After his triumphant Cannes debut, my cousin Mark Peranson is poised to conquer Toronto with his sly comic performance as Joseph, Father of Jeebus in Albert Serra’s “El Cant dels Ocells“. Every review I’ve read has taken pains to spotlight his appearance in the film, and to explain his elaborate history as a key player on the Canadian cinematic scene.
It’s an easy way to make an obscure Spanish production stand out from the pack, obviously, but it also speaks to the goodwill people have for Mark as the editor of Cinema Scope — which has, over the past nine years, become arguably the most important English-language film journal — and as a person in general.
Also, he’s very, very funny in the movie.
Tonight, “El Cant des Ocells” has its North American premiere — and as it was in Cannes, so shall it be in Toronto, with the screening taking place at 5 pm local time on a Tuesday in a relatively out-of-the-way venue. (In this case, it’s the AMC at Yonge and Dundas, if you feel like going for a rush seat.)
I expect the reception will be just as rapturous, too. And if there’s a party, I shall avoid the Catalan reds like the plague.
