ILL MANORS: Final Screening!

One more day! Say it with me: one more day! Hopefully you're spending the closing weekend of the Toronto International Film Festival cramming in all of those movies you didn't have a chance to see during the week. And hopefully you aren't like this author and completely bed-ridden from an evil, body-achy flu. TIFF might be over for her (uh, me? It's sort of weird writing about myself in the third person...) but for you, valiant Vanguarders, you still have a day and a half in which to see some amazing films. Do it for her--er, me.

So what you really should be doing is catching this last screening of iLL Manors. This intense, cutting, British crime drama, fueled with an award-nominated soundtrack by the director (Ben Drew recording as Plan B), is a must see.


ILL MANORS: Sat., Sept. 15th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 4

ILL MANORS: Director Ben Drew Nominated for Mercury Award

On Thursday morning, the shortlist for the Mercury Prize was released. This prize is award to the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland so it's not just "kind of a big deal", it's a SUPER BIG DEAL IN SHOUTY CAPS. We here at the Vanguard Blog were beyond stoked to see that Ben Drew--who records as Plan B--has made the shortlist with the album that accompanied his Vanguard film, ilL Manors. Past winners of the Mercury Prize include PJ Harvey, Franz Ferdinand, Pulp, and the Arctic Monkeys. And we've got our fingers (and toes) crossed that our very own Vanguard film director will be added to that list. Are you crossing your fingers too? Good.

While speaking with Ben Kaplan in a National Post interview, he said that he recorded the songs to help fill gaps in editorial process. Drew might not have initially set out to create an award nominated album, but it's topped the charts in the UK and can only keep going from here.

You have one last chance to see this brilliant film with its award-nominated soundtrack. We suggest you clear your schedule for Saturday night and grab a ticket.


ILL MANORS Screening Times:
Sat., Sept. 15th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 4

iLL MANORS: Director Ben Drew's Music Career

Ben Drew is the director of the upcoming Vanguard film ill Manors. He is also a chart topping rapper and singer-songwriter, going by his artist name, Plan B. Oh, and acts as well. Some people just have all the talent. Sheesh.

Plan B recorded songs and performed from 2005 to 2008, releasing mixtures and remixes which helped him to gain notoriety in the UK. His debut album, Who Needs Action When You Got Words, was released in 2006 to critical acclaim. In 2009, Drew appeared in the film Harry Brown. He collaborated with the group Chase & Status on a song that appeared on the soundtrack, "End Credits", which became his first Top 10 hit. 

Plan B's second album,The Defamation of Strickland Banks, was released in the spring of 2010. His first album showcased his rapping abilities, and this second album went in a different direction as a concept album about a soul singer. You might be rolling your eyes at the thought of a rapper turned soul singer, but Plan B impressed critics by actually being able to sing (a sometimes rare talent in the music industry these days) and the album got positive reviews. The lead single "Stay Too Long", was also a Top 10 hit, as was the second single, "She Said". 

After successfully taking over the British music scene, Plan B decided to become a world famous tap dancer. Okay, not really. We doubt we'd be able to handle it if Drew added "dancer" to his impressive list of credentials anyway. Instead, after his second album, Drew started focusing on his directing career. But, don't worry, he still managed to create all new music for his first feature film, ill Manors, with the songs acting as narration. The soundtrack alum was released earlier this spring and the single, "ill Manors", is--you guessed it--another chart topping hit. 

You're probably already downloading all of Plan B's music from iTunes, so the only thing left to do is get your ticket to an upcoming screening of ill Manors. How about tonight's? What better way to spend a Sunday evening, right? Bangarang. 

ILL MANORS Screening Times:

Sun., Sept. 9th, 9:00 PM BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

Tue., Sept. 11th, 4:15 PM SCOTIABANK 4

Sat., Sept. 15th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 4

ILL MANORS Premieres Tonight!

Ben Drew's Ill Manors premieres tonight at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema at 9:00 PM. Head over to our previous post to see the film's trailer and poster.

Tickets can be purchased:

• ONLINE: TIFF.net/thefestival
• BY PHONE: 416.599.TIFF or 1.888.599.8433 (Toll-free) 
• IN PERSON
• Festival Box Office; 225 King St. West
• Bloor Hot Docs Cinema Box Office; 506 Bloor Street West

Further information about Ben Drew's Ill Manors can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the Ill Manors Website, Twitter account, Facebook page, and IMDB page.

