May 12, 2015, TORONTO — The Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) unveils its 2015 program today at The Ritz-Carlton hotel in Toronto. The annual festival celebrates the best in contemporary Italian cinema from around the world. ICFF runs from June 11-19, 2015 in Toronto, Vaughan, Mississauga, Hamilton, Montreal and Quebec City.
“The ICFF slate is a diverse collection of new and returning voices all linked by Italian culture,” says Artistic Director Cristiano de Florentiis. “This year’s films take a creative and multicultural approach to current events and contemporary issues. We’re also excited to shine a spotlight on features and shorts by Italian Canadian filmmakers.”
The festival opens with a gala at Roy Thomson Hall and closes with a celebration at The Ritz- Carlton hotel. ICFF’s opening film is the international premiere of the drama L’Oriana, starring Vittoria Puccini as famed journalist Oriana Fallaci. At 17, Fallaci risked her life as part of the anti-fascist resistance movement Giosfizia e Liberia and continued to raise controversy by fighting Islamic extremism into her 70s.
The festival closes with the comedy Sei mai stata sulla luna? by Paolo Genovese on June 19 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox at 7:30 p.m. Italy’s Sabrina lmpacciatore (T/›e Passion of the Christ, The Last Miss) will present the film.
ICFF 2015 includes more than 19 premieres, a pre-festival retrospective of Roberto Benigni and Nicoletta Braschi, co-presented with TIFF and in collaboration with the U of T, as well as the children’s festival, ICFF Junior, which is presenting the Canadian premiere of the Italian- Canadian co-production (Midnight Sun), starring Dakota Goyo and Bridget Moynahan and directed by Roger Spottiswoode and Brando Quilici. All foreign language films are subtitled.
The second annual ICFF Industry Day, an event organized in collaboration with myETV Media, Pinewood Studios and SIRT Sheridan, facilitates connections between Italian and Canadian film industries. This year the event focuses on animated films.
About ICFF
The 4th annual Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) runs from June 11-19 2015, during Canada’s Italian Heritage Month. The festival presents an international collection of feature films, documentaries and shorts, including premieres, advance screenings and independent films. Screenings are supplemented by guest appearances by filmmakers, actors, authors, academics and other expert speakers who partake in question and answer sessions following most screenings. ICFF is generously supported by leading sponsors; The Ritz-Carlton Toronto, Castlepoint and Green for Life Environmental inc. It is also supported by major partners; TIFF, Cineplex, Cinematheque Quebecoise, Cinema Guzzo, Cinema Cartier, Ambasciata d’ltalia, Consolato d’ltalia a Toronto e Montreal, lstituto ltaliano di Cultura, Italian Trade Commission and L’Altra ltalia.
THE SHOW Odysseo: Larger Than Life The horse has marked human history and progress more than any other animal. Horses have taken us to the ends of the earth, enabled us to build bridges between cultures and expand civilization. It is the beauty and harmony of this ancient relationship, this meeting of two worlds – those of horse and man – that inspired the creators of Cavalia’s second show, Odysseo. As friends, partners and inseparable performers on stage, 70 horses and 45 artists lead the viewer on a great journey in yet another world – a world of dreams – where, together, they discover some of the planet’s most unforgettable landscapes.
With this new creation, Cavalia marries the equestrian arts, stage arts and high-tech theatrical effects at never-before-seen levels. A veritable revolution in live performance, Odysseo comprises a list of superlatives: the world’s largest touring big top, the biggest stage, the most beautiful visual effects, and the greatest number of horses at liberty.
The creators of this new ode to the horse made the decision to indulge their wildest artistic ambitions. Their gamble paid off: Odysseo pushes the limits of live entertainment by creating a larger-than-life show that sends hearts racing, but it is also a feast for the eyes that succeeds in delivering the spectacular with soul.
Scenography and Visual effects
To give life to this extraordinary equestrian adventure, Cavalia created a 1,626 square metres stage, in the middle of which rise two hills each three storeys tall. Some 10,000 tons of rock, earth and sand are trucked in and then sculpted to create the vast space of freedom where humans and horses come to play in complicity.
