Last Call, un film qui sensibilise au suicide

Last Call est un film tourné à Windsor qui sera visionné lors du mois de prévention du suicide. / Image: Last Call, bande-annonce officielle

Un film intense, tourné à Windsor l’année dernière et présenté à guichets fermés à Los Angeles, sera visionné à Windsor en septembre.

Last Call est un long-métrage en temps réel — tourné en une seule prise, simultanément dans deux endroits différents — réalisé par Gavin Michael Booth, de Windsor, et Daved Wilkens de The Mindy Project.

Le film présente un alcoolique suicidaire le soir de l’anniversaire de la mort de son fils qui appelle une ligne de prévention du suicide alors qu’il décide de passer à l’acte. Seulement, il compose un numéro erroné et c’est une concierge de nuit d’un collège communautaire local qui décroche.

Le réalisateur du film, Gavin Booth, est heureux de pouvoir redonner à sa communauté : Windsor est ma maison. « Bien que j’habite maintenant à Los Angeles, j’ai passé la majorité de ma vie à Windsor. J’ai grandi en faisant tous mes premiers films à Windsor », a-t-il confié.

Il continue de réaliser une grande partie de son travail dans cette ville. Pour Last Call, plusieurs étudiants et diplômés de l'Université de Windsor et du Collège St. Clair ont également participé à la production.

Last Call et la prévention du suicide

Gavin Booth est excité à l’idée de visionner son film à Windsor. « C’est un moment rare où je vais pouvoir célébrer [...] avec quasiment tous les gens que je connais dans une salle, et faire venir les gens pour une bonne cause, pour que cela puisse bénéficier à l’Association canadienne pour la santé mentale dans le même temps ».

La projection de Last Call le 21 septembre coïncide avec le mois de prévention du suicide et une partie des bénéfices récoltés au cours de la soirée sera reversée au chapitre local de l’Association canadienne pour la santé mentale (ACSM).

La directrice des communications et des promotions de la santé mentale du chapitre de l’ACSMAssociation canadienne pour la santé mentale pour le Comté Windsor-Essex, Kim Willis, souligne l’importance de projets artistiques tels que ce film pour familiariser le public avec les problèmes de santé publique.

« Bien que nous ayons beaucoup progressé en matière de santé mentale et de stigmatisation du suicide, cela existe toujours. Donc je pense que ça crée un espace où les gens peuvent explorer ce sujet de santé mentale important ».

Sarah Booth, l’actrice qui joue le rôle principal féminin dans Last Call, aussi connue pour son rôle dans La Loi et l’Ordre : Crimes sexuels affirme avoir été touchée par le sujet du film. « Je trouve qu’il y a beaucoup de gens qui ont des difficultés avec leur santé mentale, et on ne parle pas assez de ces difficultés. Je trouve que même en parler ça peut changer le parcours de quelqu’un ».

« J’espère que peut-être juste cette soirée-là, il y a quelqu’un qui va voir le film et ça va ouvrir la conversation avec peut-être leur mari, leur femme, leur enfant, leur parent, et peut-être ça va changer une vie », dit-elle.

Durant le mois de septembre, l’ACSMAssociation canadienne pour la santé mentale présentera d’autres films, et d’autres activités telles qu’une marche communautaire à laquelle 750 personnes avaient déjà participé l’an dernier.

Le film Last Call sera visionné au théâtre Chrysler à Windsor le 21 septembre.

La journée mondiale de prévention du suicide, elle, a lieu le 10 septembre.

Ce texte a été publié sur CBC/Radio-Canada.

L'affaire Wettlaufer adaptée au théâtre

La pièce de théâtre « In the Wake of Wettlaufer » sera présentée jusqu’au 6 septembre au festival de théâtre à Blyth.
Photo: Marguerite Gallorini

Une semaine à peine après la publication du rapport tant attendu sur la sécurité dans les centres de soins de longue durée en Ontario, l’affaire Wettlaufer a été adaptée pour les planches à l’occasion du Festival de Blyth. Si cette création a d'abord suscité la controverse, la première de la pièce semble avoir ravi le public.

