City Idol: The Movie! (NEXT WEEK)

[The Mississauga Muse]

This just in from:

"Who Runs This Town?" <info@whorunsthistown.to>

"For anyone who is interested in city politics, civic engagement, social exclusion and creative activism, this film is for you!

"City Idol" will have its world premiere at Toronto's Hot Docs Festival. Tickets are on sale now! www.hotdocs.ca

World Premiere: Thursday April 26th, 9:30pm. Royal Cinema
City Idol Party! "One Year Later": Saturday April 28th, Plaza Flamingo, 9pm (info below)
Second Screening: Sunday April 29th, 9:30pm. Royal Cinema

hotdocs.bside.com/?_view=...d=15410842


"Canadian Idol is for people who look at rock stars and say, "I wanna do that!" City Idol is the opposite. It's for people who look at politicians and say, "What the hell are they doing?" With the goal of adding some energy and excitement to last November's municipal elections in Toronto, the City Idol project was created by a group of feisty activists. City Idol was structured just like the well-known Idol contests, except that instead of singing pop songs, candidates were asked "to make short speeches, participate in debates, improvise press conferences, answer audience questions and react to emergency situations." The result: a truly diverse group of participants presented passionate, smart, funny and engaged opinions about what works, and what doesn't work, in this city. In other words, it sort of felt like democracy. Arturo Pérez Torres (also at Hot Docs 2007 with another activist doc, Super Amigos) captures the lively spirit of the City Idol events and the subsequent bitter-sweet campaign run by the candidates. An inspiring look at a grassroots civic movement."

www.cityidol.to
www.cityidolmovie.com

Signed,
The ("democracy"? --where?) Mississauga Muse

PS. ALSO:

One Year Later ~ The CITY IDOL Party!

One year ago, City Idol brought together hundreds of people to push open the doors of democracy. Join as we celebrate our mirthful experiment as well as the World Premiere of the City Idol documentary at Hot Docs!

Saturday April 28, 9pm - ?
Plaza Flamingo (College@Bathurst)
Cover $9

Live music by The New Kings
MC Misha Glouberman
DJ m@b

 

[The Mississauga Muse]

"CITY IDOL" --video of Premiere now online

Dear T.O. Forumers,

I'm going to be a bit lazy here and just cut-and-paste from today's "City Idol" Blog entry.

Here goes:

This week in the Blog entry, "Who Runs this Town?" Announcement --City Idol documentary World Premiere" I shared a press release from the good folks at Who Runs this Town?

It began:

"For anyone who is interested in city politics, civic engagement, social exclusion and creative activism, this film is for you!

"City Idol" will have its world premiere at Toronto's Hot Docs Festival...

and later stated:

"World Premiere: Thursday April 26th, 9:30pm. Royal Cinema"

Well, my husband and I decided to go see it. I went because some of the video that I've managed to shoot of Mississauga and Peel Regional Council has solidified my own intent of making a full documentary on local government. So I mainly went to see how the T.O. group handled a "hot doc" on municipal politics.

My husband mainly went to see if the T.O. Council was anything like what he hears from me about Mississauga Council (his is a morbid fascination...).

To go back to the press release:

"City Idol was structured just like the well-known Idol contests, except that instead of singing pop songs, candidates were asked "to make short speeches, participate in debates, improvise press conferences, answer audience questions and react to emergency situations." The result: a truly diverse group of participants presented passionate, smart, funny and engaged opinions about what works, and what doesn't work, in this city. In other words, it sort of felt like democracy."

Thursday night at the Royal Cinema really did feel like democracy. Democracy was busting out all over.

When we'd settled into our chairs, the first words out of my husband's mouth were, "I think we've just raised the average age of the audience by three years."

Indeed, that was the other terrific thing about the "City Idol" Premiere. The audience consisted primarily of "passionate, smart, funny and engaged" Youth. These Youth shone in all colours, nationalities, abilities, religious (and non-religious) backgrounds.

Also in the audience were older folks like us --Boomers.

I asked for, and received permission, to shoot video of "City Idol" directly from the screen for the purpose of sharing on YouTube, GoogleVideo and also in Blog form. Once "City Idol" started, we were enthralled. I knew I was watching Toronto through the eyes of proud T.O. citizens who loved their neighbourhoods.

Anyone who followed the Mississauga Municipal Election will see "Mississauga" in "City Idol". The Overwhelming DOMINATION of Incumbents. The Overwhelming Hurdle of "Name Recognition".

That Incumbents rule unchallenged in an relentless Sea-of-White.

Here it is. "CITY IDOL"

(You may need to click twice or if you wish go directly to the clip on Google Video, click here
Or, if you prefer to go directly to "City Idol" YouTube, click here.)

Last, the highlight of my evening was getting my picture taken with "City Idol" candidate, Desmond Cole.

Yes, Desmond Cole. "Desmond" --D. e. s. m. o. n. d.-- not Dake, Dallas, D'arcy, Dale, Daley, Dali, Damian, Damien, Damon, Dan, Dane, Daniel, Dannie, Danny, Darcy, Darrell, Darren, Darryl, Daryl, Dave, David, Dean, Deane, Delaney, Denholm, Denis, Deniz, Dennis, Denny, Denver, Denys, Denzil, Derek, Derick, Derik, Dermot, Derrek, Derrick, Deston, Devin, Devon, Dexter, Dick, Dickson, Dicta, Digby, Dillon, Dino, Dion,Dirk, Dixon, Dominic, Don, Donald, Donnie, Donohue, Donovan, Donovon, Doug, Dougal, Douglas, Douglass, Doyle, Drake, Drayton, Drew, Dryden, Duane, Duddley, Dudley, Dugan, Duncan, Dunstan, Dusty, Dwayne, Dwight, or Dylan.

Desmond.

Desmond Cole.

City Idol has another screening tonight --Sunday, April 29, 9:30 PM at The Royal Cinema. It's really quite something.

Signed,
The Mississauga Muse