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Teaching losing appeal in Quebec

May 3 2013 //

Listen to Teach

Teaching in Quebec has begun to lose its appeal. This is the sentiment at a 2 day long symposium on education in Montreal.
 
According to the Gazette, teachers in the province are getting turned off by the slow progression of their careers.
 
Many teachers surveyed are considering leaving the profession if they don't have a permanent position. Currently in Quebec, 55 000 teachers hold permanent jobs out of about 90 000.
 
Teachers in Quebec are paid 17 per cent less than their colleagues throughout Canada. 
 
They blame the lack of progress in their profession as the main reason behind the high school dropout rate in province stuck at thirty per cent.
 
Flickr Photo: Claire L. Evans

World Narrative Competition : Bottled Up

May 2 2013 //

 

 

USA | Narrative | World Premiere | SPOTLIGHT | 2013 | 81 min

DIRECTOR / SCREENPLAY Enid Zentelis

PRODUCERS Mandy Beckner, Anthony Brandonisio, Riel Roch Decter, Enid Zentelis, Erik Weigel, Melissa Leo

CINEMATOGRAPHER Daniel Sharnoff

WITH Melissa Leo, Marin Ireland, Josh Hamilton, Jamie Harrold, Nelson Landrieu

 

The subject surrounding substance abuse is rapidly and continuously spreading across the world, in my opinion it is way too common in our day and age. It seems to me that everyone has been affected by substance abuse one way or another. Enid Zentelis beautifully wrote and directed Bottled Up which articulates the story of a mother daughter duo dealing with the hard reality of prescription drug abuse. Faye (played by Oscar winning Melissa Leo) and her daughter Sylvie (Marin Ireland) reside in a small town and live a meek life. A few months earlier, Sylvie experienced a car accident and injured her back, she has been taking prescription pain killers and cannot seem to find physical comfort, and she often complains of being in severe pain and often mentions her excruciating need for her medication. Sylvie refuses to go to physical therapy and it becomes clear to everyone except her hopeful mother Faye that she has a severe addiction to her pain killers. 

A beacon of light comes to town and his name is Beckett, an awkward yet charming environmentalist studying the water that surrounds their town. Faye immediately recognizes that he might be able to help Sylvie and get her to open her eyes to the world of becoming sober. Beckett slowly integrates himself into their lives and Faye’s experiment towards a more sober Sylvie finally takes flight. In the end Faye is forced to make a concrete decision about what to do with Sylvie’s issues and it is truly heartbreaking to watch. Melissa Leo carries the film on her shoulders in the same way that her character Faye carries her daughter’s problem, I will admit that the other characters especially Beckett did not weight my full attention all the way through, some of the time I wished Sylvie’s character had shown even more of a physically driven dependence on her medication but that being said, the relationship between Faye and Sylvie was strong enough to pull everything together towards the end of the film and keep the message strong of how awful drug abuse can be for any sized family. Bottled Up is sometimes hard to watch because of the intense subject matter but knowledge is power and because drug abuse is very common, we should start accumulating a key sense of observation so that we may recognize signs of substance abuse amongst the ones we love so that we may live our lives happy and healthy. 

 

Click here for more coverage of the Tribeca Film Festival

Andrea Boulet
@AndreaMtl

Spotlight : Adult World

May 1 2013 //

 

 

 

 
USA | Narrative | World Premiere | 2013 | 97 min
 
DIRECTOR Scott Coffey
 
SCREENWRITER Andy Cochran
 
 
CINEMATOGRAPHER James Laxton
 
 
The life of a young adult is crazy complicated. Decisions need to be made and opportunities must be sought out. Scott Coffey directs Adult World, a dim and warm coming of age tale that centers on Amy (Emma Roberts), who has just graduated from college and is looking for her next big commitment in life, she wants to be a loved poet resembling the late great Sylvia Plath. Amy is not the most amiable or polished young woman, in fact she’s awkward as hell and extremely naïve, her parents are also very desperate for her to find some kind of income. Story of my life let me tell you.
 
