DEMON Final Screening

Tonight's the final screening of Marcin Wrona's Demon. Normally, we'd write something silly here, but Wrona died this morning. So instead, I'm going to share a few trailers to his films an encourage you to go and see what is tragically his final film. It's a really good one.

My Flesh, My Blood (2009)

The Christening (2010)

And his short film, "Telefono" (2004)

DEMON Final Screening:
Sat. Sept 19, 9:15PM SCOTIABANK 13

MEN & CHICKEN: More Madstache Movies

I brought you some cheese. And a sparkler. And my moustache.

Fearless Vanguarder and Midnight Madness Maven Carol Borden has taken you on a trip through the cinematic context of what we now refer to as "The Madstache." Now, we will guide your journey down Madstache Memory Lane.

Flickering Lights, 2000: You talkin' to me? Or you talkin' to my moustache?

King Arthur, 2004: Bonus Beard & Falcon! Which is the falcon & which is Mads? Only his hairdresser knows for sure.

Adam's Apples, 2005: It's OK. My moustache will protect you. Failing that, you have a gun.

Flame & Citroen, 2008: It still counts as a moustache, Sam Elliott. IT STILL COUNTS.

Coco & Igor , 2009: Why yes, this is a dapper moustache. Did you know I composed The Rites of Spring?

Valhalla Rising, 2009: I may only have one functioning eye and no dialogue, but my moustache game is strong.

Clash of the TItans, 2010: Release the Kraken? My moustache, beard & bonus braid are aghast at the thought.

The Three Musketeers, 2011: I am a proud Spanish peacock. What is haggis?

Age of Uprising: The Legend of Michael Kohlhaas, 2013: That's a mouthful. Just look at the moustache, OK?

The Salvation, 2014: Whatevs. At least I didn't lose an eye this time.

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

RIP, Marcin Wrona Director of DEMON

We at Vanguard are greatly saddened to hear the news that Marcin Wrona, director of Demon has passed away.

The Toronto International Film Festival issued the following statement regarding the passing of Polish director Marcin Wrona, including a quote from Vanguard Curator, Colin Geddes: 

“We are all deeply shocked and saddened at the news of the sudden death of Marcin Wrona. His film DEMON truly marked the emergence of a strong new voice on the world cinema stage. Our thoughts go out to his friends and family, especially his wife and producing partner, Olga Szymanska, who was with him at the premiere in Toronto.”

 The final screening of DEMON is scheduled to take place this evening at 9:15PM at Scotiabank Theatre during which time TIFF will take the opportunity to pay tribute to Mr. Wrona. 

We have this from publicist Jim Dobson's announcement of Wrona's death.

Marcin Wrona, the director of the Polish Horror film "Demon" which made its World Premiere in World Cinema competition at the Toronto Film Festival last week, was found dead in a hotel room in Poland on Friday night.

Wrona was preparing for the Polish premiere of the film at the Gdynia Film Festival. The film was also slated to premiere at the upcoming Fantastic Fest in Austin and the Sitges Film Festival, as well as theatrical release in Poland in October.

 Wrona, who was born in the city of Tarnów in southern Poland in 1973, and was considered to be one of the brightest talents of his generation in the Polish film industry, His film Demon hinges on a dybbuk, the spirit of a dead person who according to Jewish mythology haunts the living. The film, Wrona's third, was an unconventional approach to Poland's coming to terms with the Holocaust.

The director had just returned to Poland following the film’s success as the Toronto Film Festival. His newlywed wife Olga Szymanska was also producer on the film "Demon." They had just signed with ICM Partners to sell the film and to break into the U.S. market with future films.

Polish police are currently investigating the death and no further information is available.

NO MEN BEYOND THIS POINT: Five Fave Mockumentaries

Look at all of those moustaches!

Have you seen No Men Beyond This Point? No? Well, the good news is that there is one more screening.

