Hi friends,
Colin and I have some big news to share – we are leaving our position at The Royal to focus on film production (and Shudder, and being new parents, and a whole lot of other stuff). The full release is below! We are pretty excited about making this big jump!
xo
Kat
COLIN GEDDES AND KATARINA GLIGORIJEVIC SAY FAREWELL TO THE ROYAL, HELLO TO FILM PRODUCTION
Colin Geddes and Katarina Gligorijevic of Ultra 8 Pictures would like to thank The Royal for four great years as they depart from their position as Artistic Directors at the cinema to focus on producing.
After over 20 years of experience as a programmer at TIFF and several other film festivals and indie cinemas, Geddes has decided to take the “full plunge” out of exhibition and into production. “It’s been very rewarding to share films that I love with audiences for many years, but I’m ready for this evolution of my career – instead of watching films, I look forward to making them”, Geddes said. “This change has been brewing for a while and we’re very excited to be making it public”.
In addition to his continuing work as curator for Shudder (AMC Networks’ horror streaming service) Geddes and Gligorijevic head the production and consulting company Ultra 8 Pictures, and already have several credits to their names, including the recent horror hit THE VOID, the 2015 SXSW hit HE NEVER DIED (starring Henry Rollins), Joseph O’Brien’s 2014 horror mind-bender DEVIL’S MILE and the documentary WHY HORROR?, among several others.
The duo has two films slated for release in 2017 – the German/Canadian co-production REPLACE (directed by Norbert Keil, starring Rebecca Forsythe and horror-icon Barbara Crampton) and BIRDLAND, written and directed by acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Peter Lynch. They will be unveiling more information about their upcoming slate during the Cannes Marché du Film in May.
Geddes and Gligorijevic took over programming at The Royal in 2013 and have spent the past four years shepherding it through incredible growth and turning it into one of Toronto’s most vibrant cinematic and cultural hubs, building a loyal audience of cinephiles for their brand of eclectic programming.
During their tenure at the Royal, the duo were responsible for many exclusive runs of high-profile, critically acclaimed films and were the only theatre in Toronto to show Alejandro Jodorowsky’s THE DANCE OF REALITY, Ryan Gosling’s LOST RIVER, the 4K restoration of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, ROAR, THE LOVE WITCH, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD BLACK & CHROME, Julia Ducournau’s RAW and others.
They pioneered several fun annual traditions at the cinema, including Bill Murray’s “GROUNDHOG DAY on Groundhog Day”, the Canuck-Christmas double bill of BLACK CHRISTMAS and COOPER’S CHRISTMAS and more. They also brought many notable guests for live appearances at the cinema, including international action star Donnie Yen (IP MAN, STAR WARS ROGUE ONE), and Taimak, star of THE LAST DRAGON.
While they oversaw the programming of the Royal, Geddes and Gligorijevic gave many young curators the opportunity to start a variety of exciting monthly series, for which the cinema became widely known and praised. They saw the genesis of the now-popular Neon Dreams (‘70s and ‘80s neo-noir), Ladies of Burlesque (classic films paired with live burlesque performances), Laser Blast Film Society (championing cinematic eccentricity, obscurity and sincerity) and Robots vs Unicorns (the best in international sci-fi and fantasy) and brought in partners such as NOW Magazine and Indie88 to host series at the cinema.
“We’re incredibly proud of the fresh, new voices we brought into The Royal. It has been rewarding to watch them learn and grow, and we are looking forward to seeing what they’ve got in store for Toronto audiences as they take wing without our guidance”, Gligorijevic said.
While the pair is leaving behind full-time programming and exhibition, they will occasionally host pop-up screenings and events at various venues in Toronto. Stay tuned to this website for updates!
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