Le théâtre de la petite ville à l'est du lac Huron, en Ontario, a attiré une centaine de personnes mercredi pour la première de la pièce, qui revient sur les crimes de l’infirmière tueuse en série.

L'ex-infirmière Elizabeth Wettlaufer a été condamnée à la prison à vie en 2017 pour les meurtres de huit aînés dans des foyers où elle travaillait dans le Sud-Ouest de l'Ontario. Les meurtres ont eu lieu de 2007 à 2016. L'âge des victimes allait de 75 à 96 ans.

L’une des proches des victimes, Susan Horvath, s’est auparavant ouvertement opposée à la présentation de la pièce et comptait manifester devant le théâtre le soir de la première. Selon elle, la création glorifierait la criminelle alors que plusieurs victimes sont encore sous le choc. Mais mercredi, aucune manifestation n'a eu lieu devant le théâtre de la rue Queen.

Des proches consultés

En entrevue avant le spectacle, le directeur artistique et coauteur de la pièce, Gil Garratt, a affirmé que des parents des victimes de l'ancienne infirmière ont été consultés pendant le développement de la production. Il s'est dit ouvert à discuter avec Mme Horvath si elle choisissait de se présenter.

M. Garratt a ajouté que la représentation ne se concentre pas seulement sur Elizabeth Wettlaufer, mais sur le système de soins de longue durée dans son ensemble.

"Des personnes nous ont dit que c'était trop tôt pour avoir cette conversation [...] mais beaucoup de familles avec lesquelles on a travaillé nous ont dit que ce n'est pas trop tôt, mais que c'est trop tard. Si on avait eu cette conversation il y a 10 ans, ça ne serait jamais arrivé," a déclaré le metteur en scène.

À quelques minutes du lever de rideaux, certaines personnes dans le public ont déclaré redouter la façon dont cette œuvre allait traiter des crimes commis.

"Je suis un peu nerveuse, je suis intriguée de voir jusqu'où ils vont aller", a confié la spectatrice Joan Watt avant la représentation.

À la sortie du théâtre, plusieurs ont souligné la justesse du ton choisi par les auteurs et la précision du jeu des acteurs.

"Je trouve que c'était très bien fait, avec bon goût. Ils n'ont sali personne. C'était plus de la perspective d'une famille", a conclu Jim Sanford.

Le Festival de théâtre de Blyth présentera jusqu'au 6 septembre la pièce intitulée In the Wake of Wettlaufer.

Cet article a été publié sur CBC/Radio-Canada

Guide des activités de ce long week-end d’août

Le défilé du carnaval caribéen de Toronto Caribana animera la fin de semaine à Toronto.
Picture: A. daSilva Photography/Flickr

C’est le long week-end, et avec lui l’occasion de profiter de tout ce dont la métropole torontoise a à offrir.

En cette période estivale, Toronto ne manque pas de festivals et d’événements culinaires. Il y en aura pour tous les goûts.

La météo sera également propice à toute activité, avec des températures tournant autour des 25 degrés Celsius en après-midi.

Bien que le Congé civique du mois d'août, également connu sous le nom de Simcoe Day (Jour de Simcoe), ne soit pas un jour férié fédéral, il est célébré à Toronto et dans d’autres villes de l’Ontario et ailleurs sous des noms différents.

La culture caribéenne au cœur des festivités

Le Carnaval annuel caribéen de Toronto démarre en trombe avec son grand défilé prévu samedi de 8 h 30 à 21 h.

Pour continuer la fête, rendez-vous samedi soir à la Def Jam Celebrity Party à Mississauga. L’artiste de musique soca de Trinité-et-Tobago, Nailah Blackman, y fera une représentation.

Dans une entrevue à Metro Morning sur CBC Radio, elle confie d’ailleurs être la petite-fille du créateur de ce style de musique, Ras Shorty I, ou Lord Shorty.

Lorsque cette musique est apparue dans les années 1970, mon grand-père venait ici à Toronto tout le temps. [Ma mère] me dit que c’est pour ça que les Torontois adorent la musique Soca à ce point!

