ler Winnipeg Toronto__ A recent surge of documentary Some may find Spencer Rice and Kenny ar, filmmaking in Winnipeg has led to new Hotz's guerrilla style filmmaking to be films about desperate poverty, the admirable, but the young directors found morality of murder, women's safety, and themselves ostracized from every press the cinema obsessions of Guy Maddin. conference and symposium during the John Paskievich (Sedna, If Only I Were an past Toronto film fest because of their Indian...) is shooting a film about the aggressive in—your—face tactics while wrenching poverty of Gypsy life in filming their Roger e Me—meets—The Player Slovakia. "It's a very hard project...lots of mock documentary, Pitch. "The movie is 'dirt, disease and anger," said Paskievich. essentially a documentary about selling a He travelled to Slovakia last summer with script in Toronto and Los Angeles," Jeff McKay, shooting his footage on digital explains Rice from his office in Toronto. video for the first time. George Godwin is "We wanted to showcase our talents as editing Charles Konowal's film about a writers, actors and directors. We wrote Minnesota couple who travel to prison to some sketches that were thematically meet one of the men convicted of killing related to the material so there is mock their daughter. The family's attempt to documentary mixed in with comedy and understand the mind of a murderer is a verite documentary. We've made enough moving look at conscience, morality and documentaries which adhered to the rules, forgiveness. Paula Kelly's Personal Alarm so now I can break the rules." Indeed. explores the powerful social and cultural After producing the successful Telewhore, reasons why record numbers of women followed by It Don't Cost Nothing to Say Good are arming themselves in the face of a Morning and Bloor Hawaii, Rice wasn't shy perceived increase in violence. Finally, in cornering Al Pacino, Neil Simon, Arthur Noam Gonick and Laura Michalchyshyn Hiller, Eric Stoltz, Roger Ebert, Norman are shooting a documentary about Guy Jewison, Matt Dillon and others on the Maddin and the making of The Twilight of do's and don'ts of pitching a script. the Ice Nymphs. The film is earmarked for Principal photography has just ended on Bravo! in April and will feature narration Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter, based by Tom Waits. In conjunction with Video on the novel of the same name by Russell Pool and Videon, Winnipeg artist Murray Banks The movie is the first Egoyan has Toews has assembled an ambitious cable adapted from a source that is not his own. TV series called Blender, giving artists free It tells the story of a lawyer (Ian Holm) reign to create a wildly eclectic assortment who represents the members of a small of work. The seven—part series includes community following a tragic school bus works from 30 Winnipeg video artists and accident. The ensemble cast includes filmmakers. Carole O'Brien's Motus Arsinee Khanjian (of course), Sarah Maestro, the first French—language drama Polley, Bruce Greenwood, Gabrielle Rose, to be made independently in Manitoba, Tom McCamus and Maury Chaykin. Other was screened at the World Festival of features wrapped in Toronto include Short Films in Huy, Belgium; Richard Daniel Petrie Sr.'s The Assistant with Joan Condie's La salla won Best Animated Short Plowright and Armin Muehler—Stahl, at the Vancouver film fest. From the Sidney Lumet's Critical Care with James Winnipeg Film Group comes Good Citizen; Spader and Helen Mirren, and Dwight Betty Baker, a hilarious film by per- Little's Executive Privilege with Wesley formance artists Shawana Dempsey and Snipes and Diane Lane. Lori Milian about a straight—laced, do—good housewife drawn into the world Angela Baldassarre of gay bars; and, finally, Lorne Bailey's Green Peril, featuring Kyle McCulloch and John Kozak, premiered in Winnipeg after Spencer Rice and Kenny Hotz's Pitch five years in the making Dave Barber 0 it .