aluCine Toronto Latin Media Arts Festival presents the Toronto premiere of Andrés Livov‐Macklin’s documentary film A Place Called Los Pereyra, screening July 9-12 at The Royal (608 College St. West, at Clinton St.). www.theroyal.to

A Place Called Los Pereyra tells the story of how life in a tiny community in the Argentine jungle is unexpectedly changed by a visiting charitable mission. Subtle, sweet, often humorous, but also poignant, A Place Called Los Pereyra examines adolescence, charity and the clash of two worlds.

An observational film, made in the cinema verité-style (reminiscent of Pierre Perrault), A Place Called Los Pereyra premiered at IDFA (Amsterdam) and has screened at prominent international festivals, earning praise from Carlos Reygadas.

For more info go to www.lospereyra.com.

Screening dates at The Royal:
Friday July 9 at 7:00pm
Saturday July 10 at 7:00pm
Sunday July 11 at 7:00pm
Monday July 12 at 7:00pm

Director Andrés Livov-Macklin will be in attendance at each screening for an introduction & audience Q&A. (Alternavox will have an upcoming interview with the director shortly)

Follow the film on Facebook: www.facebook.com/lospereyra

Tickets are $8 for students & seniors, $10 general admission. Street parking available on College; free parking on side streets off of College. Theatre is located on College St., between Bathurst & Ossington.

The press release states:

Director Andrés Livov-Macklin discovered Los Pereyra after numerous scouting trips to
communities across rural Argentina where sponsoring (“Godfathering/mothering”) is
practiced. Charmed by its people, its natural surroundings and intrigued by its isolation,
Livov-Macklin found Los Pereyra to be the ideal location to tell the film’s story.
Rosa Casco, the teacher featured prominently in A Place Called Los Pereyra, was
bestowed the honour of “Outstanding Teacher of the Country” by the Argentine
government in 2005.

The school that the “Godmothers” attend is Northlands School, an all-girls private school
in Buenos Aires. Exclusive and highly reputable, Northlands is considered the finest and
most expensive high school in the nation’s capital. Students’ families include prominent
figures in business and politics, while former students even include royalty: Princess
Maxima of the Netherlands attended Northlands as a teenager.

The Godmothers act as patrons to less fortunate schools in isolated villages. At the start
of every new school year, The Godmothers provide their school of choice essential
materials like books, pencils and paper. Once a year, a weeklong field trip is organized to
visit the school of patronage. The headmistress and several girls from the graduating class
make the trek to remote areas to visit the boys and girls they helped sponsor at the start of
the year. Some of the students go on these trips because it is required for their
International Baccalaureate programs, while others do it because they genuinely want to
help.

Patronage of schools in frontier communities, those difficult to access and more than 20
kilometres from urban areas, is not uncommon in Argentina. According to APAER, an
NGO whose mission is to coordinate such activities between schools and patrons (also
referred as “godparents”), more than 50,000 people in Argentina engage in godparenting,
either individually or in groups, such as social clubs, community centers, work
groups, high-schools and churches to name a few. More than 4,500 schools receive help.
For more information: http://www.apaer.org.ar

Patronage is also popular in Canada, where high schools, particularly private schools,
organize community-service field trips to Central America, Asia and Africa.

Amnesty International welcomes the G8 Muskoka Accountability Report and the commitment of G8 countries to increase transparency and accountability in relation to their individual and collective efforts towards achieving development goals. We also welcome the contribution by G8 countries to supporting global efforts to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However, as deadlines draw nearer, there is a very real danger that the MDG targets will not be met in several areas. Amnesty International believes that human rights standards - and the duty of all governments to realize them - must be put at the heart of MDG efforts in order to fulfill the promises made in the Millennium Declaration. For those living in poverty international co-operation and assistance can play a crucial role in ensuring the realization of at least the minimum levels of economic, social and cultural rights.

In a welcome move the Accountability Report provides an account of the G8’s contribution to making progress on a number of key development issues, such as health, education and water and sanitation. Although a step in the right direction, accountability for development commitments must be grounded in a framework of human rights.

Amnesty International believes that accountability of all states in their efforts to realize development goals must include accountability for ensuring that all such efforts are consistent with human rights standards - including in relation to economic, social and cultural rights.

