Brownstein: Fantasia film fest celebrates veteran Montreal director George Mihalka for blazing his own trail

Montreal Gazette

3 days ago

Veteran Montreal director George Mihalka gets his proper due after 45 years in the business. Finally.
The Fantasia International Film Festival will present Mihalka with its Canadian Trailblazer Award, Friday at 6 p.m. at Cinéma du Musée, followed by a screening of his film Hostile Takeover. The fest will also screen another of his more memorable movies, Pinball Summer, followed by a Q&A with the director, Sunday at 4:05 p.m. at the same venue. And earlier that afternoon, at 2 p.m., Mihalka will deliver a Fantasia master class at Reggies in Concordia's Hall Building.
While Fantasia may be renowned for delving into all aspects of genre film over the course of its 29 years, the festival, much to its credit, has also paid homage to unsung heroes on the local film scene. In recent years, it has given tributes to the likes of legendary Cinépix producers John Dunning and André Link, directors Larry Kent and Gerald Potterton, and the gonzo filmmaking gang of Allan (Bozo) Moyle, Stephen Lack, Frank Vitale and Peter Brawley.
Mihalka is, without question, a pioneer on the film front. He has tackled every genre imaginable, from horror to hockey, comedy to crime and then some — in both French and English. Pretty remarkable since he spoke neither language before immigrating here from Hungary when he was just eight.
The film for which Mihalka is probably best known is the slasher epic My Bloody Valentine, produced by Dunning and Link. That was 45 years ago, when Mihalka was but 27. Had Fantasia been in existence back then, its artistic director Mitch Davis would have certainly had the film kick off the fest. No less than Quentin Tarantino has acknowledged that My Bloody Valentine is his personal fave in the slasher field.
But don't let the film's content fool you about its maker. There is little foreboding about Mihalka, 72 — far more teddy bear than terrifying and one of the nicest people in the biz. He has been spending equal time in Montreal and Hamilton these days, the latter so he can be closer to his daughter and work in Toronto.
'There has been no real formula for me. I just love making films and I don't like making the same one over and over again,' says the ever-affable Mihalka over a few brews at Ziggy's. 'I don't think I have a film canon, per se.'
Not so sure. By his own estimate, Mihalka has directed over two dozen film and TV features and over 100 TV episodes, in nearly equal parts French and English. And talk about being all over the map. Apart from the aforementioned, there's Race to Mars, La Florida, Omertà, Les Boys IV, Dr. Lucille: The Lucille Teasdale Story, Scandale, Scoop, Bullet to Beijing, Eternal Evil.
And Mihalka has just completed one of his most ambitious and expensive productions yet: Rise of the Raven, a 10-part miniseries shot in Hungary for ex-Montreal producer Robert Lantos. The first two hour-long episodes will première at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, and the series will stream on CBC Gem soon after.
'It's the story about the guy who is responsible for why church bells ring at noon everywhere in the world,' elaborates Mihalka, who also co-created and executive-produced the project.
Mihalka laments that the local film scene, particularly on the anglo side, has suffered.
'Montreal was such a great place for making movies. It's so unfortunate that things have dried up here. I would love to come back here to make a movie in French and follow it up with one in English, the way I used to do like clockwork. I so miss that, straddling both worlds,' he says. 'But when tax credits became much more important, we became prisoners of our postal code here.'
In other words, far more work beckoned in Toronto.
On that note, Mihalka points out that he and his partner Susan Curran are in the midst of making a documentary on the Cinépix duo of Link and the late Dunning, who made hugely successful films the old-fashioned way — without being completely at the mercy of tax shelters for financing.
'I really have to thank those two for my career. They made movies to put bums in seats. We had a golden age of crowd-pleaser films back then which could not only entertain people, but also support an industry. As Link used to say: 'Not too many people in the industry liked us, because we made money and that wasn't the Canadian way,'' Mihalka laughs.
'The pendulum has swung, and I think it has swung a little too far toward the auteur cinema of personal films. As famed producer Samuel Goldwyn once put it: 'If you want to send a message, use Western Union.''
Which is not to say Mihalka hasn't tackled more provocative fare over the years, but he has always focused on keeping audiences captivated at the same time.
'Nothing wrong with making movies about your own or someone else's trauma. We need Mike Leigh movies as much as we need Tarantino movies. I have never thought entertaining was the opposite of intelligent. You can have a smart movie that entertains. That's been my goal all my working life. Just because I don't furrow my brow while directing doesn't mean I can't be deep,' he muses before adding:
'I'm not at all interested in retiring, either. I'm still ready to rumble for this craft.'