It’s thrilling to see the Canadian film industry step behind one of its own, especially one as talented as Bruce McDonald.
McDonald is on a roll. Though the director has kept himself busy over the last few years, he seems to finally be getting some acclaim outside of Canada and last year’s The Tracey Fragments which starred “it” girl of the moment Ellen Page, garnered even more international attention for the Canadian director (though I believe the experimental aspect of the film may also have something to do with the added attention).
Now, home grown distributor Maple Pictures has picked up Canadian distribution rights for McDonald’s upcoming film Pontypool which will premiere at TIFF later this year. The film stars Stephen McHattie, Lisa Houle, Georgina Reilly, Hrant Alianak and Rick Roberts in a story about a washed-up small-town radio DJ who becomes trapped with his crew after getting reports of a virus spreading through town.
Aside from this being his first foray into horror, the film also continues McDonald’s experimental streak. The film is the first full-length Canadian feature shot with the Red One 4K HD camera not to mention that it is also the first film shot in that format to screen at TIFF. That’s a lot of firsts.
I don’t expect Maple will release this until sometime in ’09 and how wide it will open is still up in the air but it’s reassuring to know if we miss it at TIFF, we’ll have an opportunity to see it!
Shot on location in Toronto on what is likely a stringent Canadian budget, 
I don’t know if you folks missed me this weekend (as Row Three is generally quiet during the weekends while all the faithful go and take in new movies; well in my imagination anyway – we all know you folks prep for our weekly Cinecast from the Third Row). For the curious, I was in Montreal attending one of the largest genre festivals in North America: 