Des centaines de milliers de personnes sont attendues à l'occasion de ce 52e festival, qui durera quatre semaines.

Arts en plein air

Samedi des spectacles visant à rendre le théâtre populaire et accessible à tous ont aussi été organisés avec Shakespeare in the Park. Cette représentation immersive et gratuite de Tout est bien qui finit bien permettra de réviser ce grand classique entre 13 h et 15 h au parc Berczy.

À quelques pâtés de maisons de là, des jeunes danseurs du monde entier rivaliseront sur la place Nathan Phillips tout l’après-midi lors du 6e Festival international des jeunes danseurs de Toronto.

Le lendemain, direction le parc Christie Pits pour un film sous les étoiles. Le Toronto Outdoor Picture Show diffusera le film américain de 1995 Sense and Sensibility, sur leur thème de l’été, les duos dynamiques.

En cas de petit creux

Le 18e Ribfest de Scarborough se tiendra tout au long de cette longue fin de semaine au parc commémoratif Thomson, offrant non seulement des côtes de porc, de nombreux autres mets de foire de rue, mais aussi des compétitions de karaoké et des stands de créateurs artisanaux.

Pour des saveurs plus épicées, le Festival des saveurs de l’Inde sur la place Nathan Phillips battra son plein dimanche. Il s'agit de l'un des plus grands festivals de nourriture indienne d’Amérique du Nord, avec plus de 50 stands. L’entrée à cet événement est gratuite et les enfants sont les bienvenus.

Le Simcoe Day célèbre le lieutenant-gouverneur John Graves Simcoe qui a joué un rôle essentiel à la fin du 18e siècle pour faire avancer la lutte contre la traite des esclaves en Ontario et au Canada. Il a également fondé York/Toronto en 1793.

Cet article a été publié sur CBC/Radio-Canada

A Preview of the 31st Virginia Film Festival

This year’s Virginia Film Festival [Nov. 1-4] is expanding the scope of its film selection. WMRA’s Marguerite Gallorini has this preview.

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[Music from the Virginia Film Festival’s 2018 Promotional Video]

The 31st Virginia Film Festival showcases more than 150 films in four days, special guests, free events and parties: it can be hard to know where to start. So let’s take it from the beginning: 2018 marks exactly 50 years since 1968, and the social landscape is again shifting now, just as it did 50 years ago. So the festival will open its film line-up on November 1st  with the docuseries 1968: The Year That Changed America.

[Clip from 1968: The Year That Changed America]

RICHARD NIXON: I hope to restore respect to the presidency.

And on the theme of change and social movements, the festival will shine a spotlight on important issues of our time, such as Race in America. In this category, the two-hour feature simply called Charlottesville provides an in-depth reading of the town in the wake of August 12 last year, from racial divides to local government mistakes.

INTERVIEWEE: It is disheartening to see Charlottesville be pegged as this one attack and this one weekend.

The screening will precede a community address by guest speaker Martin Luther King III, followed by a discussion moderated by Larry Sabato from the UVA Center for Politics.

Beyond Charlottesville, the festival’s “Spotlight on Virginia Filmmaking” celebrates movies and short films from around the state, on a variety of issues – such as dementia.

[Clip from Revolutionizing Dementia Care]

BRIAN LEBLANC: It’s hard. Your whole life changes in an instant when you hear those words – that, you know, you have Alzheimer’s disease.

Close to 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s – and the number is projected to rise to 14 million by 2050. The documentary Revolutionizing Dementia Care, supported by the Richmond-based Community Idea Stations, explores dementia awareness.

[Clip from Revolutionizing Dementia Care]

LAURIE SCHERRER: A lot of mentoring is helping people to understand: no, you can’t do all the things you did do, but you still can do a lot; you still have a lot to be thankful for.

The film will premiere at the festival on November 1st at the Violet Crown Theater, and will be followed the next day by a related workshop in Richmond for care partners, to share new and best practices for people living with dementia in the U.S. And if you can’t make it to the festival, the film will air on various PBS stations on November 15.

