Canadian Oscar-winning filmmaker draws from childhood for Elio, a tale about lonely boy's search for life in the universe
Domee Shi may have signed on to co-direct the new Pixar Animation Studios movie, Elio, about halfway through its lengthy production schedule, but it didn't take her long to identify with the film's protagonist.
Shi, who currently lives in California but spent most of her life in Toronto, co-directed the animated film with Madeline Sharafian after original director Adrian Molina amicably left the production to work on Pixar's Coco 2. (Shi, Sharafian and Molina are all credited as co-directors.)
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Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
What's up: Movie night, Jacques Demy, Islendingadagurinn, Pile x Ali Wan Kenobi, The Sadies, walking tour
SUPPLIED A double header of movies will be screened Fridays in August at Assiniboine Park's Lyric Theatre. SUPPLIED A double header of movies will be screened Fridays in August at Assiniboine Park's Lyric Theatre. Part of Assiniboine Park's summer entertainment series, Movie Night makes a return with its usual double bill of offerings during two time slots Fridays – an early showing at 6:30 p.m. and a late feature at 8:45 p.m. Kicking things off tomorrow is the animated classic The Lion King followed by Mufasa. The bill on Aug. 8 starts with Pixar's Inside Out 2, followed by Twilight. On the third Friday in August, the adorable Minions will take over the screens in Despicable Me 4, and the late feature is Thunderbolts*. The season ends with tearjerkers Wild Robot and Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande's Wicked on Aug. 22. Lyric Theatre's concession stand will be sell popcorn, ice-cream and other snacks. — AV Kitching The Winnipeg Art Gallery-Qaumajuq and the Winnipeg Film Group have teamed up for a rooftop screening series in August focusing on the vividly colourful, fantastical work of French New Wave filmmaker Jacques Demy. The mini-retrospective begins with 1964's The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, a whimsical, candy-coloured movie musical starring Catherine Deneuve as Genvieve, an umbrella-shop owner's daughter who falls in love with Guy, a handsome garage mechanic played by Nino Castelnuovo, only for him to be sent away to war. Scored by frequent collaborator Michel Legrand, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg won the Palme d'Or at the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, was nominated for five Academy Awards and made Deneuve a star. The series will continue with screenings of Donkey Skin (1970) on Aug. 15 and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967) on Aug. 29. Screenings start at 9:15 p.m. Note: these films are in French with English subtitles. — Jen Zoratti MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS 'Vikings' will demonstrate warfare tactics during the Icelandic Festival in Gimli on Saturday afternoon. MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS 'Vikings' will demonstrate warfare tactics during the Icelandic Festival in Gimli on Saturday afternoon. The 136th annual celebration Icelandic Festival of Manitoba, also known as Islendingadagurinn, takes place in Gimli this weekend with a four-day schedule featuring food, drink, music, art, special guests and various entertainment at venues throughout the lakeside community. Among events running all weekend are the midway and rides, Vingólf beverage gardens, the historically inspired viking village (including combat demonstrations), craft vendors, art displays and live music. For the wee ones there's plenty of children's entertainment and a petting zoo. Friday sees the festival's first VIP cocktail reception at Johnson Hall, featuring music from local and Icelandic musicians. Next to the water, the beach volleyball tournament and sand castle contest kick off on Saturday morning before local and visiting contestants undertake remarkable feats of strength at the fourth annual Magnus Classic strongman competition starting at noon at the foot of the viking statue. On the pier, the inaugural Islendinga-Derby fishing contest takes place from 1-4 p.m. If you're around later in the evening, a fireworks display happens at 10:30 p.m. over the harbour. Cheer on the runners in the annual one-mile, five-kilometre and 10-mile road races at 8 a.m. or enjoy the pancake breakfast that also gets going around that time. Check out the annual fris-nok tournament at noon, a locally created game where contestants throw a flying disc to try and knock a beer bottle off a post, and the Islendingadunk contest at 4 p.m., where contestants sit on a soapy pole over the harbour and try to knock their opponent into the water with a wet sponge-filled sack. Monday sees the annual parade get rolling at 10 a.m., with a number of activities continuing throughout the day, including the scholarship award