BASED UPON THE PERFERVID
YOUTH OF CANADA’S MOST
ENIGMATIC POLITICIAN,
W. L. MACKENZIE KING
Toronto, 1899.
Aspiring young politician Mackenzie King dreams of becoming the Prime Minister of Canada. In his quest for power, he must face his imperious Mother, a war-mongering Governor-General and the utopian idealism of a Québécois mystic.
Meanwhile, King hesitates in love between a British soldier and a French-Canadian nurse and furtively indulges a fetishistic obsession for women’s footwear…
When his vainglorious run for leadership culminates in an epic battle between good and evil, King will learn that disappointment may be the only way to survive the 20th century.
Aspiring young politician Mackenzie King dreams of becoming the Prime Minister of Canada. In his quest for power, he must face his imperious Mother, a war-mongering Governor-General and the utopian idealism of a Québécois mystic.
Meanwhile, King hesitates in love between a British soldier and a French-Canadian nurse and furtively indulges a fetishistic obsession for women’s footwear…
When his vainglorious run for leadership culminates in an epic battle between good and evil, King will learn that disappointment may be the only way to survive the 20th century.
Director
Matthew Rankin is the director of multiple short films, three of which were selected at Sundance. His work is marked by the mixing of genres, the use of documentary and historical elements and a particular, lyrical aesthetic.
His last short, THE TESLA WORLD LIGHT, selected for the 2017 Cannes Critics Week, is part-biopic of visionary inventor Nikola Tesla and part exuberant, yet perfectly mastered, visual experiment.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (2019) marks his feature film debut; it world-premiered in the Midnight Madness section of Toronto IFF.
His last short, THE TESLA WORLD LIGHT, selected for the 2017 Cannes Critics Week, is part-biopic of visionary inventor Nikola Tesla and part exuberant, yet perfectly mastered, visual experiment.
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY (2019) marks his feature film debut; it world-premiered in the Midnight Madness section of Toronto IFF.
Cast & crew
CAST
Dan Beirne (FX’s Fargo TV Series)
Mikhaïl Ahooja
Sarianne Cormier
Catherine St-Laurent
PRODUCERS
Voyelles Films (All You Can Eat Buddha)
DOP
Vincent Biron
Festivals and awards
- 3 CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS WINNER
- TIFF MIDNIGHT MADNESS (BEST CANADIAN DEBUT)
- BERLINALE (FIPRESCI AWARD)
- LOS CABOS IFF (BEST FILM)
- GLASGOW IFF
- BARCELONA D'A
- TAIPEI IFF
- NEUCHATEL (NIFFF)
- BUCHEON IFFF
- TRANSILVANIA IFF
- MOLODIST
- INDIELISBOA
- IMAGINE IFF
- L'ETRANGE FESTIVAL
- OFF COURTS TROUVILLE
- FESTIVAL MIX MILANO
- HELSINKI IFF
- OSLO FUSION IFF
- BRISBANE IFF
- PACIFIC MERIDIAN (BEST ACTOR AWARD)
- FILM FESTIVAL GENT
- RIGA IFF
- SAO PAULO IFF
- NEW HORIZONS IFF
- LEEDS IFF
- TLVFEST
“A twisted, cult atmosphere.”
A compelling pastiche of German
Expressionism, early melodrama, science
fiction, disturbing midnight madness
situations, Monty Python.”
A compelling pastiche of German
Expressionism, early melodrama, science
fiction, disturbing midnight madness
situations, Monty Python.”
“Feel like both a throwback to an
MGM weepie and a colorized acid
trip through historic hell (...).
So enjoyable.”
MGM weepie and a colorized acid
trip through historic hell (...).
So enjoyable.”
