The neverending launch

>> Pornography, the NFB and Ex-Centris

by MATTHEW HAYS

I might be forgiven for getting a tad confused this week. Not only were there the usual number of films to be seen, but there seemed to be a ridiculous amount of activity among local film types. Tuesday, in particular, presented a rather massive challenge: screen movies, write articles and attend three film events--within an 18-hour period.

The NFB held an old-fashioned press conference to celebrate its 60th birthday and to launch its new season of releases. It may not sound old-fashioned, but for the past few years the NFB hasn't bothered to do a season preview. The return to the old is part of a new strategy to bolster the image of the crown corporation, at a time when government subsidy to the arts is again under attack. Readers of the two national dailies will have noticed their rather excessive scrutiny of the NFB, Telefilm and Canada Council recently.

I ask NFB chair Sandra Macdonald if she believes The National Post and The Globe and Mail are in a frenzied competition over who can most severely bludgeon the idea of government subsidies to the arts?

"I wouldn't argue with that," she responds.

Frankly, the NFB lineup does look like one of the best yet. It includes the releases of the Cannes-Award-winning animated short When the Day Breaks; Just a Wedding, the sequel to Beverly Shaffer's 1977 Oscar-winning doc I'll Find a Way; Village of Idiots, an animated film based on a Jewish parable; and Java Jive, David Ozier's doc on coffee culture and the industry at large.

Peter Wintonick, also on hand to plug his NFB doc Cinéma Vérité, which will examine the history of the doc style, said he hopes the recent interest in documentaries among the public will mean the medium will have a comeback. His film--a doc about docs--includes interviews with such verité luminaries as Michel Brault, Karel Reisz and Frederick Wiseman.

Pornography for the head

After the NFB gig, I dashed over to the ever-classy Hotel Wyndham, where fledgling porn company Slinky Productions had rented a room that, fittingly, looked strikingly like a set from Boogie Nights. The occasion was the launch of their first porn feature, Office Fantasies One: Behind the CEO Door, wherein director Mario Antonacci attempts "to bring some class back to porn." Too much of what we see today degrades both men and women, he explains, while "we're trying to put them both up on a podium."

After publicist Lindsay Scott, who explains that that's not his real name, introduces me to the film's star, the amazonian Lexei Bacci, my eyes soon wander over to male lead Sonny Chase (also not his real name). After being introduced, I start with the important questions. No, he doesn't swing both ways, and no, he bucks what appears to be a new industry trend of using Viagra as a means of making it through those gruelling 12-hour shooting days. "I don't need that stuff," says Chase, who moonlights as an economics student at UQAM. "Besides, it's all in the head anyway." No kidding.

Big screen, big hype

The evening event was the opening of Ex-Centris, the $35-million film and new media complex which houses three glorious new cinemas and the reborn Cafe Méliès. The booze flowed freely as hundreds of invitees perused the impressive architectural achievement. I, for one, love the building, with its open-space feel and TV screens which run throughout. But there were dissenters. "This looks like an entirely tacky Italian mall," said one local filmmaker. "Its cement walls are cold--and what the hell are they going to show here?"

Still, the consensus seemed to be positive, and a good chunk of the film community was there (but the rumours weren't true: neither Bill Gates nor Robert De Niro were there). Christian Duguay was basking in the glory of his recent made-for-TV movie, Saint Joan, which received solid numbers and rave critical reviews. Working with Peter O'Toole and Shirley Maclaine was a trip, reports Duguay, who also announced he'll be shooting a thriller this August in Montreal, with Wesley Snipes in the lead.

Also on hand was Karim Hussain, who is taking a lesser role in Fant-Asia film programming this year due to his own projects. A final cut of his much-anticipated, twisted film Subconscious Cruelty will be completed this November, he reports. Hussain surveyed the Ex-Centris crowd and offered a gross over-generalization about film types. "They're way too uptight. They all need a Japanese enema!"

Office Fantasies One: Behind the CEO Door has its official opening this Thursday, June 10 at the Solid Gold night club (8820 St-Laurent) from 9-11pm