James Quandt
James Quandt is a Canadian film historian and festival programmer, best known as the longtime head programmer of the TIFF Cinematheque program of film retrospectives.[1]
Originally from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan,[2] Quandt first moved to Toronto in the mid-1980s to work as curator of film screening series at the Harbourfront Centre.[3] In 1990, when the Toronto International Film Festival took over management and operations of Gerald Pratley's Ontario Film Institute, Quandt was named Pratley's successor as head of the program,[4] which was renamed Cinematheque later the same year.[5] Exhibitions and retrospectives he has created for TIFF also frequently toured internationally.
He has also been a regular contributor of film criticism and analysis to Artforum magazine and The Criterion Collection, and has been the editor of scholarly monographs on the films of Robert Bresson, Shōhei Imamura, Kon Ichikawa and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.[6]
He retired from TIFF in 2021, after having led the Cinematheque program for 31 years.[7]
Awards[edit]
He was named a chevalier of France's Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 1995 in honour of his work analyzing and curating French film,[8] and was awarded the Japan Foundation's Special Prize for Arts and Culture in 2004 for his work on Japanese film.
In 2001 he was named the recipient of the Toronto Film Critics Association's Clyde Gilmour Award.[9]
References[edit]
- ^ Geoff Pevere, "The ghosts of cinema Cinematheque summer series Cinematheque's summer program: James Quandt looks back on 20 years of bringing the world of art house home". Toronto Star, June 3, 2010.
- ^ Ray Conlogue, "A temple to the world's cinema". The Globe and Mail, September 4, 2001.
- ^ Rick Groen, "Cinematic search poses telling problems for weary programmer". The Globe and Mail, November 15, 1989.
- ^ "James Quandt to head film institute". Toronto Star, January 30, 1990.
- ^ Henry Mietkiewicz, "Cinematheque screens movie classics daily". Toronto Star, October 19, 1990.
- ^ Mark Peranson, "Bridging the present and the past". The Globe and Mail, July 6, 2001.
- ^ Barry Hertz, "Inside TIFF’s top-to-bottom plan to emerge from a long, cruel winter: As public-health restrictions lift and spring nears, the TIFF Bell Lightbox is emerging with a renewed focus, solidified leadership and perhaps its strongest programming lineup since the building first opened its doors". The Globe and Mail, February 24, 2022.
- ^ Christopher Harris, "Arts Ink: Honours Michael Snow a Chevalier". The Globe and Mail, April 27, 1995.
- ^ Brendan Kelly, "‘Memento’ remembered by Toronto crix". Variety, December 19, 2001.