[Music from Rafiki]

The festival will also focus on the struggles of the LGBTQ community everywhere. In the Kenyan film Rafiki – which means “Friend” in Swahili – Kena is the daughter of a local politician and always hangs out with the guys. But Kena will make her first female friend when Ziki, the daughter of her father’s political rival, moves to town. But when the two girls’ relationship develops into romance, they must defend themselves against Kenya’s anti-gay laws.

[Clip from Rafiki]

ZIKI (played by Sheila Munyiva): Let’s make a pact, that we will never be like any of them down there.

KENA (played by Samantha Mugatsia): Instead, we’re going to be something… real?

ZIKI: Yes, something real.

The festival also features a whole section entitled “Middle Eastern & South Asian Sidebar.” The light-hearted movie Hell in India will be introduced by guest speaker Samhita Sunya, who’s the Assistant Professor of Cinema at UVa’s Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Languages and Cultures. In this Egyptian comedy, a misunderstanding propels a band of musicians to India as a special forces squad to free the Egyptian ambassador and his family, kidnapped by an evil billionaire.

[Music from Hell in India]

The festival definitely has something for everyone: local, national and international movies, comedies, classics, documentaries, drama and more experimental films. Many guest speakers are set to make an appearance, including actor Christoph Waltz.  There will be discussion panels; and visitors can even catch a glimpse into immersive film technologies with the Virtual Reality Lab.

[Clip from The Other Side of the Wind]

Juliette Riche (played by Susan Strasberg): I just want to know what he represents.

Last but not least: the festival features four films in tribute to director Orson Welles, including his unfinished last movie, The Other Side of the Wind, which has finally been completed after decades of speculation.

[Clip from The Other Side of the Wind]: Is that what this movie’s about?

A Netflix documentary mixing archival footage and contemporary interviews also chronicles the somewhat “cursed” making of this movie, and the director’s maddening and tragic end. Its title:

[Clip from They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead]: They’ll love me when I’m dead.

This story appeared on WMRA News.

Cville Pride Prepares Its 7th Festival

What started as informal LGBTQ community picnics of 100 people grew into a full-blown festival. Last year, it attracted around 8000 people. The Charlottesville Pride Festival takes place each year in September, and is 100% volunteer-led. / Credit Guillermo Ubilla

Preview events for the seventh annual Charlottesville Pride Festival began over the weekend. WMRA’s Marguerite Gallorini reports.

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Last year, the Pride Festival attracted more than 8,000 people. And this year, twice as many vendors are participating, according to Amy-Sarah Marshall, the founding President of the Charlottesville Pride Community Network.

AMY-SARAH MARSHALL: People just want more and more and more! [laughs]

This is a pretty big feat, considering how the festival is put together:

MARSHALL: This is all volunteer-led, this is all based on sponsors, this is all based on community support. Everybody's welcome to perform: for us it's about the community celebration.

Expect a week of family-oriented events, business cocktail hours, karaoke, and two free movie screenings: Moonlight, and Weekend.

MARSHALL: Because of all the events last year with August 12, I think our area has become aware of how important it is to be visibly supportive of things that we believe in, and not just assume everything is fine. We still do have a lot of work to do, we still do have a lot of youth, especially, who face just higher levels of mental health issues. So that's why we keep doing this.

The festival itself happens Saturday between 11am and 7pm at the Sprint Pavilion - with shows, performances, and competitions.

This story appeared on WMRA News.
More information on the festival at cvillepride.org.

Virginia Film Festival Lights Its 30th Candle

The 30th annual Virginia Film Festival kicks off Thursday, with more than 120 films over the weekend throughout Charlottesville. WMRA’s Marguerite Gallorini has this preview.

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[Clip from Beetlejuice trailer]: The fun has just begun...

The renowned Virginia Film Festival will blow out its 30th candle this year with blockbusters, short films plus new discoveries and foreign films. And you can ease into it with the classics: Bonnie and Clyde, Broadcast News, Beetlejuice.