presentation and traditional program in the afternoon featuring Icelandic President Halla Tómasdóttir. Admission to most events is free, with food and drink available for purchase throughout the festivities and ride tickets available at the midway. For a complete list of events and for more information see — Ben Sigurdson The mysterious local producer Ali Wan Kenobi has teamed up with local rapper Pile to release an EP, launching at Public Domain Friday. The mysterious local producer Ali Wan Kenobi has teamed up with local rapper Pile to release an EP, launching at Public Domain Friday. Ali Wan Kenobi keeps pumping it out. That's the monicker for the mysterious local producer who seems to put out a new mixtape of lo-fi house and hip hop every month or two. (Last we checked his bandcamp, he'd produced over 30 of such short albums since the pandemic.) But quantity doesn't always trump quality even when the former is in strong supply and Ali has long been immersed in the most experimental styles of Internet-centric 'boom bap' beats. For the second time in the past year, Ali has teamed up with a local rapper to produce a vocal-driven EP heralded by a release show at the Public Domain. Last time it was Dill, this time it's rapper-visual artist Pile, whose grit, rasp and wit brings to mind the early sounds of Tyler, the Creator. Despite obviously drawing heavily on samples in his beats, Ali tends to pepper his shows with live instrumentalists and singers. This one's no different, featuring a who's who of the local hip hop and R&B scene. —Conrad Sweatman Chris Young / The Canadian Press files The Sadies are one of the best live bands in the country. Chris Young / The Canadian Press files The Sadies are one of the best live bands in the country. The Sadies can't be stopped. The genre-spanning Toronto band returns to Winnipeg tonight with a show at Blue Note Park just over a year after their last sold-out show at the same outdoor venue. The band — Travis Good (guitar, fiddle mandolin, vocals), Sean Dean (bass) and Mike Belitsky (drums) — has continued touring as a trio following the unexpected death of founder vocalist-guitarist Dallas Good on Feb. 17, 2022 of a coronary condition. The group, which formed in 1994, remains a live force to be reckoned with, offering up a mix of old-school country and western, roots, bluegrass, garage rock and twangy surf during unpredictable sets that have been known to last as long as three hours. Opening the show is local bluegrass outfit the D. Rangers, which has continued as a quartet following the death of beloved fiddle player Don Zueff last October at the age of 73. — Rob Williams Walking tours are ingenious ways to learn a city, even one you think you know. Exercise plus knowledge equals time well spent, especially during Winnipeg's short but glorious summers. This tour takes history-hungry visitors on a trek from the Alloway Arch at The Forks to Dalnavert Museum (61 Carleton St.), the former home of Sir Hugh John Macdonald. Macdonald (1850-1929) is a former premier of Manitoba and the son of John A. Macdonald, Canada's First Prime Minister. Built in 1895, Dalnavert was converted into a museum in 1974 after a top to bottom restoration by the Manitoba Historical Society, including Victorian-era furnishings. The red-brick mansion is now considered one of the finest examples of Queen Anne Revival architecture in Western Canada. This 60-minute walking tour asks: what was life like for people in Winnipeg 100 years ago? In that era, Winnipeg was still being called the 'Gateway to the West' and 'Chicago of the North' but things were changing: the First World War, the Spanish flu pandemic and the 1919 General Strike had already happened and the 1929 Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression were on the horizon. But from the very beginning, Winnipeg's built landscape was shaped by classism and inequality. The tour explores Winnipeg's built landscape, what organizers are calling 'Winnipeg's roots and foundations,' from boom to bust to the present day. The Poverty and Prosperity walking tour is offered every Thursday and Saturday until Aug. 28. Dalnavert also offers a Homeland of the Red River Métis walking tour Aug. 8 at 1:30 p.m. that leaves from the museum. Tickets for this tour are $15 at (members pay $5). — Ariel Gordon
Vancouver Sun
05-07-2025
- Vancouver Sun
China's first Legoland opens to tourists in Shanghai
