#reelworld film festival

[fordhampr]

MEET BOBBY DEL RIO - WRITER, ACTOR, TV HOST, DIRECTOR, INTERNET STAR...what can't this guy do??

I met Bobby Del Rio what seems like a lifetime ago, when we both worked at Toronto’s ReelWorld Film Festival – I was the publicist, Bobby was the feature film programmer (and a filmmaker himself). Over the year’s, I’ve watched as he steadily built his career, starring in numerous film & tv projects, he also wrote stage plays, films and tv scripts, then pivoted and adopted online presenting…

[phantom-of-the-apartment]

[juliebir]

#Instagram 🔥Follow @birjulie - at the @toronto #reelworld #film #festival. What a nice time it was! 2012! - - - -- #actingcoach #follow #torontocanada #reelworldfilmfestival #torontonightlife #torontoraptors #torontoinsta #actorslife #auditions #movies #bollywood @aishwaryaraibachchan_arb @imeshadeol #filmphotography #beauty #health #fitness #glammakeup #healthylifestyle #healthyfood (at Toronto, Ontario) https://www.instagram.com/p/B--70_hpu1H/?igshid=196k64kp9igy8

[fearsmagazine]

Virtual Conference Horror (VC Horror) Film THE LAST CALL Begins Pre-Production & First Round of Casting Calls

On Thursday, March 4th, 2021, Alt-House Productions begin pre-production on the Virtual Conference Horror (or VC Horror) film THE LAST CALL. The film is produced by Ian Holt and Michael Alden, written by Michael Kuciak and will be directed by Mike Sargent. Casting is being handled through  Debra McCarthy at Broad Range Casting.

THE LAST CALL is a VC Horror tale that employs current trends in technology, which have risen as a result of the pandemic, to tell this deadly supernatural story of a cult and its followers. Documentary filmmaker Amara gathers the soul survivors of a cult in a Zoom conference call to discuss the mysterious circumstances surrounding a fire that killed the rest of the cult members, and its founder, so they can set the record straight. As the conversation proceeds, and is recorded for Amara’s film, it appears that darker forces are at work. The survivors hold the key to unraveling the sinister details behind the cult and the fire. When a madman appears on camera and murders one of the survivors more questions than answers begin to emerge. If they can survive the night and save themselves, they might also stand a chance to save all of humanity from an approaching darkness.

Director Mike Sargent is an African-American New Yorker who is an accomplished director, screenwriter and producer, and additionally a successful artist, film critic and radio host. A graduate of the High School of Art & Design and Parson’s School of Design, he made his directing debut with the 1999 feature film “Personals,” which starred actor Malik Yoba (New York Undercover/Bull/The First Wives Club), actress Stacey Dash (Clueless/Single Ladies/Sharknado 4: The 4th Awakens) and comedian Jim Gaffigan. As a storyboard artist he has worked on a diverse group of projects that includes the horror film “Brain Damage” by Frank Henenlotter, thrillers “Illegal Tender” & “The Ministers” by Franc. Reyes and most recently two projects for John Leguizamo. He is also the co-Founder and co-President of the Black Film Critics Circle (BFCC). Sargent is chief Film Critic for WBAI RADIO and host of daytime film review program, REELWORLD, and WBAI’s popular late night radio show, NITESHIFT.

Screenwriter Michael Kuciak served as the Senior Vice President of Development for a management production company, after which he left to focus on his own work. Mike is the writer-director-editor of Death Metal, a feature film currently in post-production. He also served as a producer on a horror-comedy called Killer Party, and executive producer on All for Nikki, a thriller. Mike has directed a variety of short films and music videos. His award-winning horror short, Stairs, is making the festival rounds. Mike is also an author; Dead City Chicago, the first in a series of zombie horror-thriller novels, was released in 2020. Mike is a partner of Alt-House Productions (which has Mickey Rourke and Lindsey Lohan attached to star in the forthcoming supernatural thriller, Cursed), and is the founder/CEO of a physical production company, Blast Furnace Media. Mike is originally from Chicago, where he played bass in punk and metal bands. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