Amy gets a job at her local sex shop because no one else will hire a poet, and being a naïve virgin makes being inside the shop ridiculously uncomfortable for her. Roberts’ comedic delivery is quite charming in the beginning of the film while Amy is being exposed to brand new sexy things. The sexiest thing in the sex shop would be her young and attractive manager Alex (Evan Peters), oh gosh this local bug eyed beauty is a sweet and kind artist and has everything a young woman would swoon over. He is the classic boy next door who is legitimately fucking awesome. Another employee at this sex shop is the fabulous diva-tastic transvestite Rubia (an unrecognizable Armando Riesco who steals the show!), the shop is owned by a horny elderly couple and Cloris Leachman does her thing and I love her. So, Amy is now turned on by Alex, confused and curious about Rubia and a little grossed out by the owners, thankfully her life has gotten a little more interesting. Then she meets John Cusack, who plays her favorite poet Rat Billings, and by the way who doesn’t enjoy a good old John Cusack performance? Jackpot.
 
Coffey plunges the audience into the young adults’ exploration of trying to get your life together when you might be blinded or held back by your fears and anxieties. Failing and failing even though you might have tried your absolute fucking hardest, finding the courage to pick yourself up off of that little pathetic single mattress and continue on even when you think you will be stuck in an unfulfilling rut forever.
 
Finally, our Amy blossoms into a strong confident woman, it is pleasing to watch, and the film lightly pats you on the back telling you that you can achieve your goals and quietly gets you smiling. Adult World got my mind gears going and I made a great decision myself: that I do indeed need to have a transvestite best friend so we can stay young forever while playing dress
up and gossiping about men, sex. and life.
 
 
 

Andrea Boulet
@AndreaMtl

Tribeca ESPN Sports Film Festival : Big Shot

May 1 2013 //
 
 
USA | Documentary | World Premiere | 2013 | 77 min
 
 
 
CINEMATOGRAPHER Matthew Howe
 
 
You can only imagine the excitement my body felt when I found out that a documentary film about hockey was going to be screened at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, I literally ran to the theater while grinning like an idiot. I even probed the other press members in the theater if they were hockey fans. I was not surprised when most of them said they were not fans and never really watched hockey, as soon as I expressed that I was a Canadian it all seemed to make sense to them as to why I couldn’t stop dancing in my seat blurting out numbers and facts about my beloved sport. The lights dimmed, the picture started and I instantly became turned on while remembering that the NHL Playoffs began at the end of the month.
 
During the late 90’s the New York Islanders were in need of some desperate help, their franchise was slowly crumbling apart with no sign of getting their shit together. In 1997, this random man John Spano offered to purchase the team, practically saving them from extinction. Who was this thirty-something John Spano who popped up out of nowhere? Well no one really knew either, he claimed to be a Dallas money tycoon who simply wanted to invest in the fading New York Islanders franchise. In the end, it turned out to be one of the biggest cases of fraud in The National Hockey League history. Spano manipulated and cleverly schemed his way into making everyone believe he had the money to rebuild and help this team.
 
Kevin Connolly makes his directorial debut with this revealing sports documentary and manages to open the changing room doors and lets us have a sneak peek into the minds of those who were affected the most by Spano’s deceitfulness and manipulation. Connolly interviews Wayne Gretsky, Bob Nystrom and other NHL affiliates involved at the time and they all come up more or less with the same opinion of Spano: he was an emotional crazed man who never really knew the difference between establishing a name for yourself and fucking everyone over for one’s social status and social impact. It is truly shocking to see how Spano was able to easily accomplish fraud before technology had really developed and how he managed to trick millions of people! Eventually shit hits the fan and Spano gets what he deserves but I won’t spoil it for you.
 
