Latest news with #EndlessCookie
CBC
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Endless Cookie is a psychedelic family portrait of two Canadian half-brothers
Imagine taking your favourite family memories and spinning them into a full-length movie. That's exactly what the Toronto filmmaker Seth Scriver has done with the animated documentary Endless Cookie, which he created over nine years with his half-brother Peter. Though Seth and Peter lead radically different lives (they're separated by age, culture and geography), they say making a movie brought them closer together. They join guest host Talia Schlanger to tell us how they bonded through filmmaking. Endless Cookie recently won the audience award for best Canadian documentary at Hot Docs. You can catch the film in select theatres now. The full interview with Seth and Peter Scriver is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts. Interview with Seth and Peter Scriver produced by Vanessa Greco.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Natalie Portman-Produced French Animated Film ‘Arco' Wins Annecy
Arco, a French animated feature about of unexpected friendship and the fate of a world impacted by climate change, has won the Cristal for best film at this year's Annecy film festival. The feature debut of famed French illustrator Ugo Bienvenu, which premiered in Cannes and counts Natalie Portman among its producers, follows Arco, a 10‑year‑old boy from the year 2932 who inadvertently travels back in time, via a rainbow, to 2075, where he encounters Iris, a young girl living through environmental collapse. Their burgeoning friendship becomes a tender yet urgent bond across time, rooted in innocence, curiosity and shared heartbreak. In her rave Hollywood Reporter review, Lovia Gyarkye called Arco 'a considered meditation on ecological disaster within the dulcet grooves of a charming story about adolescent friendship.' More from The Hollywood Reporter Shanghai Hidden Gem: 'Wild Nights, Tamed Beasts' Offers a Dark Twist on Growing Old Shanghai Fest Returns With Local Premiere of Zhang Ziyi's 'She's Got No Name,' AI Debates and a Lynch Retrospective Chinese Auteur Bi Gan Breaks Down 'Resurrection,' His Mesmerizing Ode to Cinema's Enigmas The top prize for the Contrechamp sidebar section went to Endless Cookie, a Canadian animated documentary from Seth and Pete Scriver, which premiered at Sundance. The lo-fi, often surreal feature explores Pete's memories of growing up as a First Nations person from Shamattawa, Manitoba, touching on topics ranging from the legacy of residential schools and corporate land exploitation to systemic incarceration, interspersed with funny and surreal interludes. Little Amélie or the Character of Rain, an adaptation of Amélie Nothomb's novel, directed by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, won Annecy's audience award for best feature. The Annecy film festival, which wrapped up with a gala awards ceremony Saturday night, has become a must-attend for the international animation industry, and a tastemaker for awards season. Last year's two big winners: Competition Cristal winner Memoir of a Snail and audience award winner Flow, both scored Oscar nominations, with Gints Zilbalodis' Flow winning the Academy Award for best animated feature. The competition jury prize went to ChaO, from Japanese director Yasuhiro Aoki, which imagines a chaotic future Shanghai populated by hybrid beings and shifting power dynamics. The Paul Grimault Award went to Momoko Seto's Dandelion's Odyssey, which premiered in Cannes Critics' Week, and follows a group of seeds as they journey across varied ecosystems, exploring the fragility and resilience of life. The Square, from South Korean director Bo-Sol Kim, which blends political commentary with experimental animation in its story of a Swedish diplomat in Pyongyang who begins a clandestine affair with a local traffic officer, took the jury prize of the Contrechamps section. The winners were announced at a gala ceremony in Annecy Saturday night. See the full list of 2025 Annecy Festival award winners below. CRISTAL FOR A FEATURE FILMArco, dir. Ugo Bienvenu, FranceJURY AWARDChaO, dir. Yasuhiro Aoki, JapanPAUL GRIMAULT AWARDDandelion's Odyssey, dir. Momoko Seto, France/BelgiumGAN FOUNDATION AWARD FOR DISTRIBUTIONOlivia and the Invisible Earthquake, dir. Irene Iborra Rizo, Spain/France/Belgium/Chile/SwitzerlandAUDIENCE AWARDLittle Amélie or the Character of Rain, dir. Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han, France CONTRECHAMP GRAND PRIXEndless Cookie, dir. Seth Scriver, Pete Scriver, CanadaCONTRECHAMP JURY AWARDThe Square, dir. Bo-Sol Kim, South Korea CRISTAL FOR A SHORT FILMThe Night Boots, dir. Pierre-Luc Granjon, FranceJURY AWARDLes Bêtes, dir. Michael Granberry, USAALEXEÏEFF–PARKER AWARDSappho, dir. Rosana Urbes, BrazilOFF‑LIMITS AWARDThe Graffiti, dir. Ryo Orikasa, JapanJEAN‑LUC XIBERRAS AWARD FOR A FIRST FILMZwermen, dir. Janneke Swinkels, Tim Frijsinger, Netherlands/BelgiumAUDIENCE AWARDThe Night Boots, dir. Pierre-Luc Granjon, France CRISTAL FOR A TV PRODUCTIONChristo The Civilized Barbarian: 'Hunting Party', dir. Shaddy Safadi, USAJURY AWARD FOR A TV SERIESLena's Farm: 'Volles Nest', dir. Elena Walf, GermanyJURY AWARD FOR A TV SPECIALAn Almost Christmas Story, dir. David Lowery, USAAUDIENCE AWARDFreaked Out: 'Major Decision', dir. Théo Grosjean, Mothy Richard, Belgium/France CRISTAL FOR A GRADUATION FILMZootrope, dir. Léna Martinez, FranceJURY AWARDBetween the Gaps, dir. Martin Bonnin, FranceLOTTE REINIGER AWARDQ, dir. Masataka Kihara, Japan CRISTAL FOR THE BEST VR WORKFragile Home FRANCE TV AWARD FOR A SHORT FILMPooya Afzali, for At Night SACEM AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK IN A SHORT FILMSebastian Hilli, for Dollhouse Elephant SACEM AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK IN A FEATURE FILMArnaud Toulon, for Arco PABLO PICO DISTINCTION – SACEM AWARD FOR BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK IN A FEATURE FILMJean L'Appeau, for Death Does Not Exist CANAL+ JUNIOR JURY AWARDNathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears, for Forevergreen YOUNG AUDIENCE AWARDFrancis Desharnais, for The Great Annual Party of the Creatures of the Moon ANDRÉ MARTIN AWARD FOR A FRENCH SHORT FILMPierre‑Luc Granjon, for The Night Boots FESTIVALS CONNEXION AWARD FOR A VR WORKOndřej Moravec, Victoria Lopukhina, for Fragile Home XPPEN AWARD FOR A GRADUATION FILMJiali Tan, Haoyuan Zhu, for Won't Be Here VIMEO STAFF PICK AWARD FOR A SHORT FILM IN THE OFFICIAL AND OFF‑LIMITS CATEGORIESMichael Granberry, for Les Bêtes CITY OF ANNECY AWARDJustice Rutikara, for Ibuka, Justice CITY OF ANNECY JURY SPECIAL DISTINCTIONNiko Radas, for Psychonauts ALL CATEGORIES CINEKID FOR PROFESSIONALS PRIZE The Star‑Child MIFA – BEST PERFORMANCE PRIZECrocodile Dance MIFA – ANIMATION DU MONDE PRIZESun Chaser FEATURE FILMS SACD PRIZEMaryam & Varto CICLIC PRIZE Saima – Scenes from a Midlife Crisis CRISTAL PUBLISHING PRIZEThe Northern Star TITRAFILM PRIZEThe Last of the Pebbles SHORT FILMS SACD PRIZEA Blue Monday ARTE FRANCE PRIZEKateryna CICLIC PRIZEHaan NEF ANIMATION PRIZE Very Flexible Girl FILMVÆRKSTED VIBORG PRIZE Where Is My Espresso? STUDIOS ALHAMBRA PRIZEEscucha El Río TV SERIES & SPECIALS DISNEY TELEVISION ANIMATION PRIZEPouic and Pica PRIX CICLICBrune TITRAFILM PRIZE Beasties STUDIOS ALHAMBRA PRIZE The Star‑Child DOCUMENTARIES EURODOC PRIZEOuch! DOK LEIPZIG PRIZEBlack Diaries TITRAFILM PRIZEErased CRISTAL PUBLISHING PRIZEOuch! BIPTV PRIZEPlaying House CICLIC PRIZERed Zone IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES WEIRD MARKET PRIZEDamned THE BOOSTER BY UNITED XR EUROPE PRIZEPoems of Life NEWIMAGES PRIZEThe Mother Tree ANIDOX XR RESIDENCY PRIZE DeMaré – A Sensory Journey to the Depths of the Ocean Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
CBC
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
How an Indigenous documentary captured the hearts of film festival attendees
Social Sharing Endless Cookie arrives in theatres this week, after charming audiences at film festivals all over North America. Canadians Seth and Peter Scriver created the animated documentary about their relationship as half-brothers, as Seth is white and Peter is Indigenous. Today on Commotion, Elamin Abdelmahmoud chats with Swampy Cree filmmaker Sonya Ballantyne and Cree author David A. Robertson about the power of the animation and non-linear storytelling in Endless Cookie, and how the film affected them. We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube: Elamin: [This documentary] does not have a linear narrative whatsoever. David, can you tell me a little bit about how it tells the story? David: There's definitely a lot of Indigenous elements to the storytelling here in this documentary. It's definitely an absurdist film — the experience of the characters, you see them in this non-sequitur way in various situations. If you look at the heart of Indigenous storytelling — what I've seen, especially with elders and knowledge keepers telling stories — is that it engages, first of all, multiple senses and emotions: you come in and out of the main points and themes, you leave something, go off on a tangent, but you always kind of come back to it, you always return to it to make this really profound point. And that's what this documentary does over and over again. It has these moments that you kind of leave — maybe you're interrupted by somebody flushing a toilet in the house somewhere — and then you come back midway through and you're back on this guy getting his hand stuck in a trap, and then you leave