13th Annual Kamloops Canadian and International Film Festival Festival Guidebook
Featuring Canadian guest directors Murray Siple from Carts of Darkness and Carl Bessai from Mothers & Daughters
Thursday February 26 to Thursday March 5, 2009 Paramount Theatre
FILM COMMISSION
A “Reel” Community Advance tickets at Moviemart, downtown at 5th and Seymour
Ticket Information
Festival Events
Advance tickets will be on sale at Moviemart (5th and Seymour) from Friday February 6th until Thursday March 5th.
Opening Reception Celebrate the opening of the festival Thursday February 26th, immediately following the showing of I’ve Loved You So Long, at rocksalt, the Plaza Hotel’s restaurant and bar located at 405 Victoria Street. This event, sponsored by the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association, will celebrate French culture by offering a chance to mingle in an “atmosphère française” and to try various hors d’oeuvres prepared by the rocksalt staff. Come and be a part of a “Reel” Community.
During the festival, single tickets may also be purchased at the Paramount Theatre. Tickets to the Festival Closing Party will be available at Moviemart prior to the festival and in the theatre lobby during the festival. $8 per ticket:
Single admission
$7 per ticket:
When you purchase 5 to 9 different tickets at the same time
$6 per ticket:
When you purchase 10 or more different tickets at the same time
$10 per ticket:
Festival Party
A $1 Kamloops Film Society membership is required (available at the door). Under the Motion Pictures Act of British Columbia and Canada Customs Regulations, only members of the Kamloops Film Society are permitted to attend films. An annual membership fee of $1 allows all members to purchase tickets for all films sponsored by the Society and entitles members to all rights and privileges of the Society in accordance with and subject to the Constitution and Bylaws. Members must be 18 years of age or older. FRONT COVER
from I’ve Loved You So Long PA G E S 2 / 3 , A N D 1 3
from Happy-Go-Lucky PA G E 4
from Welcome to the Sticks BACK COVER
from Lemon Tree
Find more film info at www.imdb.com 2
Festival Closing Party Celebrate a successful festival on Thursday March 5th, following the showing of Happy-Go-Lucky. Join us at rocksalt restaurant and bar, 405 Victoria Street, for appetizers, a glass of wine and some live music. Only 90 tickets will be sold, so buy early. Tickets are $10 per person. This event is generously sponsored by the TRU Open Learning Agency. People’s Choice Award and Festival Draw Enter our draw to win two free passes to next year’s film festival and to vote for your favourite film of the festival. The most popular film, and the annual draw winner, will be announced at the opening of the Kamloops Film Society’s regular spring film series. Ballots available in the lobby. Film Trivia Prizes Win great prizes! A short trivia contest will be held at the beginning of each film.
Special Guests
Schedule and Contents
The festival committee is pleased to announce that we will be welcoming TWO special guests this year: Murray Siple The director of Carts of Darkness, Murray Siple, will be in attendance at the screening of his documentary on Sunday March 1st at 7pm. Murray is originally from Kamloops and is pleased to come and share his work with us. Admission to Carts of Darkness, will be by donation with all proceeds going to Interior Community Services. Carl Bessai The director of Mothers & Daughters, Carl Bessai, will be in attendance at the screening of his film on Tuesday March 3rd at 7pm. Carl is an award winning Canadian director who is thrilled to be visiting Kamloops along with his film.
Discounts During the Festival Plaza Heritage Hotel—Room Discount Simply mention that you are in town for the festival and receive a special room rate of $79 plus taxes (single or double occupancy). Parking is free. Call toll free 1-877-977-5292.
