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A New Wave in Filmmaking

Digital is the Hot Topic in Toronto

By Madelyn Miller

AT 27TH ANNUAL TORONTO FILM FESTIVAL, SESSIONS FEATURE TOP PRACTITIONERS, LIKE COPPOLA, CARDIFF, SILVER AND KURZEJA OF DIGI-FLICKS' NEW FEATURE, "BLOODHEAD

ACTOR-DIRECTOR ROBERT DUVALL LEADS MAVERICK FILMMAKER SESSIONS

At 88, cinematographer, three-time Oscar(nominee and two-time Academy Award winner Jack Cardiff says, "it's never too late to go digital!"

The veteran lenser has just photographed the montage sequences for the upcoming Digi-Flicks International feature, "Bloodhead," directed by Christopher Coppola.

He and other experts will address the theme:  Is contemporary filmmaking about to go the way of silent movies, hand-cranked projectors and black-and-white flicks, forced out by celluloid's new-fangled digital age?

On Tues., Sept. 10, from 3 to 4PM, as part of the 27th annual Toronto Film Festival, Telefilm Canada will host a seminar, "Can you Digi-it?," at the Windsor Arms Hotel (Club 22), featuring four of Digi-Flicks International's principals.

Also on Sept. 10, Digi-Flicks, in conjunction with the Rogers Industry Centre, will present actor-producer Robert Duvall in a Maverick Filmmaker Session, at the Sutton Place Hotel's Wellesley Room, from 4 to 5PM.

Other Digi-Flicks International-sponsored Maverick Filmmaker Sessions, scheduled now thru Sept. 14, feature Brain DePalma ("Femme Fatale"), Paul Shrader ("Auto Focus"), Michael Moore ("Bowling for Columbine"), Francois Ozon ("8 Femmes"), Fruit Chan ("Public Toilet"), Tilda Swinton ("Teknolust"), Gaspar Noe ("Irreversible") and Catherine Breillat ("Sex is Comedy").

The "Can You Digi-It?" presentation will feature Cardiff, whose filmography contains hundreds of films extending from 1918, when he made his acting debut at the age of four, to the present.

With filmmaking in his blood, "Bloodhead" producer/director Christopher Coppola, founder of PlasterCITY Productions, began his celluloid career at an early age, writing and scoring super-8 mm films, starring his brother,

Nicolas Cage. As a teenager, he apprenticed to his grandfather, legendary composer Carmine Coppola, on the film, "Apocalypse Now," directed by his uncle, Francis Ford Coppola.

Coppola's first feature-length digital film, "Bel Air," made its debut in 2000 at the Cinequest San Jose Film Festival.

Wayne Kurzeja is the founder of Digi-Flicks International. As its president, he's positioning the fledgling company to be a world leader in the production, distribution and exhibition of digital cinema. He's had over 30 years experience in the fields of marketing, advertising and public relations.

Writer-producer Alain Silver has produced several features, with more in development, in tandem with Coppola, including two in association with American Zoetrope. He's also produced several music videos, soundtrack albums and television shows.

Cardiff, nominated for three additional Academy Awards during his 70 year film career, has a lengthy filmography that includes such legendary classics as "The Informer," "As You Like It," "The Red Shoes," "Black Narcissus,"

"The African Queen," "The Barefoot Contessa," "Legend of the Lost," Fanny" and "Colonel Blimp," among others.

Robert Duvall, who will preside at the Digi-Flicks International-sponsored Maverick Filmmaker Session on Sept. 10, has crafted some of the most memorable characters to appear on film. His film credits include "To Kill A Mockingbird," "MASH," "The Godfather" and "Tender Mercies."

Duvall's "Assassination Tango" is a Festival Special Presentation.

For a complete schedule of the Digi-Flicks International-sponsored Maverick Filmmaker Sessions, log on to www.rogersic.com.

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