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MICHAEL CLOWATER | CANADA | 2024 | 100 MIN | ENGLISH

MICHAEL CLOWATER | CANADA | 2024 | 100 MIN | ENGLISH

FeatureMADE AU CANADACOMPETITION

Presented by

Téléfilm Canada

Synopsis

Inspired by true events, in 1970 an unorthodox mother sends her offbeat son from New Brunswick on a wintry cross-country mission past Quebec to retrieve his brother from Toronto after a public sex violation. Antics ensue in the Two-Solitudes atmosphere, bursting with revealing humour about brotherly love and French-English relations. In bravura performances, Alan Cumming plays motormouth Perley—dressed in an ushanka and ascot, taxidermied dog tucked under his arm—and Charlie Creed-Miles is Weldon—a gruff stoic in crooked glasses. These oddball siblings travel through frozen nights and across the language divide as they bicker, break down, and ultimately bond in their journey through central and eastern Canada. Weldon forced to confront the reality of Perley’s homosexuality (and his abject fear of being required to speak French) as he processes a horrific event from their past. After a lifetime of shutting down, a new set of dire circumstances has them opening their ears to hear one another’s stories. Award-winning filmmaker Michael Clowater, a master of wringing humour from pain, never loses sight of Perley and Weldon’s essential humanity among the pratfalls and bigotries, embedding beautiful truths in the film’s engrossing frictions.

Trailer

Filmmaker Bio

Michael Clowater (Writer/director) is a New Brunswick born filmmaker. This is his first live action short dramatic film. His first animated short film Alfred’s New Dog played at TIFF kids film festival as well as Interfilm (Berlin) and showcased at the Solomon R. Guggenheim museum in NYC as part of an exhibit on independent Children’s films. He lives in Toronto with his wife, two sons and a gecko named Michaelangelo.

Producer

Ilene Bronsteter, Michael Clowater, Maddy Falle, Mark Gingras, John Laing, Scott MacKenzie, Brian Mason, Karen O’Brien, Edie Weiss, William Woods

Writer

Michael Clowater

Cinematographer

Stuart Campbell

Cast

  • Alan Cumming
  • Charlie Creed-Miles
  • Clare Coulter
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PARTNERS

Téléfilm Canada

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