Thicker than Water (1993 film)
Thicker than Water is a 1993 Welsh thriller television film directed by Marc Evans and starring Theresa Russell, Jonathan Pryce, Robert Pugh and Catherine Neilson. It is based on the novel of the same name by Dylan Jones, about a Welsh doctor who attempts to put his life together after the death of his pregnant wife. Debbie and Jo are identical twins. Jo is killed in a car accident, her husband, Cardiff physician Sam Crawford is grieving for her. Despite this, Debbie starts to act like Jo for Sam to overcome his grief. Sam meets with, is drawn to, his wife's former colleague. Meanwhile Debbie, whose fertility problems seems exacerbated by a post-viral weakness, insists that she still feels Jo's presence. Mysterious circumstances lead Sam to suspect. Theresa Russell as Debbie and Jo Jonathan Pryce as Sam Crawford Robert Pugh as Paul Catherine Neilson as Chloe Richard Lynch as Dorian Phipps Alan David as Chief Superintendent Crispin Letts as Nastygram Sion Probert as Nastygram agent Rhys Parry Jones as Charge Nurse Howard Lisa Palfrey as Young mother Ri Richards as Young mother Zoe Groves as Debbie Kristy Groves as Jo Thicker Than Water on IMDb Thicker than Water at the BFI
Bliss (1995 TV series)
Bliss is a British television science thriller series first broadcast on 11 October 1995. It ran for a total of five episodes on ITV1; the series starred Simon Shepherd as Dr. Sam Bliss, a medical research scientist based at Cambridge University, widowed father-of-two, who finds himself investigating bizarre and unexplained deaths, with the help of his assistant, Dr. Melanie Kilpatrick. Broadcast as a single stand-alone pilot episode in 1995, Bliss spawned a run of four episodes, which followed in 1997; the initial pilot was written by novelist Michael Stewart. Jonathan Hyde, Reece Dinsdale and Jennifer Hilary co-starred in the pilot, alongside Sarah Smart and Zoë Hart, who reprised their roles for the series; the initial pilot drew a viewing audience of 10 million, while viewing figures for the series averaged around 7 million. In 2000, both the pilot episode and series were released on VHS via Carlton Television. Neither the pilot episode, nor the series, have been released on DVD. Simon Shepherd as Dr. Sam Bliss Sian Webber as Dr. Melanie Kilpatrick Sarah Smart as Zoe Bliss Zoë Hart as Louise Bliss Anthony Smee as Dr. Graham Fairfax Jonathan Hyde as Dr. Oliver Pleasance Reece Dinsdale as Dr. Clive Sussman Eva Marie Bryer as Serena Snowden Jennifer Hilary as Tamara Bancroft John Normington as Albert Fowler Deborah Norton as Dorothy Snowden Peter Penry-Jones as Jeffrey Snowden Kate Buffery as Dr. Gaynor Hands Sophie Stanton as DC Paula White Scot Williams as Geoff Croft Bliss on IMDb
Wawa, Ontario
Wawa is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, located within the Algoma District and associated with Wawa Lake. Known as the township of Michipicoten, after a nearby river of that name, the township was renamed in 2007 for its largest and best-known community of Wawa; this area was first developed for fur trading. In the late 19th century, both gold and iron ore were found and mined, leading to the region's rise as the steel industry developed in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. From 1900-1918 the Helen Mine had the highest production of iron ore of any mine in Canada; the township includes the smaller communities of Michipicoten and Michipicoten River, which are small port settlements on the shore of Lake Superior. These names are derived from the Ojibwe term for the river. Fort Michipicoten was constructed at the mouth of the Michipicoten River, it was at the junction of the main fur trade route from Montreal westward and the route to James Bay via the Missinaibi River. The town developed five miles upriver from here.
French explorers reached the area by at least 1681, militia built the post in either 1725 or 1727. By 1729, it was an outpost of Fort Kaministiquia in Vérendrye's Postes du Nord; the site was opposite the mouth of the Magpie River. When the British conquered Canada in 1763, this post was abandoned. Four years it was re-opened on the same site by fur traders Alexander Henry the elder and Jean Baptiste Cadotte; the route from James Bay was explored by Philip Turnor. In 1783, it was taken over based in Montreal. In 1797, the Hudson's Bay Company built a rival post on the north bank. With the union of the two companies in 1821, the Lake Superior trade was diverted from Montreal to Hudson Bay via Michipicoten; this lasted until 1863, when the arrival of railways made it unnecessary. From 1827, the fort was the headquarters of the Superior Division, several annual meetings were held here, it was a centre for boat-building and small-scale manufacture and repair. It served as a base for missionaries and surveyors.
