INTO THE FOREST – March 19: 9:30

March 19th: 9:30        Into the Forest
Patricia Rozema
CANADA, 2015
English     96 minutes
Cast: Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Callum Keith Rennie, Max Minghella

After several years of acclaimed television productions, writer-director Patricia Rozema (Mansfield Park, I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing) returns to the big screen with Into the Forest, a mesmerizing and powerful story of two teenage sisters who are forced to fend for themselves in a society that may be on the brink of collapse.

Based on Jean Hegland’s novel of the same name, Into the Forest takes place in the not-too-distant future, as a massive power outage overwhelms all of continental North America. Living with their recently widowed father in a house over thirty miles from the nearest town, sisters Nell and Eva gradually become aware of the severity of their situation as their supplies dwindle and the blackout continues with no end in sight. As they contend with the threats of intruders, disease, loneliness and starvation, the young women are forced to re-examine their place in the world and their relations to the land, their home, and each other.

Featuring brilliant performances by Page and Wood and offering a disturbingly plausible vision of an apocalyptic future, Into the Forest is a thought-provoking film about hope, despair, and the bonds of love.

“Into the Forest amply illustrates the vital need for female voices in the industry; Rozema possesses the insight and sensitivity to reimagine the apocalypse as a low-key trial of sisterhood instead of a race to avoid whatever deafening CGI eyesore might come next.”    —Charles Bramesco, The Playlist

The Stars discuss the movie:

REMEMBER – March 19: 7 pm

March 19th: 7 pm        Remember
Director: Atom Egoyan
CANADA, 2015    95 minutes
Cast: Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Henry Czerny, Dean Norris

Master filmmaker Atom Egoyan (Ararat, The Sweet Hereafter) tackles one of the darkest chapters of 20th-century history in the gripping thriller Remember, which gives legendary actor Christopher Plummer (Elsa & Fred, Beginners) a majestic role as an elderly
Holocaust survivor seeking revenge on the man responsible for the deaths of his family.

Plummer plays Zev, a recent widower whose deteriorating mental state forces him to be placed under permanent care. When he discov- ers that the concentration-camp guard who murdered his relatives is now living in America under an assumed identity, Zev
 resolves to fulfill his final vow to his wife by exacting vengeance on the escaped war criminal. With the support of his friend Max (Martin Landau, Lovely, Still, Ed Wood), Zev sets out on his mission with grim purpose — but his quest for retribution leads to
unexpected results.

Working from an original script by first-time screenwriter Benjamin August, Egoyan
generates nerve-shredding suspense as the unlikely avenger pursues the demon from his past. Plummer is remarkable as the driven Zev, and the stellar supporting cast — which also includes Henry Czerny (TV’s The Tudors, Fido), Jürgen Prochnow (TV’s 24, Das Boot), Bruno Ganz (The Reader, Downfall) and Breaking Bad’s Dean Norris as a neo-Nazi state trooper — help make Remember one of the most compelling thrillers in recent memory.

“Plummer’s performance is quietly magnificent, turning the heavy breathing, shaking hands and slow responses of the elderly into a heart-rending vulnerability while also capturing his character’s enduring intelligence and psychic pain.”
    —Kate Taylor, The Globe and Mail


The Trailer:

AL PURDY WAS HERE – March 19: 1 pm

March 19th: 1 pm        Al Purdy Was Here
Director: Brian D. Johnson
CANADA, 2015
English     92 minutes
With: Margaret Atwood, Joseph Boyden, Leonard Cohen, Bruce Cockburn, Sarah Harmer, Katherine Leyton, Michael Ondaatje, Eurithe Purdy, Tanya Tagaq

An icon of English Canadian letters, Al Purdy was equal parts rock star, raconteur, and rabble-rouser: in other words, all poet. Coming to prominence in the 1960s alongside a crop of other extraordinary talents (including Leonard Cohen, Margaret Laurence,
Margaret Atwood, and Michael Ondaatje), Purdy scorned the tired tales of rural life that had dominated Canadian literature and set out to create a different language, one that came from the contemporary Canadian experience.

Purdy’s impact on Canadian culture is detailed in this documentary by Brian D. Johnson, the former film critic for Maclean’s. Al Purdy Was Here artfully combines archival footage, including some of Purdy’s priceless television appearances, where he played the eccentric contrarian with everyone from Adrienne Clarkson to William F. Buckley, Jr., with readings and reminiscences from Purdy’s friends and colleagues, as well as performances by Bruce Cockburn, Tanya Tagaq, and Sarah Harmer, who set Purdy’s words to music.

What emerges is a far more complex portrait of Purdy than was suggested by his
public persona as the boisterous lover of booze, brawls, and verse, immortalized in his best-known poem “At the Quinte Hotel.” While Johnson does not skimp on anecdotes about Al’s delightful debauches, the Purdy he presents is a diligent, hard-working writer, and one of the first in English Canada who was actually able to make a living off his work. Underlying the whole of Johnson’s affectionate elegy, and investing it with a sense of urgency, is the realization that the fiercely proud cultural nationalism that Purdy
embodied has not been seen in Canada for decades — and perhaps never will be again.


The Trailer:

SLEEPING GIANT – MARCH 18: 9:30

March 18th: 9:30        Sleeping Giant
Director: Andrew Cividino
CANADA, 2015
English     90 minutes
Cast: Jackson Martin, Nick Serino, Reece Moffett

One of the most accomplished and exciting Canadian feature debuts in recent memory, Andrew Cividino’s Sleeping Giant is a finely observed, whip-smart study of the
emotional extremes of adolescence, and their potentially catastrophic effects.

In an isolated cottage community during a bleak midsummer, teenagers Nate, Riley, and Adam deal with their boredom and idleness by getting drunk, playing video games, and engaging in dim-witted, invariably destructive shenanigans. The boys are a study in contrasts: Adam is wan and overprotected; Riley is more outgoing and socially adept, but his fascination with Adam’s upper-middle-class family (including the “open” way that Adam’s father talks to him) indicates something lacking in his own home life; while Nate is the most overtly troubled of the trio, a kind of pubescent Iago who talks an endless stream of smack and enjoys messing with people simply out of spite. Enter Taylor, a pretty girl who has known Adam for years (though they’re only good friends), and who seems very drawn to Riley. As the summer goes on, Taylor’s actions begin to infuriate both Adam and Nate, and push the volatile dynamics of the makeshift group towards a dangerous imbalance.

If you’ve ever spent a teenage summer in a rural area with little supervision and nothing much to do, you’ll instantly recognize both the ennui and the creeping atmosphere of mystery and menace that Cividino’s film so expertly captures. Boasting fine performances by the young cast, a singular visual style and some exquisite and insightful writing, Sleeping Giant is a stellar debut.

“Cividino creates a volatile, captivating and singular look at adolescence, wholly free of the sanitized antics of Hollywood.” The Globe and Mail

The Trailer:

NO MEN BEYOND THIS POINT – March 18th: 7 pm

March 18th: 7 pm        No Men Beyond This Point
Director: Mark Sawers
CANADA, 2015
English     80 minutes
Cast: Kristine Cofsky, Patrick Gilmore, Rekha Sharma, Tara Pratt, Cameron McDonald

This wry mockumentary from Vancouver director Mark Sawers posits an alternate
history where an explosion of virgin births from the 1950s onwards has taken men out of the procreation equation — and now that only girls are being born, it seems that men’s days on earth are numbered.

At thirty-seven years old, Andrew Myers is now the youngest man in the world. He has a quiet life working as a nanny for Terra and Iris, until he begins having an affair with Iris, and the two have to hide their love from both Terra and the uptight, anti-sex authorities.

But just as the world’s few remaining males — who have been sent to “sanctuaries” where they can quietly finish their lives — decide that it’s time to stage a revolt, Andrew and Iris find themselves at the centre of a media frenzy spurred on by more extremist government leaders. As the men’s comically disorganized comeback flounders, and the end of humanity as we know it approaches, the couple’s actions will take on historical proportions.

No Men Beyond This Point is a smart, hilarious take on gender politics, sounding a call for balance — both philosophical and biological — even as it keeps us laughing. A feminist satire with a strong handle on comic role reversals, Sawers’ film is a riotous original.


The trailer:

The 20th Annual Cinema CNC Film Festival: March 18-20, 2016

The 20th Annual Cinema CNC Film Festival – March 18-20, 2016

Cinema CNC is pleased to be presenting the 20th Annual Cinema CNC Film Festival, March 18th to 20th, 2016 at the Prince George Playhouse.

Tickets will be available on February 29th, at Books and Company, The CNC Bookstore, and The UNBC Bookstore. Please let your friends know about the festival. The films are all confirmed; the dates and times are subject to change... we hope to have a guest for the festival and would like to highlight his/her film, so need to be flexible.

The list of films and times [currently] follows. I will make individual pages at the end of the month. [Part of the reason for delay is that I (Peter) leave Monday to go to Berlin for the Film Festival there... I know, not as exciting as ours, but it will do for now. Hopefully, all will be finalized on my return.]

