Look at Me (2024 film)

Last updated
Look at Me
Directed by Taylor Olson
Written byTaylor Olson
Produced byTaylor Olson
Koumbie
Kirsten Luella Bruce
StarringTaylor Olson
Koumbie
CinematographyTim Mombourquette
Edited byShawn Beckwith
Production
company
Afro Viking Pictures
Release date
Running time
87 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Look at Me is a Canadian comedy-drama film, directed by Taylor Olson and released in 2024. [1] Adapted from his own semi-autobiographical stage play of the same name, the film stars Olson as a fictionalized version of himself, a bisexual actor who goes on a difficult emotional journey toward self-acceptance after suffering a relapse in his prior struggle with an eating disorder. [2]

The cast also includes Koumbie, Sam Vigneault, Josh MacDonald, Oliver Boyle, Jessica Barry, Thom Payne, Jeremy Smith, Matthew Lumley, Frietzen Kenter, Varun Guru, Emily Jewer, Beth Amiro, David Light, Kathleen Dorian, Peter Sarty, Richie Wilcox and Stephanie MacDonald in supporting roles.

Olson has called the film a "fictional autobiography", clarifying that while the film is based on his own personal experiences, some parts of it were fictionalized for the purposes of making the story more dramatically compelling. [2] His original play was a one-man show, with the other characters added for the film. [2]

The film premiered at the 2024 Slamdance Film Festival. [3] It had its Canadian premiere at the Canadian Film Festival, where Olson won the award for Best Performance. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Made in Canada</i> (TV series) Television series

Made in Canada is a Canadian television comedy which aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2003. Rick Mercer starred as Richard Strong, an ambitious and amoral television producer working for a company which makes bad television shows. A dark satire about the Canadian television industry, the programme shifted into an episodic situation comedy format after its first season.

<i>Hard Core Logo</i> 1996 Canadian film

Hard Core Logo is a 1996 Canadian mockumentary adapted by Noel S. Baker from the novel of the same name by author Michael Turner. The film was directed by Bruce McDonald and illustrates the self-destruction of punk rock. Released in 1996, the film documents a once-popular punk band, 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.

The Canadian Film Festival, formerly known as the Canadian Filmmakers Festival, is an annual film festival in Toronto, Ontario. Showcasing a program of Canadian independent films, it is held in March of each year and usually runs for five days.

The Atlantic International Film Festival is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. AIFF is the largest Canadian film festival east of Montreal, regularly premiering the region's top films of the year, while bringing the best films of the fall festival circuit to Atlantic Canada.

<i>Weirdsville</i> 2007 American film

Weirdsville is a black comedy film directed by Allan Moyle and written by Willem Wennekers. It premiered on January 18, 2007, at the 2007 Slamdance Film Festival.

Dusty Mancinelli is a Canadian independent filmmaker from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Mancinelli is primarily a director of short films. Several of his films have been shown at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and other notable film festivals worldwide, winning numerous awards. Since 2017, he has collaborated with Madeleine Sims-Fewer. Their debut feature film Violation was shown at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kim Nguyen</span> Canadian film director and screenwriter

Kim Nguyen is a Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for his 2012 film War Witch (Rebelle) which received numerous honours including an Academy Awards nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.

<i>Directors Cut</i> (film) 2016 American film

Director's Cut is a 2016 American independent black comedy horror film directed by Adam Rifkin, starring Penn Jillette and Missi Pyle. Principal photography took place in September 2014 and lasted four weeks. It opened the Slamdance Film Festival on January 22, 2016.

<i>Batkid Begins</i> 2015 American film

Batkid Begins is a 2015 American documentary film co-produced, co-written and directed by Dana Nachman. The documentary follows Miles Scott, an American child and cancer survivor. His wish was to be "Batkid", a sidekick of the eponymous comic book superhero Batman. Once the request went out, thousands of volunteers, city officials, businesses and supporters rallied to turn San Francisco, California into "Gotham City" – the fictional home city of Batman, on November 15, 2013, for one of the largest and most elaborate Make-A-Wish projects ever staged. The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures on June 26, 2015.

<i>M/M</i> 2018 Canadian film

M/M is a 2018 Canadian-German independent film directed by Drew Lint. The film follows Matthew, a Canadian expatriate living in Berlin, who becomes obsessed with a Berliner named Matthias.

<i>For Dorian</i> 2012 Canadian film

For Dorian is a 2012 Canadian short drama film, written and directed by Rodrigo Barriuso. The film stars Ron Lea as Oliver Baum, the father of a child with Down syndrome who is struggling to come to terms with his son's sexual awakening as gay.

Murmur is a Canadian docufiction film, directed by Heather Young and released in 2019. Young's full-length directorial debut, the film stars a cast of largely non-professional actors and centres on Donna, a lonely, alcoholic woman who is ordered to perform community service in an animal shelter after being arrested for drunk driving; when she adopts an older dog from the shelter to save him from being put down, she finds new meaning and purpose in her life but becomes obsessed with saving animals to the detriment of her own well-being.

Hot Docs at Home is a Canadian television programming block, which premiered April 16, 2020 on CBC Television. Introduced as a special series during the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the series aired several feature documentary films that had been scheduled to premiere at the 2020 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival before its postponement. The films aired on CBC Television at 8 p.m. EST on Thursdays and on the CBC's Documentary Channel later the same evening, and were made available for streaming on the CBC Gem platform.

Bone Cage is a 2020 Canadian drama film written and directed by Taylor Olson. Adapted from play of the same name by Catherine Banks, the film stars Olson as Jamie, a forestry worker whose ethical conflicts about participating in clearcutting, but having no options to leave the job, are beginning to affect his personal relationships, and Amy Groening as Chicky, his sister who has placed her own dreams of leaving town in search of something better on hold to stay and care for their ailing father Clarence.

Taylor Olson is a Canadian actor, writer and filmmaker from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He is best known as the director, writer and lead actor of the 2020 film Bone Cage, for which he was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 9th Canadian Screen Awards.

Sullivan's Crossing is a Canadian drama television series, which premiered on March 19, 2023 on CTV.

<i>The Queen of My Dreams</i> 2023 Canadian drama film

The Queen of My Dreams is a 2023 Canadian comedy drama film, written and directed by Fawzia Mirza. Mirza's full-length directorial debut, the film stars Amrit Kaur as Azra, a Pakistani Canadian woman who has had a strained relationship with her parents since coming out as lesbian, who undergoes an emotional journey after the sudden unexpected death of her father Hassan.

References

  1. Ryan Devir, "Look at Me". Film Threat , March 1, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 Mark Robins, "Halifax filmmaker Taylor Olson turns the lens on himself with Look At Me". Halifax Presents, December 14, 2023.
  3. Taimur Sikander Mirza, "Taylor Olson’s Look At Me to world premiere at Slamdance". Playback , December 5, 2023.
  4. Kelly Townsend, "Doubles leads 2024 Canadian Film Fest winners". Playback , March 25, 2024.