fall Update

HAROLD GREENBERG FUND

In productIonA Song for Mandela Black Marks Cosmopolis Cottage Country Inescapable Lesser Blessed Mad Ship The Samaritan Still

In theatresThe Whistleblower- trailer A Beginners Guide to Endings- trailer

on tMn & hBo canadaBarney’s Version Cairo Time Daydream Nation Defendor ExistenZ Fubar 2 Funkytown Love Shines: The Ron Sexsmith Story Oliver Sherman SCORE: A Hockey Musical SUCK

Kudos

fUnd projects:

W h e re d i d S e p t e m b e r g o ? Between Toronto International F i l m F e s t i v a l ® ( T I F F ) , t h e start of our new fiscal year and making sure my son is adjusting well to a new school- and high school at that- i t feels l ike the m o n t h w e n t b y i n a f l a s h . I f your September fe l t the same way, we hope you can take a few moments to relax and catch

up on everything that has happened here at the Fund. On a personal note, I am happy to report that I made time to truly enjoy TIFF this year. In between meetings, I saw some excel lent f i lms and attended some great industry programming at the Filmmakers’ Lounge , which we sponsor. Featured at this year’s Festival were s ix pro jects suppor ted by our Equi ty Investment Program , including Goon , I ’m Yours , In Darkness , Keyhole, The Moth Diaries and Take This Waltz. We were also able to help the emerging filmmakers behind Amy George , Doppelgänger Paul and The Odds make the most of TIFF through our new Marketing Program. Edwin Boyd, which we were involved with i n deve lopment , was vo ted Best Canad ian F i rs t Feature Film , and Monsieur Lazhar , supported by our partners at the French-Language Program, was awarded Best Canadian Fi lm . Overal l , the Fest ival was a great success. Just as TIFF was winding down, the Fund’s Alan Bacchus left for Hal i fax to attend the Atlantic Film Fest iva l . He had an incred ib le t ime watch ing the opening night f i lm, Roller Town , which we invested in . He a lso rea l ly en joyed s i t t ing on the jury of the Inspired Script Program, which is another one of our industry initiatives. This year’s Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) Film and TV Forum featured another incredible Fund-supported session with Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine , Toy Story 3 ) ca l led Endings: The

Good, The Bad, and The Insanely Great . While we were unable to attend, we were fortunate to have our Board Member, Melanie Friesen, there to represent us. Last week, the excitement returned to Toronto for Planet in Focus . We had the pleasure of presenting the inaugural Planet in Focus Green Screen Award to Avi Federgreen, for his work on SCORE: A Hockey Musical . Through h is dedicat ion to env i ronmenta l p roduc t ion p rac t i ses , Av i saved an es t imated 20 tonnes of CO2 emissions during the making of the film. Here at the Fund, we practise what we preach. By our next Scr ipt Development Program dead l ine , we plan to have introduced a paper-less application system. We est imate a savings of 30,000 pieces of paper each year. Whi le a l l o f our staff , appl icants, readers and board members wil l have to adjust to a new way of doing things, we hope everyone wi l l be proud to be a part of a greener Fund. We a re a l s o demonstrat ing our commitment to e nv i ronmenta l ly friendly production practises as we shoot an interview ser ies, which wi l l be ava i lab le on our socia l media sites later this year. We hope you’ll join us in making Canada’s f i lm industry a leader in green production practises. Luckily, the excitement isn’t over. This week, I had the pleasure of attending the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival, and seeing the world premiere of Beat Down. And I am back just in time to coach the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival pitch clinic, and to enjoy the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. L a s t b u t c e r t a i n l y n o t l e a s t , I c a n ’ t w a i t f o r H a l l o w e e n . W h a t b e t t e r t i m e o f y e a r f o r a m o v i e marathon? Here’s a list of the top 30 Canadian horror movies. Or, for something a bit more family friendly, you can catch The Addams Fami ly marathon, on Teletoon start ing at 5pm on Sunday, October 30th. Trick or treat! John Galway

letter froM the presIdentBy john galway

fUnd projects:

8th edItIon | octoBer Issue

Along w i th Planet in Focus , we jo in t l y announced tha t SCORE: A Hockey Musical (SCORE) was selected as the recipient of the inaugural Planet in Focus Green Screen Award . The Award was announced dur ing the 12th Annual Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival. READ MORE...

The Black Marks and Lesser Blessed are the latest projects supported through our Equity Investment Program. READ MORE...

