Face 2 Face With David Peck

Lutz and I talk about his new film Mali Blues, the question of culture, colonialism, the power of music to evoke emotion and change and artful disruption.   For more information about TIFF go here.   IMDB Trailer   More info about the film here.   Synopsis With her radiant voice and magnetic presence, Fatoumata Diawara, known as Fatou, is a rising star in world music. In her home country of Mali, music traditions are deep and varied, but their longevity was threatened when Islamic fundamentalists banned music in northern desert towns for several months beginning in 2012. (Diawara had a memorable cameo in Abderrahmane Sissako's Academy Award-nominated film Timbuktu as a singer being punished.) Having fled Mali as a young woman to escape an arranged marriage, Diawara's personal relationship to the country is complicated. In Mali Blues, we follow her as she returns in 2015 to give her first home concert at the Festival of the Niger in the southern Mali city of Ségou. Director Lutz Gregor treats our eyes to dazz

Kathy and I talk about social change, catalyzing action, creative activism and choosing love and why fearlessness matters more than we know. For more information about Kathy head here and her new book head here. For more information on Creative Visions. The Journey is The Destination: IMDB Biography Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and a graduate of Wellesley College, Kathy has worked as a teacher, journalist, author, and film and television producer in England, Africa and the United States.  In 1997, Kathy launched Creative Visions Foundation, a global organization that supports “creative activists” who use their creative talents to change the world around them.  CVF was inspired by the life of Kathy’s son, Dan Eldon – artist, adventurer and activist – killed in 1993 while on assignment for Reuters New Agency in Somalia. Since 2004, CVF has acted as an incubator, academy and agency for more than 200 projects and productions by artists, filmmakers, playwrights, and leaders of social movements on five continents w

Oliver and I talk about Sufism, the “geometry of the heart”, religion, contra-tradition, the mystical edge to everything and why there is really nothing at all to understand. For more information about TIFF go here. IMDB Trailer For more information about the film go here. Synopsis Winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes' Semaine de la Critique, this mesmerizing, minimalist "Eastern western" confirms Oliver Laxe (You All Are Captains) as a remarkable and distinctive talent. Inspired in part by the director's itinerant travels and his immersion in Sufism,Mimosas — which was first glimpsed as the film-within-the-film in Ben Rivers' The Sky Trembles and the Earth is Afraid and the Two Eyes are Not Brothers — is by turns heady and epiphanic as it explores cinema's possibilities of representing the ineffable. Shot against the backdrop of Morocco's staggering Atlas Mountains, Mimosasseems to take place at some strange intersection of the ancient and modern worlds. A young, wild-eyed preacher (Shakib Ben Omar) is summo

Juho and Jarrko and I talk about love stories, boxing as a metaphor, what’s important in life and how not to be cynical. For more information about TIFF go here. IMDB Trailer More info about the film here. Synopsis Winner of a top prize at this year’s Cannes festival, the irresistibly charming debut feature from Juho Kuosmanen is a funny and forlorn comedy-drama inspired by the real-life showdown between Finnish boxer Olli Mäki and American champion Davey Moore in 1962 Helsinki. Funny, forlorn, and irresistibly charming, Juho Kuosmanen's assured debut featureThe Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, which won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section at this year's Cannes, is inspired by the true story of Finland's most successful boxer of the 1960s. Shot in black and white with scrupulous attention to period detail, the film centres on the prelude to Mäki's historic fight in Helsinki with American Davey Moore, the bantamweight champion of the world. Almost painfully open and ingenuous, Olli (Jarkko La

Jim and George and I about Tuko Macho, The Nest Collective, an African generational voice, identity and internal voices and why extreme order is surreal. For more information on Tuko Macho(IMDB, trailer, website) and TIFF. Synopsis Tuko Macho (Sheng for "we are watching") candidly explores the frequently violent intersections of class, law and justice in Nairobi. Shot mostly in Sheng -- Kenya's unique pidgin of English, Swahili and local languages -- Tuko Macho's storylines are drawn from real-life stories that the people of Nairobi have become uncomfortably familiar with. Presented exclusively on Facebook as a web series, Tuko Macho has traversed between fiction and the real world, allowing audiences to vote for or against the execution of characters, and sparking intense conversations about the place of retributive justice in a city with few heroes. Tuko Macho stars Kenyan stage and screen actor Tim King’oo as Biko/Jonah -- the philosophical and operational heart of the vigilante operation, Nairobi radio qu

