Reg Hartt: The CineForum (aka THE Public Enemy)

“Reg Hartt is an island unto himself,” a fellow was told. The comment was not meant as a compliment. Every kick is a free boost forward. Thich Nhat Hanh has written, “When he was eighty, the Buddha knew that he was going to pass away in a few months, and he knew that his disciples were going to miss him. During the last six months, around the city of Vaisali, he used to talk to the monks and the nuns about taking refuge within yourself. The expression is atadipa. Ata means self, dipa means island. When you go back to that island, you experience peace and stability. The Buddha is there, the Dharma is there, and the Sangha is there.” Yes, Reg Hartt IS an island unto himself. The musical exhilaration and reverie of (Herman) Hesse’s early years were antipodal to what he was undergoing at school, which, until his fourteenth year, had for Hesse “the close atmosphere of a penal institution.” At twelve he was already clear in his own mind that he wanted “to become either a poet or nothing at all.” But this astonishingly early clarity of purpose was soon followed by the painful realization that, although there is a road, a school, a course of study by which one can become a teacher, a pastor, a physician, an artisan, a merchant, a postal official, and even a musician, a painter or an architect, there is no road, school, or course of study by which one becomes a poet. Out of the child’s question— whether his goal could be realized—grew criticism of the school’s authority. Leading to serious conflict, this precipitated the first real crisis in Hesse’s young life. The child had perceived lucidly the equivocal nature of pedagogy—indeed, of the adult world in general—that because of its own mediocrity and lack of existential courage, allows greatness only as a distant idea in remote historical perspective. It was the very same with the poet as with the hero and with all strong or beautiful, sanguine, and out-of-the-ordinary people and movements: If they lived in the past they were glorious and every schoolbook was full of their praises; but if they lived in the real world of the present day they were hated. Presumably the teachers were specifically trained and hired for the purpose of preventing as far as possible the growth of magnificent free men and the committing of great, splendid deeds. Thus the young Hesse soon saw nothing but abysses between him and his goal. Everything seemed devalued and uncertain. But he adhered stubbornly to his plan to become a poet. Presumably the teachers were specifically trained and hired for the purpose of preventing as far as possible the growth of magnificent free men and the committing of great, splendid deeds. At thirteen the conflict began. Hesse’s conduct at school and at home left so much to be desired that he was sent “into exile” to the Latin school in Goppingen. His stay there lasted only a year.” —Franz Baumer, HERMAN HESSE.

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Remembering Terry Ross.

Filed Under: Purpose by admin — Comments Off

November 11, 2026

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The 2009/2010 Street Poster Attack on Terry Ross: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=an6wuSoPjlc

Terry Ross was the first person attacked in an anonymous massive slanderous street poster campaign designed to incite violence upon its subjects. While the author of this hate is known I choose not to use his name here.

I once thought that when anonymous slander designed to incite violence against people appeared on the streets good people would stand up to it. A Toronto journalist saidf to me, “Reg Hartt, you are the only man in this city who stands up.”

Fortunately while all but one I sent this video to said they could do nothing that one was Mayor David Miller’s office which got them stopped (briefly).

I am informed that overwhelmed by the impact of these hate flyers Ross took his own life.

The perpetrator was arrested and charged twice in 2017 and in 2023. The peace bond imposed on him has expired.

Once more he is posting anonymous hate.–Reg Hartt

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Toronto alternative-theatre founder stands up to bullying threats

Oliver Moore Published February 24, 2012

The founder of a landmark alternative theatre in downtown Toronto is refusing to back down in the face of a poster-bullying campaign that seems designed to bring violence upon him and his associates.

Reg Hartt, who runs the Cineforum out of his Bathurst Street home, had decided earlier this week that it was too risky to stay open. Patrons keen to see Salò on Tuesday night were sent home disappointed and he said he planned to lie low for a while and then start angling for a new venue.

But by Friday he was determined to stand firm. He will screen a Jane Jacobs picture and a psychiatric hospital documentary tonight and is “rebooting” his film schedule. Among the movies he plans to show is the gay pornographic classic Boys in the Sand – the very picture an anonymous detractor cited on a downtown poster that was part of an attempt to smear Mr. Hartt.

“If he can do it to me he can do it to anyone,” he said during an interview in a tiny screening room decorated with old movie posters and paraphernalia.

“The only way I can deal with this is stand up and say, ‘here I am.’ If someone wants to let their emotions run rampant, if something happens, I’ll deal with it.”

His theatre and arts centre typically includes a rotating cast of house guests and creative types. It is known for its screenings of unusual movies, including uncensored animated films, as well as extemporaneous lectures from the founder.

The 22-year-old Cineforum almost fell victim to the latest salvoes in a barrage of vitriol on posters throughout the downtown, including attacks against Mr. Hartt, which come close to calling him a pedophile.

The poster campaigns range from overt incitements to violence – in one case offering $500 “to brutally break” the legs of a particular person – to more indirect threats. One person was labelled a police informant, alongside his photo. Another was accused of videotaping drug dealers, on a poster that said where he lived. One poster mimics others put up by Mr. Hartt, but adds a racial epithet. He believes it was designed to provoke attacks upon him.

One of the people targeted said that he was put in danger by the posters.

“I’m actually kind of scared,” said the man, who did not want to be named (Terry Ross, now deceased). “You got a lot of crack heads. They get all freaked out on that stuff and you never know what they’re going to do. I got to watch my back every day.”

In Mr. Hartt’s case, the attacks were a careful mixture of implication and accusation. Recently put up in various locations, including near schools, were a trio of posters headlined “ATTENTION PARENTS.”

The first poster mentions recent local child porn arrests. The second claims that Mr. Hartt has possessed and displayed material of “children in sexual situations” and says he watches local school kids walking home. That poster includes the bold-type phrase “BOYS BEWARE.” The third poster encourages people to contact politicians to shut down the theatre and asks those with “stories about Reg” to e-mail them. But the account is not active and the wording of the e-mail address is itself a smear.

Mr. Hartt acknowledges the danger he is in, noting that pedophilia is society’s great taboo, but said he is more worried about the posters that describe the videotaping of drug dealers. The man accused of that lives in the neighbourhood, putting the many people who drift through Cineforum at risk if retribution occurs.

“He was sending people to take us out,” Mr. Hartt said of whoever is putting up the posters.

He said he sees little relief in going to the police or taking a legal route, noting that the person he believes responsible has no money and would probably ignore a cease-and-desist order. And having thought about it through the week, he decided not to shut down.

Reg Hartt: The CineForum (aka THE Public Enemy)

Toronto alternative-theatre founder stands up to bullying threats

Reg Hartt Cineforum

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