February 1st - 3rd, 2008 - 1st Annual Toronto-Romanian Film Festival

A rediscovery of Romania’s cinematic past: remembering a misbehaved reality.

PROGRAM UPDATE:
ToRo Arts Group is proud to announce the special guest appearance of (former Montrealer) actor Jamie Elman (Sg. David McLaren) to its Opening Night Screening of Cristian Nemescu's film California Dreamin'.

Jamie Elman will be present alongside York University Professor Tereza Barta to introduce the film and talk about his involvement in the project as well as working with Cristian Nemescu.

Following the screening will be a Question & Answer session with the audience.
For more information, please visit our news section.
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Scheduled for the first three days in February of 2008, the 1st, 2nd and 3rd, ToRo Arts Group’s First Annual Toronto Romanian Film Festival intends to satisfy Toronto’s increased appetite for cinemas without borders and undiscovered cinematic expressions.

The film festival intends to uncover the influence of a pre-, per-, and post-Communist realities, as well as the influence of modern films and their capacity to depart from a past that is often misunderstood.

ToRo will dedicate its opening night program to the late director Cristian Nemescu by screening his 2007 “Un Certain Regard” Cannes winner for Best Film California Dreamin’ (Endless). Preceding the film will be his film-school graduating short, C Block Story. The two films will be presented by York University Professor and filmmaker, Tereza Barta.

Continuing its ‘retrospective theme,’ the ToRo will present during the second day of the Festival Lucian Pintile’s 1968 film, Reenactment, a political-deviant that Romania banned for its distinct and candid attack on the country’s lack-of civil liberties during its Communist past. Alexandru Solomon’s documentary, The Great Communist Bank Robbery, will add further analysis of the distinct political dynamics of the era. This night will be introduced by renowned University of Western Professor, Dr. Calin-Andrei Mihailescu.

Returning to Romania’s cinematic origins, the Festival will close with a special screening of the first Romanian feature film, The War of Independence, followed by the Canadian premiere of Nae Caranfil’s The Rest is Silence. The silent film The War of Independence will be accompanied by live music provided by the Festival’s Special Guest New York-based Romanian DJ, Bogman. In addition, Ion-Popescu Gopo’s 1956 Cannes winner for Best Animated Short A Short History will provide a fitting introduction to the night.

Nae Caranfil’s latest cinematic offer will allow film-goers to experience a modern interpretation of Romania’s early voyage into the art of cinema. With a record-setting budget of 24 million Euros, The Rest is Silence will be remembered as an investigatory period-piece that unveils the artistic passion that has survived in Romanian cinema from its inception to its current worldwide recognition.

Looking forward, the Festival will explore through programs of shorts the major works of upand-coming directors. Amongst the films are Radu Jude’s Tube With a Hat, the 2007 Sundance Film Festival winner of the Best International Short, Adrian Sitaru’s Waves, winner of the Best Short at the 2007 Locarno International Film Festival and Bogdan Apetri’s The Last Day of December, an official selection of the 2006 Montreal World Film Festival.

The aforementioned programs of shorts will be presented over a period of two days, on February 2nd and 3rd respectively.

In typical fashion, the ToRo Arts Group will be hosting an opening party, scheduled to take place on Friday, February 1st, following the opening screening, at Studio 204. Live musical entertainment will be provided by the Festival’s special guest DJ, Bogman. Video-art projections will also be on display.

NOTE: THIS IS AN ENGLISH EVENT! ALL MOVIES ARE IN ROMANIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

PLEASE NOTE PROGRAMME CHANGE:
Due to festival (international) screening priorities outside our control, Alexandru Mavrodineanu's The Boxing Lesson (2007) will be substituted with Calain Leescu's Afterimage (2007). We apologize for the inconvenience.

For full program info, click here.

February 1st
Opening Night Screening - 7 pm - SOLD OUT
Opening Night Reception - 11 pm

February 2nd
Shorts Program 1 - 3 pm
Documentary - 6 pm
Feature 1 - 9 pm

February 3rd
Shorts Program 2 - 1:30 pm
Feature 2 - 4:30 pm
Feature 3 - 7 pm

All screenings will be held at:
Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave.

