Don’t forget! The 10th Annual Regent Park Film Festival starts today! To find out more information about the festival, please visit: http://regentparkfilmfestival.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x__uPr7tkM8

“The Regent Park Film Festival will celebrate its 10th anniversary from November 7‐10, 2012, with an ambitious lineup of FREE screenings, panel discussions, installations and performances that reflect the diverse perspectives and experiences of the Regent Park community and inner-­city neighbourhoods all over the world. This year’s festival will feature over 50 films made by up-­and-­coming and established Canadian and international filmmakers, including documentary, fiction and animation programming for all ages. For the first time, all screenings will take place at Daniels Spectrum, Regent Park’s new arts and cultural centre located at 585 Dundas Street East in Toronto.”

“‘We’re proud to make excellent contemporary cinema accessible to Regent Park and the surrounding community for the tenth year,” said Regent Park Film Festival Executive Director Ananya Ohri, “The festival provides a key platform for Toronto’s inner city and inner city communities around the world to share their stories, engage in critical discussion and, most importantly, enjoy great films.” Visit http://regentparkfilmfestival.com/festival/schedule for a full listing of films and screening times.”

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:

Opening Night: Youth Media Arts Program – Nov 7 @ 6:30pm

“The Youth Media Arts Program features short works by filmmakers 26 years of age or younger, followed by a discussion with directors from the screening. Highlights include Roda Siad’s documentary IN BETWEEN STORIES, which follows four young artists living in African diaspora communities in Toronto, and Fredrick King’s LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL, a comedic mockumentary illuminating prejudice in today’s secondary school systems.

The Youth Media Arts Program will be preceded by a Star Panel on the theme “Where We Come From,” hosted by veteran Canadian producer Sandra Cunningham, former chair of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association. Panel participants include acclaimed directors Clement Virgo and Atom Egoyan, plus more to be announced.”

To find out more about Opening Night, click here or visit regentparkfilmfestival.com for more information.

REZONING HARLEM: Film & Panel Discussion – Nov 8 @ 6:30pm

“In their documentary REZONING HARLEM, directors Natasha Florentino and Tamara Gubernat follow public backlash against a 2008 rezoning that threatened to replace a longstanding Harlem community with big-­‐box retail and luxury housing. This provocative exposé of inner-­‐city redevelopment will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Regent Park Film Festival Vice-­‐Chair Jason Creed.

Panelists will include REZONING HARLEM filmmakers Natasha Florentino and Tamara Gubernat, as well as Deany Peters, a health worker at the Regent Park Community Health Centre, and Mustafa Ahmed, the 16-­‐year-­‐ old “poet of Regent Park.”

THE INTERRUPTERS: Film & Panel Discussion – Nov 9 @ 6:30pm

From director Steve James (HOOP DREAMS; STEVIE) comes this 2012 documentary about three Chicago violence interrupters who transform their own troubled pasts into a chance to stop violence one fight at a time. The film will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Olu Quamina, Executive Director of the youth engagement organization Concrete Roses, exploring violence prevention strategies for Toronto. Cobe Williams, one of the interrupters featured in the film, will be present for a Q&A following the screening.

Additional festival highlights include the Saturday morning Family Screening of Tetsu Hirakawa’s Japanese animated feature LIGHT OF THE RIVER, which includes free breakfast provided by the Christian Resource Centre, and Bobbito Garcia and Kevin Couliau’s feature documentary DOIN’ IT IN THE PARK, an examination of pickup basketball culture in New York City that explores the history, culture and social impact of New York’s summer b-­‐ball scene.

The Regent Park Film Festival festival also offers a FREE School Program for grades 1-­‐8 from Nov 7-­‐9 at Daniels Spectrum. The festival’s education committee has developed lessons plans based on the Ontario curriculum to help teachers incorporate the festival experience into the classroom. Lesson plans can be downloaded at the following link: www.regentparkfilmfestival.com/learn/for-­‐teachers.”

Follow Regent Park Film Festival on twitter @RegentParkFilm & on Facebook.

-submitted by Eleni Deacon, Regent Park Film Festival

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Read ArtBridges profile on Regent Park Film Festival here.