The Sparky Book | |
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Directed by | Mary Lewis |
Written by | Mary Lewis |
Produced by | Annette Clarke |
Starring | Maggie Hickey Joel Thomas Hynes Leah Lewis Gordon Pinsent |
Cinematography | Eli M. Yonova |
Edited by | Lawrence Jackman Mary Lewis |
Production company | |
Release date |
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Running time | 14 minutes |
Country | Canada |
Language | English |
Budget | $CAD274,000 (estimated) |
The Sparky Book is a 2006 animated/live-action short film by Newfoundland filmmaker Mary Lewis, about the near-death of a young girl who undergoes heart transplant surgery, and the death of her beloved pet dog, Sparky. [1]
The story is based on the experiences of the director's own sister, Leah, who had two kidney transplants as a child. Michael Winter wrote a short story The Sparky Book after their dog had died. Director Lewis then loosely based her film on the short story. The film is narrated by a goldfish, voiced by Gordon Pinsent, with voice of Sparky by Joel Thomas Hynes. Leah Lewis appears in the film as "Bridget," a character based upon herself. [2] [3]
Produced by the National Film Board of Canada, the film received the Golden Sheaf Award for best experimental film and the Bill Boyle Award for Excellence in Screenwriting at Flicks: Saskatchewan International Youth Film Festival. [4] In 2008, The Sparky Book was the sole film from Newfoundland and Labrador to be selected for CBC TV's "Short Film Faceoff", a six-part series showcasing films from Atlantic Canada. [2] [3]
Timothy Walter Burton is an American filmmaker, animator, and artist. Known for pioneering goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his gothic horror and fantasy films. These include Beetlejuice (1988), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993), Ed Wood (1994), Sleepy Hollow (1999), Corpse Bride (2005), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Dark Shadows (2012), Frankenweenie (2012), and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (2016), as well as the television series Wednesday (2022). Burton also directed the superhero films Batman (1989) and Batman Returns (1992), the sci-fi film Planet of the Apes (2001), the fantasy-drama Big Fish (2003), the musical adventure film Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and the fantasy film Alice in Wonderland (2010).
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and alternative dramas. In total, the NFB has produced over 13,000 productions since its inception, which have won over 5,000 awards. The NFB reports to the Parliament of Canada through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. It has bilingual production programs and branches in English and French, including multicultural-related documentaries.
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The Newfoundland is a large breed of working dog. They can be black, grey, brown, or black and white. However, in the Dominion of Newfoundland, before it became part of the confederation of Canada, only black and Landseer (white-and-black) coloured dogs were considered to be proper members of the breed. They were originally bred and used as working dogs for fishermen in Newfoundland.
Gordon Edward Pinsent was a Canadian actor, writer, director, and singer. He was known for his roles in numerous productions, including Away from Her, The Rowdyman, John and the Missus, A Gift to Last, Due South, The Red Green Show, and Quentin Durgens, M.P. He was the voice of Babar the Elephant in television and film from 1989 to 2015.
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Mary Lewis is a Canadian actress and filmmaker from St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. She was the recipient of the Newfoundland and Labrador Arts Council Artist of the Year Award in 1999.
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