Saskatchewan makes its debut at Cannes with Surveillance
Last Updated: Thursday, May 22, 2008 | 2:28 PM CT
CBC News
American actor Bill Pullman and British actress Julia Ormond at the premiere of Surveillance in Cannes on Thursday. (Evan Agostini/Associated Press)A thriller shot in Saskatchewan made its debut at the Cannes Film Festival Thursday, the first film from the province to premiere at the prestigious festival.
Surveillance, directed by Jennifer Lynch and produced by Regina's Stephen Onda, was screened out of competition in the Un Certain Regard portion of the festival, which selects just 20 films.
"When the jury selects you for an official screening — there are thousands of films here but there only a select few that are awarded the opportunity of 'red carpet' screening as they call it — so it means we've produced a product that is top of world class at least in this moment in time," said Onda.
Surveillance brought its stars, including Julia Ormond and Bill Pullman, to the red carpet. More were in the audience.
"Dennis Hopper showed up just to come and see the movie. Dennis had been in Saskatchewan working with us on another movie earlier in '07," Onda said.
Onda says he was gratified by the audience reaction to the film, which was screened in the enormous Lumiere theatre.
"There were 3,000 people all dressed in tuxedos and beautiful gowns," he said. "The audience responded marvellously — they gave us a standing ovation."
The critics have also been kind, calling the movie a comeback for Lynch, the daughter of famed director David Lynch, who last made a feature film 15 years ago. That film, Boxing Helena, was very poorly received.
Surveillance, a bloody thriller in which Ormand and Pullman play FBI agents investigating a massacre in the flatlands of Nebraska, was hailed as creepily effective.
Lynch co-wrote the script with Kent Harper and tailored it to her own areas of fascination.
"Originally, it was about witches," she told the Los Angeles Times. "But what I gravitated to were the elements of desolation and the idea of people watching each other. I also liked the idea of a thriller that right from the get-go lets you in on the fact that all these people are lying."
The warm reception at Cannes, and distribution deals already completed, auger well for the film, which had a budget of about $5 million.
"This really is going to catapult her career. The critics are coming out saying all kinds of glowing things about the movie," Onda said.
Surveillance is set to come out in North America in January 2009.
‘With this notoriety and the quality of the movie, that will ensure us a theatrical release across North America,” Onda said.