The G8 Muskoka Accountability Report emphasizes that the purpose of aid is to foster sustainable growth and contribute to tangible improvements in the lives of the world’s poorest people. The Report also acknowledges the need to improve aid effectiveness in line with commitments made in the Monterrey Consensus, the Paris Declaration and the Accra Agenda for Action. G8 countries should also reaffirm the Accra Agenda of Action commitment that “Developing countries and donors will ensure that their respective development policies and programmes are designed and implemented in ways consistent with their agreed international commitments on gender equality, human rights, disability and environmental sustainability.”

The G8 must ensure that all their international co-operation and assistance is consistent with human rights standards and should include information on this issue in reports to international human rights bodies, including the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council.

Amnesty International acknowledges the role played by G8 in raising the profile of health within the broader global development agenda. G8 commitment to scale up efforts to address the gaps in the areas of maternal and child health care services is welcome. However, women and girls across the world continue to be subjected to gender discrimination and other human rights violations. They frequently experience multiple forms of discrimination, for example because of their race, caste, ethnicity, disability and marital status.

Failure to tackle gender discrimination, including gender-based violence, and to fully integrate the human rights of women and girls into all efforts to achieve the MDGs will undermine progress. In this regard we urge the G8 countries to call upon the UN Secretary-General and all UN member states to ensure that the proposed Joint Action Plan to Improve the Health of Women and Children is underpinned by a human rights framework and is based on the respect for, and fulfilment of, sexual and reproductive rights.

Greater accountability for national and global efforts towards development goals also requires independent monitoring and evaluation of such efforts. National and international human rights accountability mechanisms could play an important role in efforts to achieve the MDGs. These mechanisms hold states to account for their human rights commitments, and give people living in poverty, and civil society acting on their behalf, greater opportunities to hold governments to account. They can also help ensure that development efforts are based on respect for, and promotion of, all human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, for all.

In light of the upcoming High-level Plenary Meeting of the UN General Assembly on the MDGs we call upon G8 member countries to ensure their efforts to meet the MDGs support the realization of human rights.

By Ola Roks

When most people take off for Vegas it’s for the strippers, the sluts, the slots and the shopping.

I want to go to the Nevada desert in the August heat and live like a skid for ten days with tens of thousands of unsupervised musician hippies. I am odd like that. I have a couple from the south of France that lives out in Nevada, offered to let me stay with them for as long as I like. They have a son who I never met yet because they had just turned into a couple when we’d met years ago. They were there when Bang Bus Brandy had a bad acid trip one New Years and spent the night humping the mattress, screaming like a banshee. They’ve since settled into normalcy, sort of.

They promised me a weekend out on the sands whipping around in dune buggies, and a trip to the red rock mountain things hiking when I visit them. They seemed especially fond of this Burning Man festival that keeps slipping into my conversations randomly everywhere I go. Here is the website if you care to gather more detailed information.This is the layout of the location. To walk the length of the diameter of the semi-circle it takes about an hour, just to give you an idea of the scale. The stick man in the middle is the Burning Man statue, the giant semi circle is where the camps are. The map looks suspiciously Lord of the Ringsy to me.

My bassist and guitarist have been talking about it for years. Then one day I run into some guy who runs a store and happens to have an entire photo album of his experience there and shows it to me. My Vegas friends have been telling me about it for years and finally got to go last August.

The shop owner told me “It’s $400 but if you show up naked it’s free.” I would totally show up naked in the Nevada desert in a Winnebago with band and gear in tow. Apparently a water tank drives around the camps and sprays people all day long. There is some law out there, that if enough people populate so much space in such a timeframe, the location is considered a city for that time period and even assigned its own post office to receive and deliver mail. No money is exchanged at this festival, strictly a bartering system in effect.

It is essentially camping out in the desert, with 20,000 plus people, Canadians being the largest group of all, with hundreds of known and unknown bands playing on hundreds of homemade stages welded together like arty boats and dragons that were dragged out into the middle of nowhere by these dedicated artists and people.

On the tenth day they burn a giant wooden man stick figure statue that is several stories high and have a giant bonfire. After the ten day party, it’s all taken down, everyone leaves without a trace.

