Sunday, December 23, 2012

New website!

Please visit Refocus' new website at: www.refocusfilm.com

Monday, May 28, 2012

You're Invited to RICHARD'S WEDDING

It's been a while since our last screening but we're back at Double Double Land (209 Augusta Ave, down the lane) on June 6th at 8:30pm for the Canadian Premiere of Onur Tukel's hilarious new comedy, RICHARD'S WEDDING.



RICHARD'S WEDDING
Onur Tukel | 86 min | 2012 | USA

Cast: Jennifer Prediger, Onur Tukel, Darrill Rosen, Jamie Dobie, Oona Mekas, Heddy Lahmann, Adam Schartoff, Thomas J. Buchmueller, Lawrence Levine, Dustin Guy Defa, Randy Gambill, Theresa Lu

*Special Jury Prize Award Winner for Screenplay - Sarasota Film Festival*


"Tukel just might be his generation's Woody Allen."
-Michael Dunaway, Paste Magazine

"Relentlessly Hilarious"
- Michael Tully, Hammer to Nail

It has a neo-Seinfeld vibe.
- Jordon Hoffman, IFC.com

Hilarious and irreverent. 
- Kentucker Audley, No-Budge

Writer, director and star Onur Tukel takes one of film’s most popular genres, the wedding movie, and gives it a much-needed overhaul. Tuna (Tukel) and his best friend Alex (Jennifer Prediger) meet up to attend the wedding of their friend Richard (Lawrence Michael Levine). They pick up their motley band of friends and head to Central Park for the ceremony. But with storm clouds (both literal and figurative) forming, the entire affair runs the risk of going off the rails. RICHARD’S WEDDING is a wonderfully shaggy, hilarious comedy that calls to mind the ensemble films of the 1970’s, but with a fresh, confident cast that includes some of contemporary American independent film’s wittiest performers.

Refocus regulars can expect lots of familiar faces, including Lawrence Michael Levine (GABI ON THE ROOF IN JULY), Dustin Guy Defa (the director of BAD FEVER), and of course, Onur Tukel (SEPTIEN).

As always, Refocus screenings are free in exchange for your promise to tell people about the films via social media, variations of mouth to ear, blogs, cave paintings, or any other form you're well versed in.

Check out the trailer here:


Friday, April 20, 2012

DIY Art & Life: A Day with Joe Swanberg

What are you doing on Sunday, May 13th? Hopefully you are plaaaaaaaan free! But if you do have plans, you should consider changing or rejigging them so that you can be at Innis Town Hall for a most excellent event that Refocus is co-presenting with CINSSU and Ultra 8 Pictures. Joe Swanberg will be live in attendance to screen his Full Moon Trilogy (which unfortunately does not include a remake of PUPPET MASTER), answer audience questions following each film, and take part in a longer interview/masterclass after the final screening which will be moderated by the ever-wonderful, Jason Anderson.

Schedule:
4:00pm - ART HISTORY, followed by a brief Q&A
6:00pm - THE ZONE, followed by a brief Q&A
8:00pm - SILVER BULLETS, followed by an extended discussion with director Joe Swanberg, moderated by Jason Anderson (The Grid, The Toronto Star)

It should be noted that THE ZONE stars Sophia Takal and Lawrence Levine from GABI ON THE ROOF IN JULY, and Kentucker Audley from BAD FEVER. Also... SILVER BULLETS stars Kate Lyn Sheil of GABI...

You can purchase tickets here: http://joeswanbergtoronto.eventbrite.com/

That's the short version. Now here's the long version:

Ultra 8 Pictures, CINSSU and Refocus are pumped to co-present DIY Art & Life: A Day with Joe Swanberg.

Hosted at Innis Town Hall on Sunday May 13th, the event will feature Toronto premiere screenings of the Full Moon trilogy (THE ZONE, ART HISTORY, SILVER BULLETS) by acclaimed independent director Joe Swanberg, with the director in attendance. An extended discussion on DIY filmmaking will follow the third screening.

Here's your chance to see Joe Swanberg live for the first time since his appearance at TIFF in 2010 as a cast member in Adam Wingard's A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE. Adam also photographed and stars in both ART HISTORY and THE ZONE.

DATE: MAY 13, 2012

TIME:
4:00pm - ART HISTORY, followed by a brief Q&A
6:00pm - THE ZONE, followed by a brief Q&A
8:00pm - SILVER BULLETS, followed by an extended discussion with director Joe Swanberg, moderated by Jason Anderson (The Grid, The Toronto Star)

GET YOUR TICKETS HERE: http://joeswanbergtoronto.eventbrite.com/
* Or to buy tix without paying any ticket fees, email Katarina at katarina@ultra8.ca.

PRICE:
* Individual tickets for ART HISTORY & THE ZONE are $8
* Individual tickets for SILVER BULLETS are $12
* ALL DAY PASSES are $25

A BIT MORE ABOUT THE FILMS:

SILVER BULLETS (World Premiere, SXSW Film Festival)
An actress and her filmmaker boyfriend experience turbulence in their relationship when she accepts a role in a werewolf film. The actress connects with her new director while her boyfriend spirals into a dangerous depression.