I will die a Montreal Canadians fan and as a true hockey fan who grew up in arenas, I will never turn away from attaining more knowledge about the history of each NHL team. Big Shot is a well-organized insightful sports documentary that I would recommend to any and all hockey fans. I am very pleased to see more hockey documentaries being released because we ought to learn everything there is to know about the National Hockey League to keep it going strong, I would argue that Kevin Connolly probably agrees with me that it is imperative that hockey sticks around until the end of days.
 
 

Andrea Boulet
@AndreaMtl

The Tales of a Tribeca Survivor

May 1 2013 //
*Editors note: Throughout the next couple of days, Andrea will be submitting more detailed reviews for each competition and section. Stay tuned!
 
 
The city that never sleeps, a widespread film festival, a wide-eyed ecstatic film writer and a tornado of non-stop reckless adventure. That description would briefly sum up my experience at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in Manhattan New York City. Let me just begin by saying thank you to Tribeca and CJLO for giving me this unforgettable opportunity. Every film festival I have attended has changed my life in some way, which might sound extremely dramatic but I assure you it is the cold hard truth. How has Tribeca changed me? 
 
Well how much time do you have?
 
Film festivals are your tool for exploring films from all over the globe. Festivals allow you to be bombarded with striking and inspiring visual arts in a short organized span of time. They are an adrenaline rush and one hell of a ride. The films at Tribeca are organized into the following sections for your systematized viewing pleasure:
 
The World Narrative Competition highlights premieres from veteran filmmakers and new on the scene filmmakers that have panache and gusto. Check out reviews for Mr. Jones and Bottled Up
 
The World Documentary Competition pulls focus on modern truth with strong voices behind and in front of the camera.
 
The Spotlight section is a jumble of established names and names that are starting to shine through. Spotlight is filled with anxiously awaited new releases and some festival classics.  Here are reviews for Adult World and Greetings From Tim Buckley
 
Viewpoints section includes documentary and narratives that surrounds international independent cinema and their communicative prospects in film.
 
Midnight section is my favorite as it highlights breaking the rules and pushing the limits to the extreme. Horror, Sci-fi and action included in this genre section of the festival.
 
Storyscapes is an interesting section where innovation, technology and storytelling merge together to create new ways of filmmaking.
 
The Shorts Program speaks for itself and is filled with diversity and talent.
 
Tribeca ESPN Sports Film Festival includes sports themed films, events and panel discussions with established and emerging filmmakers.
 
On top of all the marvelous films programmed there are a plethora of events that you can attend where you can mingle and chit chat with the minds behind all these beautiful films. There is always a great conversation to be had. The Tribeca staff and volunteers are some of the nicest people I have met so far while attending the festival circuit. These wonderful people are informed, passionate, motivated artists, hard workers and ready to help at the drop of a hat!
 
I hope that while reading my film reviews from Tribeca you will be inspired to start attending some of the film festivals that surround you! They are everywhere and are such a fantastic time, take a chance and have some fun! I dare you.
 

Andrea Boulet
@AndreaMtl

CJLO News - May 1 2013

May 1 2013 //

Hosted by: Saturn De Los Angeles

Stories by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi, Catlin Spencer & Spoon Jung

Produced by: Catlin Spencer

EU votes to ban pesticides

May 1 2013 //

Bee and flower

The European Union has voted to ban three pesticides linked to bee deaths for two years, in a world’s first continent-wide ban on the chemicals. The insecticides are used to treat seeds, and applied to soil or sprayed on bee-attractive plants and cereals.

15 nations voted in favor of the ban, while 8 voted against, with 4 abstaining. The European Commission said the ban would apply from December 1st.

EU health commissioner Tonio Borg emphasized the importance of protecting the bees, as they “contribute over 22 billion euros annually to European agriculture.” Bees account for 80% of plant pollination by insects, rendering them indispensible to stable global food production.

