The 2015 Vanguard Mascot Battle Winner!

It's that time again. The time when the most coveted award in all of TIFF is up for the taking.

We are talking about, of course, Vanguard Mascot Battle, in which several people, insects, animals and even inanimate objects compete for the coveted title of Official Vanguard Blog Mascot.

We're coming at you all the way from England to announce the winner. Since the Giant Novelty Pencil from the Keswick Pencil Museum from Ben Wheatley's Sightseers (GNP for short) is from England, it only made sense for me to be here so I could pay tribute to GNP before passing the torch/crown/what was it again? to the new winner. Okay, fine, I moved here for realsies, which is why you didn't see me around on the Vanguard Blog much this year. I've been busy planning out my road trip to the Pencil Museum, and other British things. Sad news bears, most definitely, but not even an ocean could keep me away from the Vanguard Mascot Battle!

My steadfast blogging colleagues (blogeagues?) graciously allowed me to do the honours of announcing the final winner and I promise you it isn't a pencil or anything remotely British. Like Paddington Bear, because that would just be silly. I did seriously consider making it a marmalade sandwich, though.

So who's it going to be? That chicken is looking like he could easily take Joe Swanberg and Bruce McDonald's cowboy hat. Have you ever seen a chicken fight? Has anyone in this family ever seen a chicken? They fight mean, man.

Then again, we can't ignore the fact that Joe Swanberg is definitely more flexible than GNP and even had a burger named after him. Basically we all want to be Joe Swanberg, but is that enough to reclaim the title of Vanguard Mascot?

And Bruce McDonald's hat—we don't have to say anything else about that because it's Bruce McDonald's hat. Duh.

Unfortunately, as with most things in life, like Highlander, there can only be one. So without further ado, may we present to you this year's Vanguard Mascot Winner:


*drumroll please*

Mads Mikkelsen's Moustache! 

AKA the Madstache.

Maybe you're all like, "Huh?" But don't deny it: in this picture of the chicken, you found yourself strangely drawn to the Madstache. It's the allure of the Madstache. The essence of the Madstache. The power of the Madstache. That's just what it does.

That and beat out cowboy hats and chickens and Joe Swanberg for coveted titles! Wham, bam, thank-you ma'am. And the children rejoiced.

That's a wrap for this year! We're already eagerly anticipating who—or what—will de-throne this glorious Madstache next year. It's gonna be good. Joe Swanberg, you have a year to grow a mustache that rivals the Madstache. God speed.

Vanguard Mascot Battle Contender #3

Pew! Pew! Pew! Splosions! Wonder!

It's that time again. The time when the most coveted award in all of TIFF is up for the taking.

We are talking about, of course, Vanguard Mascot Battle, in which several people, insects, animals and even inanimate objects compete for the coveted title of Official Vanguard Blog Mascot.

Our final contender is going to have some rough competition with the chicken and Once and Future Vanguard Mascot Joe Swanberg.

The chicken has all the powers of a chicken and a pedigree traceable to the age of the dinosaurs. Joe Swanberg has all the powers of being a good sport and probably deserving better than being drawn into our Mascot Battle, but he probably doesn't know since he's directing/acting in/producing fifty movies simultaneously right this moment. But that doesn't detract from the might of our next contender...

Name: Iconic Director Bruce McDonald's Iconic Cowboy Hat.

Also Known As: Bruce McDonald's Cowboy Hat; "Man, what a sweet hat."

Description: Straw cowboy hat, well-worn, with a lot of character.

Strengths: Protecting from the sun's glare and other bright lights; Preventing sunburn on the scalp; Looking pretty sweet; Biding.

Weaknesses: Strong winds; Possibly moths or carpet beetles; Definitely goats; Being inanimate.

See how happy the cowboy hat makes Bruce McDonald? We could all be this happy.

Signature Moves: Setting; Being cocked; Reblocking; Going really well with a men's shirt with a floral design, especially if it's embroidered by one's pa.

Why Bruce McDonald's Cowboy Hat would make a good replacement Vanguard Blog mascot for the Giant Novelty Pencil from the Keswick Pencil Museum in Ben Wheatley's Sightseers:

Bruce McDonald's Cowboy hat is equally inanimate and yet has far greater stature than the Giant Novelty Pencil from the Keswikc Pencil Museum. It has a quiet dignity that we can all admire. It could easily contain the Midnight Madness blog's isopod and at least distract the chicken. The only real challenge to the hat is Joe Swanberg. Will Swanberg's acting skills allow him to successfully wear the hat--or will the cowboy hat seem to wear him?

The hat isn't in Bruce McDonald's Hellions, but you can feel its presence... 

The 2015 Vanguard Mascot Battle: Contender #2

It's that time again. The time when the most coveted award in all of TIFF is up for the taking.

We are talking about, of course, Vanguard Mascot Battle, in which several people, insects, animals and even inanimate objects compete for the coveted title of Official Vanguard Blog Mascot.