again. And it all leads into this really profound final point this documentary makes about storytelling, about knowledge keepers and about the relationship between the past and the present. So it is absurdist. It is non-linear. But it also is, I think, really a great example of the beauty of Indigenous storytelling. Elamin: This is also a documentary that doesn't shy away from hard things to talk about. Pete talks about his daughter who died by suicide. There are frequent references to residential schools. What did you think of the way that the documentary wove those stories into the movie, Sonya? Sonya: I love to look at the Indigenous experiences as a pizza, and racism is like the pepperoni on that pizza. It's not the full experience of being Indigenous, but it's a large part of it. And I really love the way they presented [hard things], especially Pete's daughter's suicide. Despite the content, it is not presented in a sad way just because they're honouring her by remembering her, saying that she's riding her motorbike in heaven and stuff like that. It was just so touching for me to see because, in any other culture, suicide is talked about with such darkness and reverence, but here it's like, they just bring it up momentarily by saying, "Oh, yeah, this things I made for Jess when she took her life." And I was like, "What?" I just remember how that hits you. And then you see this beautiful little animation piece they make to honour her. And I'm like, "Oh, that was just so beautiful to see." And I love the way they still talk about her, like she's still around. I remember being so hesitant to watch the movie just because I was so turned off by the animation style. Like I was saying before we got on air, I demand beauty in my content. My father-in-law was repeatedly trying to get me to watch it, and I'm like, "I don't know if I want to watch it." But I was so glad when I was finally able to see it and just feel this connection. Despite the animation, I've never felt this seen in something as I felt in this one. And it just shows so much of my childhood and my background that I was like, "I really hope everybody gets to see this because it captures something of the heart of being Indigenous." And I hope a lot of people see it — or more people see it now that it's in theatres.
National Observer
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- National Observer
MOVIES: A probable blockbuster with a Canadian connection, an Indigenous fantasy, and a very modern romance
The biggest film this week is perfect for your kids and you, if you remember How to Train Your Dragon. It was a big animated hit 15 years ago and it's back, remade as a live action film. That's Dreamworks copying the success Disney has had with the technique. Their latest re-make, Lilo & Stitch, has been number one for three weeks and as you can read below there's a touch of irony there. Along with that not-insignificant Canadian connection. Want something more substantial? I've written about the upsurge of films by and about Indigenous Canadians several times and this is a good time to mention it again. Two that I reviewed at festivals are now widely available. A third is coming. So Surreal: Behind the Masks is about efforts in BC to bring home ceremonial masks that were taken, sold and drifted into the hands of surreal artists in France. CBC and CBC GEM is showing it. Angela's Shadow, by filmmaker and academic Jules Koostachin, is a drama about a woman who visits her ancestral Cree community and has to turn to illegal ceremonies and medicine to protect herself from a dark figure, a mean-spirited husband and the effects of colonialism. The film will be in select theaters starting next week. And also next week, there's The Salmon's Call, Joy Haskell's documentary about the vital role that fish has in Indigenous culture on the West Coast. The film will be in theaters and I'll review it next week. This week I include another Indigenous film, Endless Cookie. It's quirky, entertaining and animated. And these ... How to Train Your Dragon: 3 stars Endless Cookie: 3 ½ The Life of Chuck: 3 ½ The Materialists: 4 HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: If you haven't seen the much-loved original film from 10 years ago or its two sequels this will all be new to you and probably also a delight. If you have seen them, this will be mostly a repeat, the same story followed very closely, nothing much added but not in animation anymore, in live action, filmed in Ireland. Gerard Butler is back in body as well as voice as the Viking chief Stoick whose island has been pestered by dragons forever. Mason Thames plays his son Hiccup (officially Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III) who can't meet his dad's expectations as a dragon killer and in fact becomes the opposite. He