ILL MANORS screening times:

• Sun., Sept. 9, The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema 9:00 PM
• Tues., Sept. 11, Scotiabank 4 4:15 PM
• Sat., Sept. 15, Scotiabank 4 9:30 PM

5 Behind The Camera: Directors Of Photography

We'd like to focus on some of the talented people whose work you can enjoy in five of the films playing at the Toronto International Film Festival. Each is a Director of Photography, also known as a DP: Ernesto Herrera (Here Comes The Devil), Gary Shaw (iLL Manors), Linda Wassberg (Blondie), Laurie Rose (Sightseers), and Robin Thomson (Peaches Does Herself).

Ernesto Herrera, the DP for Here Comes The Devil, also worked with director Adrián García Bogliano on 2011's Penumbra. Variety made specific mention of his skills in their review, stating that he "intensifies audience unease in several scenes by portentously framing characters in mirrors, doorways and hallways, subtly suggesting that power is shifting and screws are tightening."

"What stood out most to me [in Penumbra] was the slick cinematography" which "added an almost surreal atmosphere to the film that was quite effective," said Cinema Head Cheese blog. We look forward to Herrera's work in Here Comes The Devil, which plays at the Festival.

 We have already seen DP Gary Shaw's excellent work in Duncan Jones's 2009 Moon.
"The lighting is subtle yet brilliant and the cinematography definitely succeeds in highlighting Sam's isolation," remarked Cinemaroll in their review, while Zarzax The Blog classified the cinematography as "amazing."

Shaw's work on iLL Manors, playing at the Festival, is also getting recognition. Eat Sleep Live Film proclaims, "The film's visual style belies its low-budget origins. Director of photography Gary Shaw (who also shot Duncan Jones film Moon) ensures it looks good, even when things get very bad."

Before Blondie, Linda Wassberg lensed She Monkeys in 2011. For that, she won the prize for Best Cinematography at the Transylvania International Film Festival in Romania. Sound on Sight praised Wassberg's work highly, saying, she "amps up the atmosphere: shadows, natural darkness, and narrow scope are used to emphasize the claustrophobia of the girl's lives."

Variety also took note of Wassberg's prowess in their review of She Monkeys: "The stellar tech package is led by Linda Wassberg's atmospheric, tightly focused widescreen lensing." Wassberg's work impressed Chorus and Echo, who said She Monkeys was, "beautifully shot and convincingly styled-one can only hope for more from cinematographer Linda Wassberg." We feel sure that  "more" will be more than obvious in Blondie, which will be playing at the Festival.

Ben Wheatley has previously collaborated with DP Laurie Rose on the films Kill List and Down Terrace. The two team up again on Sightseers, which is playing at the Festival. "From the very outset the cinematography is striking," notes Sound on Sight in their review of Sightseers, "direct credit to DP Laurie Rose whose use of darkness in particular is masterful."

Telegraph also had great things to say about Sightseers, remarking "Laurie Rose gives the Yorkshire and Cumbrian landscapes a dewily gorgeous sheen." The Hollywood Reporter admired how Rose's "widescreen digital cinematography presents the countryside in a sufficiently splendid and alluring manner to delight UK tourist authorities—even if Wheatley's vision of this 'green and pleasant land' tends to be strewn with messily-dispatched corpses.We don't doubt that such a contrast will be stunning in Sightseers.

Robin Thomson, who shot and edited Peaches Does Herself, graduated with a BA of Fine Arts from Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, Dundee, Scotland in 2008. According to his website he is also working in Berlin as a video editor, artist, and musician, as well as managing Peaches' various online platforms, including her blog and social media.

Recently, Thomson compiled and edited a guerilla video that Peaches organized with her fans to support the Russian punk activist band Pussy Riot, who were charged and convicted of "hooliganism" (for real) for their song "Putin Lights Up The Fires." Watch the video here.

While you're waiting for a screening of Peaches Does Herself at the Festival,  you can also watch more of Thomson's work on his website.