“Silver Bullets is the most affecting “horror” movie I’ve seen in a while, as Swanberg ignores tired supernatural scare-flick trappings and locates terror in the shadowy, passive-aggressive process of making, and watching, movies.” - The Village Voice
 













THE ZONE (World Premiere, AFI Film Festival)
Larry and Sophia, a young Brooklyn couple, share an apartment with their roommate, Kate. An attractive male visitor arrives and seduces all three of them over the course of a night and the following day. When the visitor disappears as suddenly as he arrived, the delicate balance of the apartment and its inhabitants is disrupted.



ART HISTORY (World Premiere, Berlin International Film Festival)
Tension mounts between a director and his lead actress on the set of a sexually explicit low-budget film. As the actress and her co-star develop real feelings for each other, the director's jealousy erupts and he begins sabotaging his own production.

“Swanberg has been prolific enough to create a precise set of expectations from his work. Art History … satisfies all of them.” – IndieWire

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Next week: Alex Ross Perry's THE COLOR WHEEL!

Hey gang!

Long time, no update! I got a little distracted and forgot all about the site/blog, and was just updating the Facebook and Twitter pages. Oops.

Our next screening is less than a week away though, and it's going to be a great one! We're pleased as heck to present the Toronto Premiere of Alex Ross Perry's self-described "Hate Filled Comedy", THE COLOR WHEEL. Probably the funniest film we've screened so far, THE COLOR WHEEL is about a weekend trip between bickering brother and sister, Colin and JR, to move JR out of her professor and ex-lover's apartment. Of course, along the way, things get a bit strained and chaotic.

As always, Refocus screenings are free in exchange for attendees doing their part to spread the word about the films and the series before and afterward. Blog, talk, sing, dance... Whatever! Just spread the good word.


Wednesday, October 12th
7:30 PM
at Double Double Land in Kensington Market
209 Augusta Ave (down the lane)

THE COLOR WHEEL
Alex Ross Perry | 83 min | 2011 | USA

Starring Carlen Altman, Alex Ross Perry, Bob Byington, Kate Lyn Sheil, Anna Bak-Kvapil, and Ry Russo-Young.

Written by Carlen Altman & Alex Ross Perry

Photographed by Sean Price Williams (FROWNLAND, YEAST, and BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO)

Official selection: Sarasota Film Festival, Wisconsin Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, BAMcinemaFEST, Vancouver International Film Festival

"(THE COLOR WHEEL) is a small-scale symphony of petty squabbles and verbal sideswipes." - Jason Anderson, The Toronto Star


"In this new comedy, the director Alex Ross Perry gives a harsh, sarcastic twist to the intimate rivalry of siblings. He co-stars as Colin, a diffident aspiring writer whose older sister, J.R. (Carlen Altman), a proud and caustic aspiring actress, has dropped out of college after ending a relationship with “one of the top broadcast-journalism professors in the entire state.” She recruits Colin to join her on a road trip to her ex’s house to get her belongings. The siblings’ antic humiliations begin at a Christian-themed motel, where they must pretend to be a married couple, and continue through a series of chance encounters, including one with their former high-school friends (Kate Lyn Sheil and Anna Bak-Kvapil). Along the way, they pummel each other verbally with their constant squabbling and dredge up several decades of pent-up grudges. Perry directs these uproarious rapid-fire flareups with exquisite comic timing and incisive comic framing (the black-and-white cinematography is by Sean Price Williams); he and Altman go at each other with claws bared, revealing the terrifying vulnerability of a pair of wounded souls who know each other’s wounds all too well." - Richard Brody, The New Yorker

THE COLOR WHEEL - Preview from Alex Ross Perry on Vimeo.

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Spreading the Word

Hey guys,

So here's a sampling of the feedback and social media support we got for our screening of SEPTIEN, this month. Thanks so much to everyone who's helping to spread the word about both Refocus and SEPTIEN.



And here are our great reviews from Jason Anderson (Toronto Star), and Adam Nayman (The Grid). Thanks to them too!

http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/1000904--for-connoisseurs-of-weird-cinema

http://www.thegridto.com/culture/film/septien/

I'm very grateful for all of the support guys. Writing about the films we screen is extremely helpful to both the films and the series, and I hope that eventually, EVERYONE who comes out to Refocus will support the idea of giving back in this way.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Refocus #5 - SEPTIEN

It's been a while, hasn't it? I'd even say it's been too long. What're you up to Thursday night? Want to get together, catch up a bit, and watch a movie together? I hope so!

I just got a sweet blu-ray of Michael Tully's new film, SEPTIEN, that I think would look great projected on the wall at Double Double Land. So should we say, 9 o'clock? It's the film's first time screening in Canada, and it was an official selection of both Sundance and SXSW film festivals.

Double Double Land is at 209 Augusta Ave, just down the lane. I'll tape a sign up on the door to remind you which door.

Same as always... no need to bring any money. These screenings aren't about cash dollars. Just promise you'll tell a bunch of your friends about the film and Refocus. Ya know?

Here's the trailer for SEPTIEN:


Hope to see you on Thursday,
Jeff

p.s.
Here's the Facebook event so that you can RSVP and invite anyone I've forgotten about. https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=100471980047871

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Refocus #4 - GABI ON THE ROOF IN JULY

Back from the holidays!!! Refocus' next screening is in February, and we are excited. More on the film shortly but here's the basic info.

Wednesday, February 23rd
GABI ON THE ROOF IN JULY (Toronto Premiere)
@ Double Double Land (209 Augusta Ave)
7PM
$FREE as always, in exchange for your spreading the word about the film and the series afterward... Heck! Why not start spreading the word now?

Check out the trailer: