Anyone who saw Anne at 13,000 ft at TIFF last year can attest: this drama is indie filmmaking at its finest. (It was one of our top Canadian films at the fest and a highlight of TIFF’s Platform competition.) Anne arguably defines the top shelf for the current generation of Toronto filmmakers. Directed with innovative ingenuity by Kazik Radwanski and performed with fearless abandon by Deragh Campbell, drama doesn’t get much bolder or better than it does here. Anne resounds with the voice of a new generation. The film features Campbell in the title role as a young woman in a tailspin as she confronts a life of responsibility and the burdens of expectations weighing down on her.
Nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards including Best Picture, Anne is a must-see for Canadian film buffs. Campbell also received the Jay Scott Prize for Best Emerging Artist earlier this year from the Toronto Film Critics Association. The citation is in part for her invigorating collaborative style with many of her contemporaries on the scene like Radwanski and Sofia Bohdanowicz. But the film proves both the director and stars as two of the talents to watch on the Toronto beat. The film’s a jolt of life that film buffs crave.
Synopsis: Anne hasn’t been the same since the jump. While skydiving for her best friend Sara’s bachelorette party, the 27-year-old felt focused, free, above it all. Back on the ground, the pressures of her daily life threaten to overwhelm her. Her coworkers at the daycare centre are constantly questioning the way she connects with the children. At Sara’s wedding, she meets a nice guy named Matt, but she can’t help bringing him into ever-more-awkward social situations. As the stressful circumstances mount, Anne prepares for another jump.
Anne at 13,000 ft opens in Toronto on March 20 at TIFF Bell Lightbox.