Carry On, Sergeant! Tour with Live music by the HILOTRONS

Carry On, Sergeant! (1928) 35mm, 107mins with a live score by the HILOTRONS

CARRY ON, SERGEANT! was shot at Trenton Studios in Ontario and in the surrounding countryside by British Director Bruce Bairnsfather, with legendary Canadian filmmaker Gordon Sparling working as his assistant director. With a budget of $500,000, it was the biggest-budget film produced in Canada up to that time. Much of that budget went to recreating WWI-era France, with sprawling sets and battlefield scenes featuring hundreds of extras.

The story follows a group of workers from Hamilton who join the army to fight in WWI, and the travails and temptations that befall them during the war. The film has excellent production values and presents a drama that may feel surprisingly modern to today’s audiences. Bairnsfather’s insistence on portraying the soldiers as flawed human beings resulted in some criticism from those who expected a straightforward glorification of Canada’s war effort. The main character has an affair with a French bar maid and dies on the battlefield. The veterans of the Great War were not impressed; in fact the whole subplot of the affair was edited out of the later version of the film.

Produced as a silent film just as theatres were transitioning to sound, it had only a brief run at the box office before it was removed from circulation in January 1929. It fell into obscurity for many years before Gordon Sparling donated a print to Library and Archives Canada, resulting in a complete restoration of the film. 

Tour dates and locations:

Oct 28 - La Vitrola (Montreal, QC)

Oct 29 - The Screening Room (Kingston, ON)

Oct 30 - The Kiwanis Kineto Theatre (Forest, ON)

Nov 8 - Bloor Hot Docs Cinema 6:30pm (Toronto, ON)

Nov 9 - The Zoetic Theatre (Hamilton, ON)

Nov 10 - The Regent Theatre (Picton, ON)

Nov 11 - The ByTowne Cinema, 7pm (Ottawa, ON)

Home Movie Day 2014

OCTOBER 18 IN OTTAWA

The Lost Dominion Screening Collective and IFCO present

12th International Home Movie Day

        Show your home movies! or come just to watch.
16mm, 8mm, Super 8 film, Video 8, Hi-8, Digital 8.
Pre-event film drop off at IFCO, Suite 140,
2 Daly Ave., Ottawa, 613-569-1789.

Saturday, October 18, 3pm-5pm, free!

NECTAR Centre, 39 Dufferin Rd., Ottawa, Ontario

The Lost Dominion Screening Collective and IFCO are happy to announce that Ottawa will participate in this year’s International Home Movie Day on Saturday October 18, 2014 at the NECTAR centre on 39 Dufferin Rd. from 3-5pm. Home Movie Day is an annual event celebrating amateur film and filmmaking. The audience is invited to bring their own “home movies,” which will be shown on the big screen. The event provides an opportunity for attendees not only to view their own home movies in their original format (since many people don’t own their own projectors anymore), but also to learn more about our community and cultural narratives through the personal histories revealed within these shared films.

Films can be dropped off at IFCO in advance of the screening so they can be inspected and selected.  IFCO will take the films up till Oct. 15th.  You may also just bring the films on the event day but we cannot guarantee that they will all be played.

Home Movie Day is free and open to the public. The event will include a discussion on the best ways to preserve film and videotape. Attendees are encouraged to bring films and videotapes in the following gauges for inspection and screening (when possible, although some material might be too damaged or delicate to project):

·         Film: Regular 8mm, Super 8, 16mm

·         Videotape: Video8, Hi8, Digital 8

Trained archivists will be in attendance to answer questions, and prepare material for screening.

Home Movie Day was started in 2002 by a group of film archivists concerned about what would happen to all the home movies shot on film during the 20th century. They knew many people have boxes full of family memories that they’ve never seen for lack of a projector, or out of fear that the films were too fragile to be viewed. They also knew that many people were having their amateur films transferred to videotape or DVD, with the mistaken idea that their new digital copies would last forever and the “obsolete” films could be discarded. Original films (and the equipment required to view them) can long outlast any version on VHS tape, DVDs, or other digital media. Not only that, but contrary to the stereotype of the faded, scratched, and shaky home movie image, the original films are often carefully shot in beautiful, vibrant colour—which may not be captured in a lower-resolution video transfer.

