PAST
PORTRAYALS OF SUICIDE: SHIFTING THE LENS
Presented by Rendezvous with Madness Film Festival and the NFB
NOVEMBER 8 | 7:00PM (Doors at 6:00PM)
The National Film Board of Canada Mediatheque
150 John St. (at Richmond St. W), Toronto
Admission is FREE*
Suicide is a leading cause of death in men ages 25 to 29 and 40 to 44, women ages 30 to 34, and the second cause of death among adolescents. The statistics are astounding and yet relatively unknown to the average Canadian as suicide is not something that is regularly covered in the media. Why? Because evidence suggests that extensive media reporting on suicide can trigger other suicides. However, evidence also suggests that in order to reduce and prevent suicide, the public needs to be made aware and the issues discussed. All of this therefore begs the question, how do we talk about suicide? Dr. Isaac Sakinofvsky, a psychiatrist and suicidologist, leads us in a dialogue with filmmakers, digital media creators and journalists as we discuss the role and responsibility of those who portray suicide in the media.
Discussion Moderated by:
James Fitzgerald, Journalist and Author of What Disturbs the Blood
With Panelists:
Dr. Isaac Sakinofsky, Psychiatrist and Suicidologist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health
Kathryn Threlkeld, Filmmaker of Burning Blossom
Alex Jansen, Creative Producer of The Next Day
Heather Sherman, Senior Producer, CTV News Channel
Jason Gilmore, Director of The Next Day
Liam Casey, Toronto Star Reporter
*Space is limited. RSVP to nfbmediathequeonf@nfb.ca
EXHIBITION
Members of the public are invited to experience The Next Day in the Mediatheque’s Interactive Lounge during our business hours:
November 4 & 5 | 12 PM – 10 PM
November 6 | 12 PM – 5 PM
November 8 | 12 PM – 7 PM
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SMALL PRESS OF TORONTO
JUNE 19 | 11:00AM-5:00PM
Hart House
7 Hart House Circle , Toronto
Admission is FREE
From Small Press of Toronto’s Website:
The first Toronto Small Press Book Fair, a much larger gathering, became an annual event in 1987, and a biannual event in the fall 1990…To date, approximately 1,000 small to medium-size presses from across Toronto, the GTA, the province, and the country have participated in at least one of our Fairs. The Fair has become an integral part of Ontario’s literary community and is a greatly-anticipated part of the literary seasonal calendar.
Readings by small press poets and fiction writers continue to be an important element of the Fair. Workshops are also an integral element to what the Fair offers both for our collective members and for the public.
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TORONTO BOOK LAUNCH & EXHIBITION OPENING
MAY 3 | 7:00 PM
Exhibition is Ongoing
The National Film Board of Canada Mediatheque
150 John St. (at Richmond St. W), Toronto
Doors open at 7:00; Event starts at 7:30
Admission is FREE
This Is Not A Reading Series hosts a free intimate discussion with the entire creative team behind The Next Day, including indy-comics star John Porcellino (“Porcellino creates some of the most thoughtful, intelligent and beautiful comix in America” – TIME). The hour long discussion will be followed by a reception, and will also mark the opening of an ongoing immersive exhibition of original artwork from the graphic novella as well as animations, soundscapes, projections and more from the upcoming interactive experience at the NFB Mediatheque in Toronto through late May.
Co-Presented by: The National Film Board, TVO, This Is Not A Reading Series, Hot Docs Documentary Festival, The Toronto Comic Arts Festival, The Canadian Mental Health Association, Raincoast Books and The Toronto Animated Image Society.
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ANIMATION DISCUSSION WITH THE TORONTO ANIMATED IMAGE SOCIETY
MAY 4 | 7:00PM
Toronto Animated Image Society (TAIS)
60 Atlantic Avenue, Suite 102, Toronto
Acclaimed cartoonist John Porcellino and animator Mathew den Boer will appear along with the creative team behind The Next Day at the Toronto Animated Image Society’s monthly meeting on Wednesday May 4th at 7:00pm.
Porcellino is Illustrator for The Next Day graphic novella, which releases is out now, while den Boer has created all animations for the interactive experience (which will release later in May). den Boer and Porcellino will discuss the process and challenges in creating original animations inspired by Porcellino’s drawings.