MARCH 18: 7 PM NO MEN BEYOND THIS POINT
DIR: Mark Sawers CANADA,  2015 
80 minutes
Cast: Kristine Cofsky, Patrick Gilmore, Rekha Sharma

This wry mockumentary posits an alternate history where an explosion of virgin births from the 1950s onwards has taken men out of the procreation equation: now that only girls are being born, it seems that men’s days on earth are numbered. At thirty-seven years old, Andrew Myers is now the youngest man in the world. He has a quiet life working as a nanny for Terra and Iris, until he begins having an affair with Iris, and the two have to hide their love. With the end of humanity as we know it approaching, the couple’s actions will take on historical proportions.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LezV543IB9s

MARCH 18: 9:30 SLEEPING GIANT
DIR: Andrew Cividino    CANADA, 2015  
90 minutes
Cast: Jackson Martin, Nick Serino, Reece Moffett

This is a whip-smart study of the emotional extremes of adolescence, and their potentially catastrophic effects. Nate, Riley, and Adam are dealing with boredom with dim-witted shenanigans until Taylor arrives to change their social balance. If you’ve ever spent a teenage summer in a rural area with little supervision and nothing much to do, you’ll instantly recognize both the ennui and the creeping atmosphere of mystery and menace that pervades the experience. Cividino creates a volatile, captivating and singular look at adolescence, wholly free of the sanitized antics of Hollywood.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4SZXkKX7zo

MARCH 19: 1 PM AL PURDY WAS HERE
DIR:Brian D. Johnson   CANADA, 2015 
92 minutes. Documentary
With: Margaret Atwood, Leonard Cohen, Sarah Harmer, Michael Ondaatje, Eurithe Purdy, Tanya Tagaq

An icon of Canadian letters, Al Purdy was equal parts rock star, raconteur, and rabble-rouser: in other words, all poet. Coming to prominence in the 1960s alongside a crop of other extraordinary talents, Purdy scorned the tired tales of rural life that had dominated Canadian literature and set out to focus on contemporary Canadian experience. What emerges is a far more complex portrait of Purdy than was suggested by his public persona as the boisterous lover of booze, brawls, and verse, immortalized in his best-known poems.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty4Kot0cASA 

MARCH 19: 7 PM REMEMBER
DIR: Atom Egoyan    CANADA, 2015 
95 minutes
Cast: Christopher Plummer, Martin Landau, Henry Czerny

Master filmmaker Atom Egoyan tackles one of the darkest chapters of history, giving legendary actor Christopher Plummer a majestic role as an elderly Holocaust survivor seeking revenge on the man responsible for the deaths of his family. Plummer plays Zev, a recent widower whose deteriorating state forces him to be placed in permanent care. When he discovers that the concentration-camp guard who murdered his relatives is now living in America under an assumed identity, Zev resolves to fulfill his final vow to his wife by exacting vengeance on the escaped war criminal.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFxXCoprNqc

MARCH 19: 9:30 INTO THE FOREST
DIR: Patricia Rozema CANADA, 2015 
96 minutes
Cast: Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Callum Keith Rennie

A mesmerizing story about two sisters who are forced to fend for themselves in a society that may be on the brink of collapse. Living with their recently widowed father in a house over thirty miles from the nearest town, sisters Nell and Eva gradually become aware of the severity of their situation as their supplies dwindle and the blackout continues. As they contend with the threats of intruders, disease, loneliness and starvation, the young women are forced to re-examine their place in the world and their relations to the land, their home, and each other.

The Stars Discuss the movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPOURjOQw38

MARCH 20: 2 PM LES ETRE CHERS [Our Loved Ones]
DIR: Anne Émond    French w. subtitles, 
102 minutes
Cast: Maxim Gaudette, Karelle Tremblay, Valérie Cadieux

Protected by his well-intentioned siblings from the truth about his father’s death, the sensitive David has grown into a loving husband and father of two, living a seemingly fulfilling life. But as the years go by, during which time his relationship with his wilder brother begins to strain and his kids grow into young adulthood, David begins to struggle with a melancholia that gradually threatens to engulf him. While epic in scope this film remains unerringly attuned to the inner lives of the family, portraying their heartbreaks and joys with sincerity and grace.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-0eZz4g9oA

MARCH 20: 7 PM MY INTERNSHIP IN CANADA
DIR: Philippe Falardeau 
108 minutes
Fr, Eng, Creole, w. subtitles 
Cast: Patrick Huard, Suzanne Clément, Irdens Exantus

In this satirical look at the vagaries of Canadian politics, an MP finds himself thrust suddenly into the spotlight, and it’s up to his young Haitian intern to help the hapless backbencher navigate the complexities and pitfalls of Parliament Hill. Canadians’ tendency to focus on the regional and specific at the expense of the wider picture is exposed. This gently skewering satire demonstrates that sometimes it takes an outsider to explain the workings, and the value, of the unique system that makes our democracy (sometimes) function.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKLY6WxV5RU

MARCH 20: 9:30 BOREALIS
Director: Sean Garrity    Canada 2015 
95 minutes
Cast: Joey King, Clé Bennett, Emily Hampshire

Jonah gambles. Jonah borrows a lot of money. Jonah loses the money, so much money that it leaves the loan-shark threatening him, his daughter, and his dog unless the debt is paid. Meanwhile, his daughter, Aurora, goes for an eye exam, the results of which are shared with her father. Unable to tell her the truth about the devestating diagnosis and unable to pay his debts, Jonah decides to take Aurora on a road trip to Churchill, Manitoba, to see the single more incredible sight he has seen: the Northern Lights.

TRAILER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TODAmQeKUvc