The Fourth Annual TorontotheBetter film series, in coordination with Students on Seven (SOS), 7th Generation Image Makers and the Indigenous Education Network proudly present the screening of:

Beyond the Seventh Generation
A series of short films created by local indigenous youth filmmakers

To be preceded by a smudge conducted by the Indigenous Education Network and followed by a Q&A with some of the filmmakers - Movies, Discussion, Action

Don’t miss this exciting one time Pay What You Can screening!

When: November 18, 2008 at 8:30 pm
Where: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE/UT)
252 Bloor Street West (above St. George station)
Room 5-260

Hot off Hollywood entertainment news is Beyoncé’s bid to play the role of Wonder Woman in the upcoming Justice League of America movie.

She’s quoted in the UK Daily Mail as saying: “A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing,”

“It’s time for that, right? It would be great.”

The role was supposedly favoured to go to Hollywood unknown Megan Gale from Australia.

Now I know for sure that I want to see a woman of colour take the role of Wonder Woman, and like her or not, she’s kinda only been White all these years. I’ve always related somewhat to the notion of Wonder Woman, but that’s probably because of the strong women warrior stories and family members I grew up with, that I of course, never saw represented in any mainstream media.

I just don’t know if Beyoncé should be the one to do it. But then again, it’s not like this is an activist-y production focused on grassroots feminism.

What do you think? What has the image of Wonder Woman meant to you?

So this is one of my favourite times of year - when some of the brightest and best talent in the Native film industry strut their awesomeness at one of Canada’s largest Aboriginal film festivals, imagineNATIVE:

“The creative voices of Aboriginal women will be among those heard loudly and clearly at the 9th Annual imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival, which runs in Toronto from Wednesday, October 15th until Sunday, October 19th, 2008. imagineNATIVE is pleased to announce and welcome their presenting sponsor CTVglobemedia.

The festival, which annually spotlights Aboriginal filmmakers and media artists from across the Indigenous spectrum, is proud to feature this year’s “Indian Jane” marketing campaign, its latest trenchant and clever parody of mainstream Hollywood imagemaking. And the showcase of more than 100 works by Indigenous people at the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio and new media, will lead with the women’s side of the story of Indigenous survival and evolution of identity.”

Be sure to also check out the amazing Youth Activities and Youth Program on October 16th!

Be there…or be square! But we’ll still love you if you’re square =)

A few years back I was lucky enough to get a screener of Itty Bitty Titty Committee, a film by the director of But I’m A Cheerleader, and the producers of D.E.B.S. (Also two great teen films that deal with queer issues.) Now the film is out on DVD and I recommend everyone give it a viewing. From the release:

This latest fabulous movie from Jamie Babbit is a dynamic, romantic, frequently funny and politically astute movie with a smart script, rockin’ soundtrack and terrific ensemble cast that includes sexy young Melonie Diaz as the new dyke on the block who falls in with a great gang of Feminist troublemakers called Clits in Action (CiA), and then falls in love with leader of the pack, Nicole Vicius. Unfortunately, Nicole has a girlfriend – Melanie Mayron – and, as they say, drama ensues. With Carly Pope, Daniela Sea, Guinevere Turner, Deak Evgenikos, Jenny Shimizu and Lauren Mollica.

Shot on Super 8 and Super 16 mm in true DIY style, the film’s major bonus is its soundtrack, which includes Heavens to Betsy, Sleater-Kinney, Team Dresch, The Need, Slumber Party, Bikini Kill, Peaches and Le Tigre. Check out a review at AfterEllen.com and the trailer below.

What if you lived by the largest body of fresh water in the world but could no longer afford to use it?

In Liz Miller’s video documentary, The Waterfront, residents of Highland Park, a struggling community on the shores of Lake Michigan are shown looking with distress at water bills totalling between 3 and 9,000 dollars.

One woman sits on a porch with her children and grandchildren and explains that on a fixed pension she will be unable to pay her bill, and since the city has decided to attach water bills to mortgages she faces eviction and foreclosure on her property.

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Slate has posted a conversation between a few of its female contributors about American Girl, the doll superpower, on the occasion of their first major motion picture. American Girl dolls are, they suggest, the very opposite of Barbie. Or are they?

While some dolls represent different periods in American history, coming complete with their own historical biographies, the “just like you” dolls come in a wide variety of hair, eye and skin colours. Yes, that’s right – not all the dolls are white! Though, no surprise, their “dark” skin tone seems pretty light to me. And I don’t really know enough to judge the historical accuracy to Disney stereotype ratio of the accessories designed for Kaya, the lone First Nations character.

There was a time when I coveted these dolls, but even at age ten I felt some ambivalence. I knew that American history wasn’t my history, and the relentless patriotism wore a bit thin. But the dolls seemed to reflect my world – they played sports, learned math, and used computers.

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My taste in movies is a little eccentric – most of the time, I like documentaries better than “fiction film.” So a few days ago I was thrilled to stumble on Freedocumentaries.org, a website that streams hundreds of short and feature-length documentaries. Documentaries are divided by title, region or theme. There are a few weird ones thrown into the mix – 9/11 conspiracy videos and the like – but also a lot of big name documentaries, from Sicko to Shut Up & Sing. I was pleased to find Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch’s War on Journalism, a great little film about Fox News. Maybe this means I will finally get around to watching The Revolution Will Not Be Televised, a leftist favourite about Venezuela.

I have to say, though, that the legality of the site is a bit fuzzy. According to the frequently asked questions, they haven’t asked permission to host most docs, choosing instead to embed video from other, presumably sketchier, websites. That’s not to say that the site’s creators don’t have noble intentions – there are no ads, and they seem genuinely passionate about introducing their visitors to high-quality, educational films, and helping independent filmmakers get their work seen. But if copyright infringement really offends you, this won’t be your kind of site.

Toronto readers, this looks amazing. And it’s free.

The film is also showing in Vancouver, Halifax and Ottawa.
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This year, Shameless Magazine is a proud sponsor of Inside Out’s Queer Youth Digital Video project. In the days leading up to the Inside Out festival, Shameless will be posting trailers of some of the films on offer at the festival that may be of interest to our readers.

On Saturday May 17 at 1:00 p.m. Inside Out brings a children’s television classic to a whole new generation with the free family screening of Free to Be … You & Me.

Free to Be… You and Me is a record album and illustrated songbook for children, first released in November 1972, and later in 1974 as a television special, featuring songs and stories from celebrities. Using poetry, songs, and sketches, the basic concept was to salute values such as individuality, tolerance, and happiness with one’s identity; a major thematic message is that anyone, whether a boy or a girl, can achieve anything one wants.