Sunday, April 22, 2012

TIFF Kids and Indie Spirit screenings today

The Opposing Team: Alexandra Clementi, Alexandra Wellman, Tia Ng, Charlotte Herie, Emily Nankoo, Kevin Nankoo, Josh Ling


Little Mao screens for the fourth and final time at the TIFF Kids International Film Festival today at 3:00 pm.  The program in which Mao appears, Canada For Kids, is sold-out. 

In the U.S. Mao makes its second appearance at Colorado Springs' Indie Spirit Film Festival at 8:00 pm local time. 

"We have conquered Toronto and America!" declared an exhausted, but spirited Chairman Bobby after three screenings in Toronto, one in Colorado, plus two media interviews. 

"Who shall be next?"

Friday, April 20, 2012

LITTLE MAO director & cast talk baseball and Mao on TORONTO TV

TORONTO TV's Joseph Lau speaks to the director and stars of Little Mao during the world premiere screenings the TIFF Kids International Film Festival.  The final screening takes place Sunday, April 22, 3:00 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, while Little Mao makes its American premiere today at 2:45 pm and Sunday, April 22 at 8:00 pm. at the Indie Spirit Film Festival in Colorado Springs.

Click to play interviews.  Note: Kevin's solo interview is in Mandarin (not English):




LITTLE MAO in Toronto, Colorado and OMNI TV this weekend

Little Mao invades the big screen at Toronto's TIFF Kids Film Festival and Colorado Springs' Indie Spirit Film Festival, and TV screens on OMNI 2 Mandrain News this weekend.  Here's the schedule, comrades:

Saturday, April 21 at 2:45 pm and Sunday, April 22 at 8:00 pm 
@ INDIE SPIRIT FILM FESTIVAL:
 

  
 OMNI 2 TV News six-minute feature interview (Toronto area) on Saturday, April 21 between 6:00-7:00 pm:

Sunday, April 22 at 3:00 pm @ TIFF KIDS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL:
 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

LITTLE MAO invades America



Little Mao invades imperialist America this weekend when it premieres at The Indie Spirit Film Festival in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Little Mao will screen alongside the short, Choreography for Plastic Army Men, and the Canadian feature, I Declare War on Saturday, April 21 at 2:45 pm and Sunday, April 22 at 8:00 pm.  The two screenings will mark Little Mao's first appearance on Yankee soil.  The fourth and final screening at the TIFF Kids International Film Festival takes place at 3:00 also on Sunday.

"We will conquer the American imperialists!" declared Chairman Bobby as he watched his beloved Toronto Blue Jays cruise to a 7-3 victory against Tampa Bay.  "We will rally against the Yankee--wait...you mean we could win the Best Short award?  Praise the Indie Spirit Film Festival!"

Click here for tickets and full details.





Sunday, April 15, 2012

Little Mao cast attend sell-out second screening at TIFF Kids

Nine cast members and their families, including star Kevin Wang in full Mao costume, attended Sunday's second sold-out screening of Little Mao at the TIFF Kids Film Festival taking place at the TIFF Lightbox in downtown Toronto.  The cast cheered Little Mao as he entered the sold-out cinema 3 before the noon screening.  An interview with Toronto TV followed.

Left to right: Ben Prystawski, Alexandra Clementi, Kyle Wong, Kevin Wang (as Little Mao), Alexis Thomas (back), Ariyena Sorani (in green), Joshua BuddBrian Obonna (back), Charlotte Herie &  Allan Tong (photo by Mira Budd)

Tickets are still available for the 12:45 pm screening on Monday, April 16.

Photos by Mira Budd, mother of Joshua Budd who plays the Crying Kid in Little Mao, can be found at:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.335992219794148.75870.155625584497480&type=1

Saturday, April 14, 2012

Kevin Wang interviewed before LITTLE MAO screening

OMNI-TV's Jeffrey Lee interviews Little Mao star Kevin Wang today at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.  The interview with Kevin and director Allan Tong will appear on OMNI's Mandarin news.  (Date and time to be announced shortly.)
 Kevin and other actors from Little Mao will be on hand for the next screening at TIFF Kids at theLightbox tomorrow on Sunday, April 15, noon. Tickets still available: http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiffkids/2012/3700005764

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

LITTLE MAO world premiere at TIFF Kids

A packed audience watched the world premiere of Little Mao at the TIFF Kids International Film Festival this morning.  Stars Ariyena Sorani (Cindy) and Alysha Bauer (Jan) walked the red carpet and answered questions at the post-screening Q&A onstage with director/writer, Allan Tong.  On-hand to support them were co-producer Austin Wong, and the proud families of Ariyena, Alysha and Allan.

Left to right: Ariyena Sorani (Cindy), Alysha Bauer (Jan) and director/writer Allan Tong 
during the post-screening Q&A

The film ran as part of the 10:15 am screening of the Canada Creates program of shorts at TIFF Kids (formerly Sprockets) taking place at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto.  This morning's screening was the first of four screenings at this festival.

Alysha Bauer (Jan) & Ariyena Sorani (Cindy)

Ariyena Sorani (Cindy) and director/writer Allan Tong

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Little Mao talks in Sing Tao Daily and The Korea Times

Little Mao star, Ariyena Sorani, talks to The Korean Times about her acting career and her role as Cindy.  (The story is in Korean only.)

