IndieCan Entertainment have announced the release of three new films coming to Toronto this spring – Menorca, The Sandwich Nazi, and Mom and Me.

Menorca released at the Carlton Cinema on Friday, April 21. The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Whistler Film Festival. Claire, a suburban mother indulging in some good-natured hedonistic debauchery, receives word from her child that he is abandoning her as his mother. To win back his affection, she decides to carry a small rock half way around the world to its place of origin on a Mediterranean island. Along the way, she goes to work in a strange strip club on the edge of civilization where exotic dancers perform in an otherworldly space for abandoned souls just like her.

The Sandwich Nazi will be releasing at the Carlton Cinema on Friday, May 5th. The film had its world premiere at SXSW Film Festival in 2016 and was an official selection of Hot Docs 2015, VIFF 2015, and the winner of the Audience Award at CUFF.docs in 2015. Deli owner Salam Kahil is an art collector, a former male escort, an amateur musician, and a sandwich maker to the homeless in Vancouver’s poorest neighborhood but his true passion is talking about sex. THE SANDWICH NAZI follows Kahil as he struggles to come to terms with aging, failing health, and a past that forced him to flee his home in Lebanon as a child. Salam has suffered considerably at the hands of his family and when you combine that with the taxing relationships in which he may have engaged as a male escort, you might think that he would be driven to misanthropy. Yet, in something of a surprise twist, the man he has become loves people very deeply. It’s clear in every moment that we see him at the deli, that he gets so much joy out of the company of the people around him. Salam has managed to channel all of this pain from his youth into some of the funniest anecdotes and stories that you’ll ever hear. THE SANDWICH NAZI is about finding a new family when the one you’re born with doesn’t work out.

Mom and Me will be releasing at the Carlton Cinema on Friday, May 12th. The film had its world premiere at Hot Docs 2015 and was an official selection of Telluride Film Festival 2015. Oklahoma was recently voted the manliest state in the USA. Radio talk show host Joe Cristiano wants to investigate if the manliest men, in the manliest state in the Union, are willing to call in and discuss their mothers on air. Director Ken Wardrop (His and Hers) weaves an exquisitely sympathetic portrait of what mothers mean to their sons in this charming and touching lm, showing a vulnerable side of American masculinity that viewers rarely see. These men come from all walks of life, ranging from a war veteran and a prison inmate to a cowboy preacher and a district attorney. Their mothers are just as complicated: spunky, resilient, demanding, generous, and iconoclastic. As these mothers and sons ride horses, shoot guns, and discuss their deepest feelings, Wardrop’s compassionate observation reveals the universality that underlies this most particular relationship.

All films are screening or a limited run at the Carlton Cinema in Toronto – 20 Carlton Street.

INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT

From children’s bedtime stories to legendary folk tales, stories are central to our lives. They intrigue, inspire, and inform. A passion for stories compelled Avi Federgreen to extend his lifelong commitment as a film producer to distributing them as well, when in 2011 he launched IndieCan Entertainment. Federgreen’s goal is to give everyone the chance to experience those important stories, as well as the work that so painstakingly and passionately brings them to life on film. The founder of Federgreen Entertainment Inc. and Avi Ronn Productions Inc., he is dedicated to developing and distributing projects of the highest quality that maintain market appeal in the ever-changing and expanding world of film and television.

The focus of IndieCan Entertainment is independent films. As a distributor, Federgreen plans to follow the same principle that drives him as a filmmaker: give Canadians films that they want to watch. “Stories that affect people, that they talk about, that they recommend to their friends; those are the ones I want to bring to audiences across Canada.” But Federgreen knows very well that, while making films is one challenge, getting them seen is quite another. “There are more than 200 indie films made in Canada each year, less than 10% of which are distributed,” he says. “Many of them deserve an audience. First-time feature filmmakers are trying to establish a career, and if their work can’t be seen then it’s tough to get money for the next project.” The same goes for independent, low-budget international films; Federgreen wishes to give Canadian audiences the chance to experience the global sensibilities in these films and, in turn, the chance for the independent filmmakers creating them to showcase their work.

 

About the Author

Bryen Dunn is a freelance journalist with a focus on travel, lifestyle, entertainment, and hospitality. He has an extensive portfolio of celebrity interviews with musicians, actors, and other public personalities. He enjoys discovering delicious eats, tasting spirited treats, and being mesmerized by musical beats. Reach out - bryen@thebuzzmag.ca