The Parkdale Film & Video Showcase is an annual summer celebration of the artists and audiences who live and work in the eclectic Parkdale neighbourhood. Now in it’s 11th year, this compact 3-day festival is offers film and video screenings (some with live music and other performance elements), outdoor screenings under the stars (in the local Fuller Avenue parkette), video projection installations in local homes, youth workshops and other events.
Once Toronto’s “beachside playground”, Parkdale as a neighbourhood has weathered and continues to adapt to dramatic shifts in the cultural, ethnic and economic landscape of its residents, constantly going through a kind of “rehabilitation”. Parkdale remains at its heart a friendly and feisty neighbourhood, and it doesn’t matter how many fancy bars and Blockbusters infiltrate the area, the residents keep the neighbourhood grounded and artists of all kinds have always lived in and contributed to the wealth of the community.
This year we are pleased to present the world premiere of Parkdale and the Gladstone Hotel’s own Christina Zeidler’s latest film project. Entitled Show Me Yours: Nassau, the artist visited the homes of over 50 local residents and artists in a local neighbourhood of Nassau, Bahamas. A continuation of the film series of the same name (Show Me Yours: Toronto), this warm and delightful 60 minute 16mm film that gives one local neighbourhood a true glimpse into the hearts and homes of another (presented with live musical accompaniment).
We are also thrilled to be presenting a selection of Home Movies from the collection of Roberto Ariganello. The late filmmaker was an avid fan of small-gauge home movies and we are presenting a program of these films in a public launch of a fund established to preserve his film works and ephemera.
The Parkdale Film + Video Showcase is a rare dose of defiant and whimsical film and video that activates an exchange of all kinds of visual culture in the community, a send up of its talents and a hearty toast to its eccentricities. Our annual showcase is a meeting of cross-cultural neighbours with fringy as well as professional image-makers on a warm weekend in June—a microcosm of Toronto’s unique arts scene. PWYC (Pay What You Can) and family friendly.