York's Faculty of Fine Arts alumni and faculty members are gearing up for a full slate of fall film festivals and performances.
Coming soon to a subway platform near you is the Toronto Urban Film Festival (TUFF). Co-curated by Film Department Chair Brenda Longfellow, TUFF is a fun and free alternative, or complement, to the Toronto International Film Festival. Running until Sept. 12, TUFF features 77 silent, minute-long films. One film will be screened every 10 minutes on the Onestop Screens on the TTC subway platforms for an audience of over one million daily commuters. Longfellow selected the program for Sept. 7, picking 11 films on the theme of “Urban Natural”.
York filmmakers in TUFF include current graduate student Dan Sacco, whose 33 Revolutions played in the Urban Natural program Sept. 7; alumnus David Frankovich (BFA ‘07) with Bloor Viaduct in the Urban Travels program today; and current MFA student Zaheed Mawani, whose film Gerrard and Coxwell runs in the Urban Growth program Sept. 10.
All the productions are also posted on the TUFF Web site. Vote online for your favourite film. The TUFF closing party and awards ceremony is open to the public and takes place Sept. 14 from 6 to 10pm at the Drake Hotel in Toronto.
Right: Donna Krasnow
Theatre alumna Nisha Ahuja (BA ‘05) is presenting her one-woman show Yoga Cannibal until Sept. 14 at the Vancouver Fringe Festival. The show premiered at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto and also made a stop at Ottawa’s Fringe Festival this summer. Xtra Toronto called the show a “must see” and CBC Radio One, Ottawa, said "The crowd really ate this one up…Good pace…Good energy…a lot of fun."
Film Department alumnus Igor Drljaca (BFA ‘07) premiered his latest production Mobilini Snovi (Mobile Dreams) in the Focus on World Cinema program at the Montreal World Film Festival late last month.
The abstract paintings of visual arts alumna Judy Singer (BA ‘74) will be interpreted in music by a group of musicians headlined by composer and arranger Bruce Cassidy (musical director for David Clayton-Thomas) at a special event on Sept. 18. The show takes place at Marigold Studio, 56 Marigold Ave., in Toronto from 7 to 10pm. Admission is $15.
Music Department alumnus, faculty member and award-winning jazz musician Mike Cadó (BFA ‘99, MA ’04) plays Sept. 27 at 9:30pm at Richmond Hill’s Archibald Pub for the pub’s 20th anniversary celebration. Cadó (guitar/vocals) is joined by George Christie (keyboards), Sandro Tersigni (bass) and Rob Fraccaro (drums).
Film alumnus Adam Crosby (BFA ‘08) has been selected in a cross-Canada competition for the 2008 Kodak Cinematography Apprenticeship offered by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television. For more information visit the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television Web site.
York dance Professor Donna Krasnow is the conference director of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, which is presenting a symposium Sept. 28 at Toronto Western Hospital in Toronto. Krasnow will lead a session, titled “Enhancing dance training with dance medicine and science” together with indie dance artist Darryl Tracy.
York film Professor Howard Wiseman has been nominated for a Gemini Award in the category of Best Writing in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for his co-adaptation of the Mordecai Richler novel, St. Urbain's Horseman. The Gemini winners will be announced Oct. 20 to 22, with the Awards Gala taking place Nov. 28.