befriends a young Black Fury, treats him like a pet, flies on him and takes a girl (Nico Parker) from his training class in dragon-killing on a soaring flight in the skies. It's good fun for them and for us too delivered with fine visual effects created mostly in India, but Montreal too. It's got a bigger meaning though. Hiccup is demonstrating that dragons have been maligned and misrepresented. When Stoick argues 'They've killed hundreds of us,' Hiccup replies 'And we've killed thousands of them.' He's come to understand that they're only defending themselves. He argues for acceptance, a very necessary sentiment anytime, especially these days. That and a young man trying to meet the demands of his father are the deeper themes here. They're well-presented by director Dean DeBlois, who was born in Quebec, directed the three previous films, got Oscar nominations for them and in a bit of irony also created the original Lilo & Stitch, which Disney has just remade from animation into live action. It's huge at the box office right now and probably something of a competitor though Dragon is heading big also. (In theaters) 3 out of 5 ENDLESS COOKIE: This is not your usual Indigenous film. Sure it includes the grinding issues: land usurped, culture diminished, residential schools, the RCMP, but does it in a most unexpected way. First of all it's animated (in a rough and lively style) and it gets across its attitudes (some of them very harsh) in a series of entertaining stories. They're told by a pair of brothers, half brothers Peter Scriver and Seth Scriver, one Indigenous, the other white, one a great storyteller, the other recording him and leading the filmmaking. And first securing a government grant to make a film he describes as 'funny, beautiful, spiritual, political, complex, simple and true.' It is all that. Peter casually rambles here and there in telling his stories. The time he got his own hand caught in an animal trap he was setting takes several revisits to finish. His owl story, attracting one and then not able to get rid if it, is funny. An RCMP encounter, when a nut dropped on a cop car by a squirrel is heard as a gun shot, is both funny and scary. The film answers back subtly by twisting the RCMP motto into Justicia et Contritum Est Ratio Racist. Funny (trying to get free pizza in Toronto, household noise vs sound recording) is side by side with protest (prison numbers compared to whites, historical pressure to give up land). At the same time there's a quirky view of life on a reserve and a clear statement of pride . 'They say that the ancient ways, ancient knowledge, is sleeping within us and will awaken someday.' (In theaters now and sure to be again, as at The Rio in Vancouver, on National Indigenous Peoples Day Saturday, June 21.) 3 ½ out of 5 THE LIFE OF CHUCK: What this film is about isn't exactly clear although it is a treat to watch. It's directed by Mike Flanagan from a fanciful story by Stephen King and there's definitely a call to embrace life, accept death and enjoy all the unknowns around you in the universe. Characters say that but how it relates to the central character, an accountant played by Tom Hiddleston, is obscure. We first see him on his deathbed, then, at various earlier stages in his life. Vancouver's Jacob Tremblay plays him as a teenager. A teacher (Chiwetel Ejiofor) interprets a line from Walt Whitman to say that inside his head there are "multitudes", i.e. the whole world, everything he's learned. He feels special. His grandfather, played by Mark Hamill, tells him that mathematics is what's most important. "Mathematics is truth." He becomes an accountant. Carl Sagan on TV says if all human history were represented on a calendar it would be just 10 seconds long. He's moved to make the most of his life. That includes visiting his ex-wife (Karen Gillan) and in two sparkling sequences showing his talent for dancing which he learned from his grandmother (Mia Sara). Meanwhile, street banners, posters and TV ads appear repeatedly saying Thanks Chuck, for 39 great years. Nobody knows who he is. And there's chaos: there are power failures, wildfires, the internet dies. How does all that fit together? Not sure. It highlights moments and they're memorable. The film was voted most popular at the Toronto International Film Festival. (In theaters) 3 ½ out of 5 MATERIALISTS: Here's a modern romantic comedy that manages to be hip, witty and funny … and also come across relaxed and comfortable. A pretty good date movie, I'd say, unless there are tensions between you and the date. I say that only because there's a speech part way through that delivers an acerbic profile of a standard marriage. It's funny but way, way too real. Around it is a pleasant story about a woman (Dakota Johnson) who works as a matchmaker in New