The explosive story of how a stubborn band of independent filmmakers started a film co-operative that became the most highly respected and mythologized film centre in Canada. Tales outlines the tremendous importance and impact of Winnipeg on the national filmmaking scene. Packed with rare archival footage, dynamic film excerpts, and hilarious interviews, this documentary traces the history of the legendary Winnipeg Film Group. We hear candid behind the scenes stories that illuminate the storied rise of acclaimed filmmakers like John Paizs (Crime Wave), Guy Maddin (Tales From The Gimli Hospital, My Winnipeg) Shawna Dempsey and Lorri Millan (We’re Talking Vulva, Good Citizen, Betty Baker) and Caroline Monnet (Ikwe). Often mired in controversy, the Film Group has been acclaimed at film festivals around the world – attested to by several Toronto film luminaries in the film – for subversive, original filmmaking. This documentary continues that tradition of bold, exuberant work.
Pure fantasia, a race to save the world from a fatal heart attack, juxtaposed against a love rivalry between two brothers - a mortician and an actor playing Christ - for the heart of a scientist studying the earth's core.
Chris is a dancer dying of AIDS. He has chosen euthanasia to end his suffering. With the assistance of his lover Val and his doctor, he surrounds himself in his last hours with everything that made his life special and creates his ultimate work of art by choreographing his own death.
At the height of the October Revolution during the 1919 allied intervention in Arkhangelsk, the exploits of one-legged Canadian soldier Lt. John Boles are told, after he is taken in from the cold by a dysfunctional Russian family and mistakes a local woman for his presumed dead lover.
The further adventure of Nick, Paizs' silent hero sets off to college where he meets Brock West (Winnipeg journalist and rocker Peter Jordon, aka Rocky Roletti). Unwittingly, Nick becomes involved in attempts to restore old campus hangout and the dirty political tricks swirling a hard fought student election. The film successfully weaves the tone of 40s college hijinx movies through the clever spoof of current electoral trends, suggesting how easily old fashioned ethics can turn into fashion.