Artist: Vladimir Kato

June 4th- June 27th

Show and Tell Gallery

1161 Dundas St. W. Toronto

416-347-3316

www.showandtellgallery.com

In “Wilderness” Vladimir Kato uses the animal as a form or base to play with exaggerated color while capturing the individual personalities of the subjects he paints,  a departure from the work he completed last year  i.e. transvestite themes and Glam 80s pop style.

Vladimir is originally from Belgrade and is a graduate of the Interpretive Illustration and Classical Animation Programs at the Sheridan Collage of Art and Design, after a brief stint in The Graffiti culture of Toronto. Vladimir started his serious painting in 2004.

His day job is as an animation production designer, he just wrapped up a new show called “The Dating Guy” an edgy adult late night cartoon that is based in Toronto.

This is Vladimir’s 2nd solo gallery show, he started exhibiting his work in 2003. “Wilderness” is definitely not a conventional view of the animals around us, rather an alternative pumped up look at the world of zoology.

By Alison Brown

Not Your Father’s Contemporary

137 Robert St. 2nd Floor

notyourfathers@gmail.com

www.notyourfathers.wordpress.com

Brought to you by:

Curatorial Collective, Nice Stuff:

Charlie Irani

Teresa Aversa

Pantea Razzaghi

What happens when parents indulge their children?  In this case, great things!  Not Your Father’s Contemporary is the first of a series of experimental locations brought to you by the Curatorial Collective “Nice Stuff”.

This former family home of Cyrus and Hutoshi Irani is a lived in apartment at the corner of Harbourd and Robert Street. It has been converted into a 500 sq/ft indoor exhibition space and a 950/sq ft outdoor garden patio.

The highlight of this gallery is the secret garden that has been lovingly tended to for over 25 years by Cyrus and Hutoshi Irani, Curator Charlie Iranis’, Mom and Dad. Presently the garden houses an  Installation by Melissa Fisher “Afterthought in Paradise, Test # 1” Consisting of a tarp that is intricately woven with hundreds of fine threads building a web design that surrounds the outdoor space, Illustrating the journey of two forces that split and intersect mirror and conclude.

The Indoor gallery is home to the Grand Opening Fundraiser which has been contributed to by an impressive group of local artists. Mystery loot bags line the walls. Each filled with party Treats and Contemporary art.

The collectives plan is for Not Your Father’s Contemporary to act as a research hub, where artists and designers, chefs and neighbors can meet and create dialogues that will carry over to their diverse practices. There are planned lectures, movie screenings, brunch sessions, shows and events like the up coming monthly dinner party series.

Look out for their first curated exhibit featuring the work of Piotr Adas and Paul Kozak.

By Alison Brown

So I’d like to think that I’m tough, I mean I have some piercings in my face and sometimes I quote Wu-Tang lyrics, but realistically, I am anything but intimidating. This fun fact aside, I’ve always had a bit of a fascination with brass knuckles. I could never really get behind the whole grill thing; mostly I just think that they’re funny looking, even when they’re not diamond encrusted. Brass knuckles on the other hand look pretty rad and they’re practical. I haven’t been in a fight in a really long time and I can assure you that it is way more likely that I was slapping and pulling hair instead of punching in that one, but I’d like to think that if I had been wearing something other than a mood ring that night, I probably would have thrown at least one punch (I’m kidding…maybe).

Believe me, I’m not condoning violence here, it’s not so much the idea of harming someone that attracts me to them, it’s more the aesthetic, like how cool having four rings attached to each other looks. I have never actually purchased brass knuckles. Apart from the fact it’s illegal to do so in Canada (but not in France, according to Wikipedia you only have to be 16 and older to get yourself a pair), I’ve always thought that the palm grip on the inside would prevent them from making a very comfortable ring, you know, for everyday wear. Can you imagine how excited I was last month when I first spotted a three finger ring on the hand of a woman passing by? These multi finger rings are the answer to my brass knuckle dreams…they’re palm grip free, they’re super cute and I won’t go to jail for wearing them! I just recently purchased myself a two ring for one hand and a three ring for the other. Appearance wise, I really like the three ring one, but it’s proving to be a little impractical. Having my index, middle and ring fingers all kind of stuck together makes it a little tricky to type as well as hold and pick things up; so I being right handed, I have decided to reserve that one for my left hand. The two ring one allows for quite a bit more freedom. I have been wearing it on my middle and ring fingers and I’ve found that having free reign over my index finger is quite helpful. I have yet to see any of these rings made for four fingers, but since I’m already struggling with the three finger one, I guess if I do happen to come across one, I’ll probably pass!