It was closed in 1904 and taken apart. By 1980 the site held little more than a grassy clearing, some foundation stones, the remains of the dock. Wawa's history is rich in mining and the fur trade. Mining attempts began as early as the late 1660s. William Teddy discovered gold on Wawa Lake in 1897; the population of Wawa village grew with 1,700 claims staked in 1898. However, most gold production stopped by 1906. Beginning in 1914 with the completion of the Algoma Central Railway, gold production commenced again from 22 prospects. In 1898, the town site at what is now called "the Mission" was registered as "Michipicoten City." In 1899, Wawa was plotted as a town and registered as Wawa City. In the latter half of the 1950s, the town's name was temporarily changed to Jamestown in honour of Sir James Hamet Dunn, but it was returned to Wawa at the request of the community's residents. Gold production had slowed by 1906, but as mining technology improved, additional amounts began to be extracted from the area.
Gold mining in the Wawa area prospered and receded several times in the 20th century, it continues today. Notable producers include the Grace Mine, which produced 15,191 ounces, the Minto Mine, which produced 37,678 ounces, the Parkhill Mine, which produced 54,301 ounces, the Renabie Mine, which produced 1.1 million ounces. Iron ore extraction has been an important industry in the area; the search for gold during the Michipicoten boom led to the unexpected discovery in 1897 of iron ore. Francis Hector Clergue, an American entrepreneur recognized the iron ore for its potential. Marie. Wawa was served by the Algoma Central Railway to ship ore for processing; the first supply of ore extracted from the Helen Mine was shipped to Midland, Ontario, in July 1900. The mine produced high-grade iron ore until 1903, when operations shut down due to financial difficulties encountered by Clergue and his company. By 1904, the mine had returned to full production capabilities and was mining one thousand tons of hematite ore a day.
From 1900 to 1918, the Helen Mine had the largest production of any iron mine in Canada. In 1909, a second hematite ore deposit was uncovered near the Magpie River, twelve miles north of the Helen Mine; the Algoma Steel Corporation, organized between 1904 and 1909 in Sault Ste. Marie, bought up the claims and operated both the Magpie and Helen mines for the next decade; the Helen Mine continued ore production until 1918, when the company felt the reserve of hematite ore was depleted. The same fate followed the Magpie Mine in 1921; the Census of Canada records that the population of the Michipicoten region in 1921 experienced a drop from 1,001 in 1911 to 101 just ten years later. It was not until 1937, with the threat of war in Europe and the emergence of a profitable market for Canadian iron ore, that the Helen Mine was reopened. A sintering plant was constructed on the northern bank of the Magpie River, two miles west of the mine, it was used to treat the siderite ore before it was shipped to the blast furnaces at Algoma Steel in Sault Ste.
Marie. The plant became the centre for a small community called Sinterville, composed of workers and their families; the Helen Mine remained an open pit operation until 1950, from which point on all production came from underground mining. In 1960, the new George W. MacLeod Mine went into production adjacent to the Helen Mine; the ore was transported on an aerial tramline that consisted of over 280 steel three-ton
Patagonia (film)
Patagonia is a 2010 British-Argentine drama film co-written and directed by Marc Evans. The story centers on Welsh and Argentine people connected to "Y Wladfa", the Welsh settlement in Patagonia, Argentina; the film stars several well-known Welsh actors including Matthew Rhys, Nia Roberts and the singer Duffy. It premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on 10 June 2010 and had its UK premiere in Cardiff on 4 March 2011, it was selected as the British entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist. Gwen and Rhys are a Welsh-speaking couple living in Cardiff where Rhys works as a photographer and Gwen is employed as a historical interpreter at a local Welsh cultural centre. Gwen is an aspiring actress and although she periodically attends auditions, she has yet to be hired for a theatrical part; the couple's inability to conceive a child has caused increasing tension between them. Hoping to reinvigorate their relationship, the pair decide to travel together to southern Argentina where Rhys has been commissioned to photograph the historic Welsh chapels in Patagonia, a vast windswept landscape, a destination for Welsh immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
While there, they are served by Mateo. Meanwhile, an elderly Welsh-Argentine woman named Cerys is planning a trip to Wales to discover the farm where her mother was raised before emigrating to Patagonia during the 1920s, she decides to take along her agoraphobic young neighbour Alejandro to assist her. In Wales, he finds romance with Sissy. Matthew Gravelle as Rhys Nia Roberts as Gwen Matthew Rhys as Mateo Marta Lubos as Cerys Nahuel Pérez Biscayart as Alejandro Duffy as Sissy Marco Antonio Caponi as Diego Rhys Parry Jones as Martín Gabriela Ferrero as Eleonara Marcin Kwaśny as Marc Radosław Kaim as Kris Matthew Rhys found out about the role under unusual circumstances. In 2005, he was in Patagonia on horseback with descendents of the region's original Welsh settlers. Following a screening at the 2010 Mill Valley Film Festival, Dennis Harvey of Variety said "Patagonia unspools two parallel narratives connected only by a historical anomaly.... While its separate parts may not quite add up, they complement each other quite pleasingly."
