Reel Stories 2010

February 5 - 7, 2010

Location: Imperial Cinemas, 55 Dunlop Street West, Barrie

Returning for its sixth year during Winterfest, Reel Stories will be serving up a variety of memorable films from Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. Included in this year's line-up are three Canadian documentaries: "Prom Night in Mississippi," an inspiring story about social change in a small Southern town in the U.S.; "Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould," a comprehensive and balanced portrait of one of the most documented classical musicians of the 20th century and "The 'R' Word" which tells the wonderful stories of love and courage shared by three generations of families and individuals with intellectual disabilities. Also included in this year's programme are features inspired by historical figures with "The Young Victoria" and "Coco Avant Chanel." Finally, to round out the series we’ve included the animated feature "Mary and Max," the clever and emotionally affecting true story, spanning twenty years, of the exchanges between two pen-pals.

Film Descriptions

The Young Victoria

Director: Jean-Marc Vallée
Cast: Emily Blunt, Rupert Friend, Paul Bettany and Jim Broadbent
Drama, PG for mature themes, 105 minutes (United Kingdom/Canada/USA)

Screening: Friday February 5, 2010 at 7:00 pm

ANNOUNCING ADDED SCREENING: Friday February 5 at 9pm

Critically acclaimed director Jean-Marc Vallée (C.R.A.Z.Y.) delivers a delicate and profoundly romantic look at England's last golden age. This in-depth portrait of the young but strong-willed monarch also examines the often ruthless machinations that characterized the dealings between royal families, where patriotism and family loyalties were labyrinthine in their complications, and battles for leverage and position could poison even a mother-daughter relationship. However, Vallée's film is also a truly heartfelt love story: from the very first meeting, we sense a mutual attraction and bond between Albert and Victoria despite the restrictions placed on their interactions. Beautifully directed and exquisitely acted, this film is a sumptuous, sophisticated and very charming exploration of English history.

Official website: www.theyoungvictoriamovie.com

• Nominated – Best Actress (Emily Blunt), Golden Globes
• Nominated – Critics Choice for Best Actress (Emily Blunt) and Costume Design (Sandy Powell)

Prom Night in Mississippi

Director: Paul Saltzman
Cast: Morgan Freeman
Documentary, PG for mature and disturbing content, 90 minutes (Canada/USA)

Screening: Saturday February 6, 2010 at 1:00 pm

In 1997, Academy Award winning actor, Morgan Freeman – who lives in the Charleston, Mississippi community – offered to fund the first-ever integrated Senior Prom in the history of Charleston's one high school: his offer was rejected. In 2008, Freeman offered again and this time, the East Tallahatchie County School Board accepted. Charleston High, with over 400 black and white students has, to this day, always had separate proms: one black and one white. The film follows the senior class of 2008 as they prepare and then attend their historic first integrated prom, exploring the strong emotions, traditions and conflict inherent in race relations in this community, and in the American deep South in general.

Official website: www.promnightinmississippi.com/the-film

• Won - Target Filmmaker Award for Best Documentary, AFI Dallas International Film Festival
• Won - Audience Choice Award, Jackson Crossroads Film Festival
• Won - Audience Choice Award, Oxford Film Festival, Mississippi
• Nominated - Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary, Sundance Film Festival

Mary and Max

Director: Adam Elliot
Language: Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eric Bana, Bethany Whitmore and Barry Humphries
Animated feature, Animated feature, Rated G: however, contains MATURE SUBJECT MATTER, NOT RECOMMENDED FOR YOUNG CHILDREN, Language: English/Yiddish with English subtitles, 92 minutes (Australia)

Screening: Saturday February 6, 2010 at 4:00 pm

A bold example of adult storytelling through animation, this critically acclaimed film premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. It is an exquisite, melancholy story of a pen-pal relationship between two very different people: Mary Dinkle a chubby, lonely 8-year-old living in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia and Max Horovitz, a severely obese, 44-year-old Jewish man with Asperger’s Syndrome living in the chaos of New York City. As MARY AND MAX chronicles Mary’s trip from adolescence to adulthood and Max’s passage from middle to old age, the film explores a bond that survives much more than the average friendship’s ups-and-downs.

