Leave Them Laughing Film » comedy

montanaberg01 — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 14:13:49 +0000

We are absolutely delighted to inform all our Vancouver fans that Leave Them Laughing will be screening at the Vancouver International Film Festival on Oct.2 and 3. It is especially gratifying to have a film screen in our hometown festival. But Vancouver is also where Carla was born and spent the first 18 years of her extraordinary life. So thanks VIFF.

Saturday, Oct 2nd 7:00pm and Sunday, Oct. 3rd at 3:45 PM.

Both Screenings will take place at the Empire Grandville 7, 855 Grandville Street, Vancouver, B.C., Canada

http://www.viff.org/tixSYS/2010/filmguide/Title/AZ/CADIM/filmguide/GRN

Review of LEAVE THEM LAUGHING by Michael Murray for FILMbutton.com

montanaberg01 — Fri, 14 May 2010 19:05:48 +0000

“Leave Them Laughing. It’s a documentary about a stand-up comic who’s dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease.”

I think I sighed.

“But it’s supposed to be absolutely hilarious!” he quickly added.

This, I knew, was a movie I absolutely did not want to see.

Like a lot of people, I’ve had some medical miseries, and the last thing I wanted to do was revisit the terror and trauma of those days. I didn’t want to watch, against a backdrop of impersonal hospital wings, as somebody slowly disintegrated from both their own life and the lives of those around them.

Didn’t want to do it.

And my fears were not even remotely assuaged when my friend told me the movie was “hilarious.” No, in fact, this amplified my dread. I imagined a needy and unknown comic, somebody who never quite made it, now determined to exploit her own demise in a final spasm toward fame. I saw this person in my mind’s eye—up on stage, conspicuous and slightly demented, using the pity garnered from the audience, as the final, much needed and validating ego boost she’d sought her entire career.

Not. For. Me.

I saw the film anyway, and let me tell you, all of those preconceived anxieties of mine were completely blown away.

Leave Them Laughing is a touching, portrait of Carla Zilbersmith, who guides us into her final stages of the fatal disease ALS. Told with wisdom and humour. It’s an admirably restrained document, one that never begs for the love or sympathy of the audience, or descends into cloying sentimentality.

Much of the credit for this must be given to the Academy Award winning director, John Zaritsky. After reading about Zilbersmith in the Globe and Mail, Zaritsky visited her Blog, watched some of her performance pieces on YouTube and then called her to discuss the possibilities of making a movie. Almost immediately, as time was of the essence, they began to shoot the film. (listen to explanation in John’s own words at Hot Docs screening Q&A)

Zilbersmith, who lives in Berkeley, California, is a 46 year-old performer of ballads, comedy and self-parody, and somebody who much more than the rest of us, is completely capable of telling her own story, which she does with surprising wisdom and intelligence.

What I found so refreshing and unexpected about this film is that although the circumstance of her illness is the launching point, its not where we end up. The movie is about her. She’s a mother and a daughter, a singer and a comedienne, a sexually frustrated hedonist who’s pissed-off at her ex-husband, and a billion different other things, and although many of these things are influenced by ALS, they’re not defined by it.

There’s sunlight and joy in this movie, and although it’s a stretch to call it hilarious, it is funny and alive, and watching it feels more like spending time with somebody you wished was one of your good friends, than guiltily absorbing the misery of a stranger.

Maclean, Carla’s son and the love of her life, have an incredible chemistry . Between them exists a darkly jubilant interplay, and it’s touching and inspiring to watch as Carla tries to help her 16 year-old son grow up, and he, in turn, tries, in his way, to help her to leave hers. (insert mac’s audio)

The movie, which is stitched together with videos of Carla’s singing performances, comedic observations, interviews and snippets of her life and imagination, eventually forms a cohesive tapestry. We watch as Carla sings in jazz clubs, fully aware that with her diminishing strength, each time could be her last. We see her with her son, releasing helium balloons off the balcony, watching the “brilliant pins of colour vanishing into the sky,” We see the Out Of Order tattoos she got on each one of her feet, and we share in the astonishment of Zilbersmith, as she, so ironic and sophisticated, is touched by the simplest things.

