showbiz

Underground fest spotlights new artists

Posted on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2008
by John Powell - Cineplex Entertainment

TUFF Festival

A scene from Linda Matarasso's 'Urban Zombies'.

Fancy galas and state-of-the-art movie theatres aren’t the only places to see movies during the Toronto International Film Festival. The Toronto Urban Film Festival (TUFF for short) is screening approximately 77 silent one-minute films on its website as well as 260 platform screens throughout the city's TTC stations.

The finalists will be judged by such notable celebrities as Robert Ouellette and Mark McKinney, with prizes that include a trip to Mexico, LCD screens, iPods and a dinner at the Drake Hotel with a notable filmmaker. Those chosen as part of the elite 77 also receive $150 per selected film, $75 for taking part in TUFF on the TTC and $75 for being a part of the website.

Linda Matarasso, last year’s winner of the Best in Category Award in the Big Smoke, Big Dreams Category for her film Rockstar, sees TUFF as an important way for talented and imaginative artists to publish and present their work to Toronto and, hopefully, the world.

“TUFF is really important to new filmmakers that don't have any money and don't have a voice,” she told Cineplex.com. “Anybody can see their films so it opens up opportunities anywhere in the world since there is also the online component and since the films are silent, their isn't a language barrier on any of the films so they become universal and open up people to new possibilities.”

TUFF Festival

Linda Matarasso's 'Urban Zombies'.

Matarasso’s new film Urban Zombies - which she describes as “a comment on the daily grind of living and working in the city” - screened last night at TUFF and she couldn’t be more proud of her work or her contribution to the festival.

“It was great to have my film screened at TUFF because I knew that it would never get the amount of people that could watch it on the TTC anywhere else. No regular film festival could say they had a viewing audience of a million people. It can be seen by any demographic. It was fun to ride the subway and see my film in the promos for the festival,” she said.

A photographer, makeup artist and filmmaker, the multi-talented Matarasso is currently working on a new short film called Homeless Yoga and dreams of one day being able to direct a feature film.

“I hope to make a feature at some point and I am considering doing a documentary if I can get the funding.”

  • TUFF runs from from September 5th to 12th. Viewers can watch the shorts and vote on a winner at http://www.torontourbanfilmfestival.com/index.html.

  • You can learn more about Linda Matarasso and her work at http://www.lindamatarasso.blogspot.com/.

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