Montreal Mirror | Matthew Hays | Movies+TV | Profiles & Interviews | AAN.org

Bruce McDonald on His Small-Town Ontario Zombie Filmnew

Here's the bit of brilliance that lies at the gut of McDonald's latest movie: Pontypool is truly horrifying for what it doesn't show us.

Montreal Mirror | Matthew Hays | 03-13-2009 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Bruce McDonald, horror movies, Pontypool

Tanaz Eshaghian's Doc Looks at Iranian Gays Pressured to Endure Sex-Change Operationsnew

Eshaghian says Be Like Others is a film about class as much as it is about gender or sexual orientation. "If you're poor, this is when the conformity is really expected of you."

Montreal Mirror | Matthew Hays | 08-29-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Iran, documentary, sex change, gay & lesbian issues, Be Like Others, Tanaz Eshaghian

Fatih Akin on His Complex 'The Edge of Heaven'new

For most filmgoers, the network narrative has become a crashing bore. But the Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin's latest film reinvigorates this screenwriting ploy, breathing new life into something I'd written off for dead.

Montreal Mirror | Matthew Hays | 05-02-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Fatih Akin, The Edge of Heaven

Nadine Labaki on Her Lebanese Chick Flick 'Caramel'new

"Women living in the Middle East face a lot of confusing influences, the confusion between East and West," she says. "I liked the idea of five different women, with five different viewpoints and at different points in their lives, connecting through a beauty salon."

Montreal Mirror | Matthew Hays | 03-28-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Caramel, Nadine Labaki

Gus Van Sant on 'Paranoid Park'new

"When you're 16, that's the most important time in your life," he says. "It might not be a time when you get much done, but you're influenced by everything that's come your way. By 25, you're going to be much more frozen in your ways."

Montreal Mirror | Matthew Hays | 03-07-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Gus Van Sant, Paranoid Park

Dance Dance Revolutionnew

Filmmaker Ian Iqbal Rashid never thought he’d end up directing How She Move. The London-based director, whose debut feature, Touch of Pink, is a gay romcom that was a hit at Sundance in 2004.

Montreal Mirror | Matthew Hays | 01-31-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: How She Move, Ian Iqbal Rashid