HERE COMES THE DEVIL screening times:
Tues., Sept. 11th, 6:00PM, BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
Wed., Sept. 13th, 7:00PM, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 3
Sun., Sept. 16th, 3:30PM, SCOTIABANK THEATRE 4

ILL MANORS Screening Times:
Sun., Sept. 9th, BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA 9:00PM
Tues., Sept. 11th, SCOTIABANK 4  4:15 PM
Sat., Sept. 15th, SCOTIABANK 4  9:30 PM

BLONDIE Screening Times:
Mon., Sept. 10th, SCOTIABANK 2  9:45PM
Wed., Sept. 12th, BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA 12:00PM
Fri., Sept. 14th, SCOTIABANK 3  6:15PM

SIGHTSEERS Screening Times:
Tues., Sept. 11th, RYERSON THEATRE 9:00PM
Thurs., Sept. 13th,  RYERSON THEATRE 12:00PM
Sun., Sept. 16th BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA 7:00PM

PEACHES DOES HERSELF Screening Times:
Thur., Sept. 13th, BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA 9:00PM
Sat., Sept. 15th, TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX 4 3:15PM
Sun., Sept. 16th, JACKMAN HALL (AGO) 4:00PM

Food Trucks At The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

Imagine this: It's Wednesday September 12th. You have tickets to the 9:00PM screening of Soi Cheang's Motorway at The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, but you're starving. What are you possibly going to eat!? Luckily The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema is located right in the middle of the Annex, so the food options are plentiful.

This year your options are even broader as the Toronto International Film Festival is teaming up with Toronto Food Trucks to bring the food to you. A rotating selection of food trucks will be located outside of The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema September 7th to 16th from 7PM to midnight.

http://torontofoodtrucks.ca/photos

Toronto food truck locations and schedule during the festival can be found on the Toronto Food Trucks website, Twitter and Facebook pages.

The following Vanguard films will be playing at The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema:

PUSHER
Fri., Sept. 7, 9:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

PAINLESS
Sat., Sept. 8, 6:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

ILL MANORS
Sun., Sept. 9, 9:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO
Mon., Sept. 10, 6:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

BEIJING FLICKERS
Mon., Sept. 10, 9:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

HERE COMES THE DEVIL
Tues., Sept. 11, 6: 00PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

BLONDIE
Wed., Sept. 12, 12:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

THALE
Wed., Sept. 12, 6:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

MOTORWAY
Wed., Sept. 12, 9:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

ROOM 237
Thurs., Sept. 13, 6:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

PEACHES DOES HERSELF
Thurs., Sept. 13, 9:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

SIGHTSEERS
Sun., Sept. 16, 7:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA

iLL MANORS Director Profile: Ben Drew

Ben Drew, better known as English rapper and singer-songwriter Plan B, began his career in film as an actor in Noel Clarke's 2008 film Adulthood. In 2009, he joined Michael Caine in Daniel Barber's thriller Harry Brown, which had its World Premiere at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. With iLL Manors, Ben Drew will mark his feature directorial debut.

Production on iLL Manors began in September 2010, but did not always go smoothly. The film is a gritty portrayal of violent crime in the Forest Gate area of London, so it is unsurprising that conflicts arose. After filming was completed, Ben told UK newspaper The Sun that "we’ve had bolts and screws thrown at us from the top of fucking council estate towers. We’ve been to crack houses where there are dirty needles lying around. And a gang were about 30 seconds away from smashing my face in." At the film's London premiere, Ben told MTV News that "crack heads robbed the laptop with the days rushes on it and me and one of the other guys in the crew chased him down and caught the mother-fucker and got the rushes back."

The film, which has received largely positive reviews utilizes six original Plan B songs to guide the film's interwoven narration. The film's lead single, also titled iLL Manors, was written as a reaction to the 2011 England riots and "society's failure to nurture its disadvantaged youth." The soundtrack for the film was the number one album the week of August 4th, 2012 in the UK.



ILL MANORS screening times:

• Sun., Sept. 9th, 9:00 PM, THE BLOOR HOT DOCS CINEMA
• Tues., Sept. 11th, 4:15 PM, SCOTIABANK 4
• Sat., Sept. 15th, 9:30 PM, SCOTIABANK 4

ILL MANORS Poster and Trailer

British rapper Ben Drew, also known as Plan B, writes and directs Ill Manors, a London crime drama Hollywood Reporter calls a "powerful and timely debut."

Below are the poster and trailer for Ill Manors, which plays the Toronto International Film Festival within the Vanguard programme.

Further information about Ben Drew's Ill Manors can be found on the Festival website, as well as on the Ill Manors Website, Twitter account, Facebook page, and IMDB page.

ILL MANORS screening times:

• Sun., Sept. 9, The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema 9:00 PM
• Tues., Sept. 11, Scotiabank 4 4:15 PM
• Sat., Sept. 15, Scotiabank 4 9:30 PM