T H U R S DAY F E B R UA RY 2 6
PAG E
6:00 pm
Doors open
6:45 pm
Opening remarks
7:00 pm
I’ve Loved You So Long
5
9:00 pm
Opening Reception
2
MONDAY MARCH 2
7:00 pm
Welcome to the Sticks
7:00 pm
Mothers & Daughters with special guest, director Carl Bessai in attendance
7:00 pm
Necessities of Life
6
WEDNESDAY MARCH 4
9:00 pm
Let the Right One In
7
7:00 pm
Fifty Dead Men Walking
17
18
THURSDAY MARCH 5
S AT U R DAY F E B R UA RY 2 8
One Week
16
TUESDAY MARCH 3
F R I DAY F E B R UA RY 2 7
1:00 pm
PAG E
8
7:00 pm
Happy-Go-Lucky
9
9:00 pm
Festival Closing Party
2
Draw to win two passes for next year’s festival
2
3:00 pm
My Winnipeg
7:00 pm
Lemon Tree
10
9:00 pm
Silent Light
11
12
S U N DAY M A R C H 1
1:00 pm
Happy-Go-Lucky
12
3:00 pm
Flow: For the Love of Water
14
7:00 pm
Carts of Darkness with special guest, director Murray Siple in attendance
15
3
From the Festival Committee For the thirteenth (a lucky number we think!) annual Kamloops Canadian and International Film Festival we have thirteen films associated with more than eight countries and covering eight languages. Genres include drama, horror, documentary, comedy, romance, and a combination of the above. With such a wide range of film, we hope that there is something for everyone. Once again, we have organized the Opening Reception to give the festival the launch that it deserves. This year our opening and closing events are with the Plaza Heritage Hotel at the rocksalt restaurant and we hope that you enjoy this new location. Be sure to purchase your tickets for our Festival Closing Party early, as there is a very limited number of tickets. This year we are going beyond anything we have attempted in the past by showing thirteen films over eight days (we were inspired by last year’s success of spreading the festival over eight days). As an extra benefit we are showing six films that are Canadian (two of which have strong connection to BC), the largest number we have ever shown. Be sure to give us feedback on these ventures, and give us more ideas, by filling out this year’s questionnaire. Sponsorship plays a major part in any event like this. Throughout this brochure, on tickets, on the screen prior to each film, and with verbal announcements, you will see or hear the names of our many sponsors and supporters. We are extremely grateful for the support that we receive from these businesses and encourage you to, whenever possible, thank them for their participation. The committee is very grateful for the hours of volunteer time donated by Glenda Mathew and Jeff Harrison. As well, we value the participation and assistance of the many Festival volunteers, without whose help we could not have gone forward. Their commitment to independent film enriches the Kamloops art community. Sincerely, The Kamloops Canadian and International Film Festival Committee: Jack Braaksma
Dušan Magdolen
Kevin Martin
Nancy Palson
Jennifer Poohachoff
Deb Steele
Gordon Tarzwell
Nathalie Wandler
Thursday February 26th 7:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ Rarely do head and heart coalesce to such sublime effect in film as in I’ve Loved You So Long, the debut feature by Philippe Claudel, who directs like a veteran.” Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter “You may need to see I’ve Loved You So Long twice in order to see it once.” David Denby New Yorker
I’ve Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t’aime) France Directed by Philippe Claudel In French with English subtitles Drama/Mystery 117 Minutes Rated G
I’ve Loved You So Long tells the profoundly moving story of two sisters rediscovering their relationship after years of separation. Reaching beyond the traditional family drama, Claudel’s film crafts a sophisticated examination of forgiveness. Immediately following her release from prison after serving a fifteen-year sentence for committing an inexplicable crime, Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas, Gosford Park, Tell No One) reunites with her sister Léa (Elsa Zylberstein), having not seen her since childhood. Léa, who is now married with two adopted children, warmly accepts her older sister into her home, doing everything she can to reconstruct their stunted relationship. As Juliette struggles to find and maintain a job, overcome her demons and keep her dark secret under wraps from her sister’s gossipy social circle, she finds it increasingly difficult to adapt to her newfound freedom. In what can best be described as a career-defining achievement, Scott Thomas delivers a commanding performance that underscores the dynamic relationship of the two siblings. Given its serious subject matter, the film could have remained dramatically downbeat throughout, but Claudel interweaves flashes of dry humour and moments of uplifting warm-heartedness with extremely smart dialogue, offering additional complexity to a visually stunning film. “The camera accompanies Juliette wherever she goes, observing her loneliness and sorrow in close-ups of her lined, careworn face, in medium shots of her among people yet keeping a distance with her body language
and in long shots of her all alone against an impersonal backdrop. Prison becomes a metaphor for many things – for society with its confining laws and mores, or a state of mind that not only Juliette, but other characters are in.…Claudel takes great care in placing the narrative building blocks that lead up to a gradual and deeply moving rapprochement between Juliette and the rest of humanity. He orchestrates scenes of underlying emotional intensity with composure, such as Juliette’s reunion with her mother, or Luc’s first display of trust by asking Juliette to babysit. As Juliette slowly comes out of her shell, the lighting is warmer and the makeup softer, so she literally turns more and more beautiful.” — Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter AWARDS
2008 winner People’s Choice Award, Most Popular Film Vancouver International Film Festival 2008 winner Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Reader Jury of the “Berliner Morgenpost” 2009 nominee Best Foreign Language Film, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Golden Globes 2008 nominee Golden Berlin Bear Berlin International Film Festival 2008 nominee Best Foreign Independent Film European Film Awards 2008 nominee Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama Satellite Awards 5
