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Put on your toque and party
By Cheryl Rossi-Staff writer
When summer turns to winter, Justin Adam becomes more creative. Crisp air inspires him, which is why in late 2002, the filmmaker and instructor organized Toquefest, an outdoor film and music festival that premiered at Kitsilano Showboat on a cold and drizzly October night.
The event attracted 50 people, most of whom he'd approached on the beach and encouraged to come along, according to the 31-year-old Adam. Lured by the strains of the J.P. Carter Trio as the sun went down, some stayed for Adam's short and a full-length film.
"It was charming. It wasn't big by any means but it had the root, it had the spirit and it felt like it was the start of something," he said. Subsequent events followed each year.
This year's Toquefest begins Dec. 2 indoors at the Butchershop Gallery on East 26th Avenue, just west of Main Street. It will be a fundraiser for the free outdoor screenings and music performances Dec. 3 at the old Robson Square skating rink.
In all, 25 international short films-many of them animated-will be screened, and eight local bands and DJs will play.
Part of his motivation for organizing the first Toquefest was his desire to show his short film The Man with a DV Cam. It premiered earlier that year at the Slamdance Film Festival that plays alongside Sundance in Park City, Utah. It also won a people's choice award for best experimental film at the Brooklyn International Film Festival. But when he returned to Vancouver, "nobody wanted to play it."
Last year, the festival featured the NFB film Ryan, which went on to win an Academy Award for best short animated film. Based on the buzz around that film, Adam expects a larger audience this year.
"Last year it kind of gained some legs where people were starting to pay attention to what I was doing. It wasn't just some crazy man with his projector in the woods," he said with a laugh.
Attendees aren't required to don toques-Adam doesn't want the Canadiana theme to be too hokey. But he added, "In the end you need [a toque] because it's freezing." Vendors of locally knit hats will be on hand.
Adam wants people to gather outside watching film and listening to music, not tucked away inside with their CDs and DVDs.
"I feel like we're going down the wrong road in a lot of ways," he said.
"There's an interesting thing that's happened over the last hundred years. When there was a theatre full of folks staring at a screen there was an investment for a period of time... The thing that's different about watching movies [rather than TV] is that it's very participative and it's very much a social event because you watch it and then talk about it and you're with people. You're in a group and it's communal and you get excited together. It's one of the most powerful things. I think the television set has isolated people a lot."
He likened the draw of Toquefest to that of the Festival of Lights.
"As human beings we're attracted to the lights and sound. We're like bugs when it comes to that," he said.
The Butchershop event will begin at 8 p.m. and the Robson Square screenings at 7 p.m. See toquefest.com for more information.
published on 11/27/2005
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