Catherine Hardwicke, “one of the most powerful female voices in Hollywood”, as TIFF’s Theresa Scandiffio notes, will take part in a special In Conversation With . . . event at TIFF Bell Lightbox on July 20th at 7:00 PM. If you’d like a chance to see the filmmaker behind Thirteen, Twilight, and Miss You Already, tickets go on sale the 15th — two days earlier for TIFF members.
And speaking of female voices, Maya Wong of The Varsity looks back at some of the newer ones featured at last month’s Breakthroughs Film Festival, Canada’s only festival dedicated to showcasing short films by new-generation female filmmakers. The emphasis of the festival is on how the stories these women tell can benefit the world.
Darryl Bach of Glace Bay, N.S., appears in the documentary Apparition Hill after submitting a video to the filmmakers, who recruited a cast of seven, previously unknown to each other, to travel to the reportedly miraculous site at Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina. CBC News’ Wendy Martin reports that Bach, who suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), says “I didn’t have any great physical healing. I did have a spiritual healing.” The seven included two atheists, who traveled with the others to the small town where the Virgin Mary is said to appear regularly.