He notes "Evans nimbly cuts between the two unhurried threads, which form a nice textural contrast in d.p. Robbie Ryan's lensing of the disparate landscapes—one all lush, verdant hills, the other rich in desert hues. Jumping back and forth helps balance out stories that might have seemed insubstantial if each stood alone." Another critic at Mill Valley, Sura Wood of The Hollywood Reporter, called it an "intermittently diverting road movie, whose alternation between parallel storylines grows tedious over the course of its two-hour running time". List of submissions to the 84th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film List of British submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Project-Hiraeth – Documents the stories of the Welsh colony in Patagonia, Argentina through film and illustration. Official website Patagonia on IMDb In pictures: Patagonia the movie from BBC News Wales Podcast of 04 Mar 2011 from Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo's Film Reviews at BBC Radio 5 Live, with an interview with Marc Evans and a review by Kermode
Trauma (2004 film)
Trauma is a 2004 British psychological thriller directed by Marc Evans and written by Richard Smith. Ben awakens from a coma to discover his wife has been killed in a car accident. A few weeks Ben is out of the hospital and, attempting to start a new life, he moves home and is befriended by a beautiful young neighbour Charlotte. Haunted by visions of his dead wife, Ben starts to lose his grip on reality. Colin Firth as Ben Mena Suvari as Charlotte Naomie Harris as Elisa Sean Harris as Roland Neil Edmond as Mills Tommy Flanagan as Tommy Kenneth Cranham as Detective Constable Jackson Brenda Fricker as Petra The film is described by critics as a psychological thriller in the same vein as David Cronenberg and Jacob's Ladder; the film has been described as stylish, with iofilm calling it "a triumph of style over content." Shadows on the Wall adds, "Evans fills the screen with... moody and evocative visuals," and Filmcritic.com says the film has "The Ring-inspired creepy imagery."Neil Young's Film Lounge describes the film's visual in this way: "Evans tries to jazz everything up, deploying all manner of distorted visuals - extreme camera angles and close-ups, plus over-atmospheric lighting effects and jagged cuts - in a strenuous attempt to get us into Ben's tormented state-of-mind."Colin Firth's performance is the most praised aspect of the film.
"He delivers a performance which highlights the range of his considerable talent" cites one critic. EFilmCritic says Firth "does the best with what he's given" and iofilm says, "Firth puts in a sterling performance in the central role." Reel Film Reviews adds "Firth's performance, not is the best thing about the movie, the actor does a nice job of portraying Ben's increasing paranoia." Listed Chronologically Sundance Film Festival Cannes Film Market Edinburgh Film Festival Toronto International Film Festival Lund Fantastisk Film Festival Athens Film Festival Gérardmer Fantasticarts Film Festival Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Films München Fantasy Filmfest Trauma Official Site Trauma on IMDb Trauma at AllMovie Trauma at Rotten Tomatoes
Timmins
Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,788; the city's economy is based on natural resource extraction and is supported by industries related to lumbering and to the mining of gold, copper and silver. Timmins serves as a distribution centre; the city has a large Francophone community, with more than 50 % bilingual in English. Research performed by archaeologists indicate that human settlement in the area is at least 6,000 years old. Up until contact with settlers, the land belonged to the Mattagami First Nation peoples. Treaty Number Nine of 1906 pushed this tribe to the north side of the Mattagami Lake, the site of a Hudson's Bay trading post first established in 1794. In the 1950s, the reserve was relocated to its present-day location. Gold discoveries in the Porcupine Camp during the early years of the 20th Century attracted investors to the area. On June 9, 1909, Harry Preston slipped on a rocky knoll and the heels of his boots stripped the moss to reveal a large vein of gold, which became the Dome Mine.
