September 15th, 2017

Screen Nova Scotia congratulates NS filmmakers at Toronto International Film Festival

Announcement, Event, Productions
Quotation Flourish
Highly anticipated Nova Scotia feature films The Crescent and Black Cop — along with the short film Milk — had their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, with sold-out screenings and rave reviews.
News Flourish

Highly anticipated Nova Scotia feature films The Crescent and Black Cop — along with the short film Milk — had their world premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival this week, with sold-out screenings and rave reviews. Congratulations to the filmmakers and the #NSFilmJobs cast and crew, who helped bring these productions to the big screen.

BLACK COP
Director / Writer: Cory Bowles
Producer: Aaron Horton
Cinematographer: Jeff Wheaton

“Black Cop” is just one of many names slapped on the lead character in director Cory Bowles’ film. He also gets called a sellout, a rogue police officer, a dirty cop, a bogeyman, and an avenger. Sick and tired of witnessing — and living — the systematic abuse of black people, Black Cop (Ronnie Rowe Jr., in an enthralling performance) rejects peaceful advocacy, instead inflicting on the white oppressor what the oppressor has inflicted on his people: the violent abuse of power. By consciously and calculatingly taking control of the terror rather than submitting to it, Black Cop reveals its protagonist as a conundrum. Black Cop is a thoughtful and energizing satire, a powerful confrontation to the status quo, and an embodiment of film as the ultimate agent of conversation.” — MAGALI SIMARD

Black Cop screens at the Atlantic International Film Festival on Monday, September 18th at 6:30 p.m. Buy tickets HERE.

THE CRESCENT
Director: Seth A. Smith
Producer: Nancy Urich
Writer: Darcy Spidle
Cinematographer: Craig Buckley

“A woman and her child are enveloped by an eerie atmosphere and creeping dread upon retreating to a remote coastal estate in The Crescent, Seth A. Smith’s hypnotic collision of supernatural surrealism and verité aesthetics. Having deliriously blended sensibilities reminiscent of the two Davids (Cronenberg and Lynch) with their fever-dream debut Lowlife, Smith, producer Nancy Urich, and screenwriter Darcy Spidle again conjure an unnerving and psychedelic horror trip while cementing their reputation as Canada’s most indelible melders of genre and the avant-garde. Evoking the ambition and hallucinatory heights of fiercely independent horror films such as Messiah of Evil, Eyes of Fire, and Beyond the Black Rainbow, The Crescent casts a spell that truly haunts.”  — PETER KUPLOWSKY

The Crescent screens at the Atlantic International Film Festival on Sunday, September 17th at 9:30 p.m. Buy tickets HERE.

MILK
Director / Producer / Writer: Heather Young
Cinematographer: Daniel Boos

“A reticent young dairy farm employee struggles with the news of an unexpected pregnancy. A methodical cycle of calf births and milk extraction becomes an incisive meditation on the implications of reproduction and the anxiety of impending parenthood.” — DANIS GOULET

Milk screens at the Atlantic International Film Festival in Shorts Program 5 on Monday, September 18th at 9:00 p.m. Buy tickets HERE.

While at TIFF, Screen Nova Scotia hosted a Nova Scotia Happy Hour reception in celebration of Nova Scotia filmmakers and their films screening at the festival. The reception was held at the Peter Pan Bistro, and attended by NS filmmakers, along with their cast and crew, as well as other Nova Scotians either attending TIFF or now living in Toronto, and an impressive number of national and international filmmakers and industry leaders.

Throughout the year, Nova Scotian producers travel to national and international festivals and markets to develop projects; form relationships with co-producers, distributors, sales agents, and broadcasters; and sell finished work to international markets. Screen Nova Scotia also attends some of these events to make connections with national and international film commission and agencies; to link up with colleagues and organizations in other jurisdictions; to collect market research and get a sense of future trends; and to promote Nova Scotia’s locations, crews, and financial incentives to top industry leaders.

We’re looking forward to seeing many of our Screen Nova Scotia members and industry supporters at the upcoming Atlantic International Film Festival and Strategic Partners. Please follow us on social media for daily updates on Nova Scotian films and events throughout the festival: Facebook / Twitter / #NSFILMJOBS.