Toronto - Hollywood North and its roots on McMaster's campus
The McMaster Film Board was established in 1966 and within a couple
of years the student society was screening films in underground venues
in New York, LA and Chicago. One film - Hofsess' The Columbus of Sex - led to obscenity charges.
The roots of the Canadian film industry can be traced to this time and
place on McMaster's campus. It was an incubator of creativity and
freedom of expression, and it launched the careers of future frat-comedy
innovator Ivan Reitman, avant-garde filmmaker John Hofsess and comic
actor Eugene Levy, among many others.
Stephen Broomer is a Canadian filmmaker, Ryerson University film professor, and
film preservationist. He has an avid interest in the McMaster Film Board and its work and authored Hamilton Babylon: A History of the McMaster Film Board.
We hope you will join Join McMaster Alumni and Stephen Broomer at the
National Arts Centre for this rare opportunity to hear from Stephen and
view several of the short films he has restored from this time,
including work by Eugene Levy, John Hofsess, and Ivan Reitman.
If you are interested in reading more about Stephen and the McMaster Film Board, read this TIFF interview with Stephen:
The McMaster Film Board's Indelible influence on Hollywood North and
this article from the Hamilton Spectator.