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“The Maiden,” Graham Foy’s finely tuned story of adolescent mythmaking, togetherness and grief, has its world premiere Tuesday in Venice Days earlier than heading to Toronto, however the movie’s spectacular worldwide journey really started in Cannes two years in the past.
Based mostly in Toronto since 2008, Foy grew up in suburban Calgary the place “Maiden” is ready, spent teenage summers close to the graffiti-covered railroad bridge and ragged ravine, the place a lot of the movie was shot, and, like one of many characters, was an avid skateboarder.
He had been tapping away on the “Maiden” script — which pulls from his experiences however isn’t autobiographical — for a number of years when his quick “August 22, This Yr” was chosen for the 2020 Cannes’ Critics’ Week.
“It was the yr the pandemic shut down Cannes, so we couldn’t go, however the competition did loads for the filmmakers,” mentioned Foy, who spoke to Selection from Venice final week, upfront of the competition.
“The quick filmmakers have been invited to take part in Cannes’ Subsequent Step growth program, which helps quick filmmakers make that soar to options,” he continued. “It was superb to have that sort of entry to individuals who do the identical factor as you however don’t know your work. The suggestions was extraordinarily candid and sincere.”
After working up one other draft of “Maiden,” Foy was then invited to a residency at Moulin d’Andé in Normandy, which he attended with the movie’s producers — his F Movies’ companion and spouse Daiva Žalnieriunas, and MDFF’s Dan Montgomery (“Anne at 13,000 Ft.”). The script was labored by way of once more. “I felt strongly that the construction had settled,“ Foy recalled. “We returned to Toronto and drove to Calgary to begin prepping.”
Casting Calgary actors Jackson Sluiter, Marcel Jiménez and Hayley Ness — all making their skilled display debuts — allowed Foy to see the characters of “Maiden” come to life so he may refine the dialogue. “All three contributed little items of who they’re,” he mentioned. “Jackson, who performs Kyle, is aware of the skateboarding tradition of Calgary, which I grew up in, and has a tremendous set of catchphrases.”
Foy’s alignment with Toronto-based MDFF, which Montgomery established with director Kazik Radwanski in 2009, places “Maiden” on a slate of notable, handmade, director-driven narratives and options which have screened at prime festivals. MDFF is releasing the movie in Canada.
“Additionally they run this collection that screens arthouse cinema from everywhere in the world—usually movies that have been made with little or no,” Foy mentioned. “I used to be impressed by that and by MDFF’s movies, which knowledgeable our ethos to create one thing bold with restricted assets.”
Along with monetary help from Telefilm Canada’s Expertise to Watch program, “Maiden” additionally acquired help from Canada Council for the Arts and personal donations.
Foy loved the collaborative vibe of the tight crew, which included cinematographer Kelly Jeffrey, whom Foy has been working with since movie faculty. Their determination to shoot in 16mm and the movie’s many night time scenes precipitated quite a few conversations about mild.
“We couldn’t drive a automobile into locations just like the ravine the place we have been filming, so we needed to carry in all of the tools on foot,” Foy defined. “We determined to shoot day-for-night due to its simplicity, but in addition as a result of it created this unusual, otherworldly environment, which we have been all excited to seize.
“By means of the writing course of and likewise by way of manufacturing, a giant a part of my philosophy was to attempt to let go as a lot as doable from needing the movie to be good, and to embrace the movie for what it was, and let the movie be itself and produce its personal power,” he mentioned.
And that philosophy appears to be working. Simply previous to its Venice premiere, “The Maiden” received the TRT First Lower + award for works-in-progress on the Karlovy Fluctuate Movie Pageant.
Hengameh Panahi and Charlotte Mickie are repping the movie for Celluloid Desires, which has world gross sales rights.
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