In one such moment, she goes to Holy Land, a Christian theme park, where she plans to give a Valentine’s Day gift to the character that plays Jesus in the park’s daily flogging reenactment. It’s clear that she’s doing this as a satirist, intending to reveal the commercial artifice of the place in the face of her very real suffering. But nothing of the sort happens. As she gives her gifts to a girl clad in a period costume (who will pass it on to the Jesus actor), Carla adds that she’s dying of ALS, as a sort of comedic rim shot. Instead of awkward shock and discomfort, the girl exhibits grace, and with sincere tears trickling down her face, blesses Carla, reassuring her that she would soon be with Jesus. Carla had been expecting to find herself in control of this exchange, but in the face of the authenticity and profound empathy of the moment, found herself also in tears, immensely, profoundly moved by this simple, heartfelt and unexpected compassion.

The entire movie manages to confound expectations throughout. Just when we think we’ve found a safe distance from Carla’s reality, a feeling she might in fact be sharing, we experience her, and our, fleeting humanity with redoubled intensity.

After watching the movie I went to Carla’s Blog with the intention of, well, seeing if she was still alive, and if so, leaving a message to let her know how much I liked the movie. Quickly scanning the site, I saw that her last post was May 1st, and feeling confident that there would be future posts, hurried off to a meeting, thinking I would write her later.

Later, the director John Zaritsky told me that what I had seen was her final post, (listen to son, Mac, give reason for final post at Hot Docs screening Q&A) and that her health was so poor that her death was expected anytime, perhaps even before the premiere of her movie.

I don’t’ know, I don’t want to be too corny about this– as neither Carla nor the director ever got too melodramatic about her circumstance—but this struck me as acutely poignant, serving to remind me how urgent the world and our lives really are, and how essential it is to be present in the lives of those we love, and those who love us. (listen to son, Mac, tell us what Carla thinks of the film at Hot Docs screening Q&A)

http://www.filmbutton.com/mainpage/?p=1272

TO411 documentary review of LEAVE THEM LAUGHING by staff writer Daisy Maclean

montanaberg01 — Fri, 14 May 2010 12:22:52 +0000

The 2010 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival ended with a weekend full of awards presentations to the top films and film makers this year. Many of these awards come with cash prizes that help both seasoned and emerging filmmakers continue to create the work that moves us. Among the films honoured this year were two unique films that were in the top ten audience favourites at the festival: Waste Land and Leave Them Laughing. The latter also won the Special Jury prize for Canadian Feature. Poignant and courageous these two films focus on the smaller everyday battles we wage against the hand that life has dealt us.

Leave Them Laughing: Oscar award winning Canadian documentary director John Zaritsky takes us on a 90-minute journey into the life and oncoming death of Carla Zilbersmith. Once a vibrant performer, Carla has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and given two years left to live, however she is determined to suck every last drop of pleasure from life before she has to go. “‘Dead is the new alive.’ Now I know what you’re thinking: I was just being trendy. But trust me, it won’t be long before all of you start to follow my lead.” If you like dark comedy (as I do), then this is your film, it doesn’t get any darker than this. Created from interviews, footage from her final defiant travels to Mexico, the US and Britain, and flashbacks to her healthier days as a singer and comedian, the film centers around her and her son’s capacity for humour in the face of overwhelming tragedy. Just a year after the diagnosis, Carla’s body has noticeably deteriorated and so she has “Out of Order” tattooed onto her feet. This film isn’t as crushingly depressing as it sounds, nor does Carla pretend that dying is a laugh, instead the film eloquently points out when to cry and when to take things lightly, all the while reminding us to treasure the special days that come our way. Full of moments that are laugh out loud funny as well as those that will have you reaching for the tissue, it is a film that will most likely leave you reeling emotionally, not knowing what to do with yourself afterward. The answer is: live. Leaving behind this glorious film as a memento mori, Carla is currently teaching her parrot, who will outlive her, to say “This woman is dead.”

