Richard visited the Victoria Film Festival to host Q&As with JJ Feild, star of “Etruscan Smile,” Don McKellar, director of “Through Black Spruce” and Tantoo Cardinal and Evan Adams of audience favourite “Smoke Signals.” Read more HERE!
Richard will host In Conversation with Smoke Signals, a panel discussion with Smoke Signals director Chris Eyre and stars Evan Adams and Tantoo Cardinal (who appears in at least two festival entries this year). The trio will discuss the Indigenous filmmaking legacy left by the award-winning 1998 film, which had its Canadian premiere at the Victoria Film Festival.
Click HERE for more information!
Game of Thrones star Aidan Gillen collaborates for a third time with director Jamie Thraves (Treacle Jr, The Low Down) in this low-fi, high-stakes drama about the bizarre life of a jobbing actor suffering from insomnia.
In something of an autobiographical riff, Aidan (played by…Aidan Gillen) lives alone with his dog, Echo, and struggles to connect with his teenage daughter. He has complicated feelings about his mounting fame, a bad back, and he can’t sleep. Aiden is also currently playing a serial killer, a situation which becomes complicated by his “method” approach to acting.
In this strange, muted world of sleeplessness and metaphysical confusion, Aidan finds solace with a number of strangers he picks up. But he soon becomes concerned that someone is stalking him…
Gillen is in fine form, delivering jet black comedy in this fascinating and hilarious insight into the complexities and absurdities of an actor preparing.
Richard will host a Q&A with Gillen following the 9:15 pm screening on February 3. MORE INFO HERE!
From Michael Reid’s Times Colonist article on the opening night of the Victoria Film Festival!
“Despite having risen at 3 a.m. Friday, Richard Crouse, the Toronto-based CTV film critic whose connecting flight from Vancouver was cancelled, was in good spirits when he finally arrived at 9:45 p.m. It was an hour after Crouse was scheduled to begin a Q & A with McKellar.
“There’s an inch of snow in Vancouver. It shut down everything so we had a planes, trains, automobiles and ferry trip to get here,” said Crouse.
“The ferry was fantastic. I’d never done it before so it was an adventure.”
Read the whole thing HERE!
Richard will host two events at the Victoria Film Festival, February 6 and 7.
IN CONVERSATION WITH… LARRY WEINSTEIN
February 7 / 11 AM / The Vic Theatre
Welcome to the wonderfully inventive world of Larry Weinstein, a unique documentary filmmaker whose 25 films captured the lives of great composers, the former Ambassador to Iran Ken Taylor, and the mystery of Hana’s Suitcase.
Weinstein will look at the anatomy of a documentary from inception to completion while expanding on his thoughts by screening raw and completed footage of his recently completed project Devil’s Horn.
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IN CONVERSATION WITH… SEMI CHELLAS
February 6 / 11 AM / The Vic Theatre
Semi Chellas discusses writing for film and television – and what credentials she has for that! Chellas was Co-Executive Producer and writer for Mad Men, running the room for the final two seasons.
Garnering six Emmy nominations she has shared the WGA award with Matthew Weiner for co-writing the episode The Other Woman. Chellas has written for indie features, kids movies, television movies and directed several award-winning short films. Chellas is currently working as an Executive Producer of Steve McQueen’s HBO miniseries Codes of Conduct.
Read Michael D. Reid’s Times – Colonist wrap of The Victoria Film Festival HERE!
“Festivals like this make people aware there are things other than superhero and comic book movies,” said Richard Crouse, CTV’s Canada AM film critic, back for his fifth time.
“Hollywood is only in the business of giving people what they want, so every time you buy a ticket to Guardians of the Galaxy after seeing it 25 times you’re tacitly saying ‘This is all I want to go and see.’ What you need to do is support smaller, more interesting films, particularly if you’re ever going to complain that Hollywood’s all out of ideas.”
Before Crouse interviewed James and Mark McKinney onstage last weekend, he did the extensive research he’s known for.
“By the time I get onstage I’ll know more about Whoopi Goldberg than Whoopi Goldberg does,” said Crouse, who’s reading books and watching her movies before interviewing the actress and comedian at the Banff Centre next weekend.
Richard hosted two “In Conversation” long form on-stage interviews during the Victoria Film Festival and judged a BravoFACT Pitch Competition which awarded $35,000 to Vancouver based filmmaker Mary Galloway. Read about it HERE!
Thanks to Ron James @TheRonJamesShow Feb 8 for the tweet: “Had best interview ever with @RichardCrouse yesterday AM @VicFilmFestival, praising the hidden boons of our road less travelled.#VICTORIA”
Thanks to Ratfish Comedy @RatfishComedy Feb 8 for the tweet “@RichardCrouse and @Mark_DMcKinney in fascinating chat at @VicFilmFestival” and Mark McKinney @Mark_DMcKinney Feb 9 for tweeting, “@RichardCrouse U were an awesome interviewer. I owe you a Tiki head.”
Richard shares an in-depth interview with Jason Whyte and Mark Leirner-Young of Reel West Magazine on Victoria, British Columbia’s CinemaSpiel Podcast.
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Learn more HERE!
