CARTS OF DARKNESS nominated for 6 Leo Awards!

LEO AWARDS 2009 Entries Continue to Impress
Vancouver — Following the close of entries for the Leo Awards 2009, the BC film and television awards program has received a total of 749 eligible entries, comprised of 133 program and 616 craft award entries. “Exceeding the number of entries from 2008 indicates a healthy industry as well as support for the Leo Awards program,” said Walter Daroshin, Leo Awards president. “Following on the heals of our 10th Anniversary, this is a tremendous way to start our second decade — despite the current economic climate.”The number of eligible entries received for the Leo Awards 2009 will result in a total of 76 awards that will be handed out this year, including one Outstanding Achievement Award. Adjudication for the Leo Awards has already commenced. Ernst & Young, Chartered Accountants, will once again tabulate the results to determine the nominees for the Leo Awards 2009. Nominees will be announced in early April and will be posted on the Leo Awards web site www.leoawards.com.

"CARTS OF DARKNESS" DVD's $20 CAD + $3.50 shipping.

To watch the full length version for free please visit the NFB. You can also embed the movie for playback on your blog!

 

In Carts of Darkness the treacherous mountain roads and discarded shopping carts of North Vancouver become the rivers and boats of self-exploration for a group of homeless ‘free birds’ who have few chances at joy. Carts of Darkness is a cinematic Trojan horse, utilizing a filmic vocabulary, visual flair and humour often missing from “message” films, as a way to bring viewers, especially young ones, to the issues. The film adopts the tropes of extreme sports filmmaking; fluid flowing cinematography, intense music, visceral pulse pounding action and irreverent characters unbounded by society’s constrictions, to bring viewers deep into a world and deep into people they would normally look away from. They'll come for the carts and the crashes, the booze and the bruises, but they'll stay for the story of a unique brotherhood and a quiet redemption. - Jonathan Orr

It is a story of the endurance and resourcefulness of a group of homeless men and a filmmaker trying to keep up, while overcoming perceptions around disability.

Shot in stunning high-definition, and featuring tracks from Black Mountain, Ladyhawk, Vetiver, Bison, and Alan Boyd, of Little Sparta, Carts Of Darkness captures the risk and intensity of life lived on the very edge.

Screenings

Vancouver - Leo Award Nominees May 1st @ 7pm, Pacific Cinimatheque

B.C. Scene Ottawa, Ont. at Club SAW, 67 Nicholas Street April 23, 8pm. Admission free

Edmonton – Metro Cinema, Sunday, April 19 at 2pm

Vancouver - SFU Downtown Sunday, April 19th http://www.pivotlegal.org/

Calgary – Plaza Theatre, Sunday, April 12 at 12pm

Port Coquitlam Library April 6th @ 7pm

Concordia University, Montreal March 30, 2009 Cinema Politica

Simon Fraser University Downtown March 29th @ 6:30pm

Vancouver's Biltmore Hotel March 28th @ 1pm to 5pm (mixed with 5 other films)

Kamloops Film Festival March 1st, 2009 @ 7pm Paramount Theater SOLD OUT

Victoria February 28, 2009 Open Cinema SOLD OUT

Powell River Film Festival, February 20th, 2009 @ 3pm Evergreen Theater

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival Missoula, Montana USA Feb 13-22, 2009

Ontario TV’s The View From Here, Sun Dec 7, 2008 at 10:30pm.

Whistler International Film Festival 08, December 4th @ 5:15pm at the Rainbow Theater SOLD OUT

Yukon Film Society in Whitehorse Nov 8th presented by the NFB

Leeds International Film Festival (UK) Nov 6, 8, 11 @ The Carriageworks

Heart Of The City Festival in Vancouver, B.C. Nov 1 @ 8pm Carnegie Center SOLD OUT

Tofino Film Festival October 26th @ 6pm SOLD OUT

North Vancouver Oct 17th @ 7pm Alliance Church on 23rd & St. Georges

Vancouver, B.C. October 16th 7pm GF Strong Rehab

North Vancouver, B.C. October 15th 6pm Parkgate Community Center SOLD OUT

Dirt Bag Film Fest Kimberly, B.C. October 11th 7pm (?) SOLD OUT

Vancouver, B.C. October 7th 7pm UBC Norm Theater

Calgary International Film Festival September 24th 9:30pm Eau Claire Theater SOLD OUT

Atlantic Canada Film Festival Haifax, N.S. September 14th 4:05pm Empire 8 Theater

Vancity Theater Vancouver, B.C. April 28, 29, 30th at SOLD OUT

HOTODOCS Toronto, Ont. April 21st, 24th HotDocs SOLD OUT

Vancouver Mountain Film Festival North Vancouver, B.C. February 22nd 9pm
Centennial Theater SOLD OUT

Victoria Film Festival Feb 3rd 3:30pm Odeon Theater SOLD OUT

 

 

Some links to recent reviews and interviews:

The National Post

"One of 10 Most Promising Picks at Hot Docs"

CBC Sunday News (video interview with Murray Siple)

"Never mind snowboarding..."

Beyond Robson

"An insightful exploration of the human condition."

The Vancouver Sun

"It's simply incredible…it makes the previous big screen shot of extreme grocery cart action - as seen in Jackass - look positively amateur."

A 'n' E Vibe   

"Siple's filmic resurrection is a refreshing parody of the self-important extreme sports genre, and at the same time it stands up as an important piece of social commentary."                                             

RowThree.com

"The subconscious message under the surface is enough to make you cheer."

Rabble.ca

"Cart driving is, in a word, intoxicating."

Showcase.ca

"This isn’t one of those homeless-guys-are-just-like-us exercises in upper-middle class guilt trips. As it turns out, these guys are nothing like us."

 

With Jamie Mahaffey (left) finishing the sound design and final mix at The Mix Room.

 

 

Thank you to Scott Pommier for some amazing stills for Carts of Darkness. SBC skateboard ran 2 pages of them in the Fall 2007 issue. There is also a small write-up in Transworld snowboarding recently.

 

 

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