Dance Me Outside | |
---|---|
Directed by | Bruce McDonald |
Written by | John Frizzell Bruce McDonald Don McKellar |
Based on | Dance Me Outside by W. P. Kinsella |
Produced by | Brian Dennis Bruce McDonald Duke Redbird |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Miroslaw Baszak |
Edited by | Michael Pacek |
Music by | Mychael Danna, Keith Secola |
Distributed by | Apex Entertainment Shadow Shows Distribution Cineplex Odeon Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Box office | $304,852 (USA) |
Dance Me Outside is a 1994 Canadian drama film, directed by Bruce McDonald. [1] It was based on a book by W.P. Kinsella. [2]
The film premiered at the 1994 Toronto International Film Festival, [3] before going into commercial release in 1995.
On the Kidabanesee reserve in Northern Ontario lives Silas Crow (Ryan Black), a young man looking for direction in life. He is uncertain about taking an automobile mechanic's course in college. His general confusion with life is most readily evident in his appearance. He wears an old ratty black fedora, a strange assortment of cargo pants, as well as a long, black trench coat. Frank Fencepost (Adam Beach) is Crow's best friend, and Sadie Maracle (Jennifer Podemski) is his girlfriend.
A young girl from the reserve is murdered by Clarence Gaskill (Hugh Dillon); the white man's sentence is light, leading the community to demand justice or vengeance.
Ryan Black (Saulteaux) as Silas Crow an 18 year old aspiring mechanic struggling to write a short narrative of his home.
Adam Beach (Saulteaux, plains Ojibwe) as Frank Fencepost the best friend of Silas. Who is joining Silas in becoming a mechanic.
Lisa LaCroix as Illianna, Silas's Sister
Micheal Greyeyes (Muskeg Lake First Nation) as Gooch, former boyfriend of Illiana and returns home from prison
Jennifer Podemski (Anishinaabe, Lenni Lenape, and Métis) as Sadie Maracle
Tamara Podemski (Anishinaabe) as Little Margaret
Dance Me Outside was the first acting role for Dillon, who was previously known as a rock singer. [4] He later starred in McDonald's Hard Core Logo , and has since gone on to become an acclaimed actor in television series such as Durham County and Flashpoint .
The rock band Leslie Spit Treeo and singer-songwriter Vern Cheechoo appeared in the film, performing in concert at the reserve's community hall, "The Blue Quill Hall". [2] Blue Quill is a borrowed name of a community in W.P. Kinsella's hometown of Edmonton. Other contributors to the soundtrack included the folk music duo Kashtin, singer-songwriter Keith Secola and Dillon's band The Headstones, as well as previously recorded songs by Redbone and The Ramones, and an instrumental score by Mychael Danna.
The film was shot primarily on the Shawanaga and Wasauksing First Nations reserves near Parry Sound, with a small amount of location shooting in Parry Sound. [5]
A television series, The Rez , was spun off from the film in 1996. [6] In the series, Frank Fencepost was played by Darrel Dennis instead of Adam Beach, who was instead given the role of the chief's son, Charlie. Ryan Black and Jennifer Podemski kept their roles, while Podemski's sister Tamara played a new character named Lucy.
The film won two Genie Awards at the 16th Genie Awards in 1996, for Best Editing (Michael Pacek) and Best Sound Editing (Steve Munro, Andy Malcolm, Michael Pacek, Peter Winninger and Michael Werth). [7] It was also nominated, but did not win, for Best Overall Sound (Keith Elliott, Peter Kelly, Daniel Pellerin and Ross Redfern). [8]
After the film's spring 1995 theatrical run, the film was released on videocassette in 1995 by A-Pix Entertainment and in Canada that same year by Cineplex Odeon. The Canadian tape contained the music video for "Cemetery" performed by The Headstones. Video Service Corporation released the film on DVD in 2008.
William Patrick "W. P." Kinsella was a Canadian novelist and short story writer, known for his novel Shoeless Joe (1982), which was adapted into the movie Field of Dreams in 1989. His work often concerned baseball, First Nations people, and Canadian culture.
Hard Core Logo is a 1996 Canadian music mockumentary film directed by Bruce McDonald, adapted by Noel S. Baker from the novel of the same name by Michael Turner. The film illustrates the self-destruction of punk rock, documenting a once-popular band, the titular Hard Core Logo, comprising lead singer Joe Dick, fame-tempted guitarist Billy Tallent, schizophrenic bass player John Oxenberger, and drummer Pipefitter. Julian Richings plays Bucky Haight, Dick's idol. Several notable punk musicians, including Art Bergmann, Joey Shithead and Joey Ramone, play themselves in cameos. Canadian television personality Terry David Mulligan also has a cameo, playing a fictionalized version of himself.
Bruce McDonald is a Canadian film and television director, writer, and producer. Born in Kingston, Ontario, he rose to prominence in the 1980s as part of the loosely-affiliated Toronto New Wave.