Home Movie Day has grown into a worldwide celebration of these amateur films, during which people in cities and towns all over meet their local film archivists, find out about the archival advantages of film over video and digital media, and—most importantly—get to watch those old family films! Because they are local events, Home Movie Day screenings can focus on family and community histories in a meaningful way. They also present education and outreach opportunities for local archivists, who can share information about the proper storage and care of personal films, and how to plan for their future.

For more information about Ottawa’s Home Movie Day, please contact lostdominion@gmail.com For more info on International Home Movie Day, please visit www.homemovieday.com

Carry On Sergeant! Screening with Live Music by the HILOTRONS

CARRY ON SERGEANT! w/LIVE MUSIC by the HILOTRONS

In honour of the 100^th anniversary of the First World War, the Lost Dominion Screening Collective is giving local film fans a rare chance to see the biggest-budget Canadian film of the 1920's on the big screen.

Carry On Sergeant! (1928) (not to be confused with the later British comedy series of the same name) was shot at Trenton Studios in Ontario and in the surrounding countryside by British Director Bruce Bairnsfather, with legendary Canadian filmmaker Gordon Sparling working as his assistant director. With a budget of $500 000, it was the biggest-budget film produced in Canada up to that time. Much of that budget went to recreating WWI-era France, with sprawling sets and battlefield scenes featuring hundreds of extras and the use of real high-explosives.

Produced as a silent film just as theatres were transitioning to sound, it had only a brief two-month run at the box office before it was removed from circulation in January 1929. It fell into obscurity for many years before Gordon Sparling donated a print to Library and Archives Canada, resulting in a complete restoration of the film in 1990. It is now considered one of the most important films in Canadian film history.




This screening continues Ottawa musician Mike Dubue's recent tradition of composing new scores to classic films such as Metropolis (1927), The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (1920),  Adventure of Prince Archmed (1926) and the earliest surviving Canadian feature film, Back to God’s Country (1919)

This time Mike is back with his band the HILOTRONS and the score is based on Ennio Morricone classics.

HILOTRONS are a band hailing from Ottawa. They are known for their funky pop and experimental sensibilities and have been releasing critically acclaimed albums since 2002. They are also known for composing and performing live and new original scores for films from the silent era. This year, to commemorate the 100yr anniversary of WWI, HILOTRONS are presenting the 1928 Canadian classic Carry On Sergeant with an score comprised entirely of music by film composer Ennio Morricone, which include selections from A Fist Full Of Dollars, Danger: Diabolik and The Thing. This year, Ennio Morricone turns 86 yrs old

Oct 28 - La Vitrola (Montreal, QC)
Oct 29 - The Screening Room (Kingston, ON)
Oct 30 - The Kiwanis Kineto Theatre (Forest, ON)
Nov 8 - Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (Toronto, ON)
Nov 9 - The Zoetic Theatre (Hamilton, ON)
Nov 10 - The Regent Theatre (Picton, ON)
Nov 11 - The ByTowne Cinema (Ottawa, ON)

