Official Selection:


2003 Toronto International Film Festival
2003 Vancouver International Film Festival
2003 Reel Asian Film Festival
2003 Calgary International Film Festival
2003 Atlantic Film Festival
- Halifax
2003 Rencontres Internationales du
Documentaire de Montreal
2003 International Women's Film & Video Festival
- St John's
2003 Cinefest - Sudbury
2003 Northwest Film & Video Festival - Portland
2004 San Francisco International Asian
American Film Festival
2004 Hong Kong International Film Festival
2004 Cinequest Maverick Film Festival
2004 Festival International de cine Mar del Plata
- Buenos Aires
2004 Sydney International Film Festival
2004 VIEWFINDERS International Film Festival for Youth - Halifax
2004 Festival de Cinema des trios Ameriques
- Quebec City
2004 The Commonwealth Film Festival - Manchester
2004 Mumbai International Film Festival
2004 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PIFAN)
2004 Asian American Film & Video Festival - Chicago
2004 Hawaii International Film Festival - Oahu
2004 Annual Asian Pacific Film & Video Festival
- Los Angeles
2004 New Orleans Film Festival
2004 Palm Springs International Film Festival
2004 Cinequest - San Jose
2004 Spokane International Film Festival
2004 DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival
- Washington DC

Nominated for Best Documentary Historical/Biography/
Social/Political
Nominated for Best Direction
Nominated for Best Screenwriting
Nominated for Best Picture Editing (with Ileana Pietrobruno)
2003 Leo Awards (BC Film & Television Awards)

Nominated for Best Historical Documentary
2004 Banff International Film Festival
 

 

REVIEWS & AWARDS

"Repping an important addition to fast-fading history of vaudeville, The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam doesn't answer all of its own questions but raises a lot of interesting ones along the way. Ann Marie Fleming's first feature documentary (she's best known for experimental shorts) examines the mysterious life of her own great-grandfather in playful and personal ways combining animation, archival shots and interviews with people who knew the influential Chinese magician and acrobat."


Ken Eisner, Variety

 

"Canadian filmmaker Fleming - who is of mixed Chinese-Caucasian background - has always demonstrated a fascination both with the illusionary properties of filmmaking and the complications of race. So it's perhaps no surprise that her curiously unremembered great-grandfather is a figure of intense fascination. And her film, which combines documentary, animation and personal investigation to frequently mesmerizing effect, reflects the breadth and depth of this fascination."

Geoff Pervere, Toronto Star


"The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam is good enough to be one of this year's five nominees for the best-documentary Oscar."

David Spaner, The Vancouver Province

"Years of leg-work by Vancouver animator/documentary filmmaker Fleming, and a terrific subject, make this a delightful look at just how wide one life can spread."

Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail

"Festival veteran Ann Marie Fleming examines her roots in this playful yet heartfelt documentary, an investigation into the life of Long Tack Sam, a famous Chinese vaudevillian and traveling magician who also happens to be her great-grandfather."

Adam Nayman, Eye Weekly

"In the wrong hands, the family-history film can be a boring affair, a glorified home movie that only the film-maker's inner circle would find interesting. Fortunately, Vancouver documentarist Ann Marie Fleming has made an entertaining film with universal appeal in this portrait of her great-grandfather."

Marke Andrews, The Vancouver Sun

"Ann Marie Fleming's The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam -- a playful, speculative documentary about Fleming's once-famous great-grandfather, a chinese stage magician who toured around the world -- tells the story of his life by telling the history of the 20th century."

Jonathan Rosenbaum, The Chicago Reader

 

Awards:

Best Asian-Canadian Documentary:
2003 Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival
Voted One of Ten Most
Popular Canadian Films:

2003 Vancouver International Film Festival
CBC Newsworld Award for Best Documentary:
2004 Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival
Award for Best Feature Documentary:
2004 Newport Beach Film Festival

Grand Jury Award:
2004 Asian Film Festival - Dallas
Jury Prize:
2004 San Diego Asian Film Festival
Best Feature Documentary:
2004 San Diego Asian Film Festival
Best Feature Documentary:
2004 Oakland International Film Festival


Screenings and Showtimes

 

Contact for Ann Marie Fleming :

 Sleepy Dog Films
 

 

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