Friday February 27th 7:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ Necessities knows just how to eke maximum poignancy from its events without seeming to manipulate for tear jerking effect. Ungalaaq’s lovely performance easily sustains viewer involvement.” Dennis Harvey Variety “ He has one of the most expressive faces ever to grace a movie screen and he ropes you in from the very first second you see him.” Brendan Kelly The Gazette
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The Necessities of Life (Ce qu’il faut pour vivre) Canada Directed by Benoît Pilon In English, French and Inuktitut with English subtitles 102 minutes Not Rated
From prolific documentary filmmaker Benoît Pilon, comes this gorgeous, elegiac story that examines Canada’s rich heritage of multiculturalism by seeking out a period when there was virtually no contact between the Inuit and the rest of Canada. Set in the 1950s, The Necessities of Life recalls a time when tuberculosis was still an epidemic and a serious problem for many underserved communities. As the disease spread, many Inuit were forced to leave their homes in search of treatment elsewhere. As the film begins, Tivii (a mesmerizing performance by Atanarjuat’s Natar Ungalaaq) is brought to a sanatorium in Quebec City, where he is told he has to leave his family behind and face treatment alone. Suddenly he finds himself removed from everything he knows, surrounded by a language he does not speak, and facing a future that is uncertain. Luckily, he has a nurse, Carole (Éveline Gélinas) who is kind and nurturing, and who wants to see Tivii thrive. She cannot speak Tivii’s language, but she has an orphan, the Inuit and bilingual Kaki (Paul-André Brasseur),
transferred to Tivii’s ward to translate. The two form a strong connection as each, in his own way, struggles with his health and plans for productive years ahead – back home. While The Necessities of Life covers vast terrain – the sociohistorical period in which it is set, the contrasting worlds of its characters, the universal language of compassion that can bind people together – it is Ungalaaq’s exquisite performance that elevates this film from what is already elegant, humanist and skillfully crafted into a truly poetic work of art. AWARDS
2008 winner Public Award, Public Prize for the Best Canadian Film, Special Grand Prize of the Jury; nominee Grand Prix des Amériques Montréal World Film Festival
Friday February 27th 9:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ A spectacularly moving and elegant movie, and to dismiss it into genre-hood, to mentally stuff it into the horror pigeonhole, is to overlook a remarkable film.” John Anderson Washington Post “ Funny, fear-inducing, with periods of voyeuristic gore and an undercurrent of anxiety and dread, Let the Right One In is up there with the bloodsucking classics.” Steven Rea Philadelphia Inquirer
Let The Right One In (Låt den rätte komma in) Sweden Directed by Tomas Alfredson In Swedish with English subtitles Drama/Horror/Romance/Thriller 114 minutes Rated 14A: violence
Twelve-year-old Oskar lives with his mom in a particularly bleak section of Stockholm. Geeky, awkward and just plain weird, Oskar is one of those kids that bullies seem to sniff out. One night, while practicing stabbing a tree (in lieu of his tormentors), Oskar meets the new girl who just moved in next door. Eli, preternaturally pale and self-possessed, might smell a little odd, but like Oskar she’s dying of loneliness – as well as the need for human blood. A subtle romance blossoms between Oskar and Eli, and she gives him the strength to fight back against his aggressors. Oskar becomes increasingly aware of the tragic, inhuman dimension of Eli’s plight, but cannot bring himself to forsake her. Frozen forever in a twelve-year-old’s body, with all the burgeoning feelings and confused emotions of a young adolescent, Eli knows that she can only continue to live if she keeps on moving. But when Oskar faces his darkest hour, Eli returns to defend him the only way she can. Director Alfredson has done the seemingly impossible by reinventing the hoariest of horror genres – the vampire film – with sly wit and surprising sweetness. The beauty is in the details, and Alfredson’s particular genius is apparent in small perfect touches. The scene where Eli and Oskar dance to bad Swedish disco is a particular standout, but the film is filled with wonderful grace notes. The film’s most enduring quality, however, is how perfectly it captures the aching loneliness of people on the outside. It is this need for human contact that makes even the most horrific of acts somehow forgivable. Kudos must be given to the film’s
two young leads whose natural and deeply affecting performances lend the film emotional honesty and rare power. AWARDS
2008 winner Rotten Tomatoes Critical Consensus Award Edinburgh International Film Festival 2008 winner Best European/North-South American Film, Best Director, Best Film, Best Photography Fant-Asia Film Festival 2008 winner Best Film, Best Cinematography Göteborg Film Festival 2008 winner Best Director, Citizen’s Choice Award Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival 2008 winner Best Film Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival 2008 winner Best Foreign Language Film Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards 2008 winner Best Film Toronto After Dark Film Festival 2008 winner Best Narrative Feature Tribeca Film Festival 2008 winner Audience Award Woodstock Film Festival 2008 nominee Best Motion Picture, Best Foreign Language Film Satellite Awards
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Saturday February 28th 1:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ The script employs a third-person voiceover narration (by Campbell Scott) that is so well written that it elevates the film by adding some perspective to a journey that could otherwise become self-indulgent.” Erin Oke Exclaim! “ Michael McGowan has fashioned a road movie that packs an unexpected emotional punch.” David Nusair Reel Film Reviews
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One Week Canada Directed by Michael McGowan In English Drama 94 minutes Rated PG: coarse language; violence; drug use
This film will be preceded by a short.