A few years ago, f i lmmaker and Toronto Special Weapons Team 7 cop Calum deHartog had a dream, to give aspiring filmmakers in priority neighbourhoods an opportunity to break into the Canadian film industry. And last year, his vision came to the big screen at TIFF Bell Lightbox, as three short films, created by inner c i ty youth, blew audiences away. We are proud to announce a new partnership with this exciting, new organization, City Life Film Project. READ MORE...

We a re exc i ted to i n t roduce the Canad ian Red Carpet Promot ion , wh ich w i l l g ive Virg in Radio 953 l i s teners in Vancouver a chance to win a trip to the Whistler Film Festival, running from November 30-December 4, 2011. READ MORE...

29 new and ongoing projects were recently supported through our Script Development Program. READ MORE...

Amy George, Doppelgänger Paul, I’m Yours and The Odds were al l supported through our new Marketing Program . READ MORE...

Mad Ship, Still and Cottage Country were supported through our Equity Investment Program. READ MORE...

i

HAROLD GREENBERG FUND

Kudos

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SYNOPSIS:The F i t zGera lds , f a the r and son , a re Canad ian

medical pioneers. In the 1920s, Gerald FitzGerald is a crucial player in the work of Banting and Best . Vacc ines c reated by Connaught Labs save unto ld l i ves , and Ger ry ’s g roundbreak ing work i n pub l i c heal th makes h is Canadian hometown the envy of a wor ld s t rugg l i ng w i th i n fec t ious d i sease . Yea rs l a te r h i s son , Jack , a j azz a f i c ionado who chums with the l ikes of Duke El l ington and Count Basie , f i na l l y answers the fami l y ca l l i ng and becomes a renowned al lergist . In t ime, however, both men are forgotten, abandoned to history with the shame and darkness that ends the i r careers, a p lague of the i r own l ineage.

A s o n h a s g r o w n u p i n t h e s h a d o w s o f t h e s e medical giants. As a young man, he feels the family c u r s e a w a k e n i n g i n h i s d re a m s . J a m e s , w h o h a s e s c h e w e d m e d i c i n e a n d b e c o m e s a j o u r n a l i s t , knows that he must s ta lk th is a f f l i c t ion before i t destroys him, too. He embraces the bugbear of the med ica l es tab l i shment i n h i s g rand fa the r ’s t ime , Freudian psychotherapy , and uses the tools of his own t rade in the e f fo r t to se t h imse l f f ree . He wi l l exhume the fac ts o f the cu rse , b reak the s i l ence a n d p u t w o r d s t o t h e p a g e . H i s f u t u r e l i e s i n h i s p a s t .

E r u d i t e , p a s s i o n a t e a n d i l l u m i n a t i n g , W h a t Disturbs our Blood i s a p iece o f the f inest soc ia l h i s t o r y. A f a m i l y m e m o i r t h a t l a y s t o r e s t o n e f a m i l y ’s s e c re t s , i t a l s o re m i n d s u s o f a g o l d e n e r a i n o u r h i s t o r y , w h e n o u r b r i g h t e s t m i n d s commanded the respect of not just the i r Canadian

p e e r s , b u t o f t h e w o r l d . AUTHOR PROFILE:J a m e s F i t z G e r a l d i s a

journa l i s t and author whose f i r s t b o o k , O l d B o y s : T h e P o w e r f u l L e g a c y o f U p p e r C a n a d a C o l l e g e , w a s a c o n t r o v e r s i a l i n s i d e l o o k a t t h e a t t i t u d e s a n d m o re s o f C a n a d a ’s r u l i n g c l a s s . R e v e l a t i o n s o f t h e s e x u a l abuse of boys at the school , first published in this book, led to the charging and conviction of three former teachers and the launching of a class act ion su i t against the col lege in 2002.

ADAPTATION CONSIDERATION:T h i s i s a m u l t i - d i m e n s i o n a l , c h a r a c t e r- d r i v e n

story of determinat ion and sel f-discovery. L ike The Engl ish Pat ient , i t a lso inc ludes a r ich h is tory o f visionary leaders whose influence, a century later, still shapes today’s society. Finding the balance between the e lements o f the s to ry, i nc lud ing t ime , space , conscious and the unconscious, wi l l no doubt be a chal lenge, but we hope the story wil l f ind its worthy opponent .

