Larry Weinstein
From ancient cave paintings to Twitter feeds and deep fakes, propaganda's rapid progression hasn't compromised its potency. Tracing its effective use by religious figures, politicians and marketers, director Larry Weinstein crafts a persuasive study of the mechanics behind propaganda. This fascinating investigation confronts us with timely questions: If we grow up surrounded by propaganda, how do we know what is true? What risks are inherited by a society tricked into their perceptions? Freedom of speech is critical to a democracy's survival, yet demagogues have consistently exploited that freedom to coerce willing supporters. Contemporary artists, including Kent Monkman, Shepard Fairey and Ai Weiwei, analyze their politically motivated work, creatively co-opting the conventions of disinformation that have permeated their respective cultures. As our platforms for spreading ideas continue to expand in a digital age, dangerous lies have never been better disguised.
In July 2018, Maya Farrell attempted her second crossing of Lake Ontario, following in the footsteps of great Canadian female marathon swimmers Marilyn Bell and Vicki Keith. Featuring interviews with Bell and Keith, 'The Impossible Swim' explores the legacy, what it takes physically and mentally to be a marathon athlete, and the new rising regime.
An offbeat, irreverent musical documentary that tells the story of a group of Jewish songwriters, including Irving Berlin, Mel Tormé, Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, Gloria Shayne Baker and Johnny Marks, who wrote the soundtrack to Christianity’s most musical holiday. It’s an amazing tale of immigrant outsiders who became irreplaceable players in pop culture’s mainstream – a generation of songwriters who found in Christmas the perfect holiday in which to imagine a better world, and for at least one day a year, make us believe.
From Adolphe Sax’s workshop to the legendary times of jazz and bebop, conquering the classical music stages, forbidden by Nazis and Communists and banned by the Pope: in its 170-year history the saxophone has always been the most seductive as well as the most feared musical instrument. Award-winning Canadian filmmaker Larry Weinstein illuminates and mythologizes the story of the saxophone, its most legendary players and its allegedly longstanding curse about saxophonists falling prey to the instrument’s dark powers.
Leslie Caron, beloved star of Gigi and An American in Paris, is one of the last witnesses to the golden age of American cinema of the mid 20th century. Discovered by Gene Kelly when she was a teenager, she became one of the great talents in the worlds of film, dance, and theatre, still performing to this day! The film reveals a story told through the prism of a living legend who reveals secrets of her work and life- a world of contradictions, ambitions and dreams, lived by one of its most luminous personalities.
Chronicles an unprecedented 11,000 km bicycle journey across Canada by Olympic medalist and Bell Let’s Talk spokesperson Clara Hughes.
Chronicles the true story behind Argo’s Hollywood embellishments by looking at the efforts of the venerable Ken Taylor, Canada’s former ambassador to Iran, who personally sheltered six American diplomats in the operation that became known as "the Canadian Caper."
The Canadian Football League’s most passionate fan base and how it had its heart ripped out during the most infamous moment in CFL history.
Canadian actress and filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates certain secrets related to her mother, interviewing a group of family members and friends whose reliability varies depending of their implication in the events, which are remembered in different ways; so a trail of questions remains to be answered, because memory is always changing and the discovery of truth often depends on who is telling the tale.
Fury, Anger, Rage, Wrath. No one does these better than God as depicted by the Bible. This short film is an homage to Divine Wrath – God getting up on the wrong side of bed.
A full length original tragic-comic opera with sends up a great political leader whose downfall was his colossal ego.
A quiet and peaceful community in the Dominion of Canada is shaken up by the arrival of a wounded and stinky gun-toting American cowboy, simply known as The Montana Kid, wanted for the alleged killing of seven men. A subsequent clarification reveals that his real name is Sean Rafferty, and he admits to killing, not seven, but eleven men. Things only get worse after Sean gets in the bad books of the local militia, and with armed bounty hunters hot on his trail, challenges the local unarmed blacksmith, Jack Smith, to a duel - wild west style! Written by rAjOo
A Theatrical Documentary Synopsis "Inside Hana's Suitcase", is the poignant story of two young children who grew up in pre-WWII Czechoslovakia and the terrible events that they endured just because they happened to be born Jewish. Based on the internationally acclaimed book "Hana's Suitcase" which has been translated into 40 languages
A documentary portrait of Chinese pianist Yundi Li that captures the poetic intensity of this young virtuoso as he works with the great Maestro Seiji Ozawa to prepare for his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. This is interwoven with Yundi on tour in his home country, where we meet his family, gain insight into his upbringing and are exposed to the massive scale of piano culture in China.