Joshua Jackson plays Ben Tyler, who has recently been diagnosed with a terminal illness. At first Ben can’t believe his situation, but when the reality sinks in, he decides he needs to act radically. Although engaged to the beautiful – if slightly acerbic – Samantha (played by the delightful Liane Balaban of New Waterford Girl), Ben is overpowered by the need to capture some unknown yet vital experience before the darkness descends. He needs to hit the road, and to do it alone. Setting his sights on a cross-Canada road trip, he indulges in one heck of an impulse buy – a vintage motorcycle – and sets out for the West. Travelling from Toronto to Tofino on the TransCanada Highway, Ben takes in some of the nation’s iconic landmarks: this typically means anything claiming to be the “world’s biggest.” It is a testament to the generosity of McGowan’s filmmaking that he can raise both a laugh and a tear when Ben visits roadside attractions like the world’s biggest goose in Wawa, Ontario. He pushes on. As Samantha tries to reclaim her fiancé in a series of increasingly concerned calls from Toronto, Ben rides west, hitting the intoxicating open spaces of the Prairies and the shock of the Rocky
Mountains as he aims for the Pacific Ocean. Along the way he has a hilarious encounter with a highway philosopher, played by Canadian rock icon Gord Downie, and strikes up a touching, tentative relationship with a young woman in Banff. The cross-Canada road trip is a rite of passage for Canadians and a privilege that tourists fly across oceans to experience. Never has it been filmed so grandly, nor brought so beautifully into a story of inspiration. “McGowan has put together an excellent soundtrack of alternative Canadian artists.” — Patrick Z. McGavin, Screen International
Saturday February 28th 3:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ If you love movies in the very sinews of your imagination, you should experience the work of Guy Maddin.” Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times “ The best way to take My Winnipeg is with a box of popcorn and a grain of salt.” Ruthe Stein San Francisco Chronicle
My Winnipeg Canada Directed by Guy Maddin In English Drama/Documentary/History 80 minutes Rated PG: nudity
This film will be preceded by a short.
Have you ever wanted to relive your childhood and do things differently? Guy Maddin attempts to answer that question in a hilariously wacky and profoundly touching goodbye letter to his childhood hometown. A documentary (or “docu-fantasia” as Maddin proclaims) that inventively blends local and personal history with surrealist images and metaphorical myths, the film covers everything from the fire at the local park which leads to a frozen lake of distressed horse heads, to pivotal and factually heightened scenes from Maddin’s own childhood, all laced with a startling emotional honesty.
and Brand upon the Brain! [Kamloops Film Festival 2008]. As in those films, his mother takes a central role as muse and monster. Fact and fiction blend seamlessly in Maddin’s personal and civic mythology, arrestingly shot in black and white in styles borrowed from silent masters but made entirely the filmmaker’s own. It is no wonder that there can be no escape from this Winnipeg. As surely as his mother clutches his heart, so does this city, where Maddin finds the extraordinary in a mundane public pool and poetry in a footprint in the snow.” — Pam Grady, www.reel.com
“Winnipeg filmmaker Guy Maddin yearns for escape, but the icebound burg holds him fast. Dozing aboard a train that endlessly loops the city limits, he only rises to sleepwalk back to his boyhood home where he reenacts scenes from his childhood. In this dreamy milieu, the Manitoban town’s history comes to life, rife with supernatural portents in old Indian legends and 20th century tales of ghosts and mediums. It is a place with a proud labour past, a sorry history in the national sport of hockey, and odd intersections with the animal world as buffalo stampede a theme park and horses freeze solid in a river. It is a town where the city fathers level the past, including a notable tree, a landmark department store and Maddin’s beloved Winnipeg Arena, leading to an uncertain future. Made for Canada’s Documentary Channel, Maddin’s first foray into nonfiction filmmaking furthers the autobiographical melodramatic skein of Cowards Bend the Knee (2003)
“This haunting phantasmagoria of a film – comic, singular, surreal – is not only something no one but the Canadian director could have made, it’s also a film no one else would have even wanted to make. Which is the heart of its appeal.” — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times AWARDS
2007 winner Best Canadian Feature Film Toronto International Film Festival 2008 winner Best Canadian Film Toronto Film Critics Association Awards
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Saturday February 28th 7:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ Impressively directed, emotionally engaging Israeli drama with a terrific central performance from Hiam Abbass.” Matthew Turner ViewLondon “ Just the way Abbas takes off or puts on a headscarf reveals Salma’s state-ofmind.” Tom Dawson Film4.com
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Lemon Tree (Etz Limon) Israel/Germany/France Directed by Eran Riklis In Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles Drama 106 minutes Not Rated
Winner of the Panorama Audience Award at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, Eran Riklis’ (The Syrian Bride) timely and cogent political drama concerns Salma, a Palestinian widow (Hiam Abbass from The Visitor), who finds that her lemon grove, located on the green-line border between Israel and the West Bank, has become an issue of national security to Israeli officials. It seems that her new neighbour is the Israeli Minister of Defense, and neither he nor his security detail feel comfortable with all that cover so close to his residence. Outraged, Salma vows to fight all the way to the Israeli Supreme Court to save her grove. Surprisingly, she finds an ally of sorts in the minister’s wife, who feels herself trapped inside her new home and tormented by an unhappy marriage. “Lemon Tree does not take sides. It merely portrays real life among these ancient people. But the message that it sends out is very clear. Israel’s separation wall which is credited for dramatically reducing terror attacks and the land for which it divides is not the real issue. Lemon Tree is about real people on both sides of the divide who need to know, understand and communicate with one another – not through bullets, but rather through coffee, tea and lemonade.” — Joel Leyden, Israel News Agency