http://to411daily.com/2010/05/14/hot-docs-wrap-act-3-against-the-odds/

Endoresement of LEAVE THEM LAUGHING by ALS Society of Ontario

montanaberg01 — Fri, 14 May 2010 02:24:33 +0000

The magic of LEAVE THEM LAUGHING is not only in the story itself but in the way it is told. Living with ALS is often times a topic mainstream media hesitate to touch – it’s too depressing is the common reply. Usually that statement is true, unless you find those with a spirit to outshine their situation.

This is the case with Carla Zilbersmith, who is documented in LEAVE THEM LAUGHING as she lives with the final stages of ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS Ontario is proud to be a sponsor of this film at the Hot Docs Film Festival.

This disease, as you know, progressively takes your body from you, usually piece by piece, leaving your mind aware and functioning.

Carla’s mind is as ever sharp and on display in a pre-mortem that ends up making you laugh repeatedly and harder than you would cry. This film is an inspirational message about one woman’s battle with ALS and how she will not let it conquer her spirit.

I see this often in my work with ALS Ontario, but never has it been displayed in such a humorous story, yet never diminishing the devastating effects of the disease.

I was at both screenings of the film in the Toronto Hot Docs festival, offering brochures to audience members who likely have never seen the first-hand effects of this illness. But audience members displayed the effects of this inspirational documentary – they were thrilled with the film, moved, touched and motivated. Many spoke to me after the film and you could see how the movie stirred them – I was thrilled with the immediate response.

One audience member has been motivated to host a private screening of the film, incorporating a fundraising portion into the event, in the near future. This is an important way to spread awareness and raise funds for the cause and encourage other associations, who may not be able to donate directly to the film, to follow a similar concept.

I had to thank the director personally as his story in LEAVE THEM LAUGHING is just what the general public needs. It’s what ALS, to improve its awareness, needs.

However, the film is not finished due to lack of funding (one audience member remarked how much she loved it, but sadly could not hear all the jokes due to poor sound quality) and it needs to be at the fully developed and professional stage it, and Carla, deserves.

Please help this film become as stellar as it can be. This film deserves it. Those living with ALS, and all touched by its far-reaching fingers, need it.

Sincerely,

Kathryn Dunmore,
ALS Ontario

Leave them Laughing wins Special Jury Award at Hot Docs (North America’s biggest International Documentary Film Festival)

montanaberg01 — Sat, 08 May 2010 13:51:33 +0000

The Special Jury Prize – Canadian Feature was presented to Vancouver-based Academy Award-winning filmmaker John Zaritsky for LEAVE THEM LAUGHING (P: Montana Berg, Canada/USA), which follows mother, performer, and darkly funny smart-ass Carla Zilbersmith in her battle with Lou Gehrig’s disease. Jury statement: “The Special Jury Prize goes to a film about an unimaginably horrifying disease that draws us in rather than making us turn away. The subject is someone approaching death, but the film is about how to live. We admire it most for bringing us into an intimate relationship between a mother and son without feeling voyeuristic or manipulative.” Sponsored by the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation, the award features a $10,000 prize courtesy of the Brian Linehan Charitable Foundation.

http://www.hotdocs.ca/media/

World Premiere of LEAVE THEM LAUGHING this week at Hot Docs in Toronto

montanaberg01 — Sun, 02 May 2010 22:21:49 +0000

Please join us for the World Premiere of LEAVE THEM LAUGHING in Toronto at Hot Docs (North America’s biggest international documentary film festival) followed by a reception (cash bar). Everyone is welcome!

May 6
9:15pm – World Premiere – Isabel Bader Theatre
93 Charles St. W.

