Feb 8, 2012

FILMS WORTH WATCHING by Robert Alstead • There have been many movies about the Holocaust. So much so there is a fear that filmmakers’ constant re-framing and re-imagining of it undermines and clouds the awful history they seek to convey. However, for Polish director Agnieszka Holland, there is still a sense the “main mystery” surrounding...

Feb 8, 2012

ON THE GARDEN PATH by Carolyn Herriot • The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. – Chinese Proverb I often reflect on this wise proverb when thinking about the grassroots community seed shows we introduced to the West Coast over 20 years ago. The intention was to educate people on the imperative of preserving plant genetic diversity through...

Jan 4, 2012

FILMS WORTH WATCHING by Robert Alstead   Two films due to open this month bring the wizardry of digital cinema to the arthouse with stunning results. Firstly, there’s Wim Wenders’ Pina 3D, a portrait of the work of the celebrated German choreographer Pina Bausch (due out January 27). Pina was a film that almost didn’t get made. On June 30,...

Oct 2, 2011

FILMS WORTH WATCHING by Robert Alstead Celebrity tycoon Donald Trump lives up to his billing as a crass megalomaniac in You’ve Been Trumped. The documentary illustrates his bullyboy antics, as he bulldozes a sensitive coastal ecosystem in northeast Scotland to create a mega golf resort. The controversial project on Menie Estate, eight miles from...

Sep 15, 2011

FILMS WORTH WATCHING by Robert Alstead After a decade of covering documentary at the Vancouver International Film Festival (September 29 to October 14 this year), I’ve come to rely on certain staples. Each year, filmmakers tackle the issue of oil dependency with a sharp focus on the ecological and humanitarian travesty of the tar sands; wrestle with the vexed...

Aug 28, 2011

FILMS WORTH WATCHING by Robert Alstead   We all like something for free, don’t we? So what’s not to like about Fresh Air Cinema, a free, outdoor series of movie screenings offered around the Lower Mainland this summer? This mobile cinema company has been setting up its giant, inflatable movie screens, sound systems and generators in parks and...