“The rare ability to make intelligent, entertaining cinema from hot-button current issues is beautifully illustrated by Lemon Tree, a multifaceted drama straddling the Palestinian-Israeli chasm that’s marbled with irony, generosity, anger and pure crowd-pleasing optimism. As in his 2004 hit, The Syrian Bride, Israeli director Eran Riklis tackles a story of border sensitivities but reduces its political components to a simple human level, topped by an outstanding, award-worthy performance from Palestinian actress Hiam Abbass.” — Derek Elley, Variety AWARDS
2008 winner Best Actress; nominee Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Music, Best Sound Awards of the Israeli Film Academy 2008 winner Panorama Audience Award Berlin International Film Festival 2008 nominee Best Actress, Best Screenwriter European Film Awards
Saturday February 28th 9:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ The extravagantly talented director Carlos Reygadas’s immersion in the exotic world of Silent Light feels so deep and true that it seems like an act of faith.” Manohla Dargis New York Times “ Throughout, there’s a sense of something ominous impending, and while it remains gentle, the ending is genuinely startling.“ Liam Lacey Globe and Mail
Silent Light (Stellet licht) Mexico/France/Netherlands/Germany Directed by Carlos Reygadas In English, Spanish, French and Low German with English subtitles Drama 127 minutes Rated PG: sexually suggestive scene; nudity
A man of faith succumbs to a temptation he cannot resist in this drama written and directed by Carlos Reygadas. Johan (Cornelio Wall Fehr) and Esther (Miriam Toews) have been married for years, and live with their children in a Mennonite community in Mexico. While Johan and Esther are both taciturn by nature, a moral dilemma is tearing Johan apart – he’s been having an affair with another woman in their circle, Marianne (Maria Pankratz), and feels he may be falling in love with her. While the tenets of his faith strictly forbid adultery, his need to be with Marianne seems stronger than the dictates of his moral compass, and while he’s confessed his sins to Esther and his close friend Zacarias (Jacobo Klassen), subjecting himself to the shame of truth hasn’t buffered his desires. Even worse, after telling his father about his lust for Marianne, he’s told that he may have fallen under the sway of Satan. To capture the innocence necessary to tell his tale, Reygadas ventured to a Mennonite community in northern Mexico, where the inhabitants live like relics from another era. Rather than falsifying his world, Reygadas cast the film with actual Mennonites who speak the German dialect Plattdeutsch, which gives the film an even greater authority – and further establishes a truly original tone. From the luminous opening shot – which is without question one of the most stunning opening shots ever committed to celluloid – it becomes clear that this is a much different film than Reygadas’s last, the graphic and blunt Battle In Heaven. While it appears that he
was deeply influenced by Carl Theodor Dreyer’s Ordet, as well as the works of Terrence Malick, Silent Light is not merely a carbon copy of those films. It is the work of a visionary filmmaker who is challenging himself and trying to address genuinely deep human issues. Beautiful and profound, this is cinema at its most breathtaking. AWARDS
2008 winner Best Direction, Best Supporting Actress, Best Cinematography; nominee Best Actress Ariel Awards 2007 winner Best Film Bergen International Film Festival 2007 winner Jury Prize; nominee Golden Palm Cannes Film Festival 2007 winner Best Film Chicago International Film Festival 2008 winner Best Cinematography, Best Director Cine Ceará – National Cinema Festival 2007 winner Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Sound, Grand Coral – First Prize Havana Film Festival 2007 winner Golden Colon, Silver Colon Huelva Latin American Film Festival 2007 winner Best Latin American Film, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival 2009 nominee Best Foreign Film Independent Spirit Awards 11
Producer Sponsor Sunday’s showing
“ Happy-Go-Lucky is as funny, serious, life-affirming and beautifully performed as anything Leigh has done.” Philip French The Observer
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Producer Sponsor Thursday’s showing
Happy-Go-Lucky United Kingdom Directed by Mike Leigh In English Comedy/Drama 118 minutes Rated PG: coarse language
Happy-Go-Lucky is a vastly appealing comedy about life, love and knowing how to have fun. Poppy (Sally Hawkins, well regarded for her small roles in Vera Drake and All or Nothing) is a flamboyant, free-spirited elementary school teacher. As she rides her bicycle through the streets of central London, she smiles and waves at acquaintances and strangers alike; she’s constantly taken with life. After her beloved bicycle is stolen, Poppy decides to take driving lessons from the Axle “good driving is no accident” School of Motoring. There she meets Scott (Eddie Marsan, The Illusionist, Me and Orson Welles), her hypersensitive driving instructor. As she continues to see Scott for lessons, he becomes increasingly irritated yet equally infatuated by her bubbly, laissez-faire attitude, at one point angrily accusing her of being a flirt. Soon after, Poppy also meets Tim, a social worker from the school system who, by contrast, fully appreciates her effervescent attitude. Leigh and his cast have fun exploring the ins and outs of this classic romantic scenario. The extroverted Poppy and introverted Scott are seemingly like fire and water, constantly at each other’s throats. And then there is Tim, the other corner of the triangle. Who will win out? There is a part of Poppy in each of us, urging us to laugh out loud, even during many of life’s terribly unfunny moments. Leigh’s good-natured comic spirit successfully steers us through Happy-Go-Lucky’s light and dark moments, shaping Poppy into one of his most memorable creations.
