Melora Koepke

Delicate Essence: Jean-Pierre Jeunet finds his muse for Micmacs à tire-larigot Bienvenue chez Les Ch’tis was a monster hit in Canada and the United States, bringing French comedy films back into the limelight – though some might say that Ch’tis, though undeniably hilarious, was rather broad, and that indeed, France has a subtler and richer […]

Earth Angel: Vincenzo Natali’s Splice explores potentialities of our genetic future Splice, Toronto director Vincenzo Natali’s (Cube) more-than-a-decade-in-the-making film about the near-future of genetic engineering, is by far the best Canadian film this year, and possibly the best sci-fi monster movie since Aliens. Though, in Natali’s words, it’s more like “a monster movie spliced with […]

“They don’t give you much in terms of nutrition,” shrugs Noland Johnson as he pulls down a tall frond of ocotillo and hands me its small scarlet buds. “But if you’re out walking in the desert and it’s really hot, they’re nice and refreshing.” Sure enough, when I put the bud on my tongue, I […]

Socalled Life: Filmaker Garry Beitel takes a kaleidoscopic approach to Josh Dolgin in The Socalled Movie It sounded like a great idea for a documentary: In 2007, the Montreal rapper and producer Socalled, a.k.a. Josh Dolgin, along with his parents, organized a klezmer/heritage cruise down the Dnieper River from Kiev to Odessa. On the chartered […]

Francis Ford Coppola’s most famous scenes may be set in New York, but he’s been a Californian since his days at UCLA. In 1972, when he started work on The Godfather, the director set up operations on Kearny Street in San Francisco’s North Beach neighbourhood. An acclaimed vintner and hotelier, Coppola also finds the time […]