Andreas Dalsgaard and I talk about his new film The War Show, Syria, self-discovery and tools of expression, silence and journalistic analysis. Synopsis A Syrian radio DJ documents the experiences of herself and her friends as their dreams of hope and liberation in the wake of the 2011 Arab Spring give way to the grim realities of repression, forced emigration and extremism. Syrian radio host Obaidah Zytoon and her friends are caught up in the euphoria of the 2011 Arab Spring. Camera in hand, these artists and activists take to the streets to protest Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and record their experiences. They talk about art and relationships as much as politics. But as they film themselves over the next several years, their hopes for a better future are tested by violence, imprisonment and death. Zytoon and friends have worked with veteran Danish director Andreas Dalsgaard to shape, narrate and edit years of footage into a deeply moving personal narrative. The War Show, subtitled "From Revolution to W

  Don and I talk about the new film The David Dance, what it means to feel different, self-esteem issues, fitting in and his take on a story that has “universal appeal.” For more information about TIFF go here. IMDB Trailer More info about the film here. Synopsis Away from the microphone, David (Don Scimé) is soft spoken, shy and unsure of himself. However, as his on-air alias, "Danger Dave" - host of the local radio show "Gay Talk" in Buffalo, New York - he's poised, witty and every listener's best friend. His sister, Kate (Antoinette LaVecchia), is a thrice-divorced banker with a yen for classical music and cats. Though successful, the siblings suffer from a secret, yet vast sense of inadequacy.  Kate decides to adopt an orphan in Brazil and asks David to be a father figure. Meanwhile, David grapples with his self-doubts while gawkily romancing his co-worker. Past and present intertwine in this bittersweet winter's tale of a man learning to love and accept himself. The film is the feature directorial debut

Robert Cenedella and I talk about his new film Art Bastard, how not to play the "art game," the narrow minded establishment, and what isn't art. For more information on Art Bastard: IMDB, Trailer, website. Synopsis In a madcap art world obsessed with money, fame and hype, how does an artist driven by justice, defiance and his own singular style thrive? Art Bastard is the rousing tale of a rebel who never fit into today's art world, yet has become one of its most provocative, rabble-rousing characters. At once a portrait of the artist as a young troublemaker, an alternate history of modern art and a quintessential New York story, Art Bastard is as energetic, humorous and unapologetically honest as the uncompromising man at its center: Robert Cenedella. Cenedella was a contemporary of Andy Warhol. But he has essentially served as the antiWarhol. His noisy, raucous, color-splashed paintings of city scenes approach the world with a sincerity that defies the irony, frivolity and controversy-for-the-sake-of-controv

On today’s TIFF episode I talk to Orlando and Joanna about their moving new film The White Helmets, Syria, courage and doing the right thing in the face of fear. For more information on The White Helmets(IMDB, trailer, website) and TIFF. Synopsis A Netflix original short documentary, set in Aleppo, Syria and southern Turkey in early 2016, takes viewers into the war zone. As the violence intensifies, The White Helmets follows three volunteer rescue workers as they put everything on the line to save civilians affected by the war, all the while wracked with worry about the safety of their own loved ones. Moving and inspiring, The White Helmets (by Oscar nominated team Orlando von Einsiedel and Joanna Natasegara) is both a snapshot of the harrowing realities of life for ordinary Syrians who remain in the country, and a humbling portrait of the power of the human spirit. Biographies Orlando von Einsiedel is a London-based director. His debut feature documentary Virunga was nominated for an Academy Award. The White

Fred and I talk about his new film All Governments Lie: Truth, Deception and the Spirit of I.F. Stone, speaking truth to power, unplugging from the mainstream, pressure from below and good journalism. For more information about TIFF go here. IMDB Trailer More info about the film here. Synopsis Vancouver-based filmmaker and TV news veteran Fred Peabody explores the life and legacy of the maverick American journalist I.F. Stone, whose long one-man crusade against government deception lives on in the work of such contemporary filmmakers and journalists as Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, David Corn, and Matt Taibbi. For decades, maverick American journalist I.F. Stone took on the powers that be — from Red-baiting fearmonger Joe McCarthy to Lyndon Johnson to Ronald Reagan — in the pages of the tiny publication I.F. Stone's Weekly (and later in the New York Review of Books and The Nation), most of it typed, two-finger style, by Stone himself. Working without the "access" to those in power so prized by establishmen