You've heard all about the chicken. Now, for our next contender...


Name: Joe Swanberg

Greetings Vanguardians!

Also known as: Dean in Lace Crater, Patrick Michaels in Proxy, Jake Williams in The Sacrament, Drake in You're Next, Kevin in A Horrible Way To Die, The First Official Vanguard Mascot.

Description: Director, actor, writer, producer, human, sweater-wearer, beer-drinker, sometimes wears a bandanna as a headband.

Joe Swanberg's bandanna is displeased with this turn of events.

Strengths: Growing facial hair, being in a lot of Vanguard and Midnight Madness films, Midwesterner.

Weaknesses: Not a giant novelty pencil. Or a mole cricket. Not a chicken.

Signature moves: Being incredibly prolific, knocking out contact lenses.

Finishing moves: Telling stories in film about women.

Men & Beer Bottles

Why Joe Swanberg would make a good replacement Vanguard Blog mascot for the Giant Novelty Pencil from the Keswick Pencil Museum in Ben Wheatley's Sightseers:

Swanberg has the legacy vote: he was the first Official Vanguard Blog Mascot back in 2013. With all of the various projects he's working on at any given time, chances are good he'll actually be in attendance at the Festival every year and can wear the crown (or carry the scepter) with pride, representing the best of Vanguard (and in some cases, Midnight Madness). Although he's not afraid to throw a punch (and he has), Swanberg prefers to let his work speak for itself, even if the language it uses is sometimes derided as Mumblecore (we're fans of the genre, if you're asking). Not wanting to limit himself, Swanberg is equally comfortable in drama, comedy, horror, and just flat-out creepy movies. Plus, he's got that facial hair thing down in this year's Lace Crater. And he's a lot taller than a chicken and more flexible than a giant novelty pencil. We assume.

LACE CRATER Screening Times:
Sun. Sept 20, 3:15PM SCOTIABANK 9

MEN & CHICKEN Screening Times:
Sun. Sept 20, 3:30 PM SCOTIABANK 1

The 2015 Vanguard Mascot Battle: Contender #1

Boom! Sparkles! Sparkles! Sparkles!

It's that time again. The time when the most coveted award in all of TIFF is up for the taking.

We are talking about, of course, Vanguard Mascot Battle, in which several people, insects, animals and even inanimate objects compete for the coveted title of Official Vanguard Blog Mascot.

Sure, the Midnight Madness blog makes do with an unofficial mascot, the giant isopod. But here at Vanguard, we like to do things right--with a no holds barred battle.

And this year, there is an obvious choice for Vanguard Mascot, one candidate who has won our hearts...

That's right, this chicken from Men & Chicken.

Name: Chicken

Also known as: Gallus gallus domesticus; "Red Junglefowl"; "Winner Winner Chicken Dinner"

Description: Chicken.

 Strengths: Scratching; Pecking; Terrifying Werner Herzog.

Weaknesses: Flightless; Foxes; Hypnotism; Coyotes; Being Delicious; Curry.

 Signature moves: Scratching; Roosting; Pecking; Rooster Fist

 

Rooster Mo'fo'ing Fist

Finishing moves: Fostering Existential Dread; "The Enormity of their Flat Brain." (Seriously, have you seen, The Chickening?)

Why the Chicken would make a good replacement Vanguard Blog mascot for the Giant Novelty Pencil from the Keswick Pencil Museum in Ben Wheatley's Sightseers:

Chickens, like Vanguard films,  are pretty. Though he hasn't officially entered, word on the street is that Joe Swanberg is this year's Comeback Kid. He obviously produced and took a role in Lace Crater to be eligible for the title again. Well, you might be on top of the evolutionary chain now, Joe Swanberg, and this chicken might only be in one movie, but chickens remember a time when things were different, a time when chickens--or at least a common ancestor shared by chickens and dinosaurs--ruled the earth. At least this chicken would, if chickens had very good memories.  And this chicken is the contender most likely to be able to defeat the Midnight Madness Isopod mascot, if it came to a thrown down because, 1) DINOSAURS, Jabronis; and, 2) The Terrifying Power of Existential Dread.

MEN & CHICKEN Final Screening:
Sun. Sept 20, 3:30 PM SCOTIABANK 1

LACE CRATER Screening Times:
Thu. Sept 17, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sun. Sept 20, 3:15PM SCOTIABANK 9

LACE CRATER Premieres Tonight!

Wanna go see a movie?

Grab your burlap "going out" sacks because Lace Crater premieres tonight. (You're going to want to pick up some protection, too. Love is love, but intimate hauntings and sexually transmitted ghostism are forever).

Lace Crater is the charming and sometimes creepy story of a Ruth (Lindsay Burdge), a young woman going through some relationship troubles, and a shy ghost named Michael. As Vanguard Programmer Colin Geddes puts it:

An awkward twentysomething begins to undergo some strange physical changes after a weekend tryst — with a ghost — in this charmingly lo-fi, supernaturally-tinged comedy-drama.