GENERAL INFORMATION:Film Rights Manager: Suzanne DePoe, CTI Art ists

Management . Email : suzanne@ctiam.ca

What disturbs our blood: a son’s quest to redeem the pastBy james Fitzgerald fIlM rIghts avaIlaBle

After graduating from S h e r i d a n C o l l e g e i n 2 0 0 8 , C a l v i n T h o m a s and Yonah Lewis were eager to make their first feature film. Amy George came together quickly, as Calvin and Yonah worked a s a t e a m t o w r i t e , p roduce , d i rec t , shoo t a n d e d i t t h e f i l m .

Natura l ly, Calv in and Yonah were exci ted for the Toronto International Film Festival® (TIFF) regardless of whether or not their film was selected. When the call finally came, they were overjoyed. “But we were also in a state of disbelief and to some degree I guess we still are, even though we’ve been through the Festival,” says Yonah.

With the help of the Fund’s Marketing Program , Calvin and Yonah were able to secure publicist Cynthia Amsden . The buzz for Amy George quick ly star ted to bui ld, as they were prof i led in a var iety of major publ icat ions.

Wh i l e they had a l ready begun work ing on the i r F e s t i v a l s t r a t e g y , T I F F ’s Filmmaker Boot Camp helped them learn about all the opportunities available t o t h e m . I n d u s t r y p r o f e s s i o n a l s s u c h a s Ingrid Veninger gave them tips on how to make the most of the experience. “I think the best thing we learned was just to be really active and make sure our presence was fe l t at the fest ival ,” says Calv in.

Despite their busy schedules, Calvin and Yonah were excited to be invited to New York for Telefilm Canada’s Eye on TIFF . Along with a group of fel low Canadian f i lmmakers whose pro jects were screen ing a t the Festival, this opportunity enabled them to present Amy George to a variety of US film executives.

We spotted Calvin and Yonah at the box office, the

morning single tickets went on sale. “As people were in line still trying to make their picks or realizing things were going off sale, we went through and said, ‘Hey, we’re a l itt le tiny fi lm, we made it here, please check us out.’” Their simple but effective marketing tactics also included homemade posters, which they plastered throughout the area surrounding TIFF Bell Lightbox. Within days, their third and f inal screening had sold out. “It was nice to see and hear when some of those techniques, which we thought were very simple, were a c t u a l l y w o r k i n g a n d p a y i n g o f f , ” s a y s C a l v i n .

On day two of the festival, Calvin and Yonah were featured on Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch panel. In Atom Egoyan’s opening remarks, he recounted his early days as a filmmaker. According to Yonah, “What he said for all of us on the panel was to think of this as an opportunity at the beginning of our careers, and not to worry so much about the film, but to know we have a f i lm in TIFF and that a lone is fantast ic.”

Calvin and Yonah were too busy to consider what c r i t ics might th ink o f the i r f i lm. But a l l the i r hard work paid off, as they got a number of good reviews including a three out of four stars from the National Post. Amy George was also named one of the top five Canadian f i lms at the Fest ival by BlogTO .

A few days into the festival, buzz for the f i lm also started to grow. “At the film financing panel, Dan Lyon from Telefi lm actually spent a while talking about our film,” says Calvin. “We felt really embraced by Telefilm and T IFF and you fo l ks a t the Greenberg Fund . ”

While Calvin and Yonah are in talks with buyers and distributors, they are focused on figuring out what the best path is for a f i lm l ike Amy George.

With a number of projects in development, the team can’t wait to pick up a camera again. “The moment we finished the fi lm, all we wanted to do was something completely di fferent,” says Yonah.

We can’t wait to see what they come up with next!

getting over amyamy george Filmmakers’ calvin thomas & yonah lewis

Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis

HAROLD GREENBERG FUND

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tIff 2011 roundupBy alan Bacchus

I d o n ’ t k n o w h o w many t imes I went back a n d f o r t h b e t w e e n t h e S c o t i a b a n k T h e a t r e ( o n R i c h m o n d S t . ) a n d T I F F B e l l L i g h t b o x /H y a t t ( o n K i n g S t ) . I n f a c t , I ’ d o f t e n w a l k o u t o f o n e b u i l d i n g a n d p a u s e t o r e m e m b e r

which p lace I was just at in the f i rs t p lace. Th is is the ha l l uc ina to ry fee l i ng o f be ing i n the hea r t o f the Toronto Internat ional F i lm Fest iva l® ( T I F F ) , s e q u e s t e r e d f o r 7 - 1 0 d a y s o u t s i d e t h e r e g u l a r working world. Current events come and go without barely even a notice from us hardcore TIFF patrons.

