Werewolf (2016 film)

Last updated

Werewolf
Werewolf 2016 film poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed by Ashley McKenzie
Written byAshley McKenzie
Produced by
  • Nelson MacDonald
  • Ashley McKenzie
Starring Andrew Gillis
Bhreagh MacNeil
CinematographyScott Moore
Edited byAshley McKenzie
Music byYouth Haunts
Production
company
Grassfire Films
Distributed byLa Distributrice de films
Release date
  • 9 September 2016 (2016-09-09)(TIFF)
Running time
79 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Werewolf is a 2016 Canadian drama film directed by Ashley McKenzie and starring Andrew Gillis and Bhreagh MacNeil. [1] It marks McKenzie's feature film directorial debut. The film premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, [2] and subsequently received numerous accolades, including several Canadian Screen Award nominations, [3] and the $100,000 Toronto Film Critics Association prize for best Canadian film of the year in 2017. [4]

Contents

Premise

Werewolf centres on Blaise (Andrew Gillis) and Vanessa (Bhreagh MacNeil), two drug addicts living in New Waterford, Nova Scotia. [5]

Production

The film was shot on Cape Breton Island for 26 days, [6] and was funded through various government grants, including from Telefilm Canada. [7]

The story was inspired by a real-life couple in New Waterford; McKenzie learned they were referred to as "the lawnmower crackheads" because they went from house to house offering to mow people's lawns. [8]

Release

After premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2016, Werewolf went on to screen at festivals across Canada including the Vancouver International Film Festival and Festival du nouveau cinema. Its international premiere was at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. [9] The film was released theatrically across Canada in 2017. [10]

Reception

Critical response

The film received mostly positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 17 reviews, with an average rating of 7.4/10. [11] Metacritic gave the film a score of 73 out of 100 based on 9 critical reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". [12]

The Hollywood Reporter called it a "cruel story of Canadian youth". [13] Barry Hertz of The Globe and Mail gave the film a four star review and called it "one of the summer's best movies." [14] Chris Knight of The National Post gave the film a three and a half star review and called it "an assured piece of storytelling." [15] In an article called "A Generational Shift in Filmmaking", Richard Brody of The New Yorker wrote "McKenzie fuses a documentary-like observational precision with a creative imagination that endows her characters' struggles with a quietly monumental grandeur." [16]

In less enthusiastic reviews, Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star wrote that "McKenzie has effectively drawn us in, although lack of narrative makes the film frustratingly slow in spots," [17] and Joe Leydon of Variety wrote that "the familiarity and predictability of its scenario about co-dependency in the lower depths make the relatively short Canadian indie seem longer than it is." [18]

Accolades

At the 2016 Atlantic Film Festival, Werewolf won several awards, including Best Director (McKenzie), Best Actress (MacNeil), and Best Actor (Gillis). [19] On 16 October 2016, the film won the Focus Canada Grand Prize at the Festival du nouveau cinema in Montreal. [20] On 7 December 2016, the film was named to TIFF's annual "Canada's Top 10" list. [21] At the 5th Canadian Screen Awards, the film received nominations for Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Cinematography, and Best Editing. [3]

In 2017, Werewolf won the $100,000 Toronto Film Critics Association prize for best Canadian film of the year. [4]

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef(s)
Atlantic Film Festival 15–22 September 2016Best Director Ashley McKenzie Won [19]
Best Actress Bhreagh MacNeil Won
Canadian Screen Awards 12 March 2017 Best Actor Andrew Gillis Nominated [22]
Best Actress Bhreagh MacNeilNominated
Best Cinematography Scott MooreNominated
Best Editing Ashley McKenzieNominated
Vancouver Film Critics Circle 16 December 2016 Best First Film by a Canadian DirectorWon [23]
Best Actress in a Canadian Film Bhreagh MacNeilWon
Toronto Film Critics Association 10 December 2017 Best Canadian Film Ashley McKenzie, Nelson MacDonaldWon [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto International Film Festival</span> Annual film festival held in Toronto, Canada

The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Bell Lightbox, located in Downtown Toronto. TIFF's mission is "to transform the way people see the world through film".

