Another View 2015 / Sleeping Giant / Canada 2015
Teenage Adam is vacationing with his parents at Lake Superior. There he meets cousins Riley and Nate, roughly his age, and they spend the endlessly dragging summer days together until boyhood rivalry changes the course of events. A powerful and engaging drama about a sensitive period of life, built upon authentic performances and a wonderfully shifting atmosphere.
Teenage Adam spends summer vacation with his family at Lake Superior, and given that the days drag on endlessly he is happy to befriend Riley and Nate, cousins who are roughly his peers. The three boys hang out trying to drive away the boredom, but soon enough a rivalry erupts, causing tense but hidden emotions to bubble to the surface. What were at first innocent squabbles and games gradually intensify towards an irreversible outcome. The director succeeds admirably in characterizing not only the fragility and uncertainty of the protagonists’ age group but also the ever-more stifling atmosphere of their conflict. In his impressive debut, the talented director sensitively coaches a trio of young actors whose authentic and convincing performances contribute to the movie’s overall impact. This absorbing yet disturbing drama was screened in the Critics’ Week at this year’s Cannes IFF.
Ivana Novotná
89 min / Color, DCP
Director Andrew Cividino
/ Screenplay Andrew Cividino, Aaron Yeger, Blain Watters
/ Dir. of Photography James Klopko
/ Music Chris Thornborrow, Bruce Peninsula
/ Editor James Vandewater
/ Art Director Erika Lobko
/ Producer Karen Harnisch
/ Production Film Forge Productions
/ Coproduction Hawkeye Pictures
/ Cast Jackson Martin, Reece Moffett, Nick Serino
/ Sales Sphere Films International
www: www.sleepinggiantfilm.com
Andrew Cividino (b. 1983, Dundas, Canada) grew up in his Ontario hometown and spent vacations in the same locations where his feature debut unfolds. He graduated in film production from Ryerson University (2006). His first short film We Ate the Children Last (2011), based on a story by Yann Martel, was presented at numerous fests (including the Prague Short Film Festival); it also gained French theater distribution, and was shown on French and Spanish television. Two shorts followed: Yellow Fish (2013) and Sleeping Giant, the latter of which premiered in 2014 at the Locarno IFF (Junior Jury Award), with screenings at Toronto and AFI. His feature debut Sleeping Giant expands on his short film of the same name.
Sphere Films International
4200, Saint-Laurent Blvd, Suite 1200, H2W 2R2, Montreal, Québec
Canada
Phone: +1 514 866 3020, +1 514 827 6428
E-mail: [email protected]
Andrew Cividino
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