MOZARTBALLS is a light-hearted tribute to Mozart and explores what he symbolizes in our age. The film features curious characters that embody the spirit of Mozart - from a retired Swiss school teacher obsessed by all things Mozart, to an ex-pop musician in Oklahoma who believes that her body is actually inhabited by Mozart's spirit; from a computer genius in California whose software has created a new Mozart cello concerto, to an Austrian astronaut who carried a score of "The Magic Flute" and delicious chocolate 'Mozartkugeln' into space. These are the individuals who inhabit MOZARTBALLS and through their strange and, at times, very moving stories, the viewer will be exposed to the liveliness, the magic and the obsession that Moart has become to so many music fans today. For them, Mozart defines the very essence of beauty in music, but he has become something more than that. Mozart is an icon, and for many he is still very much alive!
Beethoven's Hair traces the unlikely journey of a lock of hair cut from Beethoven's corpse and unravels the mystery of his tortured life and death. The film begins in modern times, when a pair of Beethoven enthusiasts purchase the hair at a Sotheby's auction. The story then looks at the lock's previous owners and culminates in the science that reveals Beethoven's "medical secret". Set to a lush score of some of Beethoven's most glorious music, the film explores the world of forensic testing in sharp relief against the romance of 19th-century Vienna and the horrors of 20th-century Nazi Germany.
An irreverent and hilarious spin on opera, domestic drama and the hallowed institutions of love and marriage, Burnt Toast is an hour-long television opera comprised of a series of eight comic operas each depicting a different stage of romantic love. The relationships depicted run the gamut: from the passionate to the fantasized, the bored and of course the dead relationship, each as recognizable as the last.
Some of today's most original recording artists perform the work of famed composer Harold Arlen.
A humourous "domestic opera" about an upwardly mobile couple in their mid thirties who can't resolve an argument about the cap being left off the toothpaste.
RAVEL'S BRAIN is a musical/visual tone poem at once tragic and celebratory in its mood. The film portrays the inner being of a great artist who was rendered incapable of communicating with the outside world. For the last five years of his life, Maurice Ravel was the victim of his own lamentable circumstances. Afflicted by aphasia and apraxia, his brain produced music, but he was unable to write it down.
Documentary - Filmed at the Musikvereinssaal in Vienna, Austria, this 1986 performance took place at a benefit concert to raise funds for the restoration of the world-famous concert hall. Renowned conductor Leonard Bernstein leads the Wiener Philharmoniker through Russian composer Dmitri Shostakovich's rarely performed Sixth Symphony and his joyous Ninth Symphony. Bonus features include Bernstein discussing his unique take on each of these masterful pieces. - Valery Gergiev, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic, Flora Litvinova
Filmmaker Larry Weinstein traces the life and work of composer Hanns Eisler, one of the greatest composers of the 20th century.
Filmmaker Larry Weinstein stages a wide range of performances in tribute to the compositions of Kurt Weill.
Brilliant portrait of the composer's elusive life with a huge array of his greatest works. "This sumptuously beautiful documentary... combines rare film of the composer, interviews with people who knew him, and spectacular performances of his music... Rich production values, exhaustive examination, adoring in its representations of his work." - The Montreal Gazette
A small-town orchestra and choir are the focus of this loving and humorous portrait. "Making Overtures" unveils the musician's passion for performance, their imaginative fund-raising methods and collective will to survive. This film includes a colorful cast of characters ranging from students to seniors, from business executives to hog farmers. Holding it all together is the outrageously flamboyant conductor who inspires everyone with his endless enthusiasm. "Making Overtures" reveals how an entire community us enriched by its orchestra.
