Take part in a stimulating weekend of film and discussion about the visual arts. The second annual Canadian Art Film Series features important documentaries and shorts on contemporary visual artists. Organized by Ann Webb.

Imaging the Artist: The Role of the Artist in Contemporary Culture. Genius, sage, joker, subversive, madman, outsider, aesthete, avant gardist, intellectual—the image of the artist in contemporary culture is an amalgam of types from history, literature, film and academia, each offering its own role to be played, its own art to be made.

Are artists held prisoner by these images? Do audiences misplace expectations because of them? What is the role of the artist? The as-yet-unwritten identities? Can we separate Pop from Warhol cool? Abstract Expressionism from Pollock intensity? The Vancouver School from Jeff Wall's aloof clarity?

CONVERSATIONS WITH GERHARD RICHTER—From Private Studio to Public Show
Two exceptional documentaries about the acclaimed artist Gerhard Richter open the film series. BBC presenter Melvyn Bragg gives us a rare glimpse inside Richter's studio. Featured filmmaker Michael Blackwood spotlights curator Robert Storr and the artist as they tour Richter's 2002 retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Michael Blackwood and Robert Storr will be present at the screenings.

7:00 pm Gerhard Richter (The South Bank Show, Granada, United Kingdom, 48', 2002)

8:30 pm Ron Martin (Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, Canada, 1.5', 2004)
Gerhard Richter: Four Decades (Michael Blackwood Productions, US, 58', 2002)

4:00 pm Vera Frenkel (Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, 2004)
Christo and Jeanne-Claude (Michael Blackwood Productions, US, 58', 1995)
Christo and Jeanne-Claude met in Paris in 1958 and so began an extraordinary adventure in art and a series of spectacular public art works around the world. We follow the indefatigable duo as they review all their main projects, from the small wrapped objects to the "Wrapped Reichstag" project, which took more than twenty years to realize — a landmark event in the history of both art and politics.

7:00 pm Robert Fones (Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, Canada, 1.5', 2004)
Worst Possible Illusion: The Curiosity Cabinet of Vik Muniz (Anne-Marie Russell, US, 42', 2003)
A Q&A with the director will follow.
One of the art world's rising young stars, the Brazilian artist invites viewers on a tour of his life, work and mind, taking us from his New York studio to his native Brazil. Using materials including Bosco chocolate, sugar, wire and thread, Muniz constructs works of art that fool the eye. We venture into the mind of the artist, capturing the thrill of creation, the mechanics of invention and the power of familiar images that Muniz taps to create his groundbreaking art.

8:30 pm Ed Burtynsky (Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, Canada, 1.5', 2004)
Gregory Crewdson: The Aesthetics of Repression (Michael Blackwood Productions, US, 58', 2005)
A leading figure in the world of photography who is inspired by cinema, Crewdson is interested in the psychology underlying the American suburban experience. We follow Crewdson behind the lens as he creates ten new highly charged images, each capturing the moment of tension central to his works. This screening is a world premiere.

1:00 to 3:00 pm
Moderated by Richard Rhodes, Editor, Canadian Art.

Panelists:
Myfanwy MacLeod is a Vancouver artist whose work has shown in major exhibitions across Canada as well as at the Biennale of Sydney.

Mark Kingwell is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto and a contributing editor of Harper's magazine.

Michael Blackwood is an independent New York filmmaker who has made more than 100 films specializing in art, architecture, music and dance.

Vera Frenkel is a Toronto-based artist currently engaged in a web-based project on the inner life of a dysfunctional cultural institution.

3:30 pm Roy Thomas (Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, Canada, 1.5', 2004)
Francis Bacon: The Brutality of Fact (Michael Blackwood Productions, US, 58', 1985)
In this classic film, shot in Bacon's London studio, the British painter discusses his work and approach with the critic David Sylvester, a close observer of Bacon's art since the late 1940s. They discuss Bacon's controversial subjects and his figurative style. In Bacon's view, his representations of the human figure are linked to the distorted realism of Van Gogh and Picasso, who also portrayed the intensity of life that Bacon calls "the brutality of fact."

5:00 pm Michael Snow (Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, Canada, 1.5', 2004)
Drawing out the Demons: A Film about the Artist Attila Richard Lukacs (David Vaisbord, Canada, 42', 2004)
A gritty and compelling examination of the extremes of artistic temperament, this raw and uncensored documentary tracks the dramatic career of Canadian painter Attila Richard Lukacs. We follow the artist through his personal journey of addiction to spiritual and creative renewal.

Schedule subject to change.

All screenings and the symposium at the ROYAL CINEMA, 608 College Street (six blocks west of Bathurst Street), Toronto.