Tickets per screening:
General Admission
$15 – Adult
$10 – Student (with ID)

Day Pass
$40 - Adult
$25 - Student

Festival Pass
$95 - Adult
$60 - Student

Tickets can be purchased in person at:
UofT Tix
7 Hart House Circle ( 416-978-8849 )
or
http://www.uofttix.ca/view.php?id=310

January 23rd, 2008 - Web Photography Exhibit

January 23rd, 2008 - Web Photography Exhibit

A creature of the past has returned. Thematically dedicated to the "American Dream," the ToRo is now accepting submissions for its second online photography exhibit.

All submissions must be sent to submissions@toroartsgroup.com by Jan. 20th, 2008 and each artist may only make one submission.

If you have additional comments and/or questions, the ToRo asks that you forward them to office@toroartsgroup.com.

Please be advised that we will not accept (or consider, if such are received) photo-manipulated submissions, as the purpose of this online gallery is to showcase thematically aligned photography only.

The ToRo Team.

December 1st, 2007 - Web Photography Exhibit

It's "3:03 AM" and you can't sleep. To appreciate insomnia requires dedication, patience and unfortunately, a flexible schedule. But, you neither have any of these, nor do you wish to acquire them. Expenditures aside, allow us to convince you otherwise.

On December 1st, the ToRo will launch a new theme based web gallery.
The first theme will be "3:03 AM", and the ToRo will be accepting submissions based on this theme until November 28th. For more information please visit the submissions page.

The ToRo Team.

September 15th, 2007 - ToRo Electro-Loft Party

This night will be dedicated to Romania's burgeoning electro movement. The ToRo will be screening the North American premiere of Matei Alexandru Mocanu's "ELECTRO," a documentary exposing all facets of the electro movement and lifestyle. In addition, "ELECTRO" is the first documentary of this kind in Romania. The ToRo Arts Group will be screening this feature film alongside an audio-visual installation, supplemented by a live deejay.

The latest collaboration between SINCRETIC, a Mexico-based Romanian artist, AVmotional, a Romania-based collective of audio-video artists and the ToRo Arts Group, will culminate in an end-of-the-summer electro-loft party that will further allow for the raising of funds to be directed towards our upcoming ToRo Film Festival.

The event is scheduled to begin at 8:00PM, while the "ELECTRO" screening will commence at 11:00PM. Tickets can be purchased at the door and will be $15 before 10:30PM and $20 after. Due to the nature of this event, the ToRo will be honoring tickets on a first-come-first-serve basis. In addition, a cash bar will be running throughout the night.

As the loft's capacity is limited, we ask that you plan accordingly so as to not be disappointed.

Please send all ticket inquiries to office@toroartsgorup.com or visit our website for further contact information.
Saturday, September 15th, 2007, 8PM
Studio 204, 204 Spadina Ave.

Tickets:
$15 - before 10:30 PM
$20 - after 10:30 PM

Tickets at the door with RSVP.

More info...
Post ELP Pictures

July 13th, 2007 - Exposé on Romanian Cinema's New Wave

July 13th promises to be an exciting evening dedicated to the magic of cinema, as ToRo Arts Group presents Toronto with a long-awaited Exposé on Romanian Cinema's New Wave.

Headlined in person by award-winning screenwriter Tudor Voican, victoriously returning from this year's Cannes Film Festival with a historic win for Romania under the "Un Certain Regard" category for Best Film with Cristian Nemescu's California Dreamin' (Endless), the night aims to showcase Romania's 'New Wave' of talented filmmakers that are contributing to a renewal of the country's cinema across the globe.

NOTE: THIS IS AN ENGLISH EVENT! ALL MOVIES ARE IN ROMANIAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES.

Friday, July 13th 2007, 7pm
Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave.

Tickets:
$10 – Adult
$5 – Student (with ID)

Tickets can be purchased in person at:

UofT Tix
7 Hart House Circle ( 416-978-8849 )
or
http://www.uofttix.ca/view.php?id=247

More info...
Post expose pictures