Marie and I talk about knowledge, gender disparity, about focus and passion and how her new film touches on both the beauty and the limitations of science. For more information about TIFF go here. IMDB Synopsis Polish actress Karolina Gruszka stars in this sweeping biography of the legendary, Nobel Prize–winning physicist and chemist, who courted controversy with both her challenging of France’s male-dominated academic establishment and her unconventional romantic life. Physicist, chemist, and pioneer in the study of radioactivity, Marie Sklodowska Curie spent her life setting precedents. She was the first woman to win the Nobel Prize and the first person to win it twice. As the first female professor at the University of Paris, she had to overcome the condescension and antagonism of France's male-dominated academic establishment. She also courted controversy of the sort that still threatens to quash the careers of public figures today. This sweeping biography brings to life Curie's inspiring story of discov

  Mark and I talk about his new film All I See Is You, broken relationships, our shifting attention, expectations, loneliness and why it’s so important to realize that sometimes all we have is each other. For more information about TIFF go here. IMDB Trailer Synopsis Blake Lively (The Shallows) and Jason Clarke (Zero Dark Thirty) star in this thriller from director Marc Forster (Monster’s Ball,World War Z), about a blind woman who regains her sight and begins to discover disturbing new details about her marriage and her life. Marriages are a delicate psychological interplay between two people, and there's no shortage of stories about how that connection is altered when things take a turn for the worse. But this insightful new drama is about a married couple who face unexpected challenges when their circumstances seemingly change for the better. James (Jason Clarke) and Gina (Blake Lively) are a happily married couple living in Bangkok. Gina has been virtually blind since the childhood car crash that destroye

Gave Lindo Gave and I talk about The Reel World Film Festival, storytelling, and creating opportunities for people to act through dialogue, empathy and film. For more information about the Reel World Festival go here.  Biography Gave is currently the Executive Director of the Reelworld Film Festival. During his tenure, he repositioned the festival to focus on issue driven films of global importance. He also expanded the festival’s programming to include virtual reality films and interactive gaming and created Canada’s first ever Media for Impact Conference which brings together filmmakers and organizations behind acclaimed issue driven films such as Virunga, The True Cost, Girl Rising, Bully, The Hunting Ground, The Square, and Gasland. Gave began his career as a media lawyer working for a Bay street law firm in Toronto where he acted for broadcasters such as CHUM/CityTV and Astral. He then joined CBC as a business executive where he was responsible for structuring and negotiating deals with independent prod

  Hugh Gibson   Hugh and I talk about his new film The Stairs, “harm reduction care”, addictions, empathy and compassion and “Toronto: The Not So Good.” PANEL DETAILS Date/time: Wed Oct 12, after 6:40pm screening. Guests: Toronto city councillors Joe Cressy and Gord Perks (both head Toronto’s Drug Strategy), plus Roxanne Smith (from the film), and Raffi Balian, South Riverdale CHC Project Coordinator. (FYI: SRCHC is one of 3 approved supervised injection sites in Toronto) Moderator: Joe Fiorito (Toronto Star columnist)   For more information about TIFF go here.   IMDB Trailer   More info about the film here. Synopsis Hugh Gibson's compassionate and profoundly affecting The Stairs takes us inside Toronto's Regent Park Community Health Centre, whose staff of social workers includes both former and current drug users. These workers understand all too well what their clients are going through. Shot over five years, Gibson's film focuses on three staff members: the loquacious, seemingly tireless Marty, who was s

James Alan  James and I talk about mathematics, magic and mystery, risk and about how to leverage small secrets, and why it’s not about how smart you are, but it’s about what you know.  Biography James Alan is a professional magician and sleight of hand artist based in Toronto. James has performed across Ontario for small intimate audiences and on large stages creating performances, which are “thought provoking, funny, astonishing and thoroughly entertaining.” His one man shows, Lies, Damn Lies & Magic Tricks and The Uncertainty Project have been featured at the Summerworks Performance Festival (Toronto), The Hamilton Fringe Festival and The Wychwood Theatre. His latest project, Magic and Martini (www.magicandmartini.ca), sets out to prove that magic really is for grownups. Read more about James here.  ----------  For more information about my podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit my site here.  With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.     See acast.com/privacy for priv