On October 9, 1909, Benny Hollinger discovered the gold-bearing quartz dike that became known as the Hollinger Mines. Brothers Noah Timmins and Henry Timmins bought Benny Hollinger's share from him, thus partnering with Hollinger's employers, the McMartin brothers. On the same day as the Hollinger discovery, Sandy McIntyre discovered the McIntyre Mine near Pearl Lake, four miles away; these mines are known as the "Big Three". Hollinger Mines was incorporated in 1910 with five equal partners consisting of former Mattawa, Ontario shopkeeper brothers and Henry Timmins. In November 1912, 1,200 members of the Western Federation of Miners Local 145 held a strike at all three mines in response to a proposal to lower their wages. Mine operators hired gun thugs, who fired on the picket line and were ordered out by the provincial government. After months without work, many men chose to leave the settlement; the strike won the men a pay increase. The Great Depression did not adversely affect the economy of the area, jobs were available in mining and lumber.
The gold mines declined in the 1950s. The area became home to dozens of prospectors during the "Porcupine Gold Rush" who explored the areas around Porcupine Lake and the Frederick House River. Rich ore deposits in the Canadian Shield led to Timmins being founded as a company town to house Hollinger employees. In 1912, mine manager Alphonse "Al" Paré named the mining settlement for his uncle, Noah Timmins, President of Hollinger Mines. Most settlers grouped around the Dome, one mile from the lake. Four miles down the road, around the McIntyre Mine, the hamlet of Schumacher was established; the rail system that began to operate around Timmins in 1911 accelerated the growth of the camp. That same year, two days after the first train arrived in the Porcupine, the entire camp was destroyed in the fire of 1911, although the area was rebuilt within two months. In 1917, a dam was built at Kenogamissi Falls, downriver from Mattagami Lake, to provide power for the Timmins-Porcupine mining camp. In 1973, 35 townships covering 1,260 square mile, including Porcupine, South Porcupine and Timmins were organized into the City of Timmins.
In the 1990s, the City of Timmins became a regional service and distribution centre for Northeastern Ontario. Timmins is near the northern periphery of the hemiboreal humid continental climate. Timmins has cold winters, being in northern Ontario, but temperatures in late summer and autumn tend to be among the coldest for any major city in any Canadian province, although during the spring and summer it can get hot; the highest temperature recorded in Timmins was 39.4 °C on 12 July 1936. The coldest temperature recorded was −45.6 °C on 1 February 1962. The 2006 census indicated that Timmins was 91.1% White, 7.7% Aboriginal, 1.2% Visible Minorities. After several years of decline, the city's population has grown again, with an intercensal population estimate of 44,507 in 2008 and a rapid increase in new retail development projects in the city's west end. In Timmins, according to the 2016 census, 63.7% of the population reported English as their first language, 35.6% reported French as their first language, 0.12% reported a non-official language, neither English nor French, as their first language.
50.8 % of the population is bilingual in French. Some of the main tourist attractions within the city include: The Timmins Museum and National Exhibition Centre, Cedar Meadows Wilderness Tours, Kamiskotia Snow Resort, Porcupine Ski Runners Cross-Country Trails and Chalet, Hollinger Golf Club, Spruce Needles Golf Club, the Sandy Falls Golf Club, the McIntyre Community Building and the Timmins Snowmobile Club. Snowmobiling impacts the Timmins economy as tourists travel from all over North America to explore area trails. Hollinger Park is one of the city's main recreational spaces; the park is divided in two sections, the north side being the public park area, with the south side having a regulation sized baseball diamond and two soccer fields for more organized outdoor recreational endeavours. The baseball park has been home to the Timmins Men's Baseball League since 1985. Former Timmins resident Shania Twain played a concert at Hollinger Park on July 1, 1999. An
Kingston Canadian Film Festival
The Kingston Canadian Film Festival is an annual celebration of the best in Canadian cinema held in Kingston, Ontario. It is the largest stand-alone showcase of feature films from across Canada; the 2019 festival will take place on February 28 - March 3In addition to the best new Canadian films of the year, KCFF presents workshops, live music and podcasts, plus lots of special guests, with past appearances by Ellen Page, Gordon Pinsent, Deepa Mehta, Cathy Jones, plus cast from Kids in the Hall, Letterkenny, Mr. D, The Trailer Park Boys; the Kingston Canadian Film Festival is held annually in late February to early March and is a registered charity. The Kingston Canadian Film Festival was launched in 2001 by Alex Jansen, studying film at Queen's University, it was a three-day event held at the Screening Room Movie Theater, a two screen repertory cinema which Jansen was managing at the time. The Festival was launched with assistance from Moving Pictures: Canadian Films on Tour. In 2002, the Festival added a second, larger venue on the Queen's University campus, increased the number of screenings and added a fourth day to the event, becoming the largest stand-alone showcase of feature films from across Canada.