Above the stage hangs an imposing technical grid capable of supporting 80 tons of equipment including, a full-sized merry-go-round, far beyond anything attempted to date on any touring show and comparable to the best-equipped theaters of Las Vegas, London or New York.
Odysseo is a show unlike any other on the planet. This unique theatrical production is a grandiose multi-dimensional show. Spectators are taken to a live Hollywood-style movie set while the touching interactions between human and horse are at the heart of the action. Layers of mesmerizing decors combined with gravity-defying acrobatic and areal stunts and the staggering effects created by state-of-the-art scenery makes this humongous stage a feast for the eyes. To enhance this breathtaking experience, the production presents a splendid voyage with extremely high-definition computer graphic images, transporting the audience across the world’s most beautiful landscapes. To project these breathtaking graphic backdrops on an immense cyclorama the size of three IMAX screens, Odysseo uses projectors as powerful as those illuminating the grandest movie theaters. But whereas a cinema has only one projector, Odysseo uses 18 simultaneously. This live multi-dimensional voyage is a veritable revolution in live entertainment production.
A world of dreams and fantasies
The dream begins in a misty, enchanted forest where horses graze and frolic under a sky of rolling clouds and a setting sun. Horses, riders, acrobats and musicians embark on a soulful journey that leads them from the Mongolian steppes to Monument Valley, from the African savannah to Nordic glaciers, from the Sahara to Easter Island.
Throughout this grand voyage, spectators discover urban stilters and applaud the prowess of a troupe of African acrobats. Viewers are mesmerized by horses powering angelic aerialists in a four-person silks act that takes them into the skies. To the sound of an African harp called a Kora, audiences witness the beauty of 15 horses lying on sand dunes awaken. They will likewise appreciate the beautiful liberty number, uniting purebred Arabian horses directed by inaudible vocal commands from their kneeling trainer.
The scenes follow the seasons and their attendant wonders. At times, the horses and people in this fabulous caravan become too numerous to count.
The Odysseo epic wraps up with a fantastic crescendo as the stage is inundated with 300,000 litres of water in just a few minutes. A vertiginous virtual waterfall overhangs the resulting lake, in which horses, riders and artists join to frolic, leaving behind them the traces of their splashes and an astonished audience.
A show that feeds the soul
Although the audacity, inventiveness and monumental scope of Cavalia’s new creation may boggle the mind, the essence of this magnificent equestrian odyssey lies elsewhere. Beyond the impressive technical display and equestrian and acrobatic numbers that are unlike anything ever seen on stage, Odysseo is first and foremost a work that feeds the soul. In these difficult, troubled times, Odysseo offers up something gentle, even tender. The poetry flowing from this grand adventure shines a light on a more humane world where human and horse may live in harmony. For just a few hours, the spectator sets off to discover new horizons, the limits of his imagination, and gets to experience a waking dream in a world where beauty, serenity and hope reign.
CAVALIA’S ODYSSEO WHITE BIG TOP
Standing 38 meters tall, the White Big Top is a traffic-stopping addition to the skyline of each city Odysseo performs. When visitors enter, they are immediately transported into a lavish and intimate environment reminiscent of any permanent theatre.
Following the instant success of the first Cavalia show in 2003, Latourelle began to dream of how to break through the limitations of a big top tent. The biggest challenge was to open up the performance area. Latourelle knew that such unprecedented flexibility would allow him to showcase more horses and acrobats to create mind-boggling scenes. This involved removing supporting masts from the stage, a common staging issue in tent shows. A specially-designed big top was created in Europe, where the weight of the structure shifted from masts to three arches above the tent. The Italian firm Canobbio, in collaboration with Artistic Director Normand Latourelle, designed the tent and supervised construction. Asteo of France and Genivar of Canada supervised engineering operations. The arches that support the massive structure were built by Show Canada.
More than twice the size of the structure created for Cavalia’s original production, the White Big Top is the size of two NFL football fields. The 1,626 square metres stage, larger than a hockey rink and the 15 meters wide backstage area offer a vast playground for more than 30 cantering horses. The grandiose stage also offers incredible possibilities for large-scale staging.
