July 30 to August 5

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USA. 2009. Dir.: Gerald Peary. Digital projection. 80 min.

www.fortheloveofmovies.net
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For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism is the first documentary to dramatize the rich saga of American movie reviewing. Directed by The Boston Phoenix critic, Gerald Peary, “For the Love of Movies” offers an insider’s view of the critics’ profession, with commentary from America’s best-regarded reviewers, Roger Ebert (The Chicago Sun-Times), A.O. Scott (The New York Times), Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly), Kenneth Turan (The Los Angeles Times)

We also hear from young, articulate, Internet voices, including Harry Knowles (aintitcoolnews.com) and Karina Longworth (spout.com). Their stories are entertaining, humorous, and personal. Those who hear them may gain new respect for the film critic profession, knowing the faces and voices, and also the history. From the raw beginnings of criticism before The Birth of a Nation to the incendiary Pauline Kael-Andrew Sarris debates of the 1960s and 70s to the battle today between youthful on-liners and the print establishment, this documentary tells all. With narration by Patricia Clarkson.

“Peary spent nearly a decade making “For the Love of Movies,” working with producer Amy Geller to examine the history and future of film criticism. The doc, popular on the festival circuit for months now, has just opened in movie theaters in San Francisco and Boston, with more dates to come.”
– INDIEWIRE

“…the film, which offers an excellent history of American film criticism, also serves as a valentine to a vanishing profession…”
– VARIETY

“…For the Love of Movies offers a concise, entertaining account of mass-market movie criticism, and I think a lot of universities would want to use it in film and journalism courses.”
– FILM ART

“For the movie aficionado, the rare opportunity to see some of these giants discussing their work alone makes this film a treasure…”
– CAPE COD TIMES

“…not only packed with interviews…it is also loaded with film clips; this is a real movie lover’s movie.”
– SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE


For the screenings of FOR THE LOVE OF MOVIES, we have invited film critics from Montreal to introduce the film.

Friday July 30th
and Monday August 2nd at 7pm: André Lavoie
André Lavoie holds a Masters in Film Studies from the University of Montreal. He has been working as a film critic for Le Devoir since 1998 and at the Mediafilm news agency since 2003. For the last few months, he has been a researcher in the archives of Radio-Canada for the new variety show Les enfants de la télé.

Saturday July 31st at 7pm: Matthew Hays
Matthew Hays is a Canadian film critic, writer, film festival programmer and academic. He teaches courses in film studies, journalism and communication studies at Concordia University in Montreal, and has been a film critic for the Montreal Mirror since 1993. His articles have also appeared in The Globe and Mail, The Guardian, The New York Times and The Advocate, and he served as a programmer for the Toronto International Film Festival in 2008 and 2009. His book, The View from Here: Conversations with Gay and Lesbian Filmmakers, won a 2008 Lambda Literary Award.

Tuesday August 3rd at 7pm: Daniel Racine
Since 1996 he has been hosting over 2000 cinema workshops at the ONF, both in documentary and animation techniques. Daniel Racine is also the host and producer of the show CINÉFIX broadcast on CIBL 101.5 FM (where he was voted host of the year in 2010), film critic (member of the AQCC), blogger and speaker on Quebec cinema.

Original English version

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