The Bitter Ash, September 24th, Bytowne Cinema

The Bitter Ash Larry Kent, 80 min, 1963, Canada, 35mm, Bytowne Cinema, Sept. 24thStarring Philip Brown, Alan Scarfe, and Lynn Stewart. 26 year-old UBC student Larry Kent directed The Bitter Ash in the early 1960's in Vancouver at a time when English Canadian feature films were rarely produced anywhere in the country, let alone on the West Coast. The plot concerns a young man, Des (Alan Scarfe), who abandons his girlfriend on a whim to explore the seedy counterculture at the fringes of Vancouver's otherwise “respectable” society. It's an ambitious tale of class conflict, social upheaval and generational change, punctuated with sex, drugs and jazz music. Kent, who had moved to Canada from South Africa when he was 20, produced the film with almost no money, so he was forced to stretch every dollar to get it made. His actors were students from UBC's drama department, the opening credits are hand-drawn illustrations, and the film was shot on black-and-white 16mm film without a budget for live sound recording, so all the sound had to be added in during post-production. Though it looks and sounds somewhat “rough” by today's standards, it still manages to pack a powerful dramatic punch, owing mostly to its audacious editing, and its bold, clear-eyed, and critical look at the sexual and cultural revolution about to sweep the nation. Provincial censors in B.C. didn't like the racy content and banned it from appearing in theatres in the province. Deciding to bypass Canada's theatrical distribution system entirely, Kent took the film on a roadshow screening tour of schools across the country. It was enthusiastically received by university audiences, but, dogged by censorship, Kent only managed get it shown in four schools after numerous others decided it was too subversive to screen. Kent went on to direct many other independent Canadian films, notably When Tomorrow Dies (1965) and Mothers and Daughters (1992). For years, the master print of The Bitter Ash was thought lost, but it re-emerged serendipitously in the possession of Kent's old landlord and a restoration process was initiated. A restored version of The Bitter Ash will be screened for the first time in Ottawa on a newly-transferred 35mm film print courtesy of Library and Archives Canada. Director Larry Kent will be at the screening and will be available for a Q&A with the audience after the film. For more on the film go here

Cinema Under The Stars V Aug. 9th Raven's Knoll Campground

 

For all the info go here

Trust the Unknown: A Tribute to Ed Folger, Thursday May 1st Club SAW

Trust the Unknown: A Tribute to Ed Folger

Thursday, May 1st 2014, 7:30pm

Club SAW, 67 Nicholas Street

Free admission

Edward Folger was a filmmaker, nomad, pioneer, mentor, father, and friend. A technologically inquisitive artist, his experimentations with film, video and computers were tempered by a soul steeped in poetry, philosophy and music. His sudden and premature passing in November 2013 left a hole in the fabric of our community. Join us in paying tribute to Ed’s artistic legacy and remarkable spirit as we screen his groundbreaking 1977 feature film Nanook Taxi, the first dramatic feature made in Northern Canada featuring an Inuk cast. Nanook Taxi will be preceded by a compilation of videotaped interviews with Ed and a selection of his short films including The River of Life and Lessons in Democracy.

For more about Ed Folger go here.

Presented in partnership with SAW Video

Trust the Unknown is part of VideoCity at SAW Video. In 2014, SAW Video will devote its entire programming year to celebrating media artists from the Ottawa-Gatineau region, past and present.

Canadian Cameos Archival Short Films, Tuesday April 29th Mayfair Theatre

The Canadian Cult Revue Series is proud to present a rare selection of Canadian Archival shorts from the Library and Archives vaults.

 All on 35mm film for National Canadian Film Day! April 29th, 9:15pm

Most are from the "Canadian Cameos" series directed by Gordon Sparling 1930's-1950's

Rhapsody in Two Languages, 1934

The most famous of the Canadian Cameo series, Rhapsody in Two Languages by Gordon Sparling depicts a 24-hour period in Montreal from sunrise to sunrise. Its rapid cross-cutting blends Howard Fogg's original music with a succession of positive and negative images and optical effects. The integration of music and visuals is remarkable.

Hockey Star's Summer, 1950  

Grey Owl's Little Brother, 1932

Bye Bye Bunting, animated short by Bryant Fryer, 1934

Canadian Headlines 1952

Fair and Cold, 1933

Push Back the Edge, 1952

Sitzmarks the Spot, 1948

Progress Parade, 1931

The program runs approx. 80mins.

Shivers, March 25th, 8:45pm, Mayfair Theatre

Shivers, 87 minutes, Rated R, David Cronenberg, Canada, 1975

PRESENTED BY THE CANADIAN CULT REVUE | RESTORED DIGITAL PRINT

Cronenberg's first commercial film, about genetically-engineered parasites turning the residents of a luxury high-rise into sex maniacs, shows the shape of things to come in his career; it “scares and shocks us because it's so cleverly made." (Roger Ebert)

Full review here

Shivers Courtesy of TIFF's Film Reference Library