Photo by Maloney Aguirre
Meanwhile, Little Mao director and writer, Allan Tong, appears in the Sing Tao Daily, Canada's biggest Chinese-language daily.  (Sorry, this story is in Chinese only.)

Little Mao has its world premiere at the TIFF Kids International Film Festival playing at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, tomorrow, Wednesday, April 11 at 10:15 am.  This screening is sold out, but tickets are still available for others screenings on:

~ Sunday April 15, 12:00 noon


~ Monday April 16, 12:45 pm


~ Sunday April 22, 3:00 pm

Cast members and director Tong will be on-hand for all screenings.









Monday, April 9, 2012

Chairman Bobby hails Blue Jays opener & LITTLE MAO premiere


From the desk of Chairman Bobby (aka Little Mao):

Dear Comrades,

I salute the Toronto Blue Jays for their season-opening triumph over the Cleveland Indians this Easter/Passover weekend, and cheer their home opener tonight against those imperialist dogs, the Boston Red Sox.  I predict victory!

I also invite you to view the world premiere of my life story in film, Little Mao, which has its world premiere at the TIFF Kids Film Festival on Wednesday, April 11, 10:15 am at the TIFF Bell Lightbox in downtown Toronto.  Three more screenings will follow.  Tickets are still available!

May a hundred victories bloom!

Chairman Bobby




Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Quotations from Chairman Bobby about the 2012 Toronto Blue Jays

With the Toronto Blue Jays kicking off their 2012 season in Cleveland tomorrow night and his own film, Little Mao, having its world premiere on April 11 at the TIFF Kids International Film Festival (formerly Sprockets), Chairman Bobby reflects on the imperalist Yankees, Fidel Castro's pitching and all things Jays:

 

Q: Chairman Bobby, how do you feel about the Jays in 2012?
Chairman Bobby:  Hopeful, comrade, hopeful!  We stand a great chance of earning one of those new wild card spots in the playoffs, even though the Jays are competing against those capitalist roaders, The New York Yankees, who boast an unfair advantage because the capitalist baseball system allows them to pay huge team salaries.  Unfair!




Q: Let's start on the mound.  What do you think of the Jays' starting rotation? 
Chairman Bobby:  A well-defended nation is a strong one.  Same goes with baseball. Comrade Ricky Romero should have a similar season to last year, but I expect Brandon Morrow to have an amazing year!  If the fifth starter is Kyle Drabek, I hope that his father talked some toughness into him so he launches a comeback just like our comrades did with The Great March of 1934.  Expect 90+ wins.

 
Q: Hitting? 
Chairman Bobby: Comrades Jose Bautista and Brett Lawrie will crush their enemies just like Fidel and Che.

Q: Fidel Castro and Che Guevara played baseball? 
Chairman Bobby: Sure, Comrade Fidel pitched.  Check out: http://archive.org/details/1959-07-27_Havana_Rally?start=49.5





Q: The bullpen lost 25 games for the Jays last year, third-worst in the American League.  How will they perform in 2012?
Chairman Bobby: The bullpen will mature under veterans Sergio Santos, Coco Cordero and Darren Oliver.

Comrade Cindy (Ariyena Sorani) spies a pop fly for the Motherland

Q: Oliver is 41-years-old.  Isn't he too old?
Chairman Bobby: Comrade Fidel is 85 and Comrade Lenin was 53.

Q: But they weren't throwing in a major league bullpen.
Chairman Bobby (long pause):  It appears our comrade needs some re-education.

Chairman Bobby (Kevin Wang, far left) oversees his Imperial Guards (Kyle Wong, left, and Joshua Holmes, right) as they escort Comrade Joe (Isaac Pilozo in catcher's uniform) to "re-training" camp

Q: Moving to the infield...
Chairman Bobby:  Comrade Lind's average should rise given off-season conditioning.  Brett Lawrie should excel in his first full season as a Jay.  Comrade Escobar will shine at shortstop and at the plate.

Q: Overall, where have the Jays improved the most in the off-season?
Chairman Bobby: Pitching.  The starting rotation is more reliable, but the key lies in a consistent bullpen.  Of course, this wouldn't be a concern had those imperialist running dogs, The Philadelphia Phillies, not stolen Roy Halladay from us in 2009.

Q: Is Halladay your favourite pitcher?
Chairman Bobby:  Second.

Q: Who's first?
Chairman Bobby:  Why, Fidel!

Chairman Bobby's Little Red Guards discuss dialectical materialism with the First Base Umpire (Sonya Morson)

Q: Forgive me, Chairman...Please complete this sentence: "If I ran the Blue Jays I would..."
Chairman Bobby: "...give away all tickets to the proletariat and reclaim Doc Halladay."

Q: But Hallyday plays for the Phillies.
Chairman Bobby: We would get him back.

Q: How?  He's locked into a long-term contract.
Chairman Bobby (removing his sunglasses):  We have our ways.

Chariman Bobby's Little Red Guards (from left to right): Third Basewoman (Alexis Thomas), Guard (Joshua Holmes), Rightfielder (Scott Richardson), Chairman Bobby (foreground, Kevin Wang), Comrade Jan/Centerfielder (Alysha Bauer), Comrade Cindy/ Leftfielder (Ariyena Sorani), Guard (Kyle Wong, back row), Second Basewoman (Erin Richardson), First Baseman (Joshua Budd), Shortstop (Ben Prystawski).  Missing: Comrade Joe (Isaac Pilozo) who was in "re-training" camp
All photos by Comrade Maloney Aguirre