Sunday March 1, 1:00 pm and Thursday March 5, 7:00 pm
AWARDS
2008 winner Best Actress; nominee Golden Berlin Bear Berlin International Film Festival 2008 winner Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress; nominee Best Actress British Independent Film Awards 2008 winner Hollywood Breakthrough Award Hollywood Film Festival 2008 winner Best Actress, Best Screenplay Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2008 winner Best Actress, Best Director New York Film Critics Circle Awards 2008 winner Most Enjoyable Film – Theatre Owners Norwegian International Film Festival 2008 winner Best Director – Foreign Pula Film Festival 2009 nominee Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Golden Globes 2008 nominee Best Actress, Best Film European Film Awards 2008 nominee Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical, Best Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical Satellite Awards
Sunday March 1st 3:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ The inconvenient truth at the center of Flow: For Love of Water is that while the oil crisis is intensely debated and documented, disasters involving an even more essential fluid go perilously unnoticed.” Fernando F. Croce Slant Magazine “ It’s a plainly one-sided call to arms, but with good reason – you may never look at your faucet without flinching again.” Sara Cardace New York Magazine
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Flow: For Love of Water USA Directed by Irena Salina In English Documentary 93 minutes Rated G: violence
This film will be preceded by a short.
India, Bolivia, Canada, France, South Africa, and the United States – different countries, same problem: the world’s primary resource is being hijacked by corporate greed. In this inspiring and visually stunning film, Salina travels across the world, documenting how dedicated activists are challenging the Goliaths, and offering creative, sustainable solutions from the ground-up. In India, Salina talks to grassroots activists, including Vandana Shiva and ‘the waterman of India’ Shri Rajendra Singh. The film threads back and forth between the different countries to create a truly global tapestry of voices, all championing the sustainable use of water and its preservation as a basic human right. An inspired, yet disturbingly provocative, wake-up call: our life-giving water is a resource in peril across the planet. The film highlights a global crisis in water politics, pollution and human rights and warns that water, the quintessence of life and our most precious resource, can no longer be taken for granted. Unless we effect global change, impoverished nations could be wiped from the planet and by their thirst for survival, people across the planet are fighting for their birthright. Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the
governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question: “Can anyone really own water?” Beyond identifying the problem, Flow also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround. “One of Flow’s most intriguing segments concerns bottled water, the alternative of choice for society’s most prosperous elements but a liquid that turns out to be less regulated and possibly less safe than what comes through the tap. In addition, we’re told, society could provide pure water for everyone on the planet for what we pay for the bottled kind. It’s something to think about, as is this entire film.” — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times AWARDS
2008 winner Best Documentary Vail Film Festival 2008 nominee Grand Jury Prize Sundance Film Festival
Sunday March 1st 7:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ Siple’s filmic resurrection is a refreshing parody of the self-important extreme sports genre, and at the same time it stands up as an important piece of social commentary.” Todd Andre Calgary Correspondent “ Self-contained and self-sufficient, these men enjoy where they are – even if they aren’t too sure where that is, exactly, at any given moment.” Katherine Monk Canwest News Service
Carts of Darkness Canada Directed by Murray Siple In English Documentary 60 minutes Not Rated: Coarse Language
This film will be preceded by a short.