About Alt-House Productions Producer Ian Holt is the co-author, with Dacre Stoker, of the international best seller, Dracula The Un-Dead, the official sequel to Bram Stoker's classic 1897 novel, Dracula. To date, Dracula The Un-Dead has sold more than two million copies worldwide, it was #9 on the New York Times Bestseller List, the #5 Paperback, and was #1 in France, Germany and Spain, and nominated for “Best First Horror Novel” by The Thriller Awards. Ian wrote and produced the supernatural thriller, Episode 50, co-produced by Ehud Bleiberg and Compound B. Episode 50 opened theatrically in the UK, throughout Europe and the Middle East, and hit all other global markets and the US. Most recently, Ian penned and will produce the horror feature Cursed starring Mickey Rourke and Lindsay Lohan, directed by Steven R. Monroe (I Spit On Your Grave, The Haunting of Mary Hartley). Ian is also producer of the horror feature Death Metal now in post-production.

Producer Michael Alden has been at the helm of film, theater and special event production in a career that has spanned over thirty years. Film works include: "the recently released VC Feature, "Estella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol With A Twist", the feature documentary, "My Beautiful Stutter" premiering on Discovery + on March 11th, "Death Metal (currently in post production), "Just Cause" with Sean Connery, the fashion forward documentary "UnZipped" for Miramax, Stephen Daldry's "The Hours," and the multi-award winning feature comedy "Kissing Jessica Stein,"  As a  theater producer, Mr. Alden has been represented in the West End with David Seidler's original play, "The King's Speech" and "Bat Boy The Musical." On Broadway,  "Come From Away," "Disgraced," (2015 Pulitzer Prize - Drama), "Grey Gardens" and "Bridge & Tunnel (Special Tony Award).

[eastasiansonwesternscreen]

simuliu: So remember that short film that @tina_jung and I have been working on? We're so excited to announce that MEETING MOMMY will be premiering October 15th at the @reelworld Film Festival in Toronto! Thanks to @yeaashorts and @actratorontofor making it possible for this film to get made, and to those along the way who graced us with their unending generosity (@tricialeedirector @pgoshcooks @bevmstar @angelnavarrofilms @nolmackie @ambrose_vision just to name very few). We can't wait for the world to see it!

[byblacks]

“It's been phenomenal because we've launched so many careers of filmmakers, actors and professionals in the industry.” #TonyaWilliams, star of the iconic soap opera, Young & The Restless, celebrates 18 years in highlighting black stories on the silver screen at the @ReelWorld Film Festival she founded.

Click the link below for more!

https://byblacks.com/entertainment/film-tv/item/2390-tonya-williams-marks-18-years-celebrating-black-stories-on-screen-at-reel-world-film-festival

[theapologyfilm]

#Repost @reelworld with @get_repost ・・・ Today’s #femalefilmmakerfriday star is Reelworld alumna, Tiffany Hsiung. Her award-winning documentary about the World War II's #Metoo generation 'The Apology' is airing on @povdocs now! The film reveals the stories of three former Imperial Japanese Army's “comfort women”. . . #metoo #timesup #womeninfilm #CDNfilm #filmmaker #Director #documentary #film #festival #filmfestival #diversity #power #fearlessfriday #justice #storiesmatter #TheApologyNFB #Grandmothers #Toronto #Canada #representationmatters https://www.instagram.com/p/BpsSJELnSeG/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=10urk05u3eu55

[reginaldshow]

Emre Izat producer of Naledi: A Baby Elephant's Tale at 2016 Reelworld Film Festival, chatting with Reginald Show. During the conversation, Emre Izat, was sharing: -how there are 96 elephants being tragically killed in the world each day, and about 25,000 to 30,000 elephants killed a year. -how the Naledi: A Baby Elephant's Tale of which he was a producer of, follows an orphan elephant born in Botswana. -the great Elephant census that took 2-years to do and how the elephant population has dropped by 30 percent in 7-years. -how Made educational shorts were made with Howard Hughes Institute, called bit interactive, showing others about what is happening with the wild elephants in Africa. This film was shown at the 2016 Reelworld Film Festival and is now available to watch on Netflix. And so much more was shared.