Will Ruth and Michael make it work despite the chafiness of burlap? Will they remember to use protection and avoid intimate hauntings and sexually transmitted ghostism? 

And, if that's not enough drama, Lace Crater also features, special guest, Joe Swanberg, the inaugural Vanguard Program Blog Mascot. Could this be his attempt to reclaim the title?

Hi, is this Vanguard Mascot Battle? I have a contender.

LACE CRATER Screening Times:
Tuesday, Sept 15th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 10
Tuesday, Sept 17th, 9:30 PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sunday, Sept 20th, 3:15 PM SCOTIABANK 9

LACE CRATER: Director Profile + 5 Questions With Harrison Atkins

Lace Crater is director Harrison Atkins's feature film debut, and it's playing as part of this year's Vanguard programme.

An awkward twentysomething begins to undergo some strange physical changes after a weekend tryst - with a ghost - in this charmingly lo-fi, supernaturally-tinged comedy-drama.

Not content to do just one thing, Atkins is a director, producer, writer, cinematographer, editor, and musician. Whew! That's a lot of talent for one guy.

We've already discussed a few of his short films on the blog, and if you haven't already, you should definitely check them out. They are weird, witty, and wonderful.

After watching the short films and the Lace Crater teaser trailer, our curiosity was piqued so we chatted with Atkins about his influences and his obsession with cats. There may have been some mention of the Official Vanguard Mascot Competition, too. Hrmmm...

"Hello, this is the Committee To Re-Elect Joe Swanberg as Official Vanguard Mascot calling..."

 You've got Bandcamp pages for three different bands (all of which you are involved with) listed on your website. In "Blissful Banquet" you actually have music performed live. Would you ever be interested in scoring films?

I'd love to score films. I was able to compose for films a little bit in college and found it very stimulating. In the past few years, I've toyed with the possibility of scoring a film of my own, but have always ended up collaborating with other artists. Maybe some day!

Please expand upon your fascination with cats. They feature prominently in two of your short films. Do you have cats of your own?

No, I'm actually allergic to cats so in my real life I have to keep them at a distance. I think cinema is the only lens through which I can explore my desire to pet them and hold them. Honestly, I'm not sure why they keep popping up. I guess I just think they're funny? But I'm not ruling out the possibility of some subconscious or repressed trauma.

Last year, It Follows, a movie about a girl who contracts a ghost from sex, played at the Festival. In Lace Crater, your character has sex with a ghost. Do you think that sex and ghosts are part of the current cultural zeitgeist and if so, why?

It's pretty strange! I mean, I think technology has the capability to fracture identity in a way is sort of unprecedented. There's definitely something kind of spectral to me about the personas people adopt online. Not to mention this whole uniquely modern experience of having a friend or acquaintance who tragically dies, but then you can still visit all of their social media accounts? That's a very ghostly thing, really, this Internet proxy self that haunts cyberspace after death. So I suppose this all could be a corollary of culture's increasingly immediate and intimate relationship with technology.

Your short films have playful, sarcastic, almost surreal qualities. Are there any filmmakers who have inspired you to strive for those qualities because of their own films?

So many. But Stephen Chow instantly springs to mind; he's one of my favorites. And along the same lines, Katsuhito Ishii - especially Funky Forest, which was huge for me. And I'm a pretty big Apichatpong Weerasethakul guy; a lot of his films have a kind of goofy formal language that really resonates with me. Andrzej Zulawski is in there somewhere, too. And David Lynch, when he's being funny.

Did you know that Joe Swanberg was the Official Vanguard Mascot of 2013? Now that you have this information, do you feel compelled to toss your hat into the ring for Official Vanguard Mascot of 2015? (Also, how is Mr. Swanberg handling things post-Vanguard Mascot? He never returns our texts.)

I'm tempted to gun for the crown this year, but what's the point of replacing one giant novelty pencil with another? What I mean to say is, I have a lot of respect for the current Mascot. It seems like a really tough job. And I know Joe just hasn't been the same since he lost the title last year. I think the transition from Mascot back to civilian can be really rough. (It's a complex social issue that I don't think gets enough publicity.)

LACE CRATER Screening Times:
Tue. Sept 15, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 10
Thu. Sept 17, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 14
Sun. Sept 20, 3:15PM SCOTIABANK 9

SPRING: Twitter Buzz!

How could you not want to see the movie made by two of the three contenders for Official Vanguard Blog Mascot? Have you been seeing all the great things people are saying about Spring on Twitter? Too busy standing in ticket holder lines eating burritos? Wipe that hot sauce off the corner of your mouth (nope, the other corner) and check it out.

SPRING Final Screening: Sat., Sept 13th, 3:15 PM, SCOTIABANK 3