PRESS RELEASE
Shane Belcourt’s Debut Canadian Feature a Huge Hit At Toronto Film Festival
TORONTO (October 22, 2007)- Tkaronto, Shane Belcourt’s debut feature, held a sold-out world premiere last night at the 2007 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts festival. The film’s title is the original Mohawk word for Toronto.
Selected as the Closing Night film, Tkaronto screened for 450 rapt audience members (including national and international delegates alongside members of the general public) on a rainy Sunday night at Toronto's famed Royal Cinema. More than 100 people standing in a rush ticket line outside the theatre were turned away.
Kerry Swanson, the Executive Director of the imagineNATIVE Film Festival called it "the most successful closing night screening in the festival's eight-year history." Swanson says, "We were very excited to program Tkaronto on closing night because it touches on themes that so many mixed aboriginal people deal with, but in a unique and passionate way.” She adds: “But we never thought that we'd need to call security to help with the crowd pushing through the door!"
The success of the film caught first-time feature filmmaker, Canadian writer-director Shane Belcourt, off guard. “It was a dream come true for me”, declared Belcourt, “and for everyone involved in making this film. A line up around the corner, line up at the concession stand, a sold-out crowd trying to find seating. It was like being at a 'real' movie, only it was my own!”
More reflectively, Belcourt says: "Maybe it was destiny - my father did name me after the first movie he saw, Shane. Which is a life of torment considering he's Métis and Alan Ladd's character is on the other side of the ‘cowboy and Indian’ equation."
Prior to the screening, Rachel Fulford, Director of Original Production from Showcase, spoke highly of the film: "Tonight marks the emergence of a major artist. Tkaronto is a rare and precious piece of filmmaking. This may be closing night of imagineNATIVE 2007, but it is opening night for Shane Belcourt."
Amidst the urban landscape of contemporary Toronto, Ray and Jolene – two strangers – discover an unexpected connection. As they both search for meaning and identity, their lives become increasingly entwined and Ray is forced to face his anxiety about impending fatherhood with a pregnant wife back home. As the bond between them intensifies, doubt and uncertainty grows as both of them grapple with their mutual attraction. Featuring a star turn by Lorne Cardinal (“Corner Gas”), Tkaronto is an unforgettable cinematic experience for anyone who has wondered who they really are and where in the world they belong.
The film was shot on a tight budget of over 17 days with a crew of six people. Belcourt not only wrote and directed the film; he also served as Cinematographer, a Producer and wrote and performed the haunting and beautiful closing title original song.
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For information please contact:
Bridgette Murphy, The Breath Films
(647) 893-0353
bridgette@thebreath.com
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