If you’re looking for some jewelry that is different and a bit of a challenge, pick yourself up one. I have seen the rings at a couple of different places in Toronto so far, the most reasonably priced ones being at Urban Outfitters, where they stock various sizes in brass and silver. Put on one or two and get out there so you can rep brass knuckle rap (Wu-Tang quote…see, I told you so)!

We are happy to recommend this film for two reasons: the cause is a good and decent and one of our good friends, DJ Machetero, is playing the after party!

Details:

Return to El Salvador documents the aftermath of a 12 year civil war and the interplay between the Salvadoran people and the US politics and policies that directly influence the Central American country.

Narrated by Martin Sheen, the film features interviews by former US ambassador to El Salvador Robert White, and has been endorsed by Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The film also outlines the disappearance of prominent mining activist Marcelo Rivera. While in El Salvador shooting principal photography, Moffett and his crew stumbled upon the disappearance of Rivera - he had been “disappeared” days prior to the filming of the documentary. Investigating further, our crew found more and more signs in this mysterious disappearance pointing towards the Vancouver-based Pacific Rim Mining Company. Eventually, as the film goes on to tell, Rivera’s body was found - not by police, who had no information, but by his friends.

“I’m eager to share the story of the torture and death of Marcelo Rivera as it relates to Canadian mining corporations,” says Moffett. “The story I came across changed my life. It’s critically important that Canadians take stock of what corporations that fly the Canadian flag are doing and the way this affects how Canadians are perceived worldwide.” For this reason, the Toronto international debut is vital to this release.

What Return to El Salvador makes clear is that the rebuilding is not over, and that the spectre of Salvadoran death squads still lingers.

Moffett will be in Ottawa the morning of June 15th from 7:30 to 9:00 am at Center Block House of Commons to present the film to Canadian Parliament at the behest of MP John McKay. Return to El Salvador was requested by McKay because he brought forth Bill C-300, a corporate accountability bill, to Canadian Parliament and is invested in our film’s message.

“Return to El Salvador is a moving documentary which highlights the unwavering strength of the El Salvadorian people through immense hardships,” says McKay. “Chronicling the country’s difficult past, Jamie Moffett highlights the key issues that exist in the country today. His portrayal of the issues this country faces, particularly those related to matters of foreign interference demonstrate the importance of our own countries actions, on those living in this small country.”

Screening Dates:

World Premiere: June 17th at 7:30 pm,

June 18th at 9pm

June 20th at 4pm

June 21st at 9pm

June 22nd at 9pm
You may find tickets here:http://www.returntoelsalvador.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=5

Here is a special  7 minute intro:

After 15 years of staging Afro-Caribbean dance productions, Tamla Matthews shows us her heart. And who better to tell her own story, than the woman herself. Producing and starring in her true life story of shame, regret and triumph, The Caribbean Dance Theatre presents Tamla Matthews in, Awakening: An Urban Musical Story of a Dancer. Thursday June 17th - 18th 2010.

ABOUT THE STORY:

