Filmmakers Guy Maddin, Matthew Rankin tell TIFF crowd about coming through Winnipeg’s ‘anti-mainstream’ scene

Filmmakers Guy Maddin, Matthew Rankin tell TIFF crowd about coming through Winnipeg’s ‘anti-mainstream’ scene

Two Winnipeg-spawned filmmakers who have both offered up surreal visions of the Prairie city — albeit almost 20 years apart — talked to a Toronto International Film Festival crowd this week about the reception to their latest movies and what it’s like to try to present Winnipeg to the world in film. Guy Maddin and Matthew Rankin … Read more

Rachael Lillis, voice behind Pokémon’s Misty and Jessie, dead at 55

Rachael Lillis, voice behind Pokémon’s Misty and Jessie, dead at 55

Voice actor Rachael Lillis, famed for playing Misty and Jessie in various film, television and video game versions of the beloved Japanese animated series Pokémon, has died following a battle with breast cancer.  She was 55. Co-star Veronica Taylor, who voices the role of Ash Ketchum, shared the news Monday morning in a post on X, formerly known … Read more

Celebrated Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison honoured with commemorative stamp

Celebrated Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison honoured with commemorative stamp

It’s a rainy Wednesday afternoon, and the sounds of Toronto’s torrential downpour blend with live instrumentals from various music scores that accompanied films made by one of Hollywood’s most famed Canadian directors, the late Norman Jewison. These notes and melodies fill the Canadian Film Centre (CFC), a space Jewison founded as a launching point for new generations … Read more

Donald Sutherland, famed actor dead at 88, remembered ‘like a Quebecer’

Donald Sutherland, famed actor dead at 88, remembered ‘like a Quebecer’

Denise Robert, a Canadian film producer, remembers when Quebec director Denys Arcand tapped Donald Sutherland for a role in a film they were working on. “It wasn’t a big role,” Robert told Radio-Canada. “He said that he accepted with great pleasure because his dream was to shoot with Denys Arcand.” When the late actor arrived … Read more

Legendary musician, producer Steve Albini dead at 61

Legendary musician, producer Steve Albini dead at 61

Steve Albini, an alternative-rock pioneer and legendary producer who shaped the musical landscape through his work with Nirvana, the Pixies, PJ Harvey and more, has died. He was 61. Brian Fox, an engineer at Albini’s studio, Electrical Audio Recording, said Wednesday that Albini died after a heart attack Tuesday night. In addition to his work … Read more

Famed former Boston Symphony, TSO conductor Seiji Ozawa dead at 88

Famed former Boston Symphony, TSO conductor Seiji Ozawa dead at 88

Seiji Ozawa, the Japanese conductor who amazed audiences with the lithe physicality of his performances during three decades at the helm of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has died, his management office said Friday. He was 88. The internationally acclaimed maestro, with his trademark mop of salt-and-pepper hair, led the BSO from 1973 to 2002, longer … Read more

Famed Broadway performer Chita Rivera dead at 91

Famed Broadway performer Chita Rivera dead at 91

Chita Rivera, the dynamic dancer, singer and actor who garnered 10 Tony nominations, winning twice, in a long Broadway career that forged a path for Latina artists and rebounded after a near-fatal car accident, died Tuesday. She was 91. Rivera’s death was announced by her daughter, Lisa Mordente, who said she died in New York after a … Read more

Hayao Miyazaki tops North American box office for the first time with The Boy and the Heron

Hayao Miyazaki tops North American box office for the first time with The Boy and the Heron

For the first time in Hayao Miyazaki’s decades-spanning career, the 82-year-old Japanese anime master is No. 1 at the North American box office. Miyazaki’s latest enchantment, The Boy and the Heron, debuted with $12.8 million US, according to studio estimates. The Boy and the Heron, the long-awaited animated fantasy from the director of Spirited Away, My Neighbor … Read more