York. She connects people looking for dating partners with clients who fit their requirements exactly. Height, weight, personality, appearance, full head of hair, wealth, home décor, are all factors they consider, as well as 'intangibles.' The office celebrates when marriages result. It feels authentic but then the director, Celine Song, has experience doing that work before she turned to filmmaking. This is a follow-up to her Oscar-nominated Past Lives. Her matchmaker has a professional protocol for all of this and then the problems arrive. One client sues because the man she sent attacked her. Should she have known? She didn't detect any hint when she interviewed him and secretly regrets that. We watch her interview many others, usually with editing that highlights the humorous side. And a more personal problem arrives. Pedro Pascal, as a party guest, chats her up, charms her like one of those matinee idols from decades ago and she's attracted right into bed. He'd be a perfect match for her but she's also still attracted to her ex boyfriend (Chris Evans). So who's best for her Mr. Suave or Mr. Spontaneous? Mr. Rich or Mr. Poor? Finding the answer to that question gives us a bright and smart script, good and amiable acting and a lot of sharp observations about modern dating. A rom-com for adults. (in theaters) 4 out of 5
Winnipeg Free Press
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sweet bite of life
Animated documentaries are hardly new. The 2008 Oscar-nominated film Waltz with Bashir was a fine early example, a dark and compelling depiction of the 1982 war in Lebanon from the vantage point of director Ari Folman, whose fractured memories of the event suggest a PTSD-induced defence mechanism. Folman's animation was dramatic, dark and surreal, but it also served to put a indelible pictures to events that were largely erased from history. Endless Cookie Ontario Inc. The film bounces between Shamattawa in northern Manitoba and Toronto in the 1980s and '90s. A 'toon documentary in the mould of Endless Cookie, however, is something that feels new. Directed by half-brothers Seth and Peter Scriver, it's a freewheeling trip that bounces between the First Nations community of Shamattawa in northern Manitoba and Toronto in the 1980s and '90s, specifically zeroing in on the funky downtown neighbourhood of Kensington Market. Seth Scriver, who made the animated 2013 road movie Asphalt Watches, was inspired to make the film by his older brother Peter, whom Seth describes as one of the best storytellers in the world. The best storytellers don't always stay strictly true. So it is here, where we see Seth securing funding money from the NFG (it stands not for 'No f—-ing good,' Seth says). The NFB — National Film Board — did not finance the film. The cartoon Seth flies to Shamattawa and attempts to lay down the requisite clean audio track of Peter's various reminiscences. But because Peter shares a house with nine kids and a couple of dozen dogs, clean audio is a dream akin to world peace … or a Maple Leafs Stanley Cup win in our time. They abandon clean audio and a planned two-year timeline and go with the flow. The constant interruptions by the kids become part of the film's loosey-goosey texture. Indeed, the interruptions occasionally play front and centre, allowing Peter's offspring to shine on their own. Endless Cookie Ontario Inc. Peter Scriver travelled to Shamattawa to interview his brother Peter, but getting clean audio was impossible. The process of making the film, almost entirely animated by Seth, ultimately takes nine years. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. The key to understanding the film rests in the Kensington Market, where the brothers' dad operated a funky second-hand shop. This would seem to be the source of the film's hippy esthetic, not just pertaining to animation (reminiscent of underground comic artist Kim Deitch), but to the whole narrative thread, which proceeds in the desultory manner of a stoner on a constantly interrupted mission. And yet, a discipline is at work here. The Scrivers touch on serious themes, especially pertaining to injustices done to Indigenous people, but the tone stays philosophical, funny and affectionate. The two main locales, Shamattawa and Kensington Market, could not be more different. One is remote, one is urban, but they reflect off each other in interesting ways. Each has a cavalcade of colourful characters and each yields a stream of oft-hilarious stories. If a harmony exists between those two places, the film suggests, there is hope for the entire country. Endless Cookie Ontario Inc. It took nine years for Peter Scriver to animate the feature. Randall KingReporter In a way, Randall King was born into the entertainment beat. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
