Film festivals upon us, and a closure

Get ready for almost a couple of back to back film festivals in our region. The first is Media City, the well-established (since 1994) festival specializing in edgier more experimental films. Opening night, as is usually the case, will be at the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts on Tuesday May 22 8 pm with the film Differently, Molussia by Nicolas Rey from France. "A film in nine chapters, shown in random order and based on fragments from the novel Günther Anders (“Differently”) wrote between 1932 and 1936: The Molussian Catacomb. Prisoners sitting in the pits of an imaginary fascist state, Molussia, tell each other stories about the outside world, as so many philosophical fables," says the festival guide. The fest then reverts to Windsor with most films shown at the Capitol Theatre and nearby venues. It runs until Saturday. Check out the web site at www.mediacityfilmfestival.com

Meanwhile Ann Arbor’s first Cinetopia Film Festival gets underway May 31st and runs until June 3rd at four venues including the beautiful State Theatre smack in the middle of downtown. More than 30 films will be screened. For more go to http://www.michtheater.org/cinetopia/

Very sad to read the Cumberland 4 in Toronto is closing to make way for – what else - a real estate development in trendy Yorkville. The Cumberland, run by Cineplex, has been a fixture in Toronto’s independent film scene for decades and its closure means another venue in what is supposed to be one of the top film-going cities in the world, bites the dust. The building will be turned into a Nespresso (pod coffee makers) outlet and possibly a condo development (I’ve read both).