Occasional film critic for the
@globeandmail
. Writer-director. Huge Cameron Crowe fan. My first feature "I Like Movies" is out on VOD with more news to come.
step aside spielberg, there's a new fableman in town... it's the honour of my life to premiere my very first feature "I LIKE MOVIES" - a coming of age film about a deluded teenaged cinephile - at my 17th (!)
@TIFF_NET
. the film belongs to
@neetsaiah
and he is the best📼💿
The World Premiere of Chandler Levack’s (
@clevack
) debut, I LIKE MOVIES, follows a self-obsessed teenager pursuing his dreams and testing relationships in suburban Ontario, with
@neetsaiah
, Romina D’Ugo, and
@MeKristaBridges
#TIFF22
when i think about filmmaking, I always think about this picture of agnes varda and her husband jacques demy, it’s the most romantic picture in the world
when
@realsarahpolley
wins her first oscar for "women talking," all of toronto should take to the streets and celebrate, just like when the raptors won.
fave films of 2017
1. lady bird
2. call me by your name
3. the disaster artist
4. BPM
5. okja
6. good time
7. faces places
8. the florida project
9. ingrid goes west
10. wexford plaza
don’t want to jinx it but it looks like we’re on track to make back our initial $125K telefilm talent to watch grant in canadian theatrical box office sales alone. thanks to everyone who’s seen “i like movies” in a theatre over the last month. it’s been amazing to share the film!
hi i'm making another coming of age movie, this is my indie sleaze montreal movie, produced w/ zapruder films and pat kiely. i can't wait. congrats to these brilliant canadian artists, i can't wait to see your work. thank you
@Telefilm_Canada
for the support!
NEW:
@Telefilm_Canada
reveals funding for 32 films (25 in English, 7 in French), under lower budget stream of 2023-24 production program. Includes new projects from
@clevack
(I LIKE MOVIES), Sanja Zivkovic (EASY LAND), Seth A. Smith (THE CRESCENT), Taylor Olson (BONE CAGE) & more
awed/amazed that “i like movies” is on
@Netflix_CA
and you can watch it right now. thank u to
@TIFF_NET
who started an amazing journey one year ago, forever grateful for helping our tiny pandemic movie find its audience. word of caution: don’t put this on before your tinder date!
my film is sold out! all three screenings sold out by 10:02 am. this is nuts. thank you to whoever is gonna come and see “i like movies,” can’t begin to process how incredible this is
@TIFF_NET
the technical and cinematic craftmanship in Barbie blew my mind. also it is fucking bizarre in the most joyful, delirious way. like a master’s thesis on feminism and capitalism by someone who stayed up all night doing ketamine. a truly visionary delight.
summer in toronto:
- lilac season
- trees smell like jizz
- tomatoes are delicious again
- my house is covered in fruit flies
- crushing despair that sets in at 7 pm everyday that can only be solved by drinking one craft beer in a park
- ugh the air show
- it's over
at long last we have a poster! designed by the incomparable dylan haley. we open march 10 in toronto, montreal, vancouver, winnipeg, ottawa, burlington and more via
@mongrelmedia
just wrapped my first feature film, shot for less than 200,000 in the middle of a pandemic. any film is a miracle, this truly was, a million thanks to my badass producer
@lindsaysonline
who is the most courageous and resourceful person i have ever met. what a triumph!
these pictures my dad took of the burlington silvercity marquee where i literally SAW MEAN GIRLS AND TITANIC are making me teary. everything significant that ever happened to me as a young adult happened at this theatre. i can't believe my film is playing there. cc:
@MongrelMedia
thanks to everyone across canada who watched
#ilikemovies
this weekend! we were the number one movie at
@TIFF_NET
, which is totally wild. very grateful for the folks coming out to see our tiny film in theatres. here is a picture of my elderly dog who is in the film.
watched "zola" last nite. in awe of janicza bravo's direction - the childlike score, the 2015 iphone titles, the twitter app sound design, the glitter and 16mm grime, the way she directed her actors on the verge of grotesque but never over. absolute confidence. masterful.
everyone give a hearty congratulations to
@simonesmithedit
who won her second canadian screen award for “best editing” for “i like movies!” such joy!!!
