Small City, Big Dreams: Hong Kong Night at TIFF 2026

For such a tiny peninsula/island combo, Hong Kong is, weirdly, a big deal.  Growing up there and taking it for granted, it has always been a pleasant surprise when people beyond our tiny confines recognize our movies and our music, and cite to me the atmosphere in Wong Kar Wai’s In The Mood For Love, the humour in Stephen Chow’s Kung Fu Hustle, and the choreography in Wilson Yip’s Ip Man or any Bruce Lee film. So, it is unsurprising, but no less pleasurable, to stumble upon an evening dedicated to Hong Kong cinema and its future on the world…

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Linda McQuaig and Neil Brooks discuss their new book on ‘Cancelling Billionaires’

On September 22, Canadian author and journalist Linda McQuaig and tax scholar Neil Brooks will visit London to discuss their recent book Cancelling Billionaires Before They Cancel Us: The Urgent Need for a Wealth Tax. The third book in their trilogy criticizing wealth hoarding and billionaires, their newest instalment brings a new urgency to the problem in an era further wrought with the wealth gap. The pair has been highlighting the issue for decades and now 16 years since the debut of their first co-authored release, The Trouble with Billionaires, McQuaig believes the problem has become much more pronounced. “The…

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An Interview with indie post-rock band QUOTAS: Outsider, Countercultural, and Loud  

Étienne Lavallée documents London’s current art scene with The Honey Dip Archives, a series of interviews with bands that performed at Honey Dip’s one year anniversary celebration. Here, he meets Amanda Mead, Mike Lurz, and Mark Ganassin of QUOTAS, a 1990’s inspired, indie post-rock band from South Ontario. Their music can be found on Bandcamp. *** QUOTAS audio interview: Étienne Lavallée: How long has your band been together, where are you from? Amanda: We’ve been together a year and a half, and two of us are from Brantford, one of us is from Stratford.  Étienne Lavallée: How would you describe…

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An Interview with indie-fuzz-garage rock band La Rent: “It wasn’t supposed to happen, but it did”

Étienne Lavallée documents London’s current art scene with The Honey Dip Archives, a series of interviews with bands that performed at Honey Dip’s one year anniversary celebration. Here, he meets Kade (vocals/ guitar/ drums), Jeff (vocals/ guitar/ drums), and Emma (bass/tambourine/backing vocals) of La Rent, a London Ontario-based indie-fuzz-garage rock band. They’re regular performers in the South Ontario region and can be found at Honey Dip and other local venues on a regular basis. Their most recent releases, STEEL DRAGON KARATE(2025) and a to zap!(2025) can be found on bandcamp.  *** La Rent audio interview: Étienne Lavallée: The two of…

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An Interview with grunge, Moccasingaze band Status/Non-Status: Big Changes on the Horizon

Étienne Lavallée documents London’s current art scene with The Honey Dip Archives, a series of interviews with bands that performed at Honey Dip’s one year anniversary celebration. Here, he meets Adam Sturgeon, Matt Wewell, and Derek Durant of Status/ Non-Status. *** Status/ Non-Status audio interview: Étienne Lavallée: How would you folks describe your sound? South Ontario Grunge? Deadly Grunge? Sludge? Sturge: I usually say we’re like a grunge band these days, but we dabble in Moccassingaze, some of the cultural work that lives in two worlds.  Étienne Lavallée: You’re all real fearless about wading into tough conversations about settler colonialism.…

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An interview with band Willow Switch: “Folklore is a living breathing thing”

Étienne Lavallée documents London’s current art scene with The Honey Dip Archives, a series of interviews with bands that performed at Honey Dip’s one year anniversary celebration. Here, he meets Andra Zlatescu and guest singer Tim of Willow Switch; Robin Henry, their third member, was unable to attend the interview. *** Willow Switch audio interview: Étienne Lavallée: Your music has been described as “the crossroads between Appalachian and Black Sabbath.” How do you balance the traditional roots of banjo and folk with heavy, atmospheric drone elements? Andra: I feel like it’s not very hard to balance because in traditional, old-time…

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