11:00pm – reception following screening
Cafe 7 West – 7 Charles St. West – (main floor)

May 8th
3:15pm – Second Screening – Bloor Cinema
506 Bloor St. W.

5:00pm – reception following screening
Insomnia – 563 Bloor St., West – (back of room)

Tickets to attend screening available at www.hotdocs.ca. Only a few tickets remaining so get yours today!

Latest Review of LEAVE THEM LAUGHING by Susan G. Cole (NOW – Toronto)

montanaberg01 — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:03:01 +0000

This is one of those films that sounds like a drag but winds up being poignant and laugh-out-loud funny.

Carla Zilbersmith has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease and is determined to make the most of the few years she has left. She also simply will not stop laughing about it. Talk about dark humour – this comic-cum-singer does it like you’ve never seen before.

Her son Maclen (she divorced just after being diagnosed) supports her in inspiring ways, as does her team of girlfriends. The insurance companies – surprise – do not.

An emotional roller coaster of fabulous proportions.

NOW | April 29-May 6, 2010 | VOL 29 NO 35

Source URL: http://www.nowtoronto.com/movies/story.cfm?content=174720

Review of Leave Them Laughing from UBC student newspaper

montanaberg01 — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:43:19 +0000

John Zaritsky explores the lighter side of death

Carla Zilbersmith in Zaritsky’s Leave Them Laughing.

by Gavin Fisher
contributor

Sunday, November 22nd, 2009

“My whole intention as a documentary filmmaker,” says the man sitting across from me, “was to do something totally unconventional, totally against all the classic kind of rules and traditional formats of documentary filmmaking. ‘Musical comedy’ breaks all the rules.”

This man is John Zaritsky, an Academy award-winning Canadian director, and the ‘musical comedy’ that he is referring to is Leave Them Laughing, his latest documentary.

Leave Them Laughing is a hilarious, deeply moving and thought-provoking film about a woman coming to terms with her own mortality. It is based on a blog written by Carla Zilbersmith, a Canadian-Californian singer, actress and comedian who has been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and given less than a year to live.

ALS is a fatal disease caused by the deterioration of the nerve cells that control voluntary muscle movement, causing the afflicted to suffer from muscle atrophy and weakness. Despite her condition and inevitable death, Carla continues to look for the funnier side of life, wanting to literally leave this world laughing.

“I have Lou Gehrig’s disease, which is also known as ALS,” Carla says in a scene in the beginning of the movie. “It’s a fatal and incurable illness, which means that global warming is your problem, bitches.”

Zaritsky discovered Carla after reading one of her quips about death in the “memorable quotes” section of the year-end edition of The Globe and Mail.

Fascinated by her attitude towards the fatal disease, Zaritsky found some clips of Carla’s skits on YouTube, read her blog (carlamuses.blogspot.com) and shortly after, called her up to suggest that they create a “funny, entertaining, yet still enlightening film about dying.”

Carla supported the idea, and arrangements to begin shooting the film were quickly made.

This redhead’s feisty personality and raunchy sense of humour is clearly depicted through her jokes about ALS, her international condom collection and her decision to abandon making a bucket list in favour of a “fuck-it list” of all the male celebrities she’d like to sleep with before she dies. Zaritsky hopes that the humour and music will draw the college crowd to the film.

“Young audiences love to laugh, they love good jokes, good humour, sharp humour, political humour, satire, impersonation, all of which Carla does in the film,” he explains.

However, the documentary does not shy away from depicting the very serious effects that ALS has on Carla’s life and on her family—specifically her teenage son Maclen and her father Jack. Leave Them Laughing features heart-breaking scenes where Carla describes her difficulty breathing, her struggle with losing her singing voice and her periodic depression. This depression also affects her son Maclen, driving home the stark realities of the illness.

All the same, Carla never fails to overcome whatever the disease throws into her path. Zaritsky says this was evident during the filming process, which was challenging to him as well due to the bond he forged with Carla. But as Zaritsky says, “She never failed to crack a joke and get us all laughing again, so that, even at the end of the worst days, she truly did, as the title of the film suggests, leave us laughing.”

