Focus on Canadian Film: Beginning of the 3rd Millennium 2005 / I, Claudia / Canada 2004
An unusually affective look into the depths of a child’s soul as she tries with all her fragile might not to succumb to the savage onslaught of the adult world.
The main figures in 12-year-old Claudia’s world are her Grandpa, the school custodian, and above all the temperamental Leslie, daddy’s new girlfriend and soon-to-be bride. Toronto writer and actress Kristen Thomson’s renowned one woman show has been turned into a film and, like on stage, Thomson plays all four characters. Especially noteworthy is her creation of little Claudia’s inner world. The engaging girl makes good use of her charm and playfulness, her agile mind and the childlike naïve wisdom she employs to comment on her parents’ divorce and the behaviour of those around her. Her ideas and fears provoke many a laugh but, in the end, the viewer walks away with a feeling of bitter regret for the wounded soul of a child desperately fighting against her descent into the adult world of uncertainty and disappointment. Them roles’ subtle psychological refinement sharply contrasts with the tense artistic stylization of individual characters’ masks, which tend to steal the show.
75 min / Color, BETA SP
Director Chris Abraham
/ Screenplay Kristen Thomson
/ Dir. of Photography Kim Derko
/ Music Christopher Dedrick
/ Editor David Wharnsby
/ Producer Jennifer Kawaja, Julia Sereny
/ Production Sienna Films
/ Cast Kristen Thomson
/ Contact Telefilm Canada, Sienna Films, Rhombus International Inc.
www: www.siennafilms.com
Chris Abraham attended a programme in theatre studies in Toronto before going on to study direction at the National Theatre School in Montreal. Shortly after graduating, he gained his first directing successes at the end of the nineties, and today he is considered one of the most talented people in Canadian theatre. He works with various theatre ensembles and is artistic director of the celebrated Toronto experimental scene Go Chicken Go. He has been awarded a number of prestigious domestic prizes, and has directed Büchner, Handke and Williams, as well as contemporary young playwrights such as Kristen Thomson. He directed her play I, Claudia for the stage and adapted this lyrical tragicomedy as his feature debut.
Telefilm Canada
360, rue Saint-Jacques, Suite 600, H2Y 1P5, Montreal, Quebec
Canada
Phone: +1 514 283 636 3
Fax: +1 514 283 236 5
E-mail: [email protected]
Sienna Films
110 Spadina Ave., Suite 800, M5V 2K4, Toronto
Canada
Phone: +1 416 703 1126
Fax: +1 416 703 8825
E-mail: [email protected]
Rhombus International Inc.
, M5V 3P8, Toronto
Canada
Phone: +1 416 971 7856
Fax: +1 416 971 9647
E-mail: [email protected]
Brigitte Hubmann
Film Institution Rep.
Chris Abraham
Film Director
Jean Claude Mahé
Film Institution Rep.
First-hand brews throughout the year.
Be among the first to learn about upcoming events and other news. We only send the newsletter when we have something to say.