Of cou rse , the rap id movement be tween these v e n u e s i s t o t r y a n d g e t a s m a n y s c r e e n i n g s , m e e t i n g , p a n e l s e t c i n , b e f o re t h e d a y r u n s o u t . Any TIFF-goes knows how quickly a day can go by w i t h o u t e v e n n o t i c i n g .

So what’s the best of the Fest ival? Unfortunately I d idn ’ t ge t to see the Cadi l lac Peop le ’s Cho ice Award w inner, Where Do We Go Now . L ike many o t h e r s , t h i s o n e e v e n m a n a g e d t o c r e e p u p o n me. That sa id, I can’t recommend any more h igh ly Hazanavicius’s love letter to the si lent f i lm era’ The Ar t i s t . Cannes Bes t Ac to r w inne r Jean Dujard in i s a re l e v a t i o n , a s p i t t i n g i m a g e o f G e n e K e l l y, and wi th the comic t iming of Char l ie Chapl in . With the Weinste ins back ing , th is cou ld be the word o f mouth event f i lm of the year. Less del ightful, but no less enthral l ing is Steve McQueen ’s Shame , which packs the same kind of intensity as Black Swan .

A lexander Payne’s The Descendants met the h i g h e x p e c t a t i o n s o f t h i s f i l m m a k e r, a d m i r a b l y cont inu ing Payne’s career of melancholy off -k i l ter comedy f inding humour in the most dire s i tuat ions. W h i l e G e o r g e C l o o n e y w i l l g e t a l l t h e a t t e n t i o n Payne’s ung lamourous yet insp i red cast ing o f h is

s u p p o r t i n g r o l e p e r h a p s i s t h e b e s t s u r p r i s e .O u t o f M i d n i g h t M a d n e s s , S l e e p l e s s N i g h t s

prov ided a fun v iscera l punch of act ion – French-s t y l e . T h r o w i n g i n a g r o u p b a d a s s Tu r k i s h , Car ibbean and Corsican bad guys, a team of s l imy interna l a ffa i rs agents and a hero ic tough-as-nai ls French cop in one slammin’ nightclub over a dozen ki los of coke effect ively lays a trump card over a l l t h o s e o t h e r s i m i l a r L u c B e s s o n - p ro d u c e d c r i m e t h r i l l e r s .

Two haunt ing true cr ime documentar ies cont inue to l inger in my memory. Werner Herzog ’s ‘cap i ta l p u n i s h m e n t p i c t u re ’ , I n t o t h e A b y s s , i s u t t e r l y f r i gh ten ing . A po ignan t examina t ion o f the c i rc l e o f v i o l e n c e a ro u n d a s m a l l Te x a s t o w n re n d e re d h e a r t b re a k i n g a n d s t a g g e r i n g l y s a d b y H e r z o g ’s endear ing and humane director ia l sty le. Same with Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky’s Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory , the continuing story of three youngsters w r o n g l y c o n v i c t e d f o r t h e h e i n o u s m u r d e r o f three boys in the 1994. I t ’s a haunt ing, t rag ic and frustrating look at not only a f lawed justice system, but a lso the cloud of ignorance, bigotry and hatred that has warped the minds of the angered members o f t h e i r c o m m u n i t y.

There were plenty of inspired Canadian f i lms this year, both comedy and drama. Though my personal a n d u n b i a s e d f a v o u r i t e ( b e i n g a n i n v e s t o r i n t h e f i lm ) i s Michae l Dowse ’s Goon , a v io len t hockey c o m e d y w i t h h e a r t , w h i c h s o f a r g a r n e r e d t h e b iggest Canad ian US sa le , f rom Magnet P ic tures .

A l l T I F F - g o e r s k n o w o f t h e ‘ s i c k e n e s s ’ o r ‘headache’, which occurs at the end of the Festival, a mi ld co ld caused by an immune system re laxed by excessive coffee and alcohol , lack of s leep and inadequate food consumption. After this brief crash we can then look forward to the per iodic rol l out of these and many more f ine TIFF f i lms over the rest of the year and into ‘awards season’ in the winter.