Marco Contiero of Greenpeace stated, “Today's vote makes it crystal clear that there is overwhelming scientific, political and public support for a ban,” in light of heavy opposition from pharmaceutical groups and farmers lobbying against the ban.

Flickr Photo by: rjmyint

STORY WRITTEN BY: SPOON JUNG

Private daycares may employ pressure tactics

May 1 2013 //

Quebec private daycares are ready to employ pressure tactics to push the government a little.

 
According to CBC News, stalled negotiations between the family minister & the association of Quebec Private Daycares is the reason behind possible pressure tactics. The worst case scenario would be a shut down of daycares for five days.
 
The daycares are asking for better funding and salary that is on even keel with the colleagues in the public sector.
 
The P.Q. has slashed private daycares' budgets by fifteen million dollars and those in the sector have to scramble to find funding elsewhere.
 
The Quebec private daycares association represent 600 daycares that care for 50 000 children throughout the province.

Wacken Metal Battle Canada

April 30 2013 //

WACKEN METAL BATTLE CANADA Announces Band Line Up, One Canadian Band To Rule Them All!

FREE DOWNLOAD - Wacken Metal Battle Canada Compilation Vol. 1

The world's most prestigious metal festival, Wacken Open Air, known for its elite line up of the globe's best metal bands is bringing the largest metal contest on the planet Wacken Metal Battle to Canada. Recruiting 39 independent Canadian bands after hundreds of submissions to compete, Wacken Metal Battle Canada will select one true champion to represent the nation with highest honour at this summer's 2013 edition of Wacken Open Air Festival in Wacken, Germany.

Being held in Toronto, ON and Montreal, QC during the months of May and June, Canadian metal bands from across the country will challenge one another to join a list of Canadian heavyweights such as Voivod, Exciter, Razor, Annihilator, Anvil, Kataklysm, Cryptopsy, 3 Inches of Bloods, Despised Icon and Danko Jones who have performed at the festival in years past.

The Wacken Metal Battle Canada line up for the qualifying rounds in Montreal is as follows and will be judged by a panel of local music industry representatives.

 

QUALIFYING ROUNDS - MONTREAL

May 9th @ Katacombes
Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/269499079852535/
8:30PM / 20H30 - 18+
10$ - 12$ door
Tickets available at: http://www.admission.com/event/wacken-metal-battle-canada-mtl-ronde-1-billets/716409 

 

Dissension
Website: http://www.facebook.com/DissensionMTL
Video: http://www.youtube.com/user/DissensionOfficial

 

Warcall
Website: https://www.facebook.com/warcallband
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z-xAyTOk0Y

 

Virulys
Website: https://www.facebook.com/VirulysBand
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYlydeyRj-Y

 

Bookakee
Website: http://bookakee.bandcamp.com/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1RDey3NCdk

 

May 15th @ Katacombes
Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/349373411841013/
8:30PM / 20H30 - 18+
10$ - 12$ door
Tickets available at: link coming soon

 

Trainwreck Architect
Website: http://www.trainwreckarchitect.net/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgA4_Pulj8c

 

Venomenon
Website: http://venomenon.bandcamp.com/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/venomenonband

 

Demise of the Crown
Website: http://www.demiseofthecrown.com/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPHOWEz1sG4

 

Fallstaf
Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/fallstaf
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBpyygUzRko

 

May 22nd @ Katacombes
Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/398000663640115/
8:30PM / 20H30 - 18+
10$ - 12$ door
Tickets available at: link coming soon

 

Through Death
Website: http://www.throughdeath.com/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/throughdeathofficial

 

Crosstitution
Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/crosstitution
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBwuu55c3GE

 

Murtenscythe
Website: http://www.murtenscythe.bandcamp.com/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGvnEIBppr4

 

Powered by Death
Website: http://www.reverbnation.com/poweredbydeath
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWKPaqa72go

 

May 31st @ Katacombes
Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/311701678957238/
8:30PM / 20H30 - 18+
10$ - 12$ door
Tickets available at: link coming soon