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THE TORONTO COMICS ART FESTIVAL
MAY 7 | 9:00AM-5PM
MAY 8 | 11:00AM-5:00PM
Toronto Reference Library
789 Yonge St, Toronto
Admission is FREE
Over 200 cartoonists from around the world convene to exhibit their art and book projects, to discuss and promote their work via panels and readings, and to interact with the public. The entire creative team will be guests of the Toronto Comics Art Festival, and John Porcellino is a Featured Guest for 2011.
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KINGSTON IN-STORE EVENT
MAY 9 | 7:00PM
4-Colour 8-Bit Comics & Games
346 Princess St., Kingston
Admission is FREE
US indie-comics pioneer John Porcellino and the entire creative team behind The Next Day graphic novella will be stopping by 4-Colour 8- Bit Comics & Games in Kingston to celebrate the book’s release on Monday May 9th at 7:00pm. The Next Day is ripe with Kingston connections. It is co-written by Kingston area resident Paul Peterson and Queen’s alumnus Jason Gilmore, and produced by Alex Jansen who is founder of the Kingston Canadian Film Festival. The book is illustrated by acclaimed cartoonist John Porcellino (“Porcellino creates some of the most thoughtful, intelligent and beautiful comix in America” – TIME Magazine) and published by Pop Sandbox, the award-winning company behind KENK: A Graphic Portrait.
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MONTREAL BOOK LAUNCH
MAY 10 | 7:00PM
Librairie Drawn & Quarterly Bookstore
211 Bernard West, Montreal
Admission is FREE
Indie comics pioneer John Porcellino (King-Cat Comics, Map of My Heart) will be appearing along with the entire creative team behind The Next Day graphic novella at the book’s Montreal launch 7:00PM on Tuesday May 10th at the Drawn & Quarterly Bookstore.
This book launch will also include an advance look at the forthcoming interactive animated web documentary, which was developed simultaneously with the National Film Board of Canada (ONF) in association with TVO as part of the NFB-TVO Calling Card Program.
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COMICS & MEDICINE: THE SEQUENTIAL ART OF ILLNESS
JUNE 9-11 | Various events and times. View schedule.
Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine
350-375 East Chicago Ave. Chicago, Illinois
Registration information can be found here
In the presentation, The Next Day: Drawing from Interviews with Suicide Survivors, indie-comics pioneer John Porcellino will discuss his relationship with depression as well as his recent collaboration on the The Next Day graphic novella, which is built from interviews with survivors of near-fatal suicide attempts.
Over the past 20 years, John Porcellino has often openly addressed his lifelong struggles with depression in his acclaimed self-published and predominantly autobiographical minicomics series, King-Cat Comics.
From Comics & Medicine:
Programs in medical humanities have long touted the benefits of reading literature and studying visual art in the medical setting, but the use of comics in healthcare practice and education is relatively new. The melding of text and image has much to offer all members of the healthcare team, including patients and families. As such, a subgenre of graphic narrative known as Graphic Medicine is emerging as a field of interest to both scholars and creators of comics. This second international interdisciplinary conference aims to explore the past, present, and possible future of the genre known as Graphic Medicine in the context of the healthcare experience.
We envision this gathering as a collaboration among humanities scholars, comics scholars, comics creators, healthcare professionals, and comics enthusiasts. Keynote speakers include Scott McCloud (Understanding Comics, and Making Comics), David Small (Stitches), Phoebe Gloeckner, (A Child’s Life and Other Stories and Diary of a Teenage Girl) and Paul Gravett(Graphic Novels: Everything You Need to Know).
This event is co-sponsored by the Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, the Department of Humanities at Penn State College of Medicine, and the Science, Technology and Society Program of Penn State University, and is supported by a grant from Jean Schulz.
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NXNEi PANEL: THE TECHNICAL OF TRANSMEDIA
JUNE 18 | 10:45 – 11:45 AM
The Hyatt Regency
Room A
370 King Street West, Toronto
The Next Day team member and Pop Sandbox Publisher, Alex Jansen is a panellist on this presentation that is a part of NXNEi.
About the presentation:
The term and genre of ‘Transmedia’ has quickly become a buzz word which, while often spoken about conceptually and creatively hasn’t been properly explained from a technical or production perspective. In this panel, the process and tactics of delivering highly engaged flash narrative experiences will be explored along with strategic learning gained through specific case studies.
The Next Day 