'Before I speak, I have something important to say.'

I assume a few of you are curious as to the origins of this blog's title, 'Kino-Eye'. Perhaps a few of the more clever students out there have already deciphered this cryptic phrase. If so, well done - your prize is the satisfaction of knowing that you truly are a film geek (and possibly a communist as well). For the rest of you, the answer is maybe more mundane than you might have hoped. 'Kino-Eye' is simply the name of a movie I happen to enjoy, by a director whose name I feel more sophisticated just by pronouncing, Dziga Vertov.

A friend of mine - himself a director - originally alerted me to the Soviet Dziga Vertov, specifically Vertov's film 'Man With A Movie Camera'. An amazing work, but a little too cumbersome to be the title of a blog. I opted instead for the title of one of Vertov's earlier works, 'Kino Glaz' ('Kino Eye'). It has a nice ring to it. More to the point, it allows us to imagine that we are that eye, redirecting the gaze of cinema (narcissistically, perhaps) back upon itself - in this case, the Toronto film scene.

But I think Vertov himself said it best:

"I am the eye. I am a mechanical eye. I, a machine, am showing you a world, the likes of which only I can see... My road is towards the creation of a fresh perception of the world. Thus I decipher in a new way the world unknown to you."

(Many thanks to my friend Kohei for supplying me with the quote.)

I don't pretend to possess the qualifications to write at length about early avant-garde Soviet cinema, but I will say that I find it immensely fascinating that some of the most innovative films ever committed to celluloid were produced under the watch of the 'Man of Steel', Joseph Stalin. But then again, it might not be so bizarre. 'Casablanca' is nothing if not a paean to America's Free-French allies during the Second World War. And of course, there is Akira Kurosawa's first feature, 'Sanshiro Sugata', itself intended by his producers to instill in a war-time Japanese audience the correct sense of 'Yamato damashii'. Perhaps the relationship between the (totalitarian) state and art is more symbiotic than we would like to believe.

If you're curious about this Vertov fellow, or maybe are in need of some time to kill while you should be working on an essay (and if so, shame on you), then head on over to Google Video where you can watch the entirety of 'Kino Glaz' for free (along with, as I've just discovered, a slew of classic Chinese films from the Nationalist period). Too lazy to search the site yourself? All right. Here's the link. Happy?

(With many thanks to Groucho M. for supplying the title to this post.)

"All you need for a blog is a gun and a girl."

You have to be asking yourself: Does the world need yet another blog? And one on film at that?

Well, for starters, this blog won't be a place for me to wax idiotic about the latest flick I caught at the bijou. There are enough sites out there lending a critical eye to world cinema, written by people far more qualified to do so than myself, to justify adding one more to their ranks.

Then on what will Kino-Eye focus? Toronto's film scene. What do I mean by that? Well, it will include postings regarding...

• revue theatres (a dying breed)


• upcoming film festivals of all sizes (including calls for submissions)


• listings for film screenings


• meetings of local film clubs or associations


• interviews with local film makers, video artists, programmers, film critics, or anyone else even remotely connected to the local film scene


• talks by (local) film makers and scholars


• student-run film projects


• the launch of new film-related publications


• film-related contests and events


• anything else related to film happening in the greater Toronto area. (And I mean anything - from the latest offering at the Royal to whatever Reg Hart happens to be showing in his living room on a Thursday night.)

But the question remains: for whom is this blog intended? Generally speaking, anyone. More precisely, students. Perhaps I'm just projecting my own interests onto my peers, but I believe the majority of students at the University of Toronto, York, Ryerson, and OCAD genuinely enjoy watching films (films from the grindhouse, the arthouse, and anything in-between). Unfortunately, many are simply unaware that there is a world beyond the multiplex and Blockbuster. It's amazing how many students aren't even aware of Cinematheque - and that's pretty mainstream. This blog is for those students, the ones who have grown tired of the impersonal film-going experience dished out by places like the Scotiabank Theatre and who crave something more.

So how is this site going to work? Obviously, I can't do this on my own - I'm only one man, I need your help. So I encourage all of you to contribute to this blog. Send me interviews, articles, event listings, reviews of local cinemas or festivals, or anything else concerning Toronto's film scene. Ideally, I'll simply act as the editor of this site, posting the pieces you send me. So whether it's a heads-up concerning a screening you and your friends are having in your basement apartment, notification of the release of a new student-made film, or an in-depth interview with Bruce LaBruce (oh, do we dare to dream?), send it to me and I'll post it. It's that easy. This site will be what we make it.

So now you know what it's all about. Now it's your turn. Get your Jimmy Olsen on and hit up the cinemas, the video stores, the galleries, and the location shoots for the latest scoop. Then return here with your updates. To quote Ekin Cheng in the under-rated 1999 Hong Kong racing flick 'The Legend of Speed': "Sometimes you must step on the gas...and sometimes you must step on the brake. Now is the time to step on the gas."

Gun it!

(Many thanks to my friend Peter for designing the logo for Kino-Eye.)