The Pitch (Apr. 3 – April 9)

What is the divorce rate for fairy tale princesses?

Cinderella ties the knot with her prince, but the Israeli courts deny Viviane Amsalem a way out of her loveless marriage. This is not the case for Giuseppe Marinoni, who proves that a fairy tale life centred on his wife, his bicycles and the tomatoes in his garden is possible this week at the Civic.

Following on the recent trend of live action versions of classic fairy tales, Kenneth Branagh’s version of Cinderella (Rated G), like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Sam Rami’s Oz the Great and Powerful and Robert Stomberg’s Maleficent, updates and adds shades of complexity to their widely known respective source material. Be sure to bring your little prince and princesses to the Saturday afternoon screening for a royal ball at The Civic castle. Once Upon a Time: A Party for Princes and Princesses begins at 2pm. Meet some real life Nelson princesses!

The charismatic Giuseppe Marinoni has been making some of the most desirable bicycle frames in Canada for decades. Although his enterprise has grown over the years, he still seems happiest when welding a handmade frame. (The enduring joy this brings him is particularly impressive when you consider that he’s made 20 or 30 thousand of them in his lifetime.) A competitive cyclist in his youth, he decides, at age 75, to attempt a World Record for distance cycled in one hour for his age group. Giuseppe’s determination and perseverance lead him back to Italy for his training and, ultimately, his attempt at the record. Marinoni: The Fire in the Frame screens on Wednesday, April 8th.

It is no fairy tale for Viviane Amsalem, an Israeli woman seeking to finalize her divorce from her cruel and manipulative husband. In Israel there is neither civil marriage nor civil divorce; only rabbis can legalize a marriage or its dissolution, which is only possible with the husband’s full consent. Viviane has been applying for a divorce for three years but her husband Elisha, will not agree. His cold intransigence, Viviane’s determination to fight for her freedom, and the ambiguous role of the judges shape a procedure in which tragedy vies with absurdity, and where everything is brought out for judgment, apart from the initial request. Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem plays Thursday, April 9th. 100% on Rotten Tomatoes!

Do you take The Civic Theatre to be home to great cinema?

“I do.”

Jason.

Coming Soon: Get Hard, What We Do in the Shadows, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Youth Film Festival, Tiff’s Canada’s Top Ten Student Shorts.

[one_half]

Cinderella
Fri. Apr. 3 @ 7:00, Sat. Apr. 4 @ 2:00 & 7:00, Sun. Apr. 5 @ 4pm & 7:00, Mon. Apr. 5 @ 11am & 1:00, Tues. Apr. 6 @ 7:00[/one_half] [one_half_last]