Awakening opens with Tamla’s fondest childhood memory, dancing in the living room with her six siblings for an audience of one. “My mother would just love to see us all dancing together, nothing made her happier.” But when Tamla starts to take her African dance classes seriously, she quickly learns there’s a price to pay. “I can remember when I was ten years old, coming to school with my African dance outfit. That long multi patterned billowy skirt, with the equally colourful head wrap. At a time when hip hop was gaining global hype, what I was doing just was not cool. I got laughed at. For a long time, I was ashamed of it. ”
The audience will dance with Tamla as she explores ballet and modern forms searching for her identity as a dancer. “I never could feel the soul from other forms that I felt from African dance. And it was a struggle to stay committed because I never saw myself reflected anywhere. The only black dancers I saw were in FAME and in music videos.”
Tamla has to make a tough choice when a life altering opportunity comes knocking. She must decide whether to give up on her tradition in exchange for fame or to give back to the art form that has given her so much.
ABOUT THE SHOW:
Awakening brings back traditional African dance form and fuses it with modern Caribbean dance technique. Live musical and spoken word accompaniment intricately reveals a world of diverse dance styles from gospel to reggae. The dancers range in age from 3 to 35, with black women of all different shapes and shades. Their common thread is a deep pride for their art form rooted in Afro-Caribbean heritage. Something Tamla says is her mission in life. “The importance of it is really reflected in my 3 year old daughter. After one performance, she stood holding my hand still dressed in her long colourful skirt and tiny head wrap. Other little girls came over and were gushing, saying, “You look so pretty, just like a princess.” That was emotional for me, because I remember how I used to be ashamed of my dance clothes, and how I longed to be a princess. But she can stand there and be admired and be proud. And maybe now, finally, a little black girl can be a princess too.”
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Tamla Matthews has been an active member of the Toronto dance community for over 22 years. An accomplished Artistic Director, Choreographer and dance artist of local and international acclaim, Tamla is a certified fitness instructor and creator of Reggaerobics. She is a mainstay judge at the annual York Region District School Board Dance competition and the Director of Caribbean Dance Theatre. She will be playing herself in this production, and her 3 year old daughter Egypt will be playing “young Tamla”.

Lennox Glasgow is a dancer and dance instructor from Trinidad and Tobago. A well versed educator, Lennox was the Artistic Director of the Prime Minister’s Best Village Trophy competition in Trinidad for 12 years. He has been summoned to places like Japan, Germany and Africa to perform. Calypso enthusiasts may recognize Lennox as the famous Calypsonian Hit Man who performed in the Trinidad calypso circuit in the 1990s.

ABOUT THE COMPANY:
This production marks the 15th anniversary of the Caribbean Dance Theatre (CDT). Specializing in Contemporary Caribbean based dance styles that celebrate the Caribbean contribution to the Canadian cultural mosaic; Caribbean Dance Theatre’s signature style honours the cultural root, celebrates the present and inspires possibilities for the future of dance in Canada.

Awakening: An Urban Musical Story of a Dancer
Thursday June 17th - 18th 2010 at 8pm
Toronto Centre for the Arts (5040 Yonge Street)
Tickets range from $25 - $40.

For those of us who at times need a break from feature-length films, the World Wide Short Film Festival (WWSFF) is the place to be. This year, the programmers bring us a great line up again. Like previous years, many of the favourites are back. Here is the full list of this year’s programs. There is something for everyone.

A Loot Bag o’ Laughs: ALTERNATIVE COMEDY SHOWCASE

Hold on to your fake moustaches and frosty beverages! WSFF and Laugh Sabbath’s alterna-comics have bumped heads to bring together a program of wildly wicked shorts and laugh inducing live performances. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind Film Festival Variety Show devoted to all things silly and surreal!

Celebrity Shorts
While shooting blockbusters and the hottest shows on TV, Hollywood loves to experiment with short films. This year, we bring you the pet project of comedy’s all-stars, an Oscar®-studded take on a children’s classic and a short peek at the world’s biggest heart throb.

Canadian Film Centre: SHORT DRAMATIC FILMS
1200 alumni and 22 years: the Canadian Film Centre is dedicated to launching Canada’s most creative voices in film, television and new media. Come and see these shorts created by our most recent residents.

Midnight Mania: CREEPY
These scary, demented and unpredictable stories will have you shrinking into your seat, pulling up your knees and assuming the fetal position. Laugh, cry, scream - do whatever you need - to help you deal with the discomfort and fear.

DATE NIGHT!
Are you looking for love? Have a fling, find a mate, break your heart - or someone else’s - with this collection of romantic short stories. Bring a hankie and your sense of humour for these true and tall tales of love.

DORIS
In 1999, the Doris network was founded in Sweden with the goal of encouraging and empowering female filmmakers. This omnibus presents seven recent shorts created in accordance with the Doris Manifesto: films must have at least one female lead; scriptwriters are female; the score is composed by a woman; and all key creative positions are filled by women.