Zaritsky has big ambitions for Leave Them Laughing. It is being entered into film festivals starting early next year, and is being given test screenings at colleges in BC and California. Zaritsky hopes younger generations will watch the film, not just for Carla’s outrageous antics, but for the inspiration and encouragement she gives.

“Carla provides us all with a model of how we can, at least, deal with some of the worst times of our lives, whether it’s dying or flunking out of college, or whatever it may be. She gives us some emotional perspective to deal with those things.”

The FilmSoc is having a test screening of Leave Them Laughing on Monday, November 23 at 6pm in the Norm Theatre. Director John Zaritsky will be present for Q&A after the showing.

Who is John Zaritsky?

Director John Zaritsky, born and educated in Ontario, came to BC in 2001 to make a documentary titled Ski Bums and decided to stay. For four years he taught a course in the UBC Film Production program in return for access to classes and activities on campus to shoot the 2004 reality series College Days, College Nights.

“That was the quid pro quo,” Zaritsky laughed, “I got access, and they wanted something in return.”

Zaritsky proudly points out that two former students of his have gone on to achieve success with 65_RedRoses, a documentary about a 23-year-old woman’s struggle with cystic fibrosis, which won three awards at the Vancouver International Film Festival and was recently featured on CBC Newsworld.

“My own dreams of teaching students who go on to produce great documentaries have been realized at last with these guys,” Zaritsky said.

montanaberg01 — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:51:51 +0000

Top 10 Reasons You Should Become A Fan of Leave Them Laughing(according to director John Zaritsky):

Reason #1

Carla Zilbersmith, the star of the film, is the funniest person I’ve ever met. In the six weeks we’ve spent with her, she’s provided us with more laughs than anybody else. I guarantee that you’ll get at least l00 laughs out of the film. Take the laugh a minute test with the trailer. If you don’t get 3 1/2 laughs, then you don’t have a sense of humour.

You can sign up as a fan on the film’s facebook page here:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Leave-Them-Laughing/146804007575?ref=ts#/pages/Leave-Them-Laughing/146804007575?ref=ts

MIPCOM 2009

montanaberg01 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:31:01 +0000

Producer Montana Berg just returned from a week at MIPCOM, one of the largest film markets in the world that takes place once a year in Cannes, France. Over 12,000 industry professionals from 103 countries, including more than 4,000 buyers, invaded the Croisette for the cross-platform, cross-cultural media event.

As Leave Them Laughing is entering the final stages of post-production, the goal of the trip was to raise lots of awareness for the film around the globe. Montana managed to speak with over 100 TV and Theatrical distributors/network executives and journalists from North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. The reactions of most folks, when they heard that Leave Them Laughing is a ‘musical comedy about dying,’ included those of positive curiosity and genuine interest. Everyone who watched the trailer enjoyed the humor and there has been a keen interest in the opportunity to screen a copy of the rough cut.

Montana is particularly proud of the fact that she was welcomed to MIPCOM with a short writeup in the MIPCOM news magazine which published one issue on each of the four MIPCOM days. The article said the following:

Montana Berg is at MIPCOM for the first time to drum up interest in Leave Them Laughing, which she describes as “a musical comedy movie about dying.”

Although Berg herself is a first-time producer, she has put together an experienced team, headed by Academy Award-winning director John Zaritsky (Just Another Missing Kid). Leave Them Laughing, a Point Grey Pictures/MagicalFlute Films production, tells the true story of comic Carla Zilbersmith, who is suffering from a fatal disease, but has vowed to keep people laughing to the end.

“Coming to MIPCOM has been a real eye-opener,” Berg said. “We are getting a lot of interest in Leave Them Laughing, which is partly down to the strength of the story and partly down to the calibre of the production team.”

Only about a hundred+ projects and/or people were recognized in the MIPCOM news and we are proud that Leave Them Laughing was amongst them!