[Clip from Beetlejuice]

ADAM MAITLAND: Can you be scary?

BEETLEJUICE: What do you think of this?

[Screams]

A recent big hit nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, is Hidden Figures, based on the book by UVA alumna Margot Lee Shetterly. It recounts the true story of a group of black female mathematicians working during the early days of the space race at NASA, while also dealing with segregation.

[Clip from Hidden Figures]

KARL ZIELINSKI: Let me ask you: if you were a white male, would you wish to be an engineer?

MARY JACKSON: I wouldn’t have to. I’d already be one.

If you missed the chance to see the film when Shetterly presented it at the Paramount back in September, you have another chance to catch it on Sunday. And you’re in luck: the author will be available again for a discussion after the screening.

[Clip from Hidden Figures]

CATHERINE JOHNSON: Yes, they let women do some things at NASA Mr. Johnson. And it’s not because we wear skirts. It’s because we wear glasses.

Hidden Figures is part of the festival’s special focus this year: Race in America. VFF collaborated with James Madison’s Montpelier, which has revisited its own slavery legacy with exhibitions and even the re-creation of slave dwellings on its historic property. As part of this focus on race, the festival will also screen the documentary 4 Little Girls, telling the story of the 1963 terrorist bomb attack by white supremacists on a Baptist Church in Alabama that  killed four black girls.

[Clip from 4 Little Girls]        

RICKEY POWELL: These little girls will never get the chance to realize life, because of some person’s decision to make them the - maybe the victims of why the movement should stop.

And as usual, notable Hollywood names will be present again this year. Director and Oscar winner Spike Lee will engage in  a discussion of the film prior to the screening on Saturday afternoon. As a side note: the last living convicted bomber of this attack, former KKK member Thomas Edwin Blanton Jr. who was convicted only in 2001, was denied parole last year.

[Chants]                      

It was also inevitable that the events of August 12 would be addressed somehow: so on Sunday the festival will screen a documentary – which is still a work in progress – entitled Charlottesville: Our Streets compiling the work of local journalists, photographers and filmmakers, and 20 interviews with witnesses. Director Brian Wimer and writer Jackson Landers will be present for a discussion.

But that’s not the only way Charlottesville will make its mark on this festival.

[Clip from Double Dummy]

PATTY TUCKER: The game itself is elegant and beautiful and interesting and fun. But the people that you meet and the friends that you make: that’s the treasure.

VFF again this year is showcasing Virginia filmmaking through a collection of movies made or having roots in the Commonwealth. And one of them is Double Dummy, a documentary on the game of bridge by local bridge aficionado John McAllister.

[Clip from Double Dummy]

JORI GROSSACK: I’m Jori Grossack, mother of Adam and Zachary.

ADAM GROSSACK: When I have to tell my friends on a Saturday night or Friday night that I can’t hang out because I have a bridge tournament, eh… Alright, fine - eventually they got used to it though.

Saturday is the festival’s Family Day, hosted on UVA Arts Grounds, and it will feature crafts, performances, music, and free arts-inspired workshops; and you can see – for free – Harry Potter and the beloved Aristocats in the Culbreth Theater.

[Clip from The Aristocats]

SCAT CAT: Everybody wants to be a cat, because a cat’s the only cat who knows where it’s at.

This year’s festival also reaches around the world to feature international movies from Australia and Estonia to Russia and Nepal; there will also be a 100th Anniversary screening of Charlie Chaplin’s The Immigrant; and even the season 6 final episode of the series Homeland. And this year, the famous Shot-by-Shot Workshop will look at the quirky black comedy drama Harold and Maude, which the Library of Congress selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1997.

[Clip from Harold and Maude]

MAUDE: Try something new each day. After all, we’re given life to find it out - it doesn’t last forever.

This story appeared on WMRA News.

TEDx Charlottesville 2017

TEDx Charlottesville is back for its 8th edition this year, and promises a full day of inspiring talks Friday, Nov. 3 at the Paramount Theater. WMRA’s Marguerite Gallorini has this preview.