Film School Spotlight: CENTRO DE CAPACITACIÓN CINEMATOGRÁFICA
CCC is Mexico’s premiere film school, exemplifying the gold standard of cinematography and championing a bold new wave. To commemorate the bicentennial of Mexican independence, WSFF presents six dynamic short films - exposing a sublimely subversive cinematic underbelly that is both fresh and unforgettable.

Midnight Mania: FREAKY
The stuff that dreams, nightmares and late night TV are made of. Weird, “please explain this to me” head-scratchers, along with sicko heroes who sing, shoot and stab their way into our hearts and minds.

Opening Gala: AWARD WINNERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD
We’ve rolled out the red carpet and saved you the best seat in the house! Join us for a round-up of the year’s most winning-est films from around the world. Gold statuette not included.

LAUGHTER WITHOUT BORDERS
A talentless magician from Sweden, sex-crazed robots from Halifax, and Will Ferrell. Need we say more? Take a night off from fretting over global warming, the recession, and your Facebook status to enjoy these comedies from home and abroad.

Lunafest: SHORT FILMS BY, FOR, ABOUT WOMEN
Filled with stories of reflection and whimsy, hope and humor, grace and perseverance, LUNAFEST films are renowned for celebrating the talents and stories of women. They captivate audiences, compel dialogue and arm those who participate with both the knowledge and the motivation to make a difference in their communities.

WHEN ALL IS SAID AND SUNG
Calling all Gleeks, karaoke crooners, HSM hardcores, shower singers and filmi fanatics! This hit list of musical movies uses song and dance to reach emotional high and low notes that lie beyond words.

onedotzero: NEW BRITISH TALENT ‘09
Check out moving image work by the latest bright sparks and up-and-coming talent from the UK’s filmmaking scene that spans cutting edge documentary, lo-fi animation and tongue-in-cheek horror. New British Talent is curated in collaboration with the BBC’s interactive showcase for British filmmakers.

Official Selection 1: BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
Film is voyeuristic, seducing cinephiles frame by frame. The films in this program delve into the would-be private lives of both real and fictional characters, excavating the cinematic nooks and crannies of the human condition.

Official Selection 2: THE GREATEST LOVE OF ALL
Whether you’re crazy for poodle-training or Iron Maiden, dedicated to hockey or to the Lord Himself, loving something or someone makes this motley crew of characters act in strange and wonderful ways.

Official Selection 3: WHO’S THE BOSS?
Who doesn’t have control issues? An athlete, an empty-nester, siblings and lovers all struggle to gain the upper hand by any means necessary - dramatic power plays, comedic push-pulls, and a few out-and-out battles of the (s)exes.

Official Selection 4: GREY SKIES, GREEN ACRES
As urban spaces encroach on green places, some city mice long for the hills, while others find enterprising ways to thrive in the big, bad city. Take a break from the rat-race with these sweet and surprising tales from town and country.

Official Selection 5: PRETTY POISON
Beneath every shiny surface lurks an ugly, hidden truth. Enjoy these shorts as they cleverly expose the dark side of the moon, the shallowness of physical beauty, the emptiness of fame, the persistence of homophobia . . . and a meatball inside a cupcake.

Official Selection 6: PARENTS JUST DON’T UNDERSTAND
Growing up is hard to do, but this year’s crop of little angels, teenaged hoodlums, wolf pups and Jedi Knights make the growing pains all worthwhile.

Official Selection 7: BEST LAID PLANS
You may be a man with a plan, or a woman with a purpose, but even the best laid plans run into unexpected roadblocks. How you deal with the setbacks, the pickles, the disasters and the changes differentiates the detours from the delights.

Official Selection 8: THE NEW SOCIAL SCIENCES
From cell to psyche, human nature and the mechanics of the plant and animal world make ideal filmmaking fodder. Delve into this lush collection that intertwines the world of science and technology with the realm of the senses - all in the name of celluloid gold.

Official Selection 9: BAD HABITS
Every day, we perform routine actions that become involuntary habits. From shoddy grammar to compulsive quilting, suicidal birds to homicidal impulses, drug dependency to a new brand of talk therapy, breaking a bad habit is hard work.