[jessicakehoe]

This New Database Spotlights People of Colour in the Canadian Entertainment Industry

When it comes to the lack of representation of people of colour in the film and television industry, both in front of and behind the camera, there’s an all too familiar refrain from the industry’s gatekeepers: we don’t know where to look for them. Tonya Williams wants to take that excuse out of the equation. With the launch of her Access Reelworld database, the most complete online database of Black, Indigenous, Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, Latinx and other racially diverse communities in the Canadian entertainment industry, a more inclusive and diverse industry is one step closer within reach.

In a matter of a few weeks, the database has already been populated with 400 names of people of colour working in departments like costume design, cinematography and animation, whom current and upcoming productions can reach out to to fill roles on their teams.

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Calling all Canadian Black, Indigenous, Asian, South Asian, Middle Eastern, and Latinx creative professionals: an opportunity for the Canadian entertainment industry to find you and know your skills! Sign up and don't forget to add your picture. Our industry requires carpenters, electricians, business people, legal, bookkeeping, caterers and so many more along with directors, producers, writers, and actors – so sign up today: www.accessreelworld.ca #film #production #television #industry #legal #creatives #entertainmentindustry #media #marketing #canadian #diversitymatters

A post shared by Reelworld (@reelworld) on Jul 9, 2020 at 9:09am PDT

Williams, a Black actress who has been a part of the entertainment industry since the 1970s (you may recognize her from her two-decade run as Dr. Olivia Barber Hastings on The Young and The Restless), had the idea for this database back in 2001 when she founded the Reelworld Film Festival, the only film festival to exclusively showcase and promote racially diverse Canadian creators. Here’s why she launched the Access Reelworld database now, why she dislikes the catchall term BIPOC, and her hopes for the industry moving forward.

Tell us a bit about the Reelworld Film Festival and why you founded it.

When I founded the festival in 2001 there were a lot of inequities happening in Toronto. There was very little representation, even less behind the cameras, of Black and Indigenous people, Asian, South Asian, Latinx people of colour. I wanted to create a platform that would push towards changing that. We have a Reelworld Screen Institute as well and between the two of them, we not only screen films and celebrate Canadian filmmakers, but we also create professional development and incubator programs, and do a lot of advocacy work, working behind the scenes with our government to create more access to funding. 
 How does the Access Reelworld database work and what are the categories it covers?

People were always saying ‘we don’t know where the talent is, and we’d hire more of it if we knew.’ But there was never any funding for it, and the technology was too expensive back in 2001. Finally last year we were able to get a little bit of money, and now the technology has changed so drastically that we were able to create a really great database. The creation of the database took a good ten months. I had to explain to the web developer how the entertainment industry works—I had to explain that it’s not like a dating app, it’s not like real estate, and take them through all the different levels of the industry. We came up with 75 categories and I’m sure there are more. Whenever somebody emails us saying we don’t have a particular category, we add it. We have everyone in there from a set medic to stunts people to assistants to hair and makeup artists—everything that you imagine hands could touch in a production. We’re also working on a job board, which we’re in the final stages of perfecting. 


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Reelworld is committed to supporting & developing talent. We love this #flashbackfriday photo of Lyriq Bent, who is thriving as an actor in LA. Help us to create space for more Canadian Black, Indigenous, Asian, South Asian, MIddle Eastern & Latinx stars. Sign up for our database, Access Reelworld at www.accessreelworld.ca.

A post shared by Reelworld (@reelworld) on Jul 24, 2020 at 2:12pm PDT

Where do you think the industry needs to go from here in terms of next steps?