The Rez is a Canadian drama television series, which aired on CBC Television from 1996 to 1998. Bruce McDonald and Norman Jewison were executive producers of the series, which chronicled life in an Ojibwe community. The series is based on the short story collection Dance Me Outside by W. P. Kinsella and its 1994 film adaptation by McDonald. It was cancelled after two seasons.
Headstones is a Canadian punk-influenced rock band that was formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1989, broke up in 2003, and then reunited in 2011. Consisting of vocalist Hugh Dillon, guitarist Trent Carr, bassist Tim White, keyboardist Steve Carr and Jesse Labovitz on drums, and a reputation for high energy, 'more rock less super shock' stage presence, and interaction with the audience, they frequently draw capacity crowds at mid-sized venues. Their songwriting tackles many serious and controversial topics. Between 1996 and 2016, Headstones were among the top 150 best-selling Canadian artists in Canada and among the top 35 best-selling Canadian bands in Canada.
Adam Beach is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his roles as Victor Joseph in Smoke Signals; Frank Fencepost in Dance Me Outside; Tommy on Walker, Texas Ranger; Kickin' Wing in Joe Dirt; U.S. Marine Corporal Ira Hayes in Flags of Our Fathers; Private Ben Yahzee in Windtalkers; Dr. Charles Eastman (Ohiyesa) in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee; NYPD Detective Chester Lake in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit; and Officer Jim Chee in the film adaptations of Skinwalkers, Coyote Waits and A Thief of Time. He starred in the Canadian 2012–2014 series Arctic Air and played Slipknot in the 2016 film Suicide Squad. He also performed as Squanto in Disney's historical drama film Squanto: A Warrior's Tale. Most recently he has starred in Hostiles (2017) as Black Hawk and the Netflix original film Juanita (2019) as Jess Gardiner and Edward Nappo in Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog.
Hugh Dillon is a Canadian singer, actor, and television producer. The lead vocalist of the rock bands Headstones and Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir, his notable acting roles include Mike Sweeney in Durham County, Edward "Ed" Lane in Flashpoint, Nick in Left 4 Dead 2, Duncan Sinclair in X Company, and Donnie Haskell in Yellowstone. He is also a co-creator, executive producer, and series regular of the Paramount+ series Mayor of Kingstown.
Highway 61 is a 1991 Canadian film directed by Bruce McDonald. The film is an unofficial sequel to his 1989 film Roadkill; although focusing on different characters, it centres on a road trip beginning in Thunder Bay, Ontario, where the road trip depicted in the earlier film ended.
Moccasin Flats is a Canadian drama television series that ran for three full seasons. The show, which has aired on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and Showcase Television since 2004, is co-produced by Big Soul Productions Inc. (Toronto) and Stephen Onda Productions Inc. (Regina). It takes place in Moccasin Flats, Regina, Saskatchewan, an urban reserve where the inhabitants struggle to maintain their cultural identity while overcoming poverty, gangs, violence, and racism. The series features award-nominated actor Andrea Menard and original music by Donald Quan.
Jim Northrup was an Anishinaabe newspaper columnist, poet, performer, and political commentator from the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation in Minnesota. His Anishinaabe name was "Chibenashi".
Dance Me Outside is a collection of short stories written by W. P. Kinsella in 1977.
Michael Pacek is a Canadian film editor. Pacek has been nominated for three Genie awards for film editing. He won two Genie Awards for his work on Bruce McDonald's Dance Me Outside (1994).
Reel Injun is a 2009 Canadian documentary film directed by Cree filmmaker Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge, and Jeremiah Hayes that explores the portrayal of Native Americans in film. Reel Injun is illustrated with excerpts from classic and contemporary portrayals of Native people in Hollywood movies and interviews with filmmakers, actors and film historians, while director Diamond travels across the United States to visit iconic locations in motion picture as well as American Indian history.
Jennifer Podemski is a Canadian film and television actress and producer.
Curtis's Charm is a 1995 Canadian comedy-drama film written and directed by John L'Ecuyer in his directorial debut. The film won a special jury citation for Best Canadian Feature Film at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival.
Swamp Baby was a Canadian rock band from Toronto, Ontario, active in the 1990s. They are most noted for collaborating with Michael Turner and Peter J. Moore on the music for the film Hard Core Logo; their song "Who the Hell Do You Think You Are?" won the Genie Award for Best Original Song at the 17th Genie Awards in 1996.
Patricia Collins is a British-Canadian actress, prominently associated with the Stratford Festival.
Ryan Rajendra Black is a Canadian actor, most noted for his leading role as Silas Crow in the 1994 film Dance Me Outside and its spinoff television series The Rez.
Elimination Dance is a 1998 Canadian short drama film. Directed by Bruce McDonald, Don McKellar and Michael Ondaatje based on Ondaatje's poem of the same name, the film stars McKellar and Tracy Wright as a couple in a jazz dance competition, in which various couples are eliminated as the announcer calls out various elimination criteria drawn from Ondaatje's poem.