vernon film society
Bringing the best in world and Canadian film to film lovers of Vernon and the North Okanagan
OLIVER SHERMAN
Monday, February 21
With special guest Ryan Redford (Writer/Director)
Cast: Garret Dillahunt, Donal Logue, Molly Parker
Run Time: 82 minutes
Country: Canada
Year: 2010
Language: English
Rating: Not yet rated
Premiering at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival® and winner of the Grand Prix Focus at the 2010 Festival du Nouveau Cinema in Montreal, Oliver Sherman is an emotionally charged psychological thriller about a damaged war veteran struggling to dispel demons beyond the battlefield. Based on the short story by Rachel Ingalls, the film is the first feature from Canadian writer-director Ryan Redford, whose award winning short films Song of Wreckage and Lake screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2003 and 2005 respectively.
Garret Dillahunt (The Road, Winter’sBone) stars as the title character and delivers a tremendous performance as a man with no family or friends, who has completely isolated himself from the outside world. Feeling lost and disconnected, the tormented veteran sets out in search of Franklin Page (Donal Logue, Citizen Duane, Zodiac), the soldier who saved his life back in the war.
The two men’s lives could not have unfolded more differently. With a wife (Molly Parker, Who Loves the Sun, The Road), two children and a steady job in a reliable, safe and quiet town, Page has long since moved on from the horrors the two soldiers survived in the war. Upon first introduction, Sherman seems a harmless, awkward shell of a man. But as he inserts himself further into the Pages’ home, the seemingly placid countenance of this veteran starts to crack, revealing the character’s dangerous andsehold and the community they call home. Shot by the incredibly talented cinematographer Antonio Calvache (Little Children, In the Bedroom), Oliver Sherman has the look of a very accomplished film. It is restrained and stark, yet somehow lush in its composition which plays perfectly into the rich narrative against the shooting location of North Bay, Ontario.
“This is independent filmmaking that punches way above its weight, and it earns every ounce
of its very considerable suspense.
– Andrew Long, twitchfilm.net
Reviews: Not yet released
Official Site: No official site yet
SPECIAL GUEST - Ryan Redford (Writer/Director)
The director of "OLIVER SHERMAN" will be joining us for a question and answer session after each showing of the film. Please join us for some interesting insights about the film and filmmaking.
Born in Vancouver, Ryan Redford graduated from York University's film program in Toronto and received an apprenticeship in directing from the Academy of Canadian Cinema. He has written and directed six short films, which have screened at more than 50 international festivals and been broadcast on television stations including CBC, IFC Canada, Showcase and France3. His two most recent shorts, Song of Wreckage and Lake, both premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, in 2003 and 2005, respectively. His screenplay Bone received Best Unproduced Screenplay at the 2007 Writers Guild of Canada Awards. Oliver Sherman is his first feature film.