There are a few projects that I plan to continue or start up this quarter across the board in web, film and photography.

Web

There’s a massive number of improvements and new features that Ryan and I plan to incorporate into tiffr.com, to hopefully one day turn it into the de facto standard for simple event scheduling. We’ll also be looking into priming the pipeline on several of the hundreds of ideas we’ve brainstormed over the past few years, in the hopes of bringing more simple and clean solutions that save people time and frustration. We want to incite curiosity and unlock potential in our audience.

Film

I currently have two short scripts in the draft stage that I hope to produce in the coming year or so, and I’m building collaborations with a lot of amazing people in an effort to assemble a powerful team of creative professionals to ensure that these productions are realised to their full potential.

I’m also going to be working toward finally getting the footage from Jamaica edited into several pieces, probably some short teasers and a short documentary based around our visits to Nine Mile and the people who live in that community.

Photography

On this front, I’m keeping things simple, planning to organize and share more of my backlog of photos, as well as finally making prints of the better shots in my archives. I think that through the pre-production stages of the film projects I will be producing some amazing images that I’ve dreamt up over the past few years.

Montage

This probably could have gone under film, but it’s big enough to be on its own as well. We’re going to start planning a fall & winter slate of Montage events, showcasing more local filmmakers, with fresh, new art installations and potentially a newer, bigger venue.

Stay tuned.

As self-proclaimed cinephiles, my friend Ryan and I attend the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) annually, and have always hoped for a way to make the process of selecting from the 300+ films on hand every year and making a schedule simple and clean. Following the old adage, if you want something done right, do it yourself, we did just that and built our own solution. The result?

http://tiffr.com : The simple way to schedule your festival.

We’ve tried our best to make it simple and intuitive to use based on our experiences. You still get all of the info about the films from the official TIFF website, but through the magic of a simple little bookmarklet (similar to the one people use to post to Tumblr and Delicious), when you find a film you like you can shortlist it on tiffr with the click of a button.

Once you’re done going through all the films, you can head over to tiffr to see your shortlist, rearrange and start scheduling. We plot out all the screenings for the films you shortlisted and all you’ve gotta do is pick the ones that fit into your lifestyle!

When you’ve got everything the way you want it, you can print it out, add it to your calendar, and share it with your friends and family.

Hopefully our hard work will help you save time and frustration. We think the site is pretty kick ass and we hope you will too!

We had a really great night of film under the stars, with a really solid line up of films that we, as the organizers, stood behind with pride. The general vibe was really great and the weather couldn’t have been better for an outdoor screening. I had a blast meeting filmmakers and film lovers alike and am really excited to keep MONTAGE going, hopefully getting bigger and better with each one!

We have tentatively set the next MONTAGE night for Thursday, October 1st, leading into Nuit Blanche, with fingers crossed that the weather can hold out for us one more time. We’re committed to making some improvements to the night, like getting a microphone and a light of some kind so you can see and hear me when I’m up front, and any comments and/or suggestions are very appreciated.

I made the bonehead move of leaving my camera at home in the hustle and bustle of getting everything ready for the night, so if you were there and have any photos you’d love to share, they would be extremely appreciated!

Thanks again to everyone who came out and we hope to see you at the next one!

Spread far and wide!

Manifesto, fightingtheboss and Honour Rebel continue

MONTAGE
A monthly spotlight on local independent filmmakers

On Thursday August 13th, MONTAGE returns to transform the parking lot of the Manifesto Space at 358 Dufferin into an Outdoor Urban Theatre as we celebrate the work of our city’s (and the world’s) independent filmmakers and artists, minus the barriers of genre, scene or subculture. Featuring short films from the worlds of animation, documentary, avante-garde and the far reaches of our collective imagination, MONTAGE aims to bring together the inspired and expressive, the audience and artist, in all of us.

More than anything else, MONTAGE is a celebration. With music provided by ANDY CAPP (Bang the Party), art installations by Phillippe Blanchard and Sean Procyk, an artist market and refreshment stand, this night is about coming together to bask in the independent spirit of Toronto.

You complete the picture. Be a part of the MONTAGE.

Thursday, August 13th, 2009
358 Dufferin Street, Toronto
8 – 11pm
$5 or PWYC

Rain or shine.

We’re also still looking for submissions for more outdoor screenings later this summer so if you or anyone you know has a film they’d like to show, get in touch.

Spread far and wide!

Manifesto, fightingtheboss and The Alt continue

MONTAGE
A monthly spotlight on local independent filmmakers

with an OUTDOOR SCREENING in the courtyard at the Manifesto Space (the same people who just brought you the amazing Canada Day Michael Jackson Tribute at Dundas Square). We’ll have many short films and installations by local artists, popcorn, and drinks. Join us for a fun evening of movies under the stars!

Thursday, July 9th, 2009
358 Dufferin Street, Toronto
8 – 11pm
$5 or PWYC

Rain or shine.

We’re also still looking for submissions for more outdoor screenings later this summer so if you or anyone you know has a film they’d like to show, get in touch.

Manifesto and fightingtheboss have partnered up with the good people at The Alt to bring you MONTAGE this summer, with outdoor screenings in the courtyard at the Manifesto Space. MONTAGE is a monthly showcase for local independent filmmakers and that’s where you come in.

If you or someone you know has a film they’d like to screen at one of our events, get in touch with us and we’ll work to make it happen (details are in the poster).

Our first event is being planned for Thursday, July 9th, with more to follow through the summer.