Official website: www.maryandmax.com

• Won - Crystal Bear Special Mention, Berkinale Generation 14+
• Won - Feature Film Award, Annecy International Animation Festival
• Won - Best Fiction Foreign Film, Traverse City Film Festival
• Won - Best Screenplay, Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards
• Won - Grand Prix, Stuttgart Animation Festival
• Won - Audience Award and Special Mention, Animafest Zagreb Animation Festival
• Won - Best Direction in a Feature Film, Australian Directors Guild
• Won - Grand Prize, Ottawa International Animation Festival

Coco Avant Chanel (Coco before Chanel)

Director: Anne Fontaine
Principal Cast: Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola, Emmanuelle Devos and Marie Gillain
Biography/Drama, PG for mature thematics, sexual content, Language: French with English subtitles, 110 minutes (France)

Screening: Saturday February 6, 2010 at 7:00 pm

ANNOUNCING ADDED SCREENING: Saturday, February 6 at 9:00 pm

A charming and intimate look at the early years of the iconic French designer Coco Chanel, this film has something for everyone: spectacle, stunning period detail and an outstanding performance by Audrey Tautou (AMÉLIE) as the headstrong title character. Shunning cliché and sentimentality while sensitively exploring this fascinating personality, the film takes the standard biopic formula and stretches it in imaginative new directions. Focusing on the designer's formative years, director Fontaine is most concerned with how Coco became Chanel: how a young woman with no money or resources other than a gifted eye and forthright manner became one of the most legendary figures in contemporary fashion. Wonderfully shot and acted, this film is as impressive as it is intelligent.

Official website: www.sonyclassics.com/cocobeforechanel

• Nominated - Critics Choice Award, Best Foreign Language Film, Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards
• Nominated - Audience Award, European Film Awards
• Nominated - Best Composer and Prix d’Excellence for Costume design, European Film Awards
• Won - Film Composer of the Year (Alexandre Desplat), World Soundtrack Awards

Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould

Director: Michèle Hozer, Peter Raymont
Cast: Glenn Gould, Cornelia Foss
Documentary, 14A, 109 minutes (Canada)

Screening: Sunday February 7, 2010 at 12:00 pm

An enigmatic musical poet, world-renowned pianist Glenn Gould continues to captivate us twenty-seven years after his untimely death. Intimately revealing the man behind the myth, GENIUS WITHIN casts new light on the mysterious pianist whose ideas were as controversial and his private life as passionate as his music. The film features never-before seen footage of Gould plus photographs and excerpts from his private diaries and home recordings. It also includes personal memories from Gould's most intimate friends and lovers, some who have never spoken publicly about him before. In many ways, the film is a study of the artist's loneliness and isolation which some saw as the overriding themes in Gould's writing and radio work. GENIUS WITHIN is an assured, comprehensive and balanced portrait of one of Canada’s most significant cultural icons.

Official website: www.glenngouldmovie.com

Director/Editor Michèle Hozer will be in attendance for a Q&A following the screening.

Michele Hozer Director/Editor

The 'R' Word

Executive Producer/Writer/Director: Pierre Tétrault
Producer and Writer: Doris Rajan
Narrated by: Joe Clayton
Documentary, Not rated, 63 minutes (Canada)

Screening: Sunday February 7, 2010 at 2:30 pm

They have been called "village idiots", "imbeciles", "fools", "sub-humans" and "retards"; they have been incarcerated and abused in prisons and institutions; they have been feared and misunderstood for centuries: "They" are people with intellectual disabilities. Directed by Pierre Tétrault, THE 'R' WORD tells the experiences of three generations of families and individuals as they share their compelling stories of courage, vulnerability and love. The Barrie Film Festival in partnership with Simcoe Community Services is pleased to present this Canadian film which examines the way that people with intellectual disabilities have been treated in the past and also details the dreams of a brighter future which promises to enhance the abilities of ALL people.



Doris Rajan Producer/Writer and Pierre Tétrault Director/Producer/Writer

Producer Doris Rajan and Director Pierre Tétrault will be present for a Q&A in the theatre following the screening. Please join us at the MacLaren Art Centre following the Q&A for a free reception hosted by Simcoe Community Services. Guests will have the opportunity to view the Photosensitive exhibit featuring black and white photographs of people with an intellectual disability.

What's Coming

March Screen One Screening:

Me and Orson Welles
Screening: Wednesday March 3, 2010
at 4 pm, 7 pm, 9:15pm
Director: Richard Linklater

ME AND ORSON WELLES, Richard Linklater's new coming of age feature is set in the exciting world of the New York Theatre.
» Read More...

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