It's a mockumentary about asexual women and a dwindling population of men, directed by Mark Sawers. As such, it nestles snugly into the great pantheon of mockumentaries. Here are five more of our faves.

Man with a movie camera.

David Holzman's Diary, 1967
This is quite possibly the first mockumentary. It stars L.M. Kit Carson as David and tells the autobiographical story of a filmmaker who wishes to document his life, love interest (played by a pre-The Exorcist Eileen Dietz), as well as his fears about being drafted into the Vietnam War. It's so underplayed that viewers frequently don't even realize the fictional conceit until the very last scenes.

Derek Smalls tries to get a novelty pencil past airport security.

This Is Spinal Tap, 1984
Perhaps the most well-known and most beloved of all mockumentaries, this Rob Reiner film follows the titular band on an odyssey that involves cold sores, shit sandwiches, the little people of Stonehenge, amps that go to 11, and exploding drummers. As if we didn't already know this is a perfect film, the Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in 2002 for it cultural, historical, and aesthetic significance.

I guess they'll never know how a young heart really feels.

Best In Show, 2000
Perhaps inspired by This Is Spinal Tap, Christopher Guest (a.k.a. Nigel Tufnel) wrote, directed, and acted in this parody of the crazy, cutthroat world of dog show competitions. Michael McKean also appears as the flamboyant Stefan Vanderhoof, while Guest provides a hilarious, low-key performance as Harlan Pepper. Never forget that Pine nut is a nut, but it's also the name of a town.

Contemplating a business plan for Frankie Wilde Hummus.

It's All Gone Pete Tong, 2004
This Canadian film (which played at the Festival) is named after Cockney rhyming slang for "it's all gone wrong" and had me fooled into thinking that Frankie Wilde was a real person. Starring the delightfully zany Paul Kaye (a.k.a. Dennis Pennis from The Sunday Show) as Wilde, the film explores what happens to a BBC Radio 1 DJ when he loses his hearing and was filmed entirely in Ibiza, the natural habitat of all truly world class DJs.

"Hello ladies."

What We Do In The Shadows, 2014
This Midnight Madness Peoples Choice Award winner from last year was my favorite movie of 2014, even beating out Godzilla (as much as I love that giant lizard, it's hard to beat bat fights and "that guy from Twilight," come on). A remarkable, improvisational collaboration between Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement, it spoofs every vampire cliché imaginable (and a few that no one had yet thought of) and is genuinely, gut-bustingly hilarious and a little bit creepy (thanks to Petyr).

NO MEN BEYOND THIS POINT FINAL SCREENING:
Sat. Sept 19, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 10

VETERAN Final Screening!

Warm up the car because tonight's you're last chance to see Ryoo Seung-wan's Veteran at the festival!

Action! Justice! Humor! Action! Let's get going!

"Do we really need to wear the 'Go Suits?'" "We need to be able to find each other. Scotiabank is big."

VETERAN Final Screening:
Sep. 19, Saturday, 6:15 pm, SCOTIABANK 4

MEN & CHICKEN's Madstache in Cinematic Context

My Madstache is not a Sadstache.

There's just something about Mads Mikkelsen's mustache in Men & Chicken that inspires me. It's a little bit of 1970s mustache history sitting there on Mads Mikkelsen's face. And that is enough inspiration for me to make a gallery of Mustaches in Film History!

Because I'm providing serious context, you know. Serious. Context. 

C'mon in, the context is fine...

Remember when Christopher Lee was a Dracula? I mean, remember when Christopher Lee was the Dracula? No, not that one. This one with the sweet, sweet 'stache.

That fox back there sure likes it. No, not a lady, a *fox*.

And did you know Klytus from Flash Gordon, was not only a noted singing sensation, but his whole Jason King tv series was his mustache's idea?

Peter Wyngarde's mustache was his manager throughout the 1970s.

And then there's... Well. Sean Connery in Zardoz (1974)

There is so much going on here, yet the 'stache comes through loud and clear.

