Wednesday, March 8 / 7:00 pm / Ottawa Art Gallery

Program: Rocket Fuel, I Like Movies
Guest: Jessie Posthumus, director of Rocket Fuel

Walk the red carpet before the screening and join your fellow film lovers after for drinks at Jackson.


Feature presentation \

I Like Movies

2022 / 99 minutes / Canada
Director: Chandler Levack
Writer: Chandler Levack
Language: English

Content notes: mental illness, mentions of suicide

comedy \ coming-of-age \ inspiring

One of the wittiest and most endearing feature film debuts in Canadian cinema history (yes, it’s that good!), I Like Movies is a clever, entertaining valentine to film geekdom, finding one’s own voice, overcoming adversity, and, yes, to Ottawa and Carleton University Film Studies! Set in the early 2000s in Burlington, Ontario, the film revolves around Lawrence Kweller (brilliantly played by Isaiah Lehtinen), a movie-obsessed teenager who dreams of going to NYU to become a filmmaker. He’s convinced he’ll be admitted and that American indie icon Todd Solondz will be his mentor. While Lawrence’s single-mindedness alienates his friends, his job at a local video rental outlet (remember those?) will soon lead him and his dream in unexpected directions. It will also force him to confront his family’s troubled past and that maybe, just maybe New York is not in his future. Writer-director Chandler Levack’s first feature is a smart, articulate delight.“… Levack’s microbudget masterpiece is one of the funniest, sharpest and most perfectly cast films I saw all of last year.” Barry Hertz, The Globe and Mail. 

- Tom McSorley

L’un des longs métrages en début de carrière les plus brillants et attachants de l’histoire du cinéma canadien (oui, c’est si bon que ça!), I Like Movies est un valentin intelligent et divertissant à la communauté des geeks du cinoche, à la recherche de sa propre voix, à la résilience face à l’adversité, et, oui, à Ottawa et aux études en cinéma de l’Université Carleton! Situé au début des années 2000, à Burlington, en Ontario, le film raconte l’histoire de Lawrence Kweller (interprété avec brio par Isaiah Lehtinen), un adolescent obsédé de cinéma qui rêve d’aller à NYU pour devenir cinéaste. Il est convaincu qu’il sera admis et que l’icône indie américaine, Todd Solondz, sera son mentor. Alors que l’obsession de Lawrence l’éloigne de ses amis, son emploi dans un club vidéo (ça vous rappelle quelque-chose?) le mènera bientôt ainsi que son rêve dans des directions inattendues. Cela le forcera aussi à confronter le passé troublé de sa famille et lui fera voir que peut-être, mais peut-être, que New York n’est pas dans son avenir.

- Tom McSorley (traduit par Jacinthe Grenier-Albert)

PRESS

The 10 Best Canadian Films of 2022, a stress-test year for homegrown cinema


AWARDS

Calgary International Film Festival 2022, RBC Emerging Canadian Artist Award (Chandler Levack)


Short film \

Rocket Fuel

2022 / 12 minutes / Ontario
Director: Jessie Posthumus
Language: English

In the middle of a small town on a hot July, three young kids collect a spattering of cans and bottles in an old wagon nicknamed “The Rocket”, and set off to cash in their empties for ice cream.


This program is presented in partnership with Andrex Holdings.