 

Valfreya
Website: http://www.valfreyametal.com/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACJJrLSy4_Y

 

Sanguine Glacialis
Website: http://sanguineglacialis.bandcamp.com/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/sanguineglacialis

 

Karkaos
Website: http://www.karkaos.com/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hl_pDPnqC_o

 

Hollow
Website: http://www.hollowofficial.com/
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZioYfY0nbbQ

 

SEMI-FINALS - MONTREAL

June 7 - Katacombes – Montreal, QC*
* 2 MONTREAL BANDS MOVE TO FINALS - June 22 at Opera House, Toronto, ON

 

FINALS - WACKEN METAL BATTLE CANADA

June 22 - Opera House, Toronto, ON

 

The W:O:A Metal Battle was founded by in Wacken Open Air 2004 to encourage future generations of heavy metal and rock as the festival believes in supporting the future of metal music and its musicians.

 

Promo Video - Wacken Metal Battle Canada 

 

RULES

All bands that wish to participate in the Metal Battle must read the following rules and guidelines. Bands who send in an application automatically agree to the rules and terms.

  • Your band doesn't have a record deal and isn't about to sign to a record label in the near future.
  • Your band must be able to play a 30 minute set consisting of your own original material.
  • PA, lighting, and sound engineer will be provided for all bands by Metal Battle Canada.
  • Backline arrangements TBA.
  • The bands must bring their own instruments such as guitars, bass, drum breakables, keyboards and effect pedals and may also bring and use their own guitar amps.
  • To keep the changeover times as short as possible, bands with left handed drummers will play as first or last band. All bands have to follow the directions given by the promoters or stage manager.
  • Jury of respected music industry folk will decide the winners each night.

If a band overruns its allotted performance time, then the band-members should be aware of the fact that in this case their sound will be faded out. The running order for the concert will be released a few days before the event takes place.

 

ABOUT WACKEN

Wacken Open Air (W:O:A) is a summer open air heavy metal music festival that takes place annually in the small town of Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany. With 80,000 festival visitors, and including personnel a total of roughly 86,000 attendees in 2011, it attracts all kinds of metal music fans, such as fans of black metal, death metal, power metal, thrash metal, gothic metal, folk metal, and even metalcore, nu metal and hard rock from around the world.

The festival was first held in 1990 as a small event for local German bands. By 1998 the event had become the major festival on the European metal calendar and has included over 70 bands from all over Europe, North America and Australia. W:O:A is usually held at the beginning of August and lasts three days, during which the festival-goers camp on several large camping grounds surrounding the actual festival area. The 70 or more bands perform across four separate stages over the course of the event.

Since 2002, the Wacken Firefighters, the local volunteer fire department band, opens the festival.

The 2009 edition set a sales record when it sold out its 70,000 tickets by December 30, 2008, just 200 days prior to the festival. However, the 2012 edition broke this record; when it sold out on November 29th, 2011, 8 months before the opening of the festival with 75,000 tickets sold. The W:O:A 2012 took place with 137 bands, performing on seven stages.

 

For more info on Metal Battle Canada, please visit these links:

Official Website: http://www.metalbattle.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MetalBattleCanada
Twitter: @MetalBattleCAN
Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/WackenMetalBattleCAN

Salvation from Sin Three-Year Anniversary Party

April 30 2013 //

 

SALVATION FROM SIN radio will be celebrating its Three-Year Anniversary at OASIS Wednesdays at Le Salon Daomé (141 Mont-Royal E) on May 1st, 2013. The Party starts at 10:00 PM sharp. To help celebrate the occasion, resident deejay Don Barbarino will be joined by CJLO's very own host & DJ of Salvation from Sin  Michael Terzian. The duo will be tag-teaming all night and will ONLY be using original vinyl records. No CDs, no mp3s, no laptops!

 

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