 And in Neo-Retro Seventies 'Staches, Luke Evans in Vanguard Alumnus Ben Wheatley's High Rise.

(Don't make eye-contact with the mustache. I think it's angry)

And the wonder of Mad Men's Roger Sterling.

"I'm a Dracula, you know. Really."

See the Madstache and even more mustaches at the final screening of MEN & CHICKEN:
Sun. Sept 20, 3:30 PM SCOTIABANK 1

NO MEN BEYOND THIS POINT: Five Films About Planets Of Women

Hot yoga class to start your morning off right!

Mark Sawers is a Canadian director who's been in the film industry for a couple of decades, starting off in the 1990s with iconic TV series The Kids in the Hall (it's on my personal Top Ten list of Bestest TV Shows Evar) and moving on through a variety of projects on the small(er) screen as well as 2012's feature Camera Shy.

His latest, No Men Beyond This Point, is screening at Vanguard.

This wry mockumentary from Vancouver director Mark Sawers envisions a world where women have become asexual and are no longer giving birth to males, and where the dwindling population of men are desperate to reclaim their place in the sun.

The list of films about planets of women is kind of staggering and we know that as the end of the Festival approaches, your brains are overwhelmed, so we picked five films to highlight as possible inspirations for No Men Beyond This Point.

Behold my shoulder pads OF DOOM!

Amazon Women of the Moon, 1987
Itself a satire of late night reruns of B-movies, Amazon Women On The Moon presents a series of loosely connected comic sketches, one of which includes a planet of women. Hence the title. In the titular segment of the film, Sybil Danning portrays the imposing Queen Lara.

The planet of prehistoric women takes puka shells to the next level.

Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women, 1968
If you've ever wished for be-ascotted director Peter Bogdanovich and 1950s sexpot Mamie Van Doren to team up, you're in luck! Credited to director "Derek Thomas," this film was a Roger Corman production (big surprise) that added ten minutes and English dubbing to a Russian sci fi film called Storm Clouds of Venus. According to Bogdanovich, Corman asked him to shoot the additional footage because "AIP won't buy it unless we stick some women in it."

That's CENTAURIAN, not CENTURIAN.

Women of the Prehistoric Planet, 1966
This movie should not be confused with Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women OR Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet, OK? These are all vastly different movies! Now that it's been settled... Arthur C. Pierce (writer of the peerless The Human Duplicators) directed this film about human astronauts rescuing a race of Centaurians after their home planet was destroyed for unknown reasons. Look, all you have to know about this movie are two things: John Agar and Mystery Science Theater 3000, Season One.

Earthlings cower in terror at MAN WITH THE HEAD OF A BEAST.

Fire Maidens Of Outer Space, 1956
A team of male astronauts visit the 13th moon of Jupiter (which wasn't actually discovered until 1974) after signs of life are discovered and find a bunch of dancing women clad in diaphanous gowns, a.k.a. the remaining citizens of the colony of New Atlantis. The colony is threatened by "the man with the head of a beast," and the astronauts defeat him and save the day, promising to send "husbands" back to the planet once they return to Earth. (No mention of La-Z-Boy recliners, though.) Like Women of the Prehistoric Planet, the film was famously spoofed on Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Not Star Trek, but an amazing simulacrum.

Planet Earth, 1974
The shortest movie title on this list is no less important. John Saxon stars in this post-apocalyptic tale of Earth set in the year 2133. It's actually a made-for-TV movie written by Gene Rodenberry, so you know it is quality. Saxon is Dylan Hunt, member of PAX, a group tasked with bringing back civilization and peace to the planet through science. During the course of a mission, PAX meets an Amazon-inspired society called the Confederacy of Ruth, which enslaves men (who are referred to as "dinks" - I'm not even making this up). Trouble ensues.

Be sure not to miss the final screening of No Men Beyond This Point! And don't refer to them as dinks, please. Think of the children.

NO MEN BEYOND THIS POINT Screening Times:
Sat. Sept 19, 9:30PM SCOTIABANK 10