All My Puny Sorrows

Friday, March 18 / 7:00pm / Bytowne Cinema

Little Bird / All My Puny Sorrows / Q&A with Michael Mcgowan

This program is presented by Affinity Production Group.

Feature presentation \

family \ heart-breaking \ adaptation

The unbreakable bond of sisterhood is at the core of this adaptation of Miriam Toews’s novel. Yoli is struggling to balance single motherhood, dating, and writing another book while also avoiding signing divorce papers. Elf is a successful concert pianist about to start another tour when she attempts to end her life and insists, from a hospital bed, that she still wants to die. The sisters’ light banter during this time in the hospital is heartbreaking to watch knowing beneath teasing about Yoli’s book in progress, one sister wants to die and the other wants her to live. No strangers to the aftermath of suicide, having lost their father years ago, Yoli and their mother find themselves in a sort of limbo, at an impasse with Elf’s insistence that she needs to die. Through flashbacks and voiceover, the family’s history with their Mennonite community, and why they left it, begins to complete the picture of this broken family. Allison Pill’s and Sarah Gadon’s assured performances as the sisters make this affecting feature one that will linger in your mind for days after, contemplating the frailty of life.

- Tish Chambers

Short film \

guests \

This program is presented by Affinity Production Group.