Director Murray Siple will be in attendance at the showing of his film and available for questions at the end. In Carts of Darkness, the treacherous mountain roads and discarded shopping carts of North Vancouver become the rivers and boats of self-exploration for a group of homeless ‘free birds’ who have few chances at joy. The film adopts the tropes of extreme sports filmmaking: fluid flowing cinematography, intense music (Black Mountain, Ladyhawk, Vetiver, Bison, and Alan Boyd of Little Sparta), visceral pulse pounding action, and irreverent characters unbounded by society’s constrictions, to bring viewers deep into a world and deep into people they would normally look away from. Carts of Darkness is a cinematic Trojan horse, utilizing a filmic vocabulary, visual flair and humour often missing from “message” films, as a way to bring viewers to the issues. “The shopping cart racers channel the same outlandish and rebellious attitude that characterized early snowboarders – an attitude that has long since washed away by the commercialization of the sport.” — Todd Andre, Calgary Correspondent About Director Murray Siple I have not always relied on a wheelchair for my mobility. As an able-bodied person I was a high school quarterback, dedicated mountain biker, skateboarder, and a snowboarder. I lived in Whistler, BC and directed five independent action sport videos that were pre-“X-games” and pre-
“mainstream extreme.” I set down deep roots in a short period while living in the mountain community, and traveled internationally filming snow and skateboarding. That lifestyle dream was destroyed in 1996 when a high-speed motor vehicle accident compounded by an emergency room error rendered me a quadriplegic. Throughout the following eight years, I continued to hope that my life could still somehow include my passion for filmmaking. Eventually, I was able to renovate a home in North Vancouver that became a model of accessibility and independence. But outside the comforting accessibility of this new home, my vantage point was largely limited to flat pathways, accessible public buildings, and shopping centres. I learned to drive a van which extended my freedom, but my limited hand dexterity made it difficult to work a camera like I had before. So in spite of solid gains in the direction of freedom and mobility, I found myself largely retreating from the dream of returning to filmmaking. The next few years were chiefly spent adjusting to my disability and trying to ignore the craving to make films. I discovered the story behind Carts of Darkness when I was grocery shopping one evening. I noticed some loud individuals who were cashing in bottles. I had a romantic vision that both of our lifestyles were stereotypes to the passing customers: the drunken and comically disordered bottle returners, and me, wheelchair-bound and precarious in my adapted vehicle. When I approached the men with the idea to make a film, a world was revealed to me I had never expected to discover in my own neighbourhood. 15
Monday March 2nd 7:00 pm
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“ Thoroughly enjoyable and contagiously funny, this is solid French gold.” Louise Keller Urban Cinefile “ Boon clearly loves his own region and has found the right format for his love letter to the North.” Boyd van Hoeij European-films.net
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Welcome to the Sticks (Bienvenue chez les Ch’tis) France Directed by Dany Boon In French with English subtitles Comedy 106 minutes Rated PG: coarse language
The biggest box-office smash in French history shows the French in the mood to laugh at themselves. This is a hicks-in-the-sticks tale about a post office manager who has a nice outpost in the South of France but ends up banished to a rainy town in the north, where he finds the local dialect unintelligible. In a desperate attempt to appease his unhappy wife with a transfer to the French Riviera, Philippe Abrams (played by the very charming Kad Merad) instead gets sent to the middle of nowhere. The town of Bergues to be exact, in a remote corner of northern France called the Pas de Calais. Here the locals have their own way of doing things, and saying things. The townspeople speak a dialect called Ch’ti, which to Philippe’s ears is little more than gibberish. At first, Philippe has trouble understanding what anyone has to say, let alone being able to make any friends. But as the rural eccentrics gradually worm their way into his affections, he comes to appreciate the gentle pace of life in his new home. Dany Boon’s deeply charming comedy might dispel the
notion that the French cannot laugh at themselves. The director’s own turn as a particularly dim-witted mailman is also a piece of terrific comedy. UK’s Guardian describes the film as “fiendishly funny.” An American remake starring Will Smith is already planned, but the French original will be very hard to top. “Living the good life in Salon-de-Provence as a postmaster quickly comes to an end for Philippe Abrams (Kad Merad) when he is banished to the bleak, barren tundra of the North as punishment for trying to finagle his way into an even better position on the coast. His long-depressed wife Julie (Zoe Felix) stays behind with their son while he leaves for the Land of Ch’tis bundled up like a polar bear. Moving north in France is the equivalent to ending up on U.S. Redneck territory but with arctic weather: the people are backward, their food is weird, not much in the way of culture, and boy do they love their booze and guns.” — Fred Thom, Plume Noire Review AWARDS
2008 nominee Best Film European Film Awards
Tuesday March 3rd 7:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ The film is never weighed down by the drama and instead, the dramatic moments are interspersed with some hilarious segments.” Marina Antunes Row Three
Mothers and Daughters
Director Carl Bessai will be in attendance at the showing of his film and available for questions at the end.