The Manifesto and fightingtheboss present

Montage: A monthly spotlight on local independent filmmakers

featuring the world premiere of

VENTURE CAPITAL
Directed by Daniel Libby

“A debut projection in the midst of a great economic crisis, a little digital movie 6 years in the making… A cutthroat critique of the capitalist system, with a gentle touch of prestidigitation, and a controversial hint of mysticism…”

ATTENTION We’re looking for shorts and features from local artists to play at this series. If you or anyone you know is interested in screening a film for friends, family, and the general public, get in touch with us and we’ll work to make it happen! We’re even looking for shorts to play before the main film for this Tuesday, so if you’re interested, or you know someone who might be, get in touch!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Manifesto Space
358 Dufferin St., Toronto, Suite 104 (Map)
Programme starts at 8pm
$5 Suggested Donation
Popcorn included

If you want to bring your own seating, blanket, sleeping bag, pillow, whatever, that is definitely encouraged! You can also bring your own food, drinks, booze, whatever.

Pass this on to anyone who might be interested!

The Manifesto and fightingtheboss studios present A weekly curated screening of classic and contemporary films

Volume 006: The Future Is Noir

featuring

BLADE RUNNER / 1982 / Ridley Scott / USA / 7pm

“A haunting, eerily prophetic mixture of science fiction and film noir, director Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner boasts one of the most astonishingly designed futures ever put on film – a dark, decaying Los Angeles circa 2019. Blade Runner is based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by science fiction master Philip K. Dick. It stars Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, a onetime ‘blade runner’, who is called out of retirement stop four homicidal ‘replicants’ – genetically engineered humans with superior strength and intellect who are used as slave labour on off-world colonies. Gorgeously designed, teeming with ideas about reality, memory, and mortality, Blade Runner is a groundbreaking motion picture. It is also universally acclaimed as one of the most highly influential science fiction films of the past 25 years.”

followed by

MINORITY REPORT / 2002 / Steven Spielberg / USA / 9:30pm

“Based on a short story by the late Philip K. Dick, this science fiction-film noir reflects the writer’s familiar preoccupation with themes of concealed identity and mind control. Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton, a Washington, D.C. detective in the year 2054. Anderton works for “Precrime,” a special unit of the police department that arrests murderers before they have committed the actual crime. Precrime bases its work on the visions of three psychics or “precogs” whose prophecies of future events are never in error. When Anderton discovers that he has been identified as the future killer of a man he’s never met, he is forced to become a fugitive from his own colleagues as he tries to uncover the mystery of the victim-to-be’s identity.”

Tuesday, April 28, 2009
358 Dufferin St., Toronto, Suite 104 (Map)
Programme starts at 7pm
$5 Suggested Donation
Popcorn included with the screenings

If you want to bring your own seating, blanket, sleeping bag, pillow, whatever, that is definitely encouraged!

You can also bring your own food, drinks, booze, whatever. Come for one or both movies.

Pass this on to anyone who might be interested!

The Manifesto and fightingtheboss studios present
A weekly curated screening of classic and contemporary films

Volume 005: My Job Sucks

featuring

IKIRU / 1952 / Akira Kurosawa / Japan / 7pm
In Japanese with English Subtitles

“Considered by some to be Akira Kurosawa’s greatest achievement, Ikiru presents the director at his most compassionate—affirming life through an exploration of a man’s death. Takashi Shimura portrays Kanji Watanabe, an aging bureaucrat with stomach cancer forced to strip the veneer off his existence and find meaning in his final days. Told in two parts, Ikiru offers Watanabe’s quest in the present, and then through a series of flashbacks. The result is a multifaceted look at a life through a prism of perspectives, resulting in a full portrait of a man who lacked understanding from others in life.”

followed by

OFFICE SPACE / 1999 / Mike Judge / USA / 9:30pm

“Unable to endure another mind-numbing day at Initech Corporation, white-collar peon Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) has had enough. Armed with a bold new attitude and a sexy new girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston), he neglects his job with a vengeance – and is quickly promoted to upper management!”

Tuesday, April 21, 2009
358 Dufferin St., Toronto, Suite 104 (Map)
Programme starts at 7pm
$5 Suggested Donation
Popcorn included with the screenings

If you want to bring your own seating, blanket, sleeping bag, pillow, whatever, that is definitely encouraged!

You can also bring your own food, drinks, booze, whatever.

Pass this on to anyone who might be interested!

The Manifesto and fightingtheboss studios present
A weekly curated screening of classic and contemporary films

Volume 004: Turf Wars

featuring

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS / 1966 / Gillo Pontecorvo / Algiers / 7pm
In French & Arabic with English Subtitles
Based on True Stories

“One of the most influential political films in history, Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers (La bataille d’Alger) vividly re-creates a key year in the tumultuous Algerian struggle for independence from the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés, and French soldiers resort to torture to break the will of the insurgents. Shot in the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film is a case study in modern warfare, with its terrorist attacks and the brutal techniques used to combat them. Gillo Pontecorvo’s tour de force—a film with astonishing relevance today.”

followed by

CITY OF GOD / 2002 / Fernando Meirelles / Brazil / 9:30pm
In Brazilian Portuguese with English Subtitles
Based on True Stories

“The streets of the world’s most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro’s ‘City of God’, are a place where combat photographers fear to tread, police rarely go and residents are lucky if they live to the age of 20. In the midst of the oppressive crime and violence, a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist. In the face of impossible odds, this brave ambition to become a professional photographer becomes a window into his world and ultimately his way out!”

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
358 Dufferin St., Toronto, Suite 104 (Map)
Programme starts at 7pm
$5 Suggested Donation
Popcorn included with the screenings

If you want to bring your own seating, blanket, sleeping bag, pillow, whatever, that is definitely encouraged!

You can also bring your own food, drinks, booze, whatever.

Pass this on to anyone who might be interested!