Anthony from REEL Canada presenting Atom Egoyen's movie, Remember, to St. Joes' senior Lasers! Photo by Julianna S.
Day 3 of Canada 150 Week!
On Wednesday, September 27, Reel Canada––a non-profit organization located in Toronto––visited St. Joseph’s Catholic High School to display four Canadian movies.
This event coincided with the ‘Canada 150 Week’ that the staff and students were celebrating throughout the week. The students were thrilled to be given the chance to not only watch the screening of a movie in their school, but to participate in a live Skype call with the director and actor of the movies.
The movie screening was split into two, by morning and afternoon. In the morning, the junior students watched Breakaway, whilst the senior students viewed Remember. In the afternoon, the juniors watched The Whale, and the seniors watched The F Word.
The day before the event, a countless amount of students and teachers aided to ensure the day be successful and the school be well decorated.
The decorated cafetorium where the senior students viewed both of their films. Thanks to Mr. Polewski for the amazing decor! Photo by Mia P.
The First Screenings
The most talked about film was Remember. The senior students really loved the film and the plot twist that was incorporated in the movie. Remember, directed by Atom Egoyan, was about a man named Zev Guttman living in hospice care with dementia. His friend Mark Rosenbaum repeatedly reminds him of the murder of their families in Auschwitz, and Max tells Zev that he is the only man to remember the face of the murderer. Max instructs Zev to find the name hidden under the name Rudy Kurlander and murder him. However at the end it is revealed that Zev had a false prisoner tattoo and was the Blockführer responsible for the murder of Max’s family along with another man. This plot twist had the whole crowd shook with excitement. The students were engaged throughout the whole movie, and had nothing but positive things to say.
Lauren Toma, Grade 12 student, said, “I loved the movie and I also found it sad.’
Marilyn Tskihani, Grade 12 student, commented, “BRO, BRO, I loved that movie and I had suspicions when Zev shot the cop and dog with a good aim.”
Georgie Savoie, Grade 12 student, added, “I was on the edge of my seat.”
SPOILER ALERT: The climax of the movie when Zev realizes he is the killer. Photo by Mia P.
The students were fortunate to be able to skype Atom Egoyan after the movie. An interesting fact about him is that he originally went to University to become a diplomat. Photo by Julianna S.
Breakaway's Title introduction was screened as students excitedly tune in to watch the movie. Photo by Melanie T.
The movie Breakaway was about a young man named Rajveer Singh who aspires to play ice hockey, but his conservative Sikh father objects to his so-called dream. The junior classes enjoyed the movie because it explored a different culture on a Canadian screen. A funny part during the screening of the film was when the students sang along to singing ‘Oh Canada’ while an actor was singing it in the movie.
Grade 9 and 10 students were called up to answer questions about the movie. Photo by Melanie T.
Vinay Virmani, lead actor from Breakaway spent some time with St. Joes' Laser to answer their questions about the movie via Skype. Photo by Melanie T. Read the full article here.
The Second Screenings
The F Word was the second movie viewed by the senior classes. It starred the Harry Potter actor, Daniel Radcliffe, but was not exactly a fan favourite for the students. The movie plot is about a former medical school student who meets a girl at his friend's party who already has a boyfriend, and he falls in love with her. As the plot thickens, the two love birds click and at the end, they end up together. The viewers were not fond of the movie based on the fact that they claimed the ending to be too "predictable." They wanted the ending to be more realistic.
(Left to Right) Reem Abouzeeni and Hannah Evon were both asked to present arguments as to why the movie did or did not work. Photo by Julianna S.
Next, The Whale, was also not the most appealing to the junior students compared to Breakaway. The film was about a killer whale that was separated from its family from a place called the Nookta Sound.
It's fair to say that both grade levels preferred their morning movie screenings over the afternoon, although they were both appreciated. The director of Remember left the students with advice on playwriting saying that, “You should write about stories that need to be told.”
The Breakaway actor Vinay Virmani told aspiring Canadian actors/actresses, “Take courses, learn as much as you can, live life and don’t hold back, travel and meet new people and educate yourself by talking to people.”
A lot of work and preparation was put to make that day possible, and it was definitely a great asset to the St. Joseph's Canada 150 Week. The students were very fortunate to be given this amazing opportunity, and what a great way for them to begin the school year!