Canada Directed by Carl Bessai In English Comedy 85 minutes Not Rated
Carl Bessai’s latest is a comedic drama that blends elements of narrative and documentary film. Micki (Babs Chula), a popular romance novelist with a loyal fan base, is the single, widowed mother of Rebecca (Camille Sullivan), a sullen twenty-something who resents her mother’s constant need for validation. Micki surrounds herself with glamorous, pompous colleagues who alternately support her commercial success and criticize the cultural vapidity of her work. Things come to a head when Micki witnesses Rebecca perform what she interprets as a cruel satire of her own persona. Brenda (Gabrielle Rose) is the archetypal invisible woman who is abruptly discarded following a life of sacrifice. When her husband fails to return for dinner one night, her emotionally estranged daughter Kate (Tiffany Lyndall-Knight) appears in his stead, armed with an email declaring his love for another (much younger) woman. Left to cope with her abandonment, Kate is hurt by his disappearance, while Brenda rediscovers her own voice, buried for decades beneath her suburban complacency. Celine (Tantoo Cardinal) is an independently successful Métis woman who owns her own housepainting business. As a young woman, Celine lost her pregnant, teenaged daughter to the streets. She died homeless, her own newborn lost within the system. Celine has since searched for her missing
This film will be preceded by a short.
“ While the film is based on the interpersonal relationships of women, it is done so in a way that can ring true for any relationship with a mother or daughter – as a mother, sister, daughter, brother, father, or son.” Monika Bartyzel collider.com
granddaughter in vain. These three mother/daughter pairs offer a diverse glimpse into the needs, the denials, and the inescapable love that women feel towards each other. “I like to think of film as part of the Canadian cultural landscape – no more or less important than our music or literature, but a definite part of our culture. I think it’s important to see ourselves reflected on those movie screens; stories of real Canadian people in places we recognize.” — Carl Bessai, Director “By now everyone should know just how tough it is to be an independent Canadian filmmaker, especially if you aren’t in Toronto or Montreal. There are an endless number of hoops to jump through and applying for grants isn’t always an option. Somehow Carl Bessai has managed to make consistently interesting films and has been able to enlist the talents of actual famous people like Sir Ian McKellen (Emile) and Carrie-Anne Moss (Normal) to star in his movies. With a shooting window of usually no more than a month, he works fast and hard and manages to raise the bar for himself each time.” — Adam O. Thomas, Only Magazine AWARDS
2008 winner People’s Choice Award for Most Popular Film Vancouver International Film Festival 17
Wednesday March 4th 7:00 pm
Producer Sponsor for this film
“ [Jim] Sturgess once again confirms his ability to carry a film with a performance that is just as commanding but very different from his most notable roles in Across the Universe and 21.” Allan Hunter Screen International “Tying the unswaying performances together in Fifty Dead Men Walking is a tough and smartly written screenplay.” General Disdain The Critical Critics
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Fifty Dead Men Walking UK/Canada Directed by Kari Skogland In English Action/Thriller 118 minutes Rated 14A: violence
Martin (Jim Sturgess) is a small-time Belfast hustler working in the late eighties. Part of a tight group of mates, he’s more concerned with regular pub attendance and easing his way through British military checkpoints than with the reasons the checkpoints stand there in the first place. As such, he makes a prime target for British intelligence. Recruited by a complex, wily agent (Ben Kingsley), Martin starts feeding information about Irish Republican Army activities to the British. With every success, he intensifies the danger posed to himself and his family. The IRA is shown to be ruthless in its retribution; once an infiltrator has been found out, he becomes a “dead man walking.” With full encouragement from the British military, Martin winds himself into an impossible position. His girlfriend (Nathalie Press) pleads with him to come clean about his covert status, understandably terrified of what such dirty work could mean for their safety. But Martin is already in far deeper than he can manage, and the grip of his relationship with Kingsley’s agent is both hard to shake and secretly comforting. Inspired by Martin McGartland and Nicholas Davies’s book, Skogland captures the character of Northern Ireland in the eighties with great sensitivity, reflecting both the despair of the situation and the resolve it produced. This is a thriller, and Skogland keeps the momentum racing. But at the heart
of this film stand interconnecting relationships. To watch Martin battle over life-and-death matters with his handler is to understand, on a profound level, how this was the most personal of wars. The real Martin McGartland claims that the information he passed to the British saved at least fifty lives. He is still in hiding. “I think if I could leave anybody with the message of this film, it would be that in any conflict – whether it be [the] inner-city or Iraq or Afghanistan or World War II – that it must come down to the individual at the end of the day, because the first thing that gets lost in war is truth and it becomes murkier and murkier to the point [where] both sides are questionable in whether they’re right or wrong. And right or wrong starts to disappear. So one has to look to self and to your own morals and ethics in order to make the right decision.” — Kari Skogland, Director AWARDS
2008 winner Western Canada Film Award Vancouver International Film Festival
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Film Circuit gratefully acknowledges the following supporters for their commitment to celebrating excellence in ďŹ lm: Bell, TeleďŹ lm Canada, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Ontario Arts Council, and Cineplex Entertainment. Special thanks to: The AudioVisual PreservationTrust of Canada, The Department of Canadian Heritage, The McLean Foundation and the Walter & Duncan Gordon Foundation.
The Kamloops Film Festival thanks Landmark Cinemas, Jeff Harrison and the Paramount Theatre staff for their extra effort on behalf of the Kamloops Film Society for both regular screenings and special events.