Official Selection 10: ONE FOR THE ROAD
From heart-wrenching to heartwarming and hitting almost every pit-stop in between, this collection of border and boundary crossing films runs the gamut. Whether traveling geographically or metaphorically, it’s all about the journey, not the destination.

Official Selection 11: NOT JUST FROM VENUS
The oft-described “fairer” sex can mesmerize, beguile and confuse their male counterparts - and each other - to no end. An eclectic group of unforgettable heroines transcend the typical female roles of mothers, lovers and bitches, boldly forging their way in both real and fictional worlds.

Official Selection 12: BOYS WILL BE BOYS
Some men love dolls, some need their mommies, others are true heroes, and a few are just plain rotten. This motley boy’s club of shorts features testosterone-driven dramas, comedies and real life tales of modern masculinity.

Spotlight On Poland: PLATIGE IMAGE
This year’s animation spotlight brings you a not-to-be-missed retrospective of multi-award winning works from Platige Image. These films burst with hauntingly beautiful glimpses, ranging from the galaxies’ outer reaches to the hidden world inside your television.

SPOTLIGHT ON POLAND 1
Polish cinema has a long and rich tradition in all cinematic genres. Early developments in stop motion animation, the documentary form and the art of cinematography can all be attributed to Polish mavericks. We invite you to get acquainted with Poland’s newest and brightest filmmaking talent.

SPOTLIGHT ON POLAND 2
Polish cinema has a long and rich tradition in all cinematic genres. Early developments in stop motion animation, the documentary form and the art of cinematography can all be attributed to Polish mavericks. We invite you to get acquainted with Poland’s newest and brightest filmmaking talent.

PRENDS ÇA COURT! 10 Year Retrospective
For ten years, Prends ça court! has been giving Quebecers something to write home about. This program of nine shorts gives us a not-to-be-missed cross section of recent Quebecois cinema at its best. Sit back and prepare to be blown away!

Scene Not Herd: MUSIC VIDEOS
Now in its seventh year, Scene Not Herd returns with a visual journey celebrating the unique fusion of sights and sounds known as music videos. Featuring works from well-known and obscure artists, as well as established and up-and-coming music video directors, this year’s program pushes boundaries and is not for the faint of heart.

Sci Fi: OUT THERE
Space is a cold dark place, whether we’re talking about the starry expanse or an inner-state. Self-delusion, soil improvement and self-help all factor into these time travelling, future states.

Shorts for Shorties: THE GREAT CHASE!
Ready? Set? Go! Embark upon journeys great and small with a host of charming, giggle-worthy characters in this vibrant collection of animated family films. Then join celebrated animator Jon Izen from CBC’s YAM ROLL series for a drawing workshop. Learn how to develop ideas and kooky characters of your own!

Slap ‘n’ Tickle
Saucy, sexy and downright naughty, this year’s late-night shorts slip deep between the sheets. Doggie-style lovin’, the true story of a 73-year-old cougar and even the dirty dreams of sheep are just a few pieces of tale that will leave you begging for more.

I’m happy to see some familiar favourites, like Shorts for Shorties, Scene Not Heard but I’m looking forward to Lunafest, Filmschool Spotlight and onedotzero. Keep checking as I will have my reviews of various programs and may be spotlights on some of the filmmakers. WWSFF starts tomorrow, June 1st. For full details on the programs, box office info and location, check out their www.shorterisbetter.com

On June 3rd, come check out one of Toronto’s most-loved live bands Random Order as they release their Pink Cloud Remix EP, shaken, stirred and remixed by Alternavox’s own Jrox. The night will feature live performances from another favourite Toronto band Loveshot and DJs 4est, Lindzrox (yup that’s me!) and Juse (fresh off the boat) who will keep your head bopping and butt dancing all night long. Come out to support local talent and kick the summer off right with one hell of a party!

The Deets:

Thursday, June 3, 2010 @ The Garrison 1197 Dundas St. West @ Ossington

Doors Open at 9:00 p.m.

Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 at the door and can be purchased at Culturshoc 1205 Queen St. West @Dufferin or www.culturshoc.com

www.randomorder.ca

www.jhodgsonmusic.com