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MacGillivray directs Laura Wiggins while shooting Hard Drive. |
Of all the anticipated films I was most surprised/disappointed to see absent from the Canadian
line-up at TIFF this year, William D. MacGillivray’s Hard Drive might be it. The film, however, did have a preview
screening at the Atlantic Film Festival in September, which only seems fitting
since MacGillivray is a pioneer among independent filmmaking in Atlantic
Canada. MacGillivray and Hard Drive will
make their way to Ottawa next week as part of The Canadian Film Institute’s Canadian film
series “The Enlightened Screen.
Hard Drive marks
MacGillivray’s first dramatic film since 1990’s Understanding Bliss (also screening in the series) and it co-stars
an icon of Atlantic Canadian film, Megan Follows, whom viewers might know best
as Anne of Green Gables. The director will be in Ottawa to present his films at
the CFI series, which begins Thursday, October 17 with Hard Drive.
The line-up for this edition of “The Enlightened Screen” is
as follows:
Hard Drive
(Canada, 2013)
Thursday, October 17, 2013, 7:00 pm
Synopsis: When Debs, a beautiful American runaway, lands in
the neighborhood where the charming but underachieving Ditch lives with his
mom, it doesn't take long for them to find each other. Ditch quickly falls in
love but he soon discovers that Debs is carrying some heavy emotional baggage.
Convinced he is helping, Ditch lures her back to her home in the States, only
to discover the deep, dark secrets that she has been trying to hide. Suddenly,
Ditch and Debs have to confront the dangers of her troubled past. Infused with
a pulsing indie music track Hard Drive
is a character-fuelled, psychological love story about growing up, reclaiming
the past, and rethinking the future.
Understanding Bliss
(Canada, 1991)
Saturday, October 19, 2013, 7:00 pm
Synopsis: Elizabeth Sutton (Catherine Grant), a lecturer
from Toronto and Peter Breen (Bryan Hennessey), a professor of cultural studies
from St. John's, Newfoundland, come together in his town for a secret liaison.
All is bliss. But within twenty-four hours, the affair has collapsed. A clash
of languages, cultures, and values force them to come to terms with each
other's sense of morality.
-Winner: 1990 Atlantic Film Festival – Best Atlantic Feature
Film or Video
The Man of a Thousand Songs
(Canada, 2010)
Saturday, October 19, 2013, 9:00 pm
Synopsis: A feature length documentary about extraordinary
Canadian singer songwriter, Ron Hynes, A
Man of a Thousand Songs is an insightful and entertaining exploration of
the creative process, the genesis of song, the meaning of performance and the
vulnerability of an artist compelled to bare his soul through his music.
-Winner: 2010 Atlantic Film Festival – Best Direction and
Best Documentary Feature
All screenings take
place in the Auditorium at Library and Archives Canada, 395 Wellington St.
Tickets (sold at the
door) are for $8 each for CFI Members, seniors, and students, and $12 for the
general public.
Please visit www.cfi-icf.ca