Possible Worlds –
the Canadian Film Festival on Tour

Fri 4 Jan - Mon 14 Jan 2008

A selection of the best new features and documentaries made north of Hollywood.

“We have a lot in common with Canada, both historically and culturally,” says artistic director Mathieu Ravier. “We all strive to express our national identity through our cinema, often in spite of American cultural dominance. Canada’s fresh and independent outlook on the world speaks to us. Possible Worlds is a chance to discover the rich diversity of Canadian films, a cinema both strangely familiar yet refreshingly different.”

“Canadian cinema is enjoying a surge in popularity right now. From experimental coming-of-age films to witty adult comedies, from thought-provoking documentary to moving melodrama, the vibrant program is sure to engage audiences. There’s something exciting in the line-up for all to enjoy.”

www.possibleworlds.net.au

The Tracey Fragments || The Stone Angel || Manufactured Landscapes || Who Loves the Sun || Everything's Gone Green

7:30pm Friday 4 January

The Tracey Fragments

Dir: Bruce McDonald, Canada, 2007, 35mm, 78 min | Adelaide premiere

Winner Manfred Salzgeber Award, Berlin Film Festival 2007

Rising star Ellen Page shines in this experimental coming of age film.

15-year-old Tracey Berkowitz is naked under a tattered shower curtain at the back of a

bus, looking for her little brother Sonny, who thinks he’s a dog. Tracey’s journey leads us into the dark underbelly of a city, into the emotional cesspool of her home, through the brutality of her high school and her soaring fantasies of Billy Zero - her boyfriend and rock ’n’ roll saviour.

Cult filmmaker Bruce McDonald (Hard Core Logo) has crafted a Catcher in the Rye for the 21st Century. Shot in only 14 days, the film took shape in post-production, its innovative use of multi-frame editing pushing the boundaries of cinematic language. Kaleidoscopic split screens capture Tracey’s fragmented worldview, while Broken Social Scene provide the breathless soundtrack to her moving and disturbing journey. At the heart of The Tracey Fragments is the talented Ellen Page (Hard Candy , Juno) who gives a raw and powerful performance.

7:30pm Monday 7 January

The STONE ANGEL

Dir: Kari Skogland, Canada, 2007, 35mm, 115 min | Adelaide premiere

Oscar-winner Ellen Burstyn stars in the adaptation of the landmark Canadian novel.

Capturing the emotional power of the classic Margaret Laurence novel, The Stone Angel is a look into the long and unconventional life of Hagar Shipley (Ellen Burstyn) as she tries to come to terms with the decisions she has made over her 90 years. Her passionate heart has always ruled her head and her choices have often put her at odds with family and friends. As she nears the end of her life, Hagar reflects on the life she has led, the men she has loved and lost, and the sons she has estranged.

Ellen Burstyn gives a fiery performance as a witty, independent woman whose pride may be her family’s downfall. This gorgeously shot melodrama boasts a talented cast which includes Ellen Page, Kevin Zegers, Cole Hauser, Luke Kirby, Christine Horne and Dylan Baker. A captivating saga of a Manitoba family, The Stone Angel builds dramatic momentum right until its powerful and rewarding conclusion.

7:30pm Wednesday 9 January

Manufactured Landscapes

Dir: Jennifer Baichwal, Canada, 2006, 35mm, 90 min 

Official selection, Sundance Film Festival 2007.

Beautiful yet devastating, this is a haunting look at man’s impact on the planet.

Manufactured Landscapes is the striking new documentary on the work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes” — quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams — Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization’s waste and debris. The film follows him through China, as he shoots the evidence and effects of that country’s massive industrial revolution.

The filmmaker extends the narratives of Burtynsky’s photographs, allowing us to witness the massive scale of our industrial endeavour and meditate on our impact on the planet. The results are breathtaking.

The winner of countless best documentary awards worldwide, Manufactured Landscapes is “an extraordinarily haunting, beautiful, insightful, touching and thought-provoking movie” (Al Gore).

It quietly shifts our consciousness about the world and the way we live, without resorting to shock tactics or simplistic judgments. “Everyone should see it !” (David Suzuki).

7:30pm Friday 11 January

Who Loves the Sun

Dir: Matt Bissonnette, Canada, 2006, 35mm 94 min | Adelaide premiere

Winner Best Actress, Beverly Hills Film Festival

A smart & funny adult drama about success, love, and behaving like an adult.

Will Morrison (Lukas Haas) and Daniel Bloom (Adam Scott) were the best of friends. They grew up together, went to the same schools, liked the same records, and loved the same girls. Daniel was even Will’s best man at his wedding to Maggie (Molly Parker). Then one day Will disappeared without a word. Half a decade later Will re-surfaces at Daniel’s parents’ remote island cottage. His reunion with Daniel and the arrival of Maggie – Daniel’s unrequited teenage love – play out in an unpredictable series of recriminations, misunderstandings and revelations.

Who Loves The Sun features perfectly pitched performances from Haas (Brick ), Scott (Knocked Up ) and Parker (HBO’s Deadwood ). The gorgeous Canadian locations and great soundtrack from Portastatic and Silver Jews add to the bittersweet charm of this unpretentious story. It’s a delightfully witty adult drama, a smart and funny new take on the love triangle.

7:30pm Monday 14 January

Everthing's Gone Green

Dir: Paul Fox, Canada, 2006, 35mm, 95 min | Adelaide premiere

A clever, quirky comedy about getting your act together before you turn thirty.

Broke twenty something slacker Ryan decides to grow up after losing his job and getting dumped. Opportunities begin popping up once he meets charismatic con artist Bryce, and money suddenly ceases to be a problem. Will Ryan like the person he’s turing into? More importantly, will Bryce’s girlfriend Ming, with whom Ryan is helplessly smitten?

In his first original screenplay, Novelist Douglas Coupland (GenerationX , The Gum Thief) injects the slacker comedy with his famous brand of playful irony and insightful social comment. Vancouver refreshingly plays itself here, and Coupland’s got his finger firmly on the city’s pulse. The parallels with Sydney – beautiful, cosmopolitan, immature and obsessed with real estate – are hard to miss. The cast does great work bringing generouscharacters to life, not least Paul Costanzo who delivers a winning performance as the amiable Ryan.