Nova Scotia say they’ve engaged in some constructive dialogue with the government regarding this matter. Their goal seems to […]