Craig Goodwill’s PATCH TOWN
Executive Director of the Canadian Film Fest (CFF), Bern Euler, today announced the lineup for the 8th edition of the CFF, which will open with Craig Goodwill’s PATCH TOWN and includes Michelle Ouellet’s AFTERPARTY as the Closing Night Film. This year’s festival will present six feature films and 14 short films over its three-day run. The CFF will take place at The Royal in Toronto from March 20-22. For more information, visit www.canfilmfest.ca.
“From dramas, to documentaries and genre films, this year’s lineup represents the diversity of work coming from the Canadian filmmaking community,” said Executive Director, Bern Euler, Canadian Film Festival. “It is an honour to present these films for Toronto audiences to enjoy and celebrate all of the talent in our own backyard.”
The Canadian Film Festival’s main purpose is to bring fresh voices in Canadian independent filmmaking to Torontonians. In addition to film screenings over the course of three days, the CFF has an Industry Series for filmmakers to take advantage of. An Indie Filmmaking Masterclass with Avi Federgreen is being offered, as well as the Super Channel Script Accelerator Contest worth $30,000-$50,000 in pre-licensing as first prize. Details can be found on the website at www.canfilmfest.ca.
Public tickets on sale March 6 at canfilmfest.ca
Feature Film Lineup
Opening Night Film
PATCH TOWN
Director: Craig Goodwill
Cast: Zoie Palmer, Julian Richings, Rob Ramsay, Scott Thompson
Inspired by his award-winning short film of the same name, Craig Goodwill’s feature debut is a surreal, one-of-a-kind vision of faux Russian folklore laid over a sharp satire of contemporary consumer culture.
Jon is just another mindless laborer on an assembly line, but at no ordinary factory. Day after day he and his fellow drones harvest kids from cabbages – kids that will go on to become the beloved toys of little boys and girls in the land outside this dreadful factory. But when Jon discovers an awful secret that he and all the indentured workers are actually grown-up and discarded toys, he’ll have to take on a villainous corporation to reunite with his long-lost mother, protect his newfound family, and finally find freedom.
THE BIRDER
Director: Ted Bezaire
Cast: Tom Cavanagh, Mark Rendall, Jamie Spilchuk, Cassidy Renee, Tommie-Amber Pirie, Allana Harkin, Scott Cavalheiro, Jim Annan, Graham Greene and Fred Willard
Ron Spencer, a mild-mannered high-school teacher and devoted bird watcher is thrown into a tailspin of despair after his long sought after position as "Head of Ornithology" at the local Birding Park is given to the young and flashy Floyd Hawkins.
THE PRIVILEGED
Director: Leah Walker
Cast: Sam Trammell, Joshua Close, Laura Harris, Lina Roessler
Richard Hunter, a promising young lawyer at a prestigious firm, has the perfect future mapped out. However, a costly mistake with a powerful client has put it all at risk. In a desperate attempt to save his job, Richard and his wife Tara spend the weekend at the cottage of senior partner Preston Westwood. The young couple is quickly seduced by their charismatic hosts' lavish lifestyle but it is clear that something ominous lies just below the surface. After a devastating act of violence reveals that they have become pawns in a blood feud between the Westwoods and a local family, Richard and Tara must decide what they are willing to sacrifice for success: their morals, their marriage, or their lives.
PLAY THE FILM
Director: Alec Toller
Cast: Kristian Bruun, Kelly McCormack, Danny Pagett, Colin Munch, Tim Walker, Caitlin Driscoll, Gwen Cumyn, Roger Bainbridge, Peter Higginson, Robb Wiggin, Conor Bradbury, Claire Armstrong, Bryony Byrne, Suzette McCanny
When the opening night of a new play goes horribly awry, the actors are forced to frantically improvise the plot onstage. Clashing egos, tested friendships and a series of disastrous misunderstandings combine to create the most offensive, shocking and accidental piece of theater ever to debut in front of a live audience.
H & G
Director: Danishka Esterhazy
Cast: Breazy Diduck-Wilson, Annika Elyse Irving
A modern retelling of The Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, H & G follows a girl and a boy living in poverty and neglect. After finding themselves lost in the woods, they see a house that appears to be magical and rush toward it. But in this house, danger lurks and all they have is each other.
Closing Night Film
AFTERPARTY
Director: Michelle Ouellet
Cast: Graham Coffeng, Ali Liebert, Nicholas Carella, David Milchard, Jodi Blafour, Christina Sicoli, Emma Lahana, Peter Benson, Erica Carroll.