In 2003, the Festival launched its ongoing "Local Filmmaking Initiative", a multi-tiered program focused towards nurturing the local film making community, through the City of Kingston's Healthy Community Fund. In 2004, the Festival added a fourth venue by temporarily re-opening the Princess Court Cinema. In 2005, Alison Migneault became Co-Director of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival; the Festival added a fifth day to the event. In 2006, Migneault became full Director of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival and Jansen moved into a consulting position; the Festival launched a new French Community Outreach program aimed at Kingston's sizeable French-speaking population. In 2007, the Kingston Canadian Film Festival launched its first-ever retrospective series, around the 50th anniversary of film making by the acclaimed Canadian director Allan King. In 2008, the Kingston Canadian Film Festival staged high school outreach in partnership with Reel Canada. In 2009, the Festival held a local short film competition and awarded $5,000 cash and professional mentorship for a local team to produce a short film to br premiered at the 2010 festival.
In 2010, the Kingston Canadian Film Festival celebrated its 10th anniversary, premiered the winner of the 10 Years, 10 Minutes Award and hosted a special screening of the silent film Carry On Sergeant!. In 2012, the Festival hosted another silent film screening – Back to God’s Country - at the Grand Theatre. Attendance at the festival increased by 11% over the 2011 event. In 2013, the Kingston Canadian Film Festival hosted the Oscar winner Mychael Danna at the Filmmakers’ Reception. In 2014, the Festival increased box office by 25% and surpassed the attendance record set in 2010. In 2015, box office increased by 21% over 2014 with a total audience of 5,750. Dedicated showcases for youth filmmakers were established. KCFF introduced a music in film program. There were appearances by Paul Spence, Greg Keelor of Blue Rodeo, Don McKellar, over 50 other special guests. In 2016, the Festival increased box office for the third successive year, surpassing 2015 by 15%. KCFF: Interactive introduced video game development workshops.
Guantanamo's Child: Omar Khadr won the Eye on Canada People's Choice Award. There were special guest appearances by Scott Thompson, K Trevor Wilson, Jess Allen, Brian D. Johnston, Sarah Harmer, Conner Jessup, over 60 other industry guests. In 2017, Operation Avalanche was awarded the Limestone Financial People's Choice Award for Best Feature, voted by the audience. Ty Conn: My Brother and the Outlaw was awarded the Steam Whistle Homebrew Award for Best Locally Produced Short Film and The Nerd's Guide to Getting the Girl was awarded the Youth Short Film Award for Best Short Film Produced by a 17-year-old and under. In 2018, Don't Talk To Irene was awarded the Limestone Financial People's Choice Award for Best Feature, voted by the audience. Three Sisters was awarded the Steam Whistle Homebrew Award for Best Locally Produced Short Film, No Distance was awarded the Steam Whistle Homebrew Award for Best Locally Produced Short Film - Minutes. Tallulah was awarded the Youth Short Film Award for Best Short Film Produced by a 17-year-old and under, Newborn was voted Best Canadian Short.
The Kingston Canadian Film Festival showcase 30-40 of the best Canadian features of the year. Features include work from first-time filmmakers, as well as Oscar winners; the Canadian Features have a strong focus on French filmmaking, films created by indigenous directors. Every year, KCFF display 3 distinct Canadian short programs; each program presents its own theme. The festival plays 50-75 short films. In addition to the movies, KCFF showcase live music and comedy, receptions and parties; these program offer local filmmakers the opportunity to meet industry professionals. Notable guests include Ellen Page, Gordon Pinsent, Deepa Mehta, Cathy Jones, plus cast from Kids in the Hall, Letterkenny, Mr. D, The Trailer Park Boys; the 2018 edition of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival included short film programs, free workshops and networking, industry guest appearances and talks, special events, music and awards. Adventures in Public School AVA Birth of a Family Black Cop Cardinals Clearing The Way: Combat Engineers in Kandahar Cross My Heart Don't Talk to Irene Expo 67: Mission Impossible Fake Tattoos I
