Official Selection - Competition 2011 / Collaborator / Canada, USA 2010
Dramatist Robert has things to think about – his plays bear the brunt of heavy criticism and he vacillates in his relations to two women. And then an unexpected event happens which forces him to see things completely differently. In his directorial debut, actor Martin Donovan is joined by fellow thespians David Morse, Olivia Williams, and Melissa Auf der Maur.
The career of dramatist Robert is in steep decline – his last play was canceled after a two-week run. On top of that he is unable to decide what to do about an old love affair that is once again gaining steam. Finally, his neighbor Gus is able to shed some light on many issues when he and Robert spend the evening together in a highly unexpected situation. The picture captures the protagonists at fragile moments in their lives, when long suppressed truths come to light and there is no longer any uncertainty concerning the decisions they have made. The characters’ secrets aren’t revealed immediately: the film works with ambiguity and a contemplative mood heightened by the contrast between the presence of religious figures and the spiritual emptiness we feel around the protagonists. The movie, thematizing the similarity of real life dramas and those on paper, demonstrates that theater always reveals something about those who act in it. And silent contemplation after the drama ends is sometimes better than applauding and simply forgetting.
86 min / Color, 35 mm
World premiere
Director Martin Donovan
/ Screenplay Martin Donovan
/ Dir. of Photography Julie Kirkwood
/ Music Manels Favre
/ Editor Karen Porter
/ Producer Julien Favre, Ted Hope, Luca Matrundola, Pascal Vaguelsy
/ Production DViant Films, This is That
/ Cast Martin Donovan, David Morse, Olivia Williams, Melissa Auf der Maur
/ Contact Entertainment One Films International
Martin Donovan (b. 1957, Reseda, California) is an American film and theater actor, a long-term cooperator with director Hal Hartley on such films as Amateur (1994) and The Book of Life (1998), both screened at Karlovy Vary. He also appeared alongside Nicole Kidman in The Portrait of a Lady (1996), in Christopher Nolan’s 2002 film Insomnia, and in The Sentinel (2006) with Michael Douglas. Donovan is also a successful television actor, cooperating on the award-winning series "Weeds” among others. The writer-director tragicomedy Collaborator is his directorial debut in film.
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Natalie Kampelmacher
Martin Donovan
Film Director, Film Director, Film Director
David Morse
Actor
Ted Hope
Producer
Luca Matrundola
Producer
Karen Porter
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