Following critical and fan acclaim at the SJIWFF and a sold out screening at the Cineplex Mount Pearl on March 13th, locally shot drama An Audience of Chairs is heading back to local screens next week! The film will return to the Cineplex Mount Pearl on March 20-21!
Written by Rosemary House(Hold Fast) and directed by award-winning director Deanne Foley (Relative Happiness), this universal story of the redemptive power of a mother’s love is adapted from the popular, award-winning novel of the same name by Joan Clark.
The film had its World Premiere at the Atlantic International Film Festival in fall of 2018 where it swept the festival awards winning Best Feature, Best Screenplay, and Best Score/Music, and then went on to screen at Cinéfest Sudbury and Whistler Film Festival also in fall/winter 2018.
The film features a notable cast lead by Carolina Bartczak (X-Men: Apocalypse) alongside Peter McNeill (A History of Violence), Gord Rand (Pure), Edie Inksetter(A Handmaid’s Tale), and Chris Jacot (Slasher).
AN AUDIENCE OF CHAIRS follows Maura Mackenzie (Bartczak), who believes the world is hers to conquer. With her career as a concert pianist gaining momentum, it seems her beauty and talent will be strong enough to mask the demons that threaten to engulf her. But with an absent husband (Jacot) and two young daughters at home, her precarious sanity begins to unravel until one summer day, burning with manic energy, she makes a terrible mistake — a mistake that will change her life forever. The consequences for Maura are catastrophic: her ambitious husband runs for his life, taking the children with him, leaving Maura to lapse into a full-scale breakdown. Life as she knew it is now over. With the help of her father, Ian (MacNeill), Maura works to reclaim her life and waits for a miracle to bring her daughters home. But when the fates align, can the past be forgiven?
The story was originally inspired by author Clark’s cousin, who had bipolar disorder and also lost her children.
“This story is a poignant, carefully observed portrait of one woman’s struggle with mental illness and her tormented relationship with her children, love and career, “says Foley. “One that poetically illustrates the way a person suffering a mental illness sees the world. I believe we’ve created a powerfully layered film that illuminates how a person can be so broken, but somehow finds her way to be able to let the light in. It’s a remarkable redemption story based on an exquisite novel by Joan Clark. It’s been an absolute honour to be able to bring it to life.”
The film is set against the backdrop of the big sky of Newfoundland, with some shooting in Northern Ontario, by cinematographer James Klopke known for his stunning work on the acclaimed film Sleeping Giant. The score is by east coast musician and composer Duane Andrews (Crackie, Relative Happiness).
“An Audience of Chairs is a beautiful and poetic film anchored by a powerful central performance by Carolina Bartczak ” says Susan Curran, A71 Vice President of Marketing and Acquisitions. “More than a story of mental illness, it is about the struggle to do the right things, to be true to yourself while being good to others – it’s about the struggle to be human.
AN AUDIENCE OF CHAIRS is produced by Eric Jordan, Jill Knox-Gosse, Paul Stephens, and Lynne Wilson.
The film is financially backed by Telefilm, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation, Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation, CBC Breaking Barriers Film Fund and Rogers Telefund.
Tickets for the local screenings of An Audience of Chairs available now!