Alan Zweig

Alan Zweig is a Toronto documentary filmmaker known for often using film to explore his own life.[1]

Alan Zweig
OccupationFilmmaker

He first became known for his 1989 film Stealing Images, a short drama about a filmmaker exploring the city which won the award for Best Canadian Short Film at the 1989 Toronto International Film Festival.[2] He also later directed the narrative feature film The Darling Family,[3] before turning to documentary film.

In his 2000 film Vinyl, Zweig explores what drives people to become record collectors. Zweig spends a large portion of the film exploring his own life in regard to record collecting, feeling it has prevented him from fulfilling his dreams of a family.[4]

I, Curmudgeon is a 2004 film about self-declared curmudgeons, himself included, which received a Silver Hugo at the 2005 Chicago International Film Festival.[5] The film was shot on a camcorder, with Zweig using a mirror to record his own experiences.[6]

Lovable is a 2007 film about our preoccupation with finding romantic perfection.

In 2009, Zweig moved from autobiographical subject matter to explore the struggle of ex-convicts to lead normal lives in A Hard Name, which received the Genie Award for best documentary.[7]

His 2013 film When Jews Were Funny, an exploration of the role of Jewish comedians in North American comedy and humour,[8] won the prize for Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.[9] Again, he uses most of the movie exploring his own position as a Jew married to a non-Jewish woman and a new father.

Hurt, his documentary film about Steve Fonyo, was released in 2015. It won the Platform Prize at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.[10]

His film There Is a House Here, premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival,[11] and Coppers premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.[12]

Honours

Zweig's films have often premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. In 2011, Hot Docs devoted its Focus On screening series to Zweig's work.[7]

References
  1. Janis Cole, "Focus on Alan Zweig: The Curmudgeon turns Lovable". Point of View, April 1, 2011.
  2. Sid Adilman, "Toronto director surprise winner of $25,000 film prize". Toronto Star, September 18, 1989.
  3. Geoff Pevere, "Dangerous liaisons". The Globe and Mail, August 27, 1994.
  4. Berman, Stuart (October 2000). "Is that your vinyl answer?". CMJ New Music Monthly. pp. 69–70. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  5. "I, Curmudgeon". HotDocs Doc Library. Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival. Archived from the original on 24 February 2010. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  6. Ilich, Iain (December 2, 2004). "Cranks for the memories". Vue Weekly (#476). Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  7. "Hot Docs turns focus on 2 Toronto directors". CBC News. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  8. "TIFF ’13: Zweig remembers the “Funny”". Real Screen, September 16, 2013.
  9. "TIFF 2013: 12 Years a Slave wins film fest’s top prize". Toronto Star, September 15, 2013.
  10. "Toronto International Film Festival Announces 2015 Award Winners" (PDF) (Press release). TIFF. 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  11. "Trailer for Alan Zweig’s TIFF-bound ‘There is a House Here’". POV, August 15, 2017.
  12. "TIFF ’19: Canadian slate includes new docs from Alanis Obomsawin, Alan Zweig". RealScreen, July 31, 2019.


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