FIN Atlantic International Film Festival is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. FIN 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.

Eve Harlow is a Canadian-Russian-Israeli actress. She is known for her roles on television, including as Maya in the CW series The 100 (2014–2015), as Taylor in the NBC miniseries Heroes Reborn (2015), and as Tess in the ABC series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (2017–2018). She won a Leo Award and received a Gemini Award nomination for her portrayal of Tina Renwald in The Guard (2008–2009).

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">Anne Émond</span> Canadian film director and screenwriter

Anne Émond is a Canadian film director and screenwriter, currently based in Montreal, Quebec.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Anderson (artist)</span> Canadian filmmaker and musician

Trevor Anderson is a Canadian filmmaker and musician. His films have screened at the Sundance Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, and the Toronto International Film Festival.

Heather Young is a Canadian filmmaker based in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Albert Shin is a Canadian filmmaker, best known for his critically acclaimed Canadian Screen Award-nominated films In Her Place (2014) and Disappearance at Clifton Hill (2019). He works frequently with collaborator Igor Drljaca.

The Toronto International Film Festival Award for Best Canadian Film is an annual juried film award, presented by the Toronto International Film Festival to a film judged to be the best Canadian feature film.

The Jay Scott Prize is an annual film award presented by the Toronto Film Critics Association, in conjunction with commercial sponsor Stella Artois, to an emerging talent in the Canadian film industry.

The nominations for the 17th Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards, honoring the best in filmmaking in 2016, were announced on December 16, 2016. Manchester by the Sea led with six nominations, when Moonlight with four and La La Land with three nominations.

Bhreagh MacNeil is a Canadian actress. She is most noted for her performance in the 2016 film Werewolf, for which she garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actress at the 5th Canadian Screen Awards. She also won the award for Best Actress in a Canadian Film at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2016, and at the 2016 Atlantic Film Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Gillis</span> Canadian actor and musician

Andrew Gillis is a Canadian actor and musician. He is most noted for his performance in the 2016 film Werewolf, for which he garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Actor at the 5th Canadian Screen Awards. He also won the award for Best Actor at the 2016 Atlantic Film Festival, and was a nominee for Best Actor in a Canadian Film at the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2016.

Ashley McKenzie is a Canadian director, screenwriter, and editor. She is known for her feature film directorial debut Werewolf (2016), which won numerous accolades, including the $100,000 Toronto Film Critics Association prize for best Canadian film of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kazik Radwanski</span> Canadian filmmaker (born 1985)

Kazik Radwanski is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. His early short films have been cited as part of the New Canadian Cinema movement. He made his feature film directorial debut in 2012 with Tower. His second feature film, How Heavy This Hammer (2015), screened at film festivals around the world and received critical acclaim. His third feature film, Anne at 13,000 Ft. (2019), starring Deragh Campbell, won the Toronto Film Critics Association's $100,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award in 2021.

<i>Anthropocene: The Human Epoch</i> 2018 Canadian film

Anthropocene: The Human Epoch is a 2018 Canadian documentary film made by Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky. It explores the emerging concept of a geological epoch called the Anthropocene, defined by the impact of humanity on natural development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sofia Bohdanowicz</span> Canadian film director

Sofia Bohdanowicz is a Canadian filmmaker. She is known for her collaborations with Deragh Campbell and made her feature film directorial debut in 2016 with Never Eat Alone. Her second feature film, Maison du Bonheur, was a finalist for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the 2018 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards. That year, she won the Jay Scott Prize from the Toronto Film Critics Association. Her third feature film, MS Slavic 7, which she co-directed with Campbell, had its world premiere at the 69th Berlin International Film Festival in 2019. She has also directed several short films, such as Veslemøy's Song (2018) and Point and Line to Plane (2020).