Sleepless Nights

Every Canadian f i lmmaker can probably re late to the fee l ing. Years of b lood, sweat and tears have gone into your film, and as soon it is complete, a new challenge surfaces. How do you get people to see it, and furthermore, get a return on all you’ve invested in the f i lm?

Whi l e you ’ re undoubted ly a sk i l l ed s to ry te l l e r, capturing it in a single image takes a whole different sk i l l set that is bet ter le f t to the pros. Good th ing there are people here to help, l ike Adrian Salpeter and Liz Levine of Random Bench. Adrian and Liz are independent f i lm producers who also run a creative marketing agency and have worked on everything from major cable network shows like HBO’s How To Make I t in America to independent f i lms l ike IFC F i lms’ Five Minutes of Heaven starr ing Liam Neeson and and Screen Media’s 3 Backyards starring Edie Falco. The team at Random Bench can handle anything from corporate branding strategy to key art for entertainment cl ients. They can also handle websites, trai lers and social media campaigns. With offices in Vancouver and Los Angeles and clients in New York and beyond they have access to the best and brightest on both sides of the border.

When it comes to branding, Adrian and Liz always focus on story. “Whether it is producing our own films or marketing other people’s movies, for us the focus is always on story,” says Adrian. “We’ve been fortunate to work with a variety of networks, studios and producers in the US and in our market ing business are eager

t o s h a r e t h a t e x p e r i e n c e a n d creative expertise w i t h C a n a d i a n f i l m m a k e r s , broadcasters and d i s t r i b u t o r s . ”

U n l i k e m a n y f i l m m a k e r s w h o t r y t o c a s t t o o wide a net, Adrian and Liz know the power of a niche audience to spread a message. They a lso know how to turn a fo l lower into a spokesperson for a project, and a guaranteed t icket sale come opening night. “If we were working on a horror film the first place I would go to before the fi lm is produced is to the niche fan-base. They might congregate on sites l ike Fangoria,” says Liz. “Those sorts of fans want to see the Visual FX, they want to see the makeup.. . etc.” With dedicated websites teeming with fan boys & gals dedicated to every genre and subculture, online portals like Fangoria.com are a power fu l too l , fo r those who know how to use i t .

R e g a rd l e s s o f y o u r b u d g e t , c o n s u l t a c re a t i v e market ing agency l i ke Random Bench in o rder to maximize your fi lm’s exposure and abil ity to connect with your audience. For more info on Random Bench and their services please visit: www.randombench.com o r ema i l i n fo@randombench .com.

InsIde the Ideas factorywith adrian salpeter and liz levine oF random Bench

HAROLD GREENBERG FUND

(From left to right) The Fund’s Business Affairs Specialist Alan Bacchus, Engl ish-Language Program President John Galway a n d C o m m u n i c a t i o n s S p e c i a l i s t A l l i s o n L a w r e n c e .

As a lways, th is year ’s Toronto I n t e r n a t i o n a l F i l m F e s t i v a l ® a t t r a c t e d s o m e o f t h e t o p fi lmmakers’ and talent from across the world. Here are just a few of the faces we saw around the fest ival .

W e a r e p r o u d t o s p o n s o r F i l m m a k e r s ’ L o u n g e , a n e w m e e t i n g s p a c e f o r F e s t i v a l f i l m m a k e r s a n d i n d u s t r y p r o f e s s i o n a l s . I t i s t h e s i t e f o r pane ls and indust ry sess ions , as we l l as a p lace to meet , work o r t a k e a b re a k .

(From left to right) President and CEO of Astral, Ian Greenberg, with Jason Priestley at the Opening Night cocktai l party.

C h a n t a l K re v i a z u k a t A s t r a l ’s Opening Night Gala, after performing at the Opening Night cocktail party.

From the panel ‘From Stitch to Screen,’ costume designer for the Fund-supported Goon and Keyhole , Heather Neale .

(From left to right) Filmmaker/actor Peter Tufford Kennedy and f i lmmaker/actor Xavier Dolan ( H e a r t b e a t s ) a t t h e F i l m m a k e r s ’ L o u n g e .

(From left to right) Representing City Life Film Project, Natty Zavitz (Intern), Kobi Ntiri (2011 Finalist), RT! (Founder/Director/Mentor) and Gebriel ‘Beyo’D e n e k e ( 2 0 1 1 F i n a l i s t ) h a n g i n g o u t a t t h e F i l m m a k e r s ’ L o u n g e .