TORONTO, October 17, 2003 -- CineSiege, a juried showcase screening of outstanding productions by talented young filmmakers in York University’s Film & Video Department, comes to the big screen on October 29 at the Bloor Cinema.

CineSiege features seven short films made at York in the past year, selected by five leading lights of the Canadian film scene. Jurors were comic actor and screenwriter Eugene Levy (American Pie, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind); Toronto Sun film critic Liz Braun; music documentary director, producer and writer Larry Weinstein of Rhombus Media (The War Symphonies: Shostakovich against Stalin, Ravel’s Brain, Stormy Weather: The Music of Harold Arlen); feature film director Patricia Rozema (Mansfield Park, The White Room, I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing); and Geoff Pevere, the Toronto Star’s movie critic and co-host of "Reel to Real" on Rogers Television.

The CineSiege lineup will be announced at the screening. The winning films were chosen by the jury from a shortlist of 19 productions nominated from more than 90 films produced by second, third and fourth-year York students in 2002-2003.

The nominated films run the gamut from dramatic fiction to animation, experimental, music video and bio-documentary. Those chosen for CineSiege will be honoured for exceptional achievement in categories such as direction, writing, cinematography, sound and editing, as well as one production selected for overall excellence.

Jurors Braun, Pevere and Rozema will be on hand to introduce the CineSiege picks and explain why they were chosen.

CineSiege heralds the exciting new cinematic voices emerging from York University’s film and video department. Well-known as a springboard for some of Canada’s top film talent, the program’s alumni include cinematographers Paul Sarossy (Ararat, Felicia’s Journey, The Sweet Hereafter) and Mark Irwin (Me, Myself & Irene, There’s Something about Mary, Scanners); visual effects editor Tim Eaton (Back to the Future III, Men in Black, Forrest Gump); producers Bonnie Palef (Marvin’s Room, The Cemetery Club, Moonstruc) and Risa Shuman (TVO’s Saturday Night at the Movies); story editor Guy Mullaly (Highlander, Street Legal, Side Effects); Niv Fichman, Larry Weinstein and Barbara Willis Sweete of Rhombus Media (The Red Violin, Yo-Yo Ma: Inspired by Bach, Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould); documentary filmmaker and writer Karen Shopsowitz (My Father’s Camera); and director Bronwen Hughes (Stander, Forces of Nature, Kids in the Hall).

CineSiege plays one night only, Wed. Oct. 29 at 7:00 pm at the Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St. West. Admission is $5 at the door. For more information, call 416.736.5149 ext 22172.

Cinesiege was made possible through the generous support of Cinespace Film Studios.

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Media Contact:

Brigitte Kleer
Public Relations, Faculty of Fine Arts
York University
416 736 2100 ext 77143
bkleer@yorku.ca