Molly McGlynn is a Canadian film and television director and screenwriter. She is most noted for her feature film debut Mary Goes Round, for which she won the Jay Scott Prize from the Toronto Film Critics Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deragh Campbell</span> Canadian actress

Deragh Campbell is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. She is known for her acclaimed performances in independent Canadian cinema. Her collaborations with filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz—Never Eat Alone (2016), Veslemøy's Song (2018), MS Slavic 7 (2019), and Point and Line to Plane (2020)—have screened at film festivals internationally. She has also featured in two of Kazik Radwanski's films, How Heavy This Hammer (2015) and Anne at 13,000 Ft. (2019), both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Queens of the Qing Dynasty is a Canadian drama film, directed by Ashley McKenzie and released in 2022. The film stars Sarah Walker as Star, a troubled teenager who has been hospitalized following a suicide attempt, and Ziyin Zheng as An, a genderqueer volunteer at the hospital whose companionship and friendship helps Star to feel less isolated as they bond over their shared uncertainties about their futures.

References

  1. ↑ "'Werewolf' Exclusive Clip: Two Methadone Addicts Struggle With Isolation In Small Town". IndieWire. 14 September 2016. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Werewolf at TIFF". TIFF. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Orphan Black, Schitt's Creek, Kim's Convenience up for Canadian Screen Awards". CBC News . 17 January 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 Doherty, Brennan (9 January 2018). "Werewolf wins big at Toronto Film Critics awards". The Toronto Star. ISSN   0319-0781 . Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Cape Breton feature Werewolf to premiere at TIFF". The Coast , 3 August 2016.
  6. ↑ "World premiere for Cape Breton film this week at TIFF | Cape Breton Post". www.capebretonpost.com. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  7. ↑ "NSI-nominated project from Ashley McKenzie, Nelson MacDonald selected for Telefilm's micro-budget program | National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)". National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI). 16 June 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  8. ↑ "Introducing the fearless Ashley McKenzie" . Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  9. ↑ "| Berlinale | Archive | Annual Archives | 2017 | Programme - Werewolf". www.berlinale.de. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  10. ↑ Wilner, Norman (1 June 2017). "Werewolf is one of the best Canadian films you'll see this year". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  11. ↑ "Werewolf (2016)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 2 March 2018.
  12. ↑ "Werewolf Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  13. ↑ "'Werewolf': Film Review | Berlin 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  14. ↑ "Review: Werewolf is one of the summer's best movies" . Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  15. ↑ "Ashley McKenzie's Werewolf is 'an assured piece of storytelling'". National Post. 2 June 2017. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  16. ↑ Brody, Richard (9 May 2017). "A Generational Shift in Independent Filmmaking, at the 2017 Maryland Film Festival". The New Yorker. ISSN   0028-792X . Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  17. ↑ DeMara, Bruce; Barnard, Linda; Howell, Peter (1 June 2017). "Reel Brief: Mini reviews of Graduation, Tanna, Werewolf, Score, Drone". The Toronto Star. ISSN   0319-0781 . Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  18. ↑ Leydon, Joe (21 September 2016). "Film Review: 'Werewolf'". Variety. Retrieved 6 March 2017.
  19. 1 2 "Cape Breton film 'Werewolf' a howling success at Atlantic Film Festival". Cape Breton Post. 26 September 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
  20. ↑ "Prizes and Awards - 45th edition". Festival du nouveau cinéma. Retrieved 8 December 2017.
  21. ↑ "'Telling stories that show Canadians who we are:' TIFF unveils top 10 Canadian films of 2016". CBC News . Retrieved 8 December 2016.
  22. ↑ Furdyk, Brent (17 January 2017). "2017 Canadian Screen Awards nominees revealed". Global News . Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  23. ↑ "Hello Destroyer Named Best Canadian Film by VFCC". Vancouver Film Critics Circle . 10 January 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.