I don’t like the term BIPOC; the minute I heard that term I knew we were going to have trouble. Somebody hires one Asian person and they feel they’ve hired all the BIPOC people they need. We need to remind them that they need to be hiring Black people and Indigenous people and Asian people… you don’t get away with hiring one person and patting yourself on the back like you’ve accomplished something. You know when you put a garden together, you’re very meticulous: these flowers go here and then there’s a little boundary, and then these other flowers… We don’t just throw seeds out randomly. We really care for a garden and I think that’s what real diversity looks like. Do we have all the shades in our garden? It’s not going to happen naturally. Gardens don’t just happen like that. You have to carefully prune and pull out the weeds and make sure everything is shaped beautifully, and I think it takes that kind of diligence. I hear the way people at the top are talking about making change and I know they still don’t get it. Because they’re like ‘we’re going to create more inclusion, we’re going to create more diversity’ but those are just words. I don’t hear the strategic plan that is going to make that happen. 
 There have been a lot of conversations in the industry recently about the struggles that Black actors face on set when it comes to hair and makeup, in terms of there not being any HMU artists who know how to work with textured hair and darker skin tones. What was your experience in that regard?

It’s hard now, it was impossible before. Wigs were an absolute, you needed to get all kinds of different wigs. Even when I worked on Black productions, they were like ‘where are your wigs?’ That was just a given. It’s so built in. It’s been one of the hardest things to change. By the time I got to The Young and The Restless I’d already been in the business 15 years so I knew how to do my hair—whether it was my own natural hair or wigs—and my own makeup. I’ve also been on sets where there were Black people doing hair and they did not know how to do Black hair. Just because you’re Black doesn’t mean you know how to do Black hair or makeup. Because a lot of those Black people weren’t taught—they went to hair school and were only taught on white hair. As Black actresses we do talk among ourselves about what it must feel like to just roll out of bed, wash your hair, get in the car and go to the studio and they blow dry it and fix it. We don’t know what that reality is, it doesn’t exist for us. My day starts two hours before a white actress’s day starts.  
 What are some of the positive changes you’ve seen over your many decades in the industry, and what more would you like to see?

I think just the awareness, people talking about things. People didn’t even talk about these things before, they just thought we were being difficult. Now people are starting to recognize it as a problem. But I would rather hear them say ‘we don’t know how to fix it’ than some of the things they say, which are just words they think we want to hear. Throwing out numbers and percentages and the words inclusion and diversity is meaningless. It’s got to be done with precision. Go back to the garden. And I think we’ll know the change is there when we feel it.

The post This New Database Spotlights People of Colour in the Canadian Entertainment Industry appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

This New Database Spotlights People of Colour in the Canadian Entertainment Industry published first on https://borboletabags.tumblr.com/

[reginaldshow]

David Watson, Director PWHT CANADA (Project Welcome Home Troops) at the 2016 Reelworld Film Festival chatting with Reginald's Show; just after the showing of the documentary "Almost Sunrise." Project Welcome Home Troops, originally started in the US, in order to assist in the helping with Veterans, who have PTSD, Morale Injuries, plus others. This organisation was also featured, briefly in the documentary "Almost Sunrise" And David Watson is the Director of Project Welcome Home Troops Canada, which helps Canadian Veterans/First Responders, who may have PTSD, Morale Injuries plus others.

[reginaldshow]

Gave Lindo, Executive Director of Reelworld Film Festival & Foundation

Gave Lindo, Executive Director of Reelworld Film Festival & Foundation, who has worked as a media lawyer on Bay Street, CBC, CHUM/CityTV and Astral, chatting with Reginald’s Show at the 2016 Reelworld Film Festival. In 2013, Gave Lindo was selected as a CivicAction DiverseCity Fellow. Gave served as a board of director, community member or advisor of Obsidian Theatre Company, Hot Docs, ArtsSmarts, blackandblue dance projects, the United Way Toronto, and the Emerging Leaders Network.

[reginaldshow]

Jon, Heath & Thomas Affolter interview by Reginald's Show

3 out of the 4, Affolter brothers, Jon, Heath & Thomas being interview by Reginald’s Show at 2016, Reelworld Film Festival. The Affolter brothers were sharing about their short film “Counter Act,” which winner of the 2015 Hot Shot Shot Shorts Contest, plus so much more. “Counter Act” also won the audience award at the 2016 Reelworld Film Festival. Furthermore, all four Affolter brothers combined have won or been nominated for over 40 awards.