Gemini glitterati in Richmond The term movie star doesn’t really fit well with English Canadian culture. (Quebeckers support their films, but the rest of us spend our dollars on American movies.) Though there are many outstanding Canadian movies, there is no real star system, which doesn’t help in a medium that relies on headliners for most of its ticket sales. If the term Canadian celebrity isn’t an oxymoron, it’s likely due to our female singers and the popularity of Canadian television shows. Most Canadians would probably recognize Don Cherry, Ron McLean, Peter Mansbridge, Rick Mercer, and the stars of Trailer Park Boys, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, and Corner Gas. In fact, the weekend-box-office record for a Canadian film is currently held by the recently released Trailer Park Boys: The Movie. The good news is that most of the Canadians we would recognize on the street are headed for Richmond’s River Rock Casino Resort. The fourth and final night of the 21st Annual Gemini Awards, the Canadian equivalent of the Emmys, will take place on Saturday afternoon (November 4) and will be broadcast on tape delay across Canada at 6:30 p.m. on Global. (The event is sold out.)Three nights of Geminis were held in Toronto in October. That leaves the winners of just 14 categories to be determined during the upcoming 60-minute television broadcast. Several locally shot programs are on the list of nominated shows, including Godiva’s, Da Vinci’s Inquest, Intelligence, Terminal City, The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess, Terry, and Global National With Kevin Newman. Nominees include Mansbridge, McLean, Mercer, Mary Walsh, Brent Butt, Brian Williams, Gabrielle Miller, Nicholas Campbell, Shawn Ashmore, and The Red Green Show’s Steve Smith. The musical guests are Rock Star: Supernova’s Lukas Rossi and Gilby Clarke. Terry McEvoy, who programs Canadian films for the Vancouver International Film Festival and is vice-chair of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, says we find it easier to relate to Canadian television shows than to Canadian movies. “I think we have more cultural affinity for TV shows,” he says. “Shows like Corner Gas and [This Hour Has] 22 Minutes, and even Da Vinci’s Inquest are distinctly Canadian. And although there is nothing inexpensive about most Canadian series, the fact is that Canadian movies are never going to have an easy time of it as long as the budgets are lower than the marketing costs of American films. It’s hard to sell up against an American movie but it’s easier to get Canadians to sit down and watch a television show, particularly if they can relate to the characters.” Ian Caddel Talk’n’view, times twoThis weekend’s two big fests—the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, on until Sunday (November 5), and the Amnesty International Film Festival, today until Sunday (November 2 to 5)—are offering more than just cushy seats in dark theatres. Programmers have breathed real life into the screen with a number of in-person events. At Cinemark Tinseltown, VAFF (www.vaff.org/) offers two biggies. First, on November 3, We So Funny features standup comic Tom Chin asking the question, When is politically incorrect humour funny and empowering, and when is it considered racist? Excerpts from two of the festival’s films, Mighty Warriors of Comedy and Vancouver filmmaker Nilesh Patel’s Brocket 99—Rockin’ the Country, will boost the discussion. And on November 4, Canadian Asian vs. Asian Canadian: Politically Correct Labels is a panel on hyphenation and identity moderated by social artist and facilitator Rupinder Sidhu (and including the Straight’s own Craig Takeuchi) following a double feature of Felix Cheng’s Canadian-Chinese and Anne-Marie Nakagawa’s NFB film, Between: Living in the Hyphen. Held at the Pacific Cinémathèque, all Amnesty International films are followed by a presentation by either the director or a special guest. (Details are at www.ticketstonight.ca/). Festival director Don Wright told the Straight he knows the topics of the films can be depressing and hopes the presentations “are one way of showing what people can do”. On November 4, Total Denial screens, a story about the successful fight against French and American oil and gas companies in Myanmar. Wright says he hopes this film will generate enthusiasm about political action here. Pieta Woolley