Thousands of local tourists poured into China's first-ever Legoland as it opened its gates in Shanghai on Saturday, the latest theme park hoping to capitalise on a domestic tourism boom. The Chinese branch of the British-owned theme park franchise is the biggest Legoland in the world. It drew in early customers who flocked to attractions including a miniature train ride and a dragon-themed rollercoaster. 'I personally love to play with Lego blocks and we have many sets at home… so I wanted to come to Legoland at the earliest opportunity,' said Shi, a 35-year-old resident of nearby city Hangzhou, who was visiting the park with his wife and child. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Despite the Chinese economy's sluggish growth in recent years, domestic tourist spending grew 18.6 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous year, according to statistics. 'Ever since the pandemic, I've made very few trips abroad,' said Shi, adding his family now travels to theme parks around China 'many times a year'. Eager Lego fans rushed into the park as soon as it opened, wearing themed shirts and waving branded flags as they enjoyed the 318,000-square-metre (78.5-acre) compound in scorching temperatures. Beijing has announced subsidies intended to make travelling within the country more affordable for Chinese citizens, and is pushing local governments to heavily market their attractions on social media. Companies have taken note of the wider local tourism boom and stepped up their plans in China. A new 'Spider-Man' attraction at Shanghai Disneyland broke ground in May, while Warner Brothers is set to open a Harry Potter experience in Shanghai by 2027. Toy giant Hasbro said this week its giant Peppa Pig park in the city was now 'in the phase of creative design.' Chinese collectable toy maker Pop Mart has also opened an attraction in Beijing featuring life-sized versions of its popular Labubu toys. 'The various provinces are putting a lot of effort into expanding their tourism industries, and all of them have special attractions,' said Xu, a 34-year-old parent visiting Legoland on Saturday with his children. But profitability remains a problem, especially for local companies with less brand recognition. As of late 2024, around 40 percent of parks were still failing to turn a profit, according to state media reports. Yet analysts point to a growing population of retirees and job market changes as key factors pushing more locals to visit domestic attractions. 'The labour market is turning more flexible,' said Ernan Cui, China consumer analyst at Gavekal Research. 'More people have leisure time to travel around.' Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
National Post
05-07-2025
- National Post
China's first Legoland opens to tourists in Shanghai
Thousands of local tourists poured into China's first-ever Legoland as it opened its gates in Shanghai on Saturday, the latest theme park hoping to capitalise on a domestic tourism boom. Article content The Chinese branch of the British-owned theme park franchise is the biggest Legoland in the world. Article content Article content It drew in early customers who flocked to attractions including a miniature train ride and a dragon-themed rollercoaster. Article content 'I personally love to play with Lego blocks and we have many sets at home… so I wanted to come to Legoland at the earliest opportunity,' said Shi, a 35-year-old resident of nearby city Hangzhou, who was visiting the park with his wife and child. Article content Article content Despite the Chinese economy's sluggish growth in recent years, domestic tourist spending grew 18.6 percent in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous year, according to statistics. Article content 'Ever since the pandemic, I've made very few trips abroad,' said Shi, adding his family now travels to theme parks around China 'many times a year'. Article content Eager Lego fans rushed into the park as soon as it opened, wearing themed shirts and waving branded flags as they enjoyed the 318,000-square-metre (78.5-acre) compound in scorching temperatures. Article content Beijing has announced subsidies intended to make travelling within the country more affordable for Chinese citizens, and is pushing local governments to heavily market their attractions on social media. Article content Article content Companies have taken note of the wider local tourism boom and stepped up their plans in China. Article content Article content A new 'Spider-Man' attraction at Shanghai Disneyland broke ground in May, while Warner Brothers is set to open a Harry Potter experience in Shanghai by 2027. Article content Toy giant Hasbro said this week its giant Peppa Pig park in the city was now 'in the phase of creative design.' Article content Chinese collectable toy maker Pop Mart has also opened an attraction in Beijing featuring life-sized versions of its popular Labubu toys. Article content 'The various provinces are putting a lot of effort into expanding their tourism industries, and all of them have special attractions,' said Xu, a 34-year-old parent visiting Legoland on Saturday with his children. Article content But profitability remains a problem, especially for local companies with less brand recognition. Article content As of late 2024, around 40 percent of parks were still failing to turn a profit, according to state media reports. Article content
