Media Bulletin #18

Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, November 14, 2007 … Building on the success of the last two years, the Shaw Festival is pleased to announce its continuing partnership with The Film Circuit, a branch of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), to bring acclaimed contemporary films to the Festival Theatre during the winter months. Beginning December 8, 2007, some of the most celebrated feature films of the year will be screened on Saturdays at 3:00 pm. Eight films have been confirmed to date for the series, with four additional titles to follow in the coming weeks.

New this year is a Tuesday-evening documentary mini-series featuring four films, with two confirmed to date. The documentaries will be screened in the Festival Theatre at 7 pm.

TIFF’s very successful Film Circuit programme assists groups in smaller centres to gain access to Canadian and international films. Providing service and support to volunteers in communities that wish to build film series and showcase films not otherwise locally available, the Film Circuit has benefited over 170 local groups across Canada. All profits from the Festival Film Series will benefit the Shaw Festival.

Tickets are $10 per person. A twelve-film Festival Film Pass is available for $109 per person, or a nine-film “Stocking Stuffer” for $79. A Festival Documentary Pass is $35. To purchase tickets, please visit the Shaw Festival box office in person, or call locally 905-468-2172 or toll-free 1-800-511-SHAW (7429).

The Shaw gratefully acknowledges the many residents of Niagara-on-the-Lake who have made this initiative possible, particularly Major Sponsors John and Carol Walker.

The 2007/2008 Festival Film Series is generously supported by The Epicurean, Niagara’s Finest Inns, Stone Road Grille and Vintage Hotels.


Festival Film Series Schedule

Feature Series:

December 8
La Vie en Rose
Directed by Oliver Dahan, La Vie En Rose stars Marion Cotillard in a tour de force performance as troubled French singer Edith Piaf.
Rating: PG-13

December 15
Waitress
Sweet, smart and quirky, Waitress was an audience hit at the Sundance Film Festival. Keri Russell leads a dynamic cast as a diner waitress stuck in a lousy marriage whose only solace is baking out-of-this-world pies.
Rating: PG-13

December 22
Death at a Funeral
A dignified send-off for a loved one erupts into uproarious chaos when romance, jealousy, in-laws, hallucinogens, dark secrets, life-long yearnings and a spot of bold blackmail all collide grave-side in this irreverent British comedy from director Frank Oz.
Rating: R

December 29
In the Valley of Elah
From the Oscar-winning writer/director Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby, Crash) comes a riveting story of a Vietnam veteran (Tommy Lee Jones) searching for a son (Jonathan Tucker) just returned from a tour in Iraq.
Rating: R

January 5
12 and Holding
Michael Cuesta’s film explores the complexities of children losing their innocence and adults struggling to guide them. 12 and Holding enters the intricate – and often humorous – world where adolescence and adulthood collide.
Rating: R

January 12
Eastern Promises
Viggo Mortensen stars as the mysterious and charismatic Nikolai Luzhin, a driver for one of London’s most notorious organized crime families, who unexpectedly finds his loyalties divided. David Cronenberg’s new thriller explores the psyche, physicality, and fortunes of a man whose true nature may never be wholly revealed.
Rating: R

January 19
After the Wedding
Acclaimed director Susanne Bier returns with her most powerful film, the Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. Sweeping yet intimate, After the Wedding is a shattering portrait of a family struggling with the fragility of life and the search for connection, healing, and forgiveness.
Rating: R

January 26
Across the Universe
At once gritty, whimsical and highly theatrical, Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe is an original movie musical featuring cutting-edge visual techniques, heartwarming performances, 1960s history and the Beatles songbook.
Rating: PG-13

February titles to be announced.


Documentary Series:

January 15
My Kid Could Paint That
In the span of only a few months, 4-year-old Marla Olmstead rocketed from total obscurity into international renown – and sold over $300,000 worth of paintings. Then a 60 Minutes exposé suggested that the paintings were painted by her father, and the Olmsteads were ostracized and barraged with hate mail. Director Amir Bar-Lev takes a complex look at art and truth and finds no easy answers.
Rating: PG-13


February 19
The Line King
Susan Warms Dryfoos’s 1996 documentary tells the story of the childhood, adolescence, and incredible adult years of Al Hirshfeld, celebrated creator of thousands of line drawings of famous people.
Not rated

January 22 and February 12 titles to be announced.

-30-

Please visit our website at www.shawfest.com for other Shaw Festival media releases.

For more information, or to download images from our image bank to accompany this release, members of the media may contact:

Odette Yazbeck
Public Relations Director
905-468-2153 or
1-800-657-1106 ext. 222
odette@shawfest.com

Patti Broughton
Public Relations Co-ordinator
905-468-2153 or
1-800-657-1106 ext. 224
pbroughton@shawfest.com

Press Contact Information

Shaw Festival
odette@shawfest.com
1-800-657-1106 ext 222
Shaw Festival Box 774 Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON L0S 1J0

Source URL: http://

Who Read this Press Release