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[Sound from TEDx Charlottesville 2016 Youtube video]

Twenty-three speakers, four sessions, and an after-party are at the program of this year’s TEDx Charlottesville. There are speakers from all over the country ranging from musicians and science professors to writers and journalists - and there’s even a cave explorer from Denver, CO. There are also Charlottesville folks, like David Swanson, an author, journalist, radio host, and anti-war activist.

DAVID SWANSON: They're giving me five minutes. You know I'll take it and I'll do my best. The topic is: Why abolish the institution of war.

It is a topic he wants to connect to the issue of war memorials – and not just the Lee and Jackson statues.

SWANSON: If you took down all the racist war statues in Charlottesville, that would be Lee and Jackson, plus the memorial to the war that killed some six million people in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia - they weren't usually called Vietnamese by the people killing them, there were other words for them… You know, not just Charlottesville: go across the country and the world, take down the racist war monuments, you take down all the war monuments. It's very hard to get people to kill people: you have to get them to kill something other than people.

More to come on Friday [November 3]. Early registration is available today at the Paramount Theater until 6 p.m.

This story appeared on WMRA News.

'Tomtoberfest' Is Here!

Tomtoberfest is here! Today and tomorrow, the Tom Tom Fall festival is celebrating creative community and local innovation with, among other things, two free days of concert at Emancipation Park in Charlottesville. WMRA's Marguerite Gallorini talked with founder Tom Beyer about how the fall’s events differ from the big festival in the Spring.

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PAUL BEYER: Tomtoberfest is the Fall festival for the Tom Tom Founders Festival. The fall is more of a local, kind of a time to turn back to Charlottesville and also increasingly Virginia, and say "What is it that makes our cities here in Virginia ready for the new economy, ready for the culture"? The Fall festival is really a celebration of the local contemporary founders that are shaping Charlottesville.

Paul Beyer is the founder and director of the Tom Tom Festival.

BEYER: It really kind of goes back to what Tom Tom's roots are, and what we've tried to do for years which is bring the community together in a diverse and inclusive way. It really is something that is intended to appeal to everybody.

Tomtoberfest has always taken place in Emancipation Park, which was formerly called Lee Park, and is the location of the controversial statue of Robert E. Lee. Paul says this year’s Tomtoberfest will be all the more important following the summer’s events.

BEYER: I think having a reminder that there've been these inspiring civic leaders that have spent decades trying to build really positive things in the city is a really important narrative to tell at this point. I think especially as we go back to Emancipation Park, and say "That's not what we want this city to be about."

On top of the free concerts this weekend, today they also have the Fall Forum, looking at the new Virginia economy; and on Saturday night, they'll have a check presentation from the city's Heart campaign for the Heal Charlottesville Fund, raising money for the victims of August 12.

This story appeared on WMRA News.

Charlottesville Pride Festival

The Charlottesville Pride Festival is September 16, but a week of events leading up to the festival begin this Saturday (Sept. 9). WMRA’s Marguerite Gallorini talked with the leader of the organization behind the festival.

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Amy-Sarah Marshall is the founding President of the Charlottesville Pride Community Network, which is about to have its 6th annual festival. What started as informal LGBTQ community picnics of a hundred people grew into a real festival, now attracting more than 5000 people.

AMY-SARAH MARSHALL: Now we have a whole week of Pride events. It's a family-friendly event that really has a diversity of people of all ages and all kinds; it's really great to see a community that’s straight and gay alike showing up to show their support for equality. You know, I got kicked out of my house when I was 16 for being gay and that's a pretty common story for people my age, so seeing kids now get to find community, get to find other people like them, it's very emotional for many of us.

The week of events will culminate with the actual festival day on September 16 at the Sprint Pavilion.

MARSHALL: For us it's become that we can't fight for equality and rights just for LGBTQ without looking at people of color, without looking at people of different religions, without people with different abilities – every type of person who may not have the privilege to have their voices heard. It's on us to make sure that we are being as open and welcoming and inviting as possible.

This story appeared on WMRA News.