On the night of his brother’s wedding, best man Charlie gets the old gang back together for a fun-filled, post-reception after party at the newlyweds’ home where he has been staying for several weeks. Unsure of how to proceed with his own troubled marriage, Charlie reunites “the fellas” fifteen years after high school in hopes that revisiting the past will help him find clarity about his plans for the future. What Charlie finds, however, is that while his friends have all taken different paths, they are all faced with similar conundrums that come with being in their thirties.
Short Film Lineup
BASTARDS
Director: Jeremy LaLonde
Cast: Julian Richings, Ennis Esmer, Paul Amos, Tara Spencer-Nairn, Suresh John, Tommie-Amber Pirie, Maya Long, Amanda Lewis, Pat Mastroianni
An aging rockstar invites his illegitimate children to come live with him with the promise of making one of them his heir.
THE GOLDEN TICKET
Director: Patrick Hagarty
Cast: Michal Grajewski, Carlo Rota, Sarah Allen, Melanie Scrofano, Kris Siddiqi, Benjamin Ayres, David Huband
Bradley Moore is having a bad day. He gets dumped, evicted and fired all before lunch. But when a stranger offers Brad a Golden Ticket, allowing him to act without consequence for the remainder of the day, things take a turn.
MY OLD MAN
Director: Ryan M. Andrews
Cast: Robert Nolan, Adrian Cowan
Cleo hits rock bottom, having lost her family and her job. As she returns to a familiar dark place, the rantings and ravings of an old man force her to re-examine her life.
THE PRINCE
Director: Francesco Giannini
Cast: Vince Benvenuto, Nick Sita, Suzie Etesonne, Lesley Bernardi, Michael McNally
An arrogant young man visits his father who appears to be on his deathbed. The son, our “Prince,” does not come to shed tears or to say farewell. He comes for the sole purpose of finding out where his father has hidden the money. The dying man answers with a weak, cryptic response. This visit however, he finally gets an answer. Loud and clear.
EPHEMERAL
Director: Rebecca Davis
Cast: Rebecca Davis, Colin Foo, Giles Panton
Ephemeral explores the ethical implications of decisions made at the top of the business world and the personal toll it takes, the isolation people can feel in an overwhelming city, and the unexpected moments of connection that can ultimately bring them together.
SNAPSHOTS
Director: Brian Stockton
Cast: Brian Stockton
A personal documentary featuring 5000 still photographs taken over a period of 25 years. A life flashing in front of your eyes in rapid, hypnotic fashion.
MARGARET FINDS HER MOJO
Director: Brett Heard
Cast: Penny Eizenga, Elizabeth Harpur, Tasha Quintas
Sweet and eager to please Margaret finds her voice after believing she’s a shoo-in for the job of her dreams.
DE PUTA MADRE: A LOVE STORY
Director: Catherine Black
Cast: Catherine Black, Pierluca Arancio
When all have disappointed and life proves to not live up to what she hoped, a women chooses a Latin lover to kill her endless boredom. Fantasy quickly blends into insanity and the woman is forced to fight for her life.
UNCOMMON ENEMIES
Director: Alex Hatz
Cast: Michael Cram, Melanie Scrofano, James Gangl, AJ Vaage
A hard-boiled US Sergeant and a chatterbox Nazi are forced to team up to destroy a sexy, French Vampire in World War II France.
SURVIVAL GUIDE
Director: Phil Connell
Cast: Annie Rutherford, JoAnn Nordstrom, Brandon Watson, Evangeline Dryburgh, Frances Stecyk, Red Carlsen, Scott Walker
With a child abductor at large in the neighbourhood, 11 year-old Fleur Flannery must fend for herself when she is left behind after a Girl Guide meeting on a chilly night in 1987.
GUMSHOES
Director: Reese Eveneshen
Cast: Colin Paradine, Christina Aceto, Steve MacDougall
During an unspecified period of existence, John Fracas, a middle-aged, disheartened detective, discusses the specifics of a crime scene, also known as an “orchestration.” He lets loose his emotional frustrations and struggles to a fellow bar patron who cares to listen.
THE LAST SUPPER
Director: Jonathan Eagan
Cast: Ashleigh Rains, Kate Lavender, Karan Oberoi, Brendan Wall
Over dinner, two couples debate the cultural phenomenon of belief in an impending apocalypse. When things get heated the evening takes an unexpected turn.
KATE
Director: Illya Klymkiw
Cast: Holly Merritt, Steve Boyer, Anna Jaegar
A chance encounter compels a former couple to face the irrevocable impact they left on one another in this honest portrait of the fragile yet unyielding tie we can share with someone.
PETER AND JANE KNOW SOME OF THE SAME PEOPLE
Director: Chris Remerowski
Cast: John Goodrich, Laura Burns
Peter and Jane are looking for love on the Internet. But what you see on a dating profile isn’t always what you get in real life.
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