A total of five tents comprise the Odysseo village. The White Big Top houses the stage and backstage, seating and lobby areas under a single roof. A Rendez-Vous tent hosts VIP ticket holders for dinner, an open bar and photo opportunities with the artists. This package includes a private tour of the stables and the best seats in the house. The horses live in a climatecontrolled stable tent complete with showers, tack shop and a blacksmith department. Between the stables and White Big Top, the Warm-Up tent is where the riders rehearse with the horses before and after the show. This area also includes wardrobe, makeup and dressing areas for the two-legged artists. A staff kitchen tent prepares more than 600 meals daily.
FUN FACTS
Odysseo features 70 horses of 14 different breeds including the Appaloosa, Arabian, Canadian, Criollo, Holsteiner, Lusitano, Oldenburg, Paint Horse, Percheron, Quarter Horse, Selle français, Purebred (P.R.E.), Warmblood and Lipizzan.
The horses are from Spain, Portugal, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, The United States and Canada.
There are 45 artists – riders, acrobats, aerialists, dancers and musicians.
The artists are from around the world including the United States, Canada, Brazil, France, Belgium, Guinea, Russia, Spain, Ukraine, Japan and Poland.
There are 350 costumes and 100 pairs of shoes and boots in the show. Artists may have up to seven different costumes.
An artist may have no more than 30 seconds to do a quick costume change between numbers.
A team of 13 dressmakers, one property master, one designer and one shoemaker worked in the Cavalia studios to create the costumes.
Materials used in the costumes include linen, silk, cotton, leather and some imitation fur. The use of natural fibers gives the clothes sheen and lets them fall in a way that synthetic fibers simply cannot match.
The costumes are adapted to the artists’ needs, especially those of the acrobats and riders, to facilitate their onstage movement while not compromising their appearance.
The on-tour costume department consists of one wardrobe person and three dressers who launders, mends and cares for the costumes. At times during the show, they juggle 15 simultaneous wardrobe changes. They have two sewing machines, one shoe-repair machine and one overlock machine.
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Infinithéâtre Kafka Ape August 7-17 Gladstone Hotel
Infinithéâtre’s Kafka’s Ape runs August 7-17 at the Gladstone Hotel
Montreal’s Infinithéâtre presents Kafka’s Ape as part of SummerWorks
Based on Franz Kafka’s A Report to an Academy Adapted and Directed by Guy Sprung
Starring Howard Rosenstein
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
Toronto, August 1, 2014 – Montreal’s Infinithéâtre proudly presents the Toronto premiere of its critically acclaimed Kafka’s Ape as part of the Mainstage Series at the SummerWorks Performance Festival and runs August 7-17 at the Gladstone Hotel, a site-specific venue of SummerWorks.
“Howard Rosenstein knocks it out of the park in the title role. Bravo!” – Pat Donnelly of Montreal Gazette
Based on Franz Kafka’s short story A Report to an Academy (1917), and adapted by director Guy Sprung from the original German, Kafka’s Ape upends the notion of civilization and what it means to be human in a world of routinized inhumanity. An unnerving satire on “otherness” and the compounding growth of private military companies, Kafka’s Ape stars Howard Rosenstein as keynote speaker – and primate – Mr. Redpeter in a theatrical tour-de-force performance. Alexandra Montagnese enthrallingly plays the silent role of Mrs. Redpeter.
Franz Kafka (1883-1924) is widely celebrated as one of the most important writers of the 20th century. Written during the darkest hours of the Great War (whose centenary is being marked across the globe this summer), Kafka’s A Report to an Academy (Ein Bericht für eine Academie) is a tale of a captured simian turned into a celebrated variety show act. In Sprung’s scathing adaptation, Redpeter ends up as a distinguished member of the “private security industry,” one of the biggest growth industries of the 21st century. In place of the “report to an academy” of early 20th century scientists, Sprung presents “a keynote address” to the shareholders of a fictitious private military corporation, Graywater.
