REEL CANADA At Prince Edward Collegiate Institute

We began our day for the Picton Film Festival early - I mean really, really early - 4:00am early. But that’s the kind of team we’ve got here at REEL CANADA. No school is too far to bring Canadian films to students across the nation. This morning the students of Prince Edward Collegiate Institute (PECI) viewed Jay Dahl’s hilarious short film, Backjumping, followed by the thoroughly Canadian feature, One Week, by director extraordinaire Michael McGowan.



For those of you who have not seen One Week (tisk tisk), it’s a story about a young man named Ben, played by Canada’s own Joshua Jackson, who discovers he has a very aggressive form of Cancer throughout his body. This news sends Ben into a personal tailspin and upon a pleasantly convenient back-alley-encounter with a man selling his vintage motorcycle, he decides to embark on a journey West. Though he doesn’t know specifically where he is going, Ben is sure that some answers to his newly-burning questions lie along the way. While on his travels he comes across the worlds largest “Muskoka Deck Chair”, an unattended Stanley Cup, and some new friends that help inadvertently shine a little light on his situation. It’s a wonderful film about self discovery and personal honesty. It’s also a touching love letter to Canada with its constant uber-Canadian scenery and ample music by Canadian legends. The frequent Tim Horton’s “Roll Up…” references are pretty fun too! From the varying Canadian dialects to the Gord Downie cameo, this movie is as Canadian as it gets!



Next on the agenda at PECI was a selection of short films beginning with the 1969 animated classic Walking by Ryan Larkin. Though it’s hard to imagine with our present day animated films, Walking set the bar in animation for its naturalistic human motion in a time when all images were drawn by hand, and could include hundreds of separate drawings.



Following Walking was another seasoned gem titled The Log Drivers Waltz by John Weldon. Set to the popular classic Log Driver’s Waltz folk song, this film also employs a clear expertise for human motion in a time when the only instrument animation artists had was a pencil and their imaginations.



Moving into the present era, the third film screened was the Oscar-nominated, I Met the Walrus by Ryerson grad, Josh Raskin. The film is set to an audio recording from 1969 when a 14-year-old Beatles fan snuck into a hotel in Toronto where John Lennon was staying, and requested an interview for his school paper. The result is spellbinding and surprisingly relevant to modern day politics.



The fourth and final film screened is titled Ryan, and is also set to an audio recording of a conversation between the director, Chris Landreth, and animator of Walking, Ryan Larkin. It’s a touching tribute to the ground-breaking animator, though not without its fair share of regrettable events. After paving the way for the animators of his day, Larkin experiences what every artists fears most – the loss of his ability to create. Larkin’s substance abuse, followed by his descent into poverty lead him to panhandle on Montreal’s St. Laurent Blvd. and seek refuge at a local shelter, where the film predominantly takes place. The film Ryan is an ever-moving, visual masterpiece that won numerous awards including an Oscar for best short film, animated.



For more pictures of the films, as well as student ratings, check out our REEL CANADA catalogue. And for pictures from the event on April 1st, see our Facebook site.