lawrence is finally getting the US validation he is dying for! “i like movies” goes on a US tour next month with dates in New York, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver WA… Chicago to be announced soon. please help spread the word and thank you to
@Visitfilms
❤️❤️
"i like movies" is out today on VOD - if you missed it in theatres, you can officially rent it or buy it across canada via itunes, amazon prime, google play, or here via
@TIFF_NET
on the plane… watched the man next to me nearly select my film on the in flight entertainment system only to put on “john wick: chapter four.” he is eating airport sushi at 9 am. i love it. i am living my dream.
i'm shooting my 2nd feature this summer in montreal w/ an amazing team. it's a love letter to mile end circa 2011. thank u to
@Telefilm_Canada
&
@la_SODEC
for the support & to my producers matt miller, pat kiely & julie grouleau! see u at the loft party
holy cow we are in the top 10 of 2023 movies on
@letterboxd
! this is so cool, thanks for supporting “i like movies!” i just found out we got extended for another week
@TIFF_NET
and the fox, so hope you can come out if you haven’t seen it yet!
Ari Aster describes ‘BEAU IS AFRAID’ as “epic.”
“Every detail has a detail inside of it. It’s like a Jewish ‘Lord of the Rings’ but he’s just going to his mom’s house. I wanna put you in the experience of being a loser.”
if i don’t get to write for the
@edgarwright
scott pilgrim anime, i will die. if you want someone who literally lived, laughed and loved through the toronto early aughts indie rock scene… i am ur humble servant.
my nana died wednesday. she was my favourite person in the world. she went into the hospital a month ago and slowly stopped speaking and eating. on wednesday, i saw her take her last breaths. everything that’s brave and insane about me comes from her. rest in power gemma fischer.
deeply honoured to be part of
@TIFF_NET
's canada's top ten selection this year, a list with a storied tradition that embodies so much canadian cinematic greatness. we will screen the film again in late january at the TIFF bell lightbox. lawrence will never leave us!
#SeeTheNorth
The feature debut from Toronto’s Chandler Levack (
@clevack
), I LIKE MOVIES is a funny and empathetic look at a film-obsessed teenager pursuing his dreams and testing personal connections in early-2000s suburban Ontario. The film had its World Premiere at
#TIFF22
.
#SeeTheNorth
today’s the last day “i like movies” will play at
@TIFF_NET
, we had a wonderful run starting with our festival debut and ending with me and
@realsarahpolley
’s posters under this vent - the movie will continue to play in toronto at the fox and the immortal carlton cinemas 🥰😭📹
today is the last day
#ilikemovies
will play in a toronto movie theatre - at the
@RevueCinema
4 pm, carlton cinema 7:15 pm and 9 pm. thank you for a beautiful run toronto, we'll be on VOD June 5th! xoxoxoxo
@MongrelMedia
one easy way to support canadian cinema is buy a ticket for a canadian film even if you're there to see something else. it makes a world of difference, esp. opening weekend. buy tix for "blackberry," go see "into the spiderverse 2" = victimless crime.
let the generosity, kindness and joy of
@realsarahpolley
has demonstrated during her oscar campaign be an example to us all - downtown toronto parade float when?!
Always dignified under pressure... Dear God. I had one job. Look classy. I did this instead.
(Let me take this opportunity to tell you that you need to see the incredible "I Like Movies" by Chandler Levack. And the transformative "Brother" by Clement Virgo.)
on may 15 and 16, the
@RevueCinema
programmed "i like movies" with two of my favourite films of all time -
@edgarwright
's "scott pilgrim's vs. the world" and
@realsarahpolley
's "take this waltz." utterly verklempt. we're coming back toronto for another week-long run! woo hoo!
@realsarahpolley
SARAH!!! TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR BUSY SCHEDULE TO PROMOTE MY FILM?!?! I CAN'T WAIT TO RUN AROUND WINNIPEG SCREAMING MY HEAD OFF AFTER YOU WIN AN OSCAR THIS WEEKEND! ALL-CAPS BECAUSE I LOVE AND APPRECIATE U SO MUCH, WE ALL DO! YOU ARE A NATIONAL TREASURE AND INSPIRATION TO US ALL!
great news!
