Bikes vs. Cars doc showcases eternal divide
At film’s Canadian premiere at the Bloor cinema, patrons can opt for bike valet parking
Bikes vs. Cars: Few issues get urbanites more impassioned than the question of who should own the roads. Is it the drivers whose cars have shaped the design and development of the world’s cities for the last century? Or the riders of bicycles who ardently believe that peoplepowered transportation is the solution to all our environmental and social ills?
A new film by Swedish director Fredrik Gertten that makes its Canadian premiere at the Bloor this weekend, Bikes vs. Cars bravely delves into the debate and presents perspectives from both sides. Unsurprisingly, the car nuts tend not to come off so great — then again, they’ve had the upper hand for years, so it may be time to even the score. One segment of the film reveals how automotive companies conspired to dismantle Los Angeles’ public-transit infrastructure in the 1940s in order to facilitate the creation of the perma-gridlocked city that commuters know today.
Here and elsewhere, bike activists campaign to improve cyclists’ rights and create more rideable, livable cities such as Copenhagen, where 40 per cent of the population opts for two-wheelers to get to work. It’s often been a very different story in Toronto and another segment in Bikes vs. Cars recaps how Rob Ford’s “war on cars” rhetoric scored big time with local voters in 2010. “People just have to have cars,” says nowdeputy mayor Denzil Minnan-Wong in an interview for the film.
The discussions are sure to be lively when Gertten participates in Q&As after the screenings on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and Saturday at 12:30 and 9:30 p.m. The Bloor also offers bike valet parking to patrons on the opening weekend — drivers will have to find their own spots. Bikes vs. Cars runs to Aug. 6. Mosaic Billed as North America’s largest free festival of South Asian arts, culture and heritage, the 10th annual Mosaic hosts a huge array of events in venues such as Mississauga’s Celebration Square. The Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF) serves as its suitably action-packed movie component. A Hindi-language drama that won ma- jor awards at the Venice and Mumbai film festivals, Court makes its Canadian premiere as the MISAFF’s opening night gala on Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. at Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga. The festival runs to Aug. 9. Outdoor screenings Fresh locations for outdoor screen- ings are all the rage this summer. This week, it’s imagineNATIVE’s turn to brave new terrain when the festival and Harbourfront Centre copresent The Sapphires at the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford on Sunday at 9:30 p.m. Earlier in the weekend, the TIFF in Your Park series continues with The Good Lie at the Moss Park Apartments on Friday at 9 p.m.
As for the sites already in use, the Christie Pits Film Festival continues with Mean Girls on Sunday. City Cinema at Yonge-Dundas Square celebrates the King with Viva Las Vegas and the 1970 comeback doc Elvis: That’s the Way It Is on Aug. 4. Then on Aug. 5, the New Zealander coming-of-age story Boy plays Harbourfront Centre’s Free Flicks at the WestJet Stage, The King’s Speech reigns over TIFF in the Park at David Pecaut Stage, While We’re Young bridges the generation gap at the Open Roof Festival at 99 Sudbury St., and Big Hero 6 brings a kid-friendly adventure to Regent Park. Sun Ra on screen Excerpts from a new documentary on the legend of interplanetary jazz will be screened as part of a program of films by Ephraim Asili and other African-American filmmakers on Aug. 5 at 8 p.m. at CineCycle (129 Spadina Ave.). An artist and DJ whose work explores a whole range of issues throughout the African diaspora, Asili is in town for a twoweek residency at LIFT. jandersonesque@gmail.com