July 6, 2010

A new generation of Quebec filmmakers captures a culture adrift

Young Québécois filmmakers are rejecting the commercially successful nostalgia movies of recent years in favour of suburban ennui, substance abuse, and suicide. Get ready to get gloomy! Still from 'Continental, un film sans fusil' (2008) directed by Stéphane Lafleur. The title of Quebec director Stéphane Lafleur’s Continental, un film sans fusil (Continental, A Film Without Guns) is not... [More >>]

May 1, 2009

Worth a Thousand Words?

Jillian Tamaki found that literary juries are still learning how to read graphic novels Jillian Tamaki Last year, on October 21, Jillian Tamaki got a phone call from her cousin, the Toronto-based writer-performer Mariko Tamaki. Their muchloved co-creation Skim had made history by becoming the first graphic novel nominated for a Governor General’s Award, in the Children’s Literature (Text)... [More >>]

April 28, 2009

HPV: A shot in the arm for boys

They’re often unwitting carriers of HPV, so why no vaccinations? Last November, the findings of the first study on boys and Gardasil — the vaccine that protects girls from four types of human papillomavirus — were released by pharmaceutical giant Merck. The good news is it works, preventing 90 percent of male HPV cases. The bad news is that Canada, unlike Australia and some European countries,... [More >>]