#ilikemovies
has been extended for another week at the carlton cinemas, so you can still see it for one last week in T.O.! i'll be in montreal on april 13 to do an in-person Q&A with composer
@masstolight
at cinema moderne, tix available here:
truly grateful to
@Telefilm_Canada
’s talent to watch program and
@TIFF_NET
for letting this absolutely insane development happen in my career and to all the artists who lent their talents to “i like movies.” so excited to work with perry weitzner and nick hoagland at
@WM_ent
📹❤️
i got a grant today from
@Telefilm_Canada
to write and direct my first feature film through their Talent to Watch micro budget program and i am so grateful and excited to join the great tradition of dope canadian micro budget filmmakers
this time last year i was living with my dad, going to bed at 4 am, getting up at 4 pm, so unhappy with my life i could barely answer an email. now i'm getting up at 6 am every day on the set for my first feature. you can do anything if you surround yourself with positive people.
it's tough when ppl market canadian films as a moral obligation, like eating ur greens or drinking 8 glasses of water a day. we know from "bros" that guilting viewers doesn't work at the box office. there's terrific canadian films this year, how do u get canadians to watch them?
Great work from
@jacksonwweaver
on the harsh realities of Canadian filmmaking. Also, go see I Like Movies, Brother and Riceboy Sleeps. Not because making movies in Canada is hard, but because they're great! Each unique, pointed perspectives.
it was such an honour to talk to emma seligman about her incredible comedy "bottoms," the most accomplished second feature from a jewish filmmaker since spielberg made "jaws" - emma is an inspiration and a queer icon to us all!
i was a music critic from age 18-24 under the tutelage of dudes, dudes, dudes. it's what my next film is about. music criticism shaped my entire being but has gone extinct. sad to witness media mergers turning what was once a great american art form into sheer capitalism.
More great Canadian film news today: filmmaker (and regular
@GlobeArts
contributor)
@clevack
's debut feature I LIKE MOVIES has been picked up for Canadian distribution by
@MongrelMedia
.
The best films of 2023 are a mosaic of genres and themes from filmmakers new and old, creating a list that has something for everyone.
Here are Exclaim!'s Top 20 films of the year:
NEW: Fascinating 2023 Canadian box-office numbers in
@The_CMPA
's annual report, including good news: PAW PATROL sequel and BLACKBERRY helped lift Cdn films’ box-office revenue to $10.6M – highest level since 2014. Report also offers rare look at how much $ Cdn films actually make
writer-director
@stellamink
has made 4 features in 4 years, in hollywood! she's from toronto and loves spike lee & nancy meyers in equal measure. loved talking to her about her wonderful romantic drama "the photograph.' i want a new meghie movie every year
"i like movies" is only playing at
@TIFF_NET
'till thursday! don't miss your chance to see the movie
@letterboxd
users are calling "literally me for real"
the discourse around 'don't worry darling' is irresistible but I'm *slightly worried* we are creating a horrible backlash around one of like, 5 female directors who've been allowed to make an $20 million original studio movie in the last 10 years?
a 13 year old boy on a bmx just hit on me in the park and said “he’s seen me around” and asked what grade i was in. i was like “sorry but i’m a 32 year old woman.” then his friend cruised by and said “my friend likes you!” and he biked away embarrassed. i’m thrilled/so confused!
my two fave
@letterboxd
reviews of "i like movies" so far are "lady bird for losers" and "it's like licorice pizza for people who want to kill themselves" 😍🥰💿
thank
@CIFFcalgary
for this incredible honour amongst 12 brilliant films! i literally put this amount - my life savings - into the film so we could afford a set with 4 walls, it’s incredible to have this vote of confidence in my voice. a hearty cheers to
@lindsaysonline
too!
We're excited to announce the $10,000
@RBC
Emerging Canadian Artist Award Grand Jury Prize winner is... Chandler Levack, I LIKE MOVIES!
See the encore screenings September 28, 4:45 PM at Cineplex Eau Claire and October 1, 6:15 PM at Cineplex Eau Claire.
the brilliant
@JewelStaite
talks about the role she was born to play: a cigar-smoking detective chasing down mobsters! can't wait to see this beautiful genius october 1st
@RioTheatre
during
@VIFFest
's all-female live read of "some like it hot!" tix here:
We also wanted to shout out some Canadian films that don’t have a physical release, and should! Let’s manifest some nice editions of some of these gems before Brendan’s list gets any longer.
#CanFilmDay
#physicalmedia
#videostore
still recovering from the time i did a zoom call in my house with an exec from LA who asked me if i was on set and calling from my trailer and i had to respond... "no this is my apartment. it just looks like a trailer."
i interviewed andy rourke once for EYE where he confirmed the story of morrissey firing him as the bass player of the smiths with a post-it on the dashboard of his car. after it was published, morrissey WROTE EYE AN EMAIL saying "mr. levack has no clue." those were the days. RIP.