When I arrived in Toronto in the mid1960s a man named George Henderson ran a used book store called VIKING BOOKS on Queen Street just west of University. When I told him I had 8m prints of silent films like THE GOLEM (1920), THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925), THE LOST WORLD (1925), THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915) and more George invited me to present them at his store. That was how my screenings began.
When his store moved to Mirvish Village where it was renamed MEMORY LANE my screening continued there.
When George was unable to run the store for reasons beyond his control I ran it for him. I was a kid. I made mistakes. The important thing is I kept the door open. It is dangerous to save a person’s life. Told that someone was speaking very evilly of him Confucius said, “That’s strange. I never helped that person.”
People have been speaking evilly of me from the day I came home from my first day in school.
In an article on my work David Beard, who ran the wonderful store, CINEBOOKS, said in THE TORONTO STAR, Nov. l, l979 “This man has devoted his whole life to bringing the film classics to the public. He treats animation-cartoons, if you will-as art. He is underfinanced, overworked and snubbed. I think we should pay tribute to him.”
The history of the arts is one of men and women who were and are underfinanced, overworked and snubbed. It is a community I am proud to be part of.
In his book TRUE AND FALSE, David Mamet writes, “Where in the wide history of the world do we find art created by the excessively wealthy, powerful, or educated?”
You won’t find me at TIFF, THE BELL LIGHTBOX, THE REVUE, or any of the places the people who see themselves as good go.
If you do a web search of my name you better have a strong stomach.
Rob Salem, a former writer for THE STAR, was quoted in an article saying, “Reg Hartt has had an amazing impact given the size of the venue and the esoteric nature of the programming. He’s had an incredible impact on the city. No one else is doing it. No one else has ever done it.”
He probably now wishes he hadn’t said it.
Nonetheless, the statement was true then. It is true now.
The best reason I can give you for not supporting TIFF, THE BELL LIGHTBOX, THE REVUE, or any of the places the people who see themselves as good go is that you won’t find me there.
Gary Topp, who became famous in Toronto for offering movies at rock-bottom prices at THE 99 CENT ROXY, is the latest to join the long list of my detractors. He is describing me as delusional and evil.
Well, as Jesus said when someone called him a good man, “None is good but GOD.” So, yes, I am an evil person. It is said the LORD loves a great sinner. I can honestly that I am indeed a very great sinner.
That word “sin” is an archery term. It means to miss the mark. Unless we are born with a gift the first time we shoot at a target we miss the mark. If we let failure stop us we don’t grow. So the greater sinner we are the greater chance we have to actually hit the mark.
A while back a young man who came to my programs stayed after. We talked at length.
“There is something you should know,” I said, “If you search online you will find stories saying I was arrested and charged for possessing and distributing child porn…”
Before I said another word he said, “There is something you should know. I worked for THE NEW YORK TIMES. Right now I’m with CBS NEWS. I researched you BEFORE I cam here. Everything I learned tells me you are innocent.”
I thought, “Fuck…I got a real one.”
We have fake journalists by the truckload all over the planet.
Now and then a real one comes along.
One of the realest was Al Aronowitz. They don’t come better than Al.
Add to that list the late Robert Fulford, Michael Valpy and Joe Fiorito.
Then this one said, “Would you show my film?”
I said, “Sure.”
He said, “When is the best time to show it?”
I said, “Saturday, September 13, the last night of TIFF.”
You won’t find Stedmond Pardy presenting his poetry here although without this place and myself he would probably have died years ago. After my bust when people asked what was going on here he did his best to distance himself and said, “I don’t know.”
You won’t find Anthony Stechyson who made a fine film on Toronto writer Crad Kilodney which he showed during TIFF last year at a place good people go.
Nor will you find WIZTHEMC whose career began the moment he emailed me saying, “I’m homeless. Have you got room for me.”
I moved him in. I started his rap career. The folks he’s with now told him to erase me from his book ’cause my name is bad for his brand.
That’s fine.
However there are many more who came to me homeless and without a future who found both here. One of those is Bruce Simpson. Another homeless fellow staying with me told me of Bruce who found himself homeless after a fire. “Can we find room for him,” I said, “Sure.”
People think we are to look for GOD. They are wrong. Look all you want. You won’t find him.
We are to trust that GOD is in us.
He is. I am. We are. (That’s the Trinity in a nutshell. I’ll be called nuts for saying it).
“The Church exists for nothing else but to draw men into Christ, to make them Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became Man for no other purpose.” —C.S. Lewis.
I’m not faulting Wiz, Anthony, Stedmond and others for, like Peter, briefly walking on the waves and then sinking.
Like Jesus, I’m reaching down to pull them up from drowning.
Amen.
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