Vancouver-based production studio Boldly has an impressive roster of premieres at this year’s Canada’s top film festivals. Focused on fostering up-and-coming directors and creatives, will see the debut of Kasey Lum’s Bloom starring Jodi Balfour (Ted Lasso, The Crown) at TIFF on September 8th, 2023. TwoBoldly produced films will premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival this year. Our Grandmother The Inlet from Kayah George & Jaime Leigh Gianopolous will be having its world premiere and Janessa St. Pierre’s Hair or No Hair will be having its Canadian premiere. This news comes on the heels of winning the Jury Award for Best Music Video at SXSW for Amanda Sum’s “Different Than Before”, starring Tzi Ma (Mulan, The Farewell), Olivia Cheng (SEE, Warrior) and directed by Mayumi Yoshida. Celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, Boldly prioritizes new voices and diverse perspectives, highlighting the immense talent on the West Coast.
Bloom, World Premiere at TIFF
Bloom tells the story of Laurel, as she stumbles through heartbreak and grows a strange connection to a house plant. While on the surface it seems quite simple, the film dives deeper into the interconnected mess of humans and nature, commenting on our responsibility towards climate change and the life-sustaining systems of the planet. Shot on 35mm, director Kasey Lum, found a collaborator in Jodi Balfour (For All Mankind, Ted Lasso, The Crown), finding subtlety and nuance in her commanding performance to speak to these larger themes.
Our Grandmother The Inlet, World Premiere @ VIFF
Examining the deep relationship between humans and nature, co-directors Kayah George and Jaime Leigh Gianopolous explore the significance of Kayah’s ancestral relationship with water, revered in the Tsleil-Waututh nation as their oldest grandmother and the birthplace of creation. Our Grandmother The Inlet takes us on a journey, through the eyes of Kayah and her grandmother, Ta7a (Daughter of Chief Dan George), of the impacts of industry on both the environment and the sacred traditions of Kayah’s culture. Farhad Ghaderi, an internationally sought-after Vancouver-based cinematographer, selected the raw authenticity of 16mm film as the medium to capture this story.
Hair or No Hair, Canadian Premiere @VIFF
Authenticity is a theme that is also carried through Hair or No Hair, the debut short for Vancouver-based writer/director Janessa St. Pierre. Based on her personal experience with Alopecia, Janessa shows us the quiet struggle that comes with hair loss and the erosion of self-confidence. Janessa not only wrote and directed this moving film, she also starred as the lead character, letting us into the deep emotional journey of breaking free of the shame she felt towards her baldness, and the power that comes from unapologetically being yourself. Janessa was awarded Best Actor at both the Micheaux Film Festival and the LA Shorts Film Festival.
For further information on Boldly visit https://boldly.ca/
Vancouver International Film Festival –https://viff.org/
Image, courtesy of Boldly provided by Nicola Pender
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