Bob Phillips Bob and I talk about residential schools, urban reconciliation, why he was thrown out of Burnamthorpe Collegiate some 55 years ago and how colonialism still is having its impact. Biography Dr. Bob Phillips (Great Bear) is a Non-Status Urban Micmac who was raised in the west end of Toronto. He is a Traditional Pipe Carrier who began university at age 51 and now holds a PhD in Indigenous Studies. Bob Phillips was also the host and producer of the AVR Arts Review Show for ten years on the Aboriginal Voices Radio Network where he discussed art, culture and contemporary issues with community members from across Canada and the Far North. Read this article for a little more background on Bob and his past. --------- For more information about my podcasting, writing and public speaking please visit my site here. With thanks to producer Josh Snethlage and Mixed Media Sound.     See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Adrian Sitaru   Adrian and I talked about his new film “The Fixer”, journalism, abuse, slavery, human behaviour and why sometimes compassion is not enough.   For more information about TIFF go here.   IMDB Trailer   Synopsis   A headline-grabbing sex scandal gives a Romanian trainee at a French news network an opportunity for his big break, in this charged moral drama from Romanian director Adrian Sitaru.   At the heart of The Fixer lies a cautionary moral tale — on the surface a realist procedural in the vein of the Dardenne brothers, Adrian Sitaru's film is imbued with the signature minimalist approach of the Romanian new wave. Using journalism as his lens, Sitaru asks us to reflect on how far we're willing to go, and who we're willing to hurt, to get ahead in a competitive world.   Romanian-born Radu Patru (Tudor Istodor) is a trainee at a prestigious French news network. Serving as a translator and general problem solver, or "fixer," for the headlining journalists during his trial period, he's looking to

  Todd Minerson   Todd and I talk about masculinity, gender violence, “calling out versus calling in”, the business case for doing it “right”, and why Jack Layton believe you need a dream to live beyond yourself.   Biography   Todd Minerson is the Executive Director of the White Ribbon, the world’s largest effort of men and boys to end men’s violence against women. He is also the CEO of Parker P. Consulting, a social enterprise wholly owned by White Ribbon, working on gender issues with the private sector.   Initiated in Canada in 1991, the White Ribbon now has a presence in over 65 countries around the world.   The White Ribbon symbolizes a man’s pledge to never commit, condone, or remain silent about violence against women.   Todd’s work on engaging men and boys in gender based violence prevention and the pursuit of gender equality has taken him around the world.   His also work includes numerous engagements with the United Nations, including as a member of the UN Women Global Civil Society Advisory Group.

Jonas and I talked about refugees and memory, about ambient noise, poetry, the new film I Had Nowhere To Go, and why he's spent a lifetime ignoring Hollywood. For more information on I Had Nowhere To Go (IMDB) and TIFF. Synopsis Internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Douglas Gordon (24 Hour Psycho, Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait) returns to the Festival with this intimate portrait of avant-garde cinema legend Jonas Mekas. "An adventurer can always return home; an exile cannot. So I decided that culture would be my home." Jonas Mekas Internationally acclaimed multimedia artist Douglas Gordon returns to the Festival with an intimate portrait of Jonas Mekas, the legendary poet, film critic, risk-taking curator, "the godfather of the American avant-garde cinema" -- and, at 93 years old, among the remaining few to have escaped and survived Nazi persecution. I Had Nowhere to Go plunges us into both a collective and individual space of memory via long, imageless stretches over which Mekas narrates, in his inim

Avi and I talked about his brilliant and beautiful new film Past Life, and letting go, about justice, pessimism and why he believes we need to "let life take over." For more information about Past Life(IMDB) and TIFF. Synopsis In the fascinating new film from director Avi Nesher (The Wonders), two Israeli sisters delve into the dark mystery of their father's former life in Poland during World War II. The newest film by Avi Nesher boldly charts dangerous emotional territory as it tells of two sisters trying to uncover their family's past. It is 1977, and talented but introspective singer Sephi Milch (Joy Rieger) is singing with her choir in a Berlin concert hall. At the reception afterwards, Sephi is shocked when an older woman, upon hearing Sephi's name, hisses "murderer." The woman is immediately hustled away by her son, but the incident haunts Sephi, and when she returns home to Tel Aviv, she shares the story with her older sister, Nana (Nelly Tagar). A fiery tabloid journalist with a political bent, Nana i