justREEL: The Magnitude of All Things
CJFF Presents The Magnitude of All Things
September 26, 10:00 AM to September 28, 10:00 AM (Virtual Screening)
Release Year: 2020
Runtime: 85 Minutes
Director(s): Jennifer Abbott
Ticket Cost: $15 (All proceeds go towards our fundraiser)
Synopsis:
When Jennifer Abbott lost her sister to cancer, her sorrow opened her up to the profound gravity of climate breakdown. Abbott’s new documentary The Magnitude of All Things draws intimate parallels between the experiences of grief—both personal and planetary. Stories from the frontlines of climate change merge with recollections from the filmmaker’s childhood on Ontario’s Georgian Bay. What do these stories have in common? The answer, surprisingly, is everything.
For the people featured, climate change is not happening in the distant future: it is kicking down the front door. Battles waged, lamentations of loss, and raw testimony coalesce into an extraordinary tapestry, woven together with raw emotion and staggering beauty that transform darkness into light, grief into action.
Jennifer Abbott
Director:
Jennifer Abbott is a Sundance and Genie award-winning filmmaker who has been making films about urgent social, political and environmental issues for 25 years. She is best known as the co-director and editor of The Corporation, frequently described as the most successful documentary in Canadian history. She also co-directed, co-wrote and edited Us & Them; co-wrote and edited Sea Blind; executive produced and edited I Am; and made the short Brave New Minds, among other films. In 2020, Abbott will release two feature documentaries: The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel (co-director and supervising editor) and The Magnitude of All Things (writer, director, editor, sound design and co-producer)
justREEL: Sex, Sin & 69 and Key of T
MLJFF Presents: Sex, Sin & 69 and Key of T
Sex, Sin & 69 is an 80-minute historical, retrospective film about the 1969 legislation to ‘decriminalize’ homosexuality.
In Key of T, what happens when you have to choose between who you are and what you love?
June 8th 5:30 -11:55 PM Via XerbTV
Free Virtual Screening
Two incredible films will be showcased don’t miss out!
Sex, Sin & 69 (80 Minutes)
Release Year: 2019
Director: Sarah Fodey
Synopsis:
Told through contemporary voices including queer academics, historians, activists, educators, artists, and community builders, the film attempts to challenge our understanding of queer history by shining a light on widely adopted misconceptions surrounding decriminalization.
Key of T (12 Minutes)
Release Year: 2020
Director: Ashley Chugg
Synopsis:
Choral singer Ari Agha is faced with this dilemma when they consider testosterone therapy, which could cost them their singing voice. A dire lack of research on the topic makes it an even tougher decision. "Key of T" is the story of their decision, the journey of their voice transition, and what they did with the result.
Speaker: Kevin Allen
A fourth-generation Calgarian who has been documenting and profiling queer people and events for 30 years. Kevin started the Calgary Gay History Project in 2012 to uncover and preserve stories from Calgary’s LGBTQ2 past (www.calgarygayhistory.ca). The Project has achieved national recognition and led to the award-winning documentary film: Gross Indecency: The Everett Klippert Story; and the best-selling book Our Past Matters: Stories of Gay Calgary. Additionally, Kevin works as a senior election administrator for both Elections Canada and Elections Alberta.
justREEL: The Forbidden Reel
MLJFF Presents : The Forbidden Reel by Ariel Nasr
April 13th 5:30pm - 11:55pm via XerbTV
Driven to create amidst war and chaos, Afghan filmmakers gave birth to an extraordinary national cinema. Driven to destroy, Taliban extremists set out to torch that legacy. Marveling in the beauty and fragile power of movies, Afghan-Canadian director Ariel Nasr crafts a thrilling and utterly original story of modern Afghanistan
Sergeo Kirby
Biography
Filmmaker and producer; part of the ageless wave of activist filmmakers, some notable films he has directed include:
Student Politics: A one hour documentary about the realities of student activism at Concordia University
Wal-Town (NFB/Radio-Canada/TVO): A road trip expose on Wal-Mart’s effects on small towns in Canada.
Merge Left: A 16mm short experimental piece on travel and time.
Sergeo co-founded LoadedPictures, an independent documentary and dramatic film company. Where he produced:
Roadsworth (TeleQuebec/Bravo) and H2Oil (Global/ Discovery/Sundance) among other films.
Sergeo works on social and political documentaries that he hopes will challenge audiences to rethink our contemporary world.
Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations
justREEL: Viral: Antisemitism in Four Mutations
SYNOPSIS
Mass murders, vandalism, social media abuse, propaganda, assault – by virtually every yardstick, antisemitism in the U.S. and Europe is rising and worsening in ways not seen since the 1930s. Like a virus, it mutates and evolves across cultures, borders and ideologies, making it all but impossible to stop. Filmmaker Andrew Goldberg explores its infectious behavior in his film "Viral: Antisemitism In Four Mutations."
Film Information
Release Year: 2020
Runtime: 81 minutes
Director(s): Andrew Goldberg
Language: English, French, Hungarian
Subtitles: No
Featured Speaker
Our post-screening interview will feature representatives from the Calgary Jewish Federation. The CJF is working towards creating a vibrant, caring, welcoming, and inclusive Jewish community around the world. They are committed to ensuring that their heritage is handed down to future generation, and to provide opportunities for lifelong learning within a Jewish context.
Adam Silver has been the CEO of CJF since 2014. He is currently completing his doctorate in Education, specializing in community leadership.
David Busheikin is a local lawyer, and member of the CJF’s Community Relations Council.
Jared Shore is the co-president of CJF’s Board of Directors, and has sat on the board for the past 4 years. Previously, Jared served as Chairperson of CJF’s Community Relations Committee for 3 years, having been a member of the committee since 2003.
Jordan Balaban is the co-president ofCJF’s Board of Directors, and has served on the CJF board since 2013.
Lisa Libin is the chairperson of CJF’s Community Relations Council, and has recently been appointed to the City of Calgary’s Anti-Racism Committee.
The Great Disconnect
Trailer
Synopsis
We are living in a time that has been described as the age of loneliness. Despite Western advances in technology, living conditions, education and healthcare, we, as a society, are isolating ourselves from one another, and because of this, facing a health crisis that affects all ages, genders, races, and cultures.
But how have we become so disconnected? And what can we do to change the status quo and fulfill our potential for health and well-being?
Join wellness expert Tamer Soliman as he journeys through North American cities to meet with local citizens, community activists, and leading authorities on social, economic, and urban planning to discover the true factors that have profound and lasting impacts on our health and wellbeing.
This timely documentary invites us to reflect on the relationships we have with those around us and raises the question: is it possible to overcome our modern culture of disconnectedness and rediscover how truly essential we are to one other?
FILM INFORMATION
Release Year: 2019
Director(s): Tamer Soliman
Language: English
Subtitles: No
Featured GUEST Interviewee
Before producing health documentaries, Tamer Soliman built his career as a holistic nutritionist, personal trainer and wellness speaker. Making this film has changed the way Tamer understands true health. Moving beyond simply eating well and exercising, Tamer now believes that in order to live in a state of optimal wellness, you need to have a strong sense of community wellbeing. Currently living in Ottawa, Tamer is partnering up with community leaders locally and internationally to continue to spread the message of this film.