Tag: Quebec

Where is the Journey in Katak: The Brave Beluga?

10th Ave Productions is a relatively small animation studio aspiring to create big things with Katak: The Brave Beluga.

Katak The Brave BelugaPlaying at select cinemas.

Movies like Katak: The Brave Beluga can have a difficult time standing out. This French-Canadian produced film made a few waves in the last week of February playing nationwide. As for crossing the sea to be known in other territories like the main character (voiced by Alexandre Bacon) did, means there’s going to be an uphill struggle. Not only are there bullies in this journey to find his place in an aquatic society but also, not everyone is willing to aide him along the way.

Here, this young whale is out to fulfil his ailing grandmother’s last wish, and that’s to reunite the family. He never met grandpa, and he migrated away to somewhere in the Arctic. To find him will be tough when considering the vastness but in what this film lacks in spirit, there’s lots of heart put into this coming of age and road trip journey. 

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Fantasia’s 25th Anniversary Goes Virtual!

In what’s known is how important Japan’s culture has played across Fantasia’s history. There’ll be an enhanced focus, and this enthusiast can’t wait to see what’s coming! I hope they can secure the rights to show the full run of Evangelion films in its entirety! 

Fantasia2021By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

For the latest updates, please visit the official website.

Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival is going half and half, with a mix of physical events and digital for the genre enthusiast. The 25th Anniversary can’t be just one without the other because of the current global medical crisis, and the organizers can’t say for certain if the pandemic can be contained by the time summer rolls around. This event will include scheduled screenings and premieres, panels, and workshops, with films once again hosted on the leading-edge platform created by Festival Scope and Shift72. The number of physical events will be based on what the province’s health authority says, and this news don’t drop until closer to the event.

In what’s known is how important Japan’s culture has played across Fantasia’s history. There’ll be an enhanced focus, and this enthusiast can’t wait to see what’s coming! I hope they can secure the rights to show the full run of Evangelion films in its entirety! 

Continue reading “Fantasia’s 25th Anniversary Goes Virtual!”

VFFOnline: Pining for Spirits in Ghost Town Anthology

Denis Côté’s Ghost Town Anthology is a cozy supernatural character driven drama which, as the title implies, collects a few anecdotes together by those people who knew the person who killed himself at the start of the movie.

Ghost Town Anthology.jpgBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Streaming Online
at the Victoria Film Festival
Get your pass here to view beginning Feb 5th, 2021

Note: Available for residents in British Columbia. Please check local listings for availability near you.

Denis Côté‘s Ghost Town Anthology is a cozy supernatural character driven drama which, as the title implies, collects a few anecdotes together by those people who knew the person who killed himself at the start of the movie.

Everyone who lives in this small Quebec town of Sainte-Irénée-les-Neiges, population 215, knew Simon Dubé (Philippe Charrette). Nobody understood why he took his life and too much time was spent over thinking who he was and what happened which led to his suicide. When considering how icy hard the ground is (the tale takes place during the hard winter), he can’t even get a proper burial.

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VFFOnline: What’s in the Jukebox? An American Dream Made in Quebec

this documentary is highly entertaining, toe-tapping and a wonderful look when the industry was not as dog eat dog. Quebec is its own microcosm.

Image result for Jukebox: The American Dream, Made in QuébecBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Streaming Online
at the Victoria Film Festival
Get your pass here to view beginning Feb 5th, 2021

Note: Available to view for residents in British Columbia

C’mon baby, let’s do the twist with Denis Pantis, the son of a Greek immigrant who took Montreal’s music scene by storm back in the 60s. His presence was everywhere. From producing to finding new talent, the names he discovered said something not only for the times but also for his pocketbook.

Jukebox: An American Dream Made in Quebec is a wicked look into the past, with a personality in its presentation to boot. Directors Éric Ruel and Guylaine Maroist expertly delves into Pantis’ influence throughout his many ventures, and although he never wanted to be a musician himself, he had the talent to promote others and turn hits from elsewhere into francophone delights.

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[Fantasia 2019] Making that Steampunk Connection with the Everyday

Steampunk may simply be characterized as Victorian age sensibilities with technology powered by steam, but there’s more to it than just that.

Steampunk PosterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

To find upcoming showtimes, please visit the official website here.

Steampunk may simply be characterized as Victorian age sensibilities with technology powered by steam, but there’s more to it than just that. The literary worlds of Jules Verne and H. G. Wells are just one example of what this genre represents. Another is in how it invites the imagination to ponder alternate possibilities if western civilization went a different way.

The documentary, Steampunk Connection, made its world premiere at Fantasia Fest 2019 on August 1st, 2019 and it describes this genre as a fictitious, futuristic trope that gives us the means to question today’s technological revolution by comparing it to an obsolete technology of a bygone era.

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