After his capture in the African jungle, the ape Redpeter realizes his only escape route is to become a walking, talking, spitting, hard-drinking member of the “Peace Industry,” the entrepreneurial world of mercenary soldiers. In his keynote address to Graywater’s annual general meeting detailing the journey of his enforced evolution from Apehood to Humanhood, Mr. Redpeter embodies the irony that he is perhaps now more animalistic and less human than he ever was as a “lower” primate. “I deliberately don’t use the word ‘freedom’. ‘Freedom’ is a powerfully seductive word which your so-called civilized world uses very cleverly, very effectively, to entrap and occupy whole continents.” – Redpeter
Kafka’s central thesis in his satire on forced assimilation – that other animals have a dignity and a respect for Mother Nature and their own species that Homo sapiens have lost – has been nudged into the 21st century. “When Kafka first wrote this short story, millions of human beings were coerced into an orgy of killing each other, proving Homo sapiens to be vastly superior to gorillas and chimpanzees when it came to mass murder and genocide. Ironically, one of the largest of the private military corporations doing business with the American government today is called Academi, formerly known as Blackwater. In a sense, it still is a report to an Academy. Was Kafka able to see into the future?” queries Sprung. Movement coaches Anana Rydvald and Zach Fraser (also Assistant Director) helped the actors find the “ape” in themselves. Sound Design and Video is by Nikita U, Creature Makeup Design by Vladamir Cara. An excerpt from the play can be found here: http://www.infinitheatre.com/kafkas-ape.html
Founded in 1988 as Theatre 1774, Infinithéâtre’s mission is to develop, produce and broker new Québec theatre that is as entertaining as it is relevant, beginning with the belief that live theatre is an essential part of society’s democratic discourse and that great theatre speaks to and about its own community. Artistic Director Guy Sprung is a Montreal director, writer and actor who has been practicing his craft for over 40 years. Mr. Sprung was the co-founder of Toronto’s Canadian Stage, a dream he and the late Bill Glassco, who was running CentreStage at the time, together made a reality. As Artistic Director of the other of Canadian Stage’s precursors, Toronto Free Theatre, one of Sprung’s legacies was the conception and founding of The Dream In High Park, Toronto’s annual pay-what-you-can outdoor Shakespearean festival. Rebranded for its 30th anniversary in 2012 as Shakespeare in High Park, this tremendously popular event continues to thrive.
About SummerWorks Performance Festival: As the largest juried performance festival in Canada featuring predominantly new Canadian work, SummerWorks programs a festival that uniquely reflects Toronto and Canada’s cultural zeitgeist. Since 1991, SummerWorks has continued to explore and respond to the needs and wants of audiences and the performance community. The festival has grown to become one of the country’s preeminent multidisciplinary hubs featuring a Music Series, Live art Series, SummerWorks Leadership Intensive Program (S.L.I.P.) and the National Series, showcasing works from across Canada. The festival adds new initiatives yearly, including performance based programs such as the Performance Bar. The 2014 SummerWorks Performance Festival runs August 7-17. Visit http://summerworks.ca/2014/ .
BEACHES INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES
26th ANNUAL PROGRAM
WHAT: The 26th Annual Beaches International Jazz Festival kicks off with a media conference luncheon where organizers will announce this year’s musical program: July 18-20/TD Main Stage Concerts at Woodbine Park; July 21-23/TD Workshops at Mennonite New Life Centre; July 22-23/Taste of Jazz at Woodbine Park; July 24-26/StreetFest on Queen Street East;July 25-27/OLG Main Stage Concerts, Latin Square and Big Band Stages at Woodbine Park and July 26-27/TD Workshops at Latin Square and Big Band Stages.
WHO:Lido Chilelli, founder of the Beaches International Jazz Festival and Bill King, artistic director, will acknowledge this year’s sponsors and discuss how BEACHES JAZZ has become one of Toronto’s most anticipated summer events.
Members of the Toronto East General Hospital Foundation Board of Directors will discuss the Festival’s contribution to its fundraising campaign.
Festival sponsors include the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation, TD Bank Financial Group, Mill St. Brewery, Dan Aykroyd Wines, Toronto Port Authority, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Canadian Heritage, CTV and Subaru Canada.
Masterful jazz pianist, Quincy Bullen will be performing.
