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INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT presents MOURNING HAS BROKEN a Butler Brothers Brew

INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT presents MOURNING HAS BROKENindiecanent.com/2015/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MHB-EPK.pdf · SYNOPSIS (Long) Mourning Has Broken is a complex and nuanced film

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Page 1: INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT presents MOURNING HAS BROKENindiecanent.com/2015/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MHB-EPK.pdf · SYNOPSIS (Long) Mourning Has Broken is a complex and nuanced film

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT presents MOURNING HAS BROKEN a Butler Brothers Brew

Page 2: INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT presents MOURNING HAS BROKENindiecanent.com/2015/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MHB-EPK.pdf · SYNOPSIS (Long) Mourning Has Broken is a complex and nuanced film

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

TITLE: MOURNING HAS BROKEN

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Substance Production

Inc.

GENRE: Dark Comedy / Drama

TYPE: Feature Length

FORMAT: Canon 5D MKII

DURATION: 77 Minutes

ASPECT RATIO: 1:85

LANGUAGE: English

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Canada

RELEASE DATE: September 2013

DISTRIBUTION: Avi Federgreen, Indiecan Entertainment C: 416.898.3456

E: [email protected]

LOGLINE

A husband refusing to deal with the death of his wife ends up dealing with everything else that pisses him off instead, often with hilarious or intense results.

SYNOPSIS (Short)

Mourning Has Broken explores the thin line between tragedy and comedy, love and hate, life and death. When a husband wakes to find that his wife has unexpectedly died during the night, he bottles up his grief and takes an emotional battle-axe to everything in the world that angers him. Unable to cope with his devastation, he sets out to complete the final “to-do” list his wife left him—with hilarious, drastic consequences. During his errands, a series of mundane annoyances and pet peeves that confront him end up becoming part of his wild call-to-action. Assholes beware: Robert Nolan plays the bereft husband who has nothing left to lose in this dark comedy.

Page 3: INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT presents MOURNING HAS BROKENindiecanent.com/2015/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MHB-EPK.pdf · SYNOPSIS (Long) Mourning Has Broken is a complex and nuanced film

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

SYNOPSIS (Long)

Mourning Has Broken is a complex and nuanced film that reveals the thin line between tragedy and comedy, love and hate, life and death. A husband wakes up to find that he has lost his wife, prematurely, to a terminal illness during the night. Married for nearly two decades without any children, set in a life of ritual and mutual support, the husband has no way to truly deal with the loss. In denial of the reality of the situation he seals himself up emotionally and starts his day as if everything were normal. Finding the weekend ‘to-do’ list on the fridge that his wife had made for him (as usual) gives the husband the direction and impetus he needs to move forward as if everything were fine. He sets out to complete the tasks on the list but despite his inner monologue being well-tempered, observant, funny and occasionally non-sequitur, his actions in the world are wild and without conscience. What normally would be annoying nuisances and pet peeves on a Saturday afternoon out in the retail jungle are now a call to action for a man who has nothing left to live for. As the day moves forward, the grief and sorrow the husband has bottled up inside results in increasingly drastic reactions to the situations that arise as he tries to complete the list. Following a climax which finally puts the intensity of his emotions in sync with his actions, the husband calmly swallows the entire bottle of prescription pills he picked up for his wife from the ‘to-do’ list and curls up to join her for eternity. KEY CREW

DIRECTORS Brett Butler, Jason Butler

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS Bruno Marino, Ingrid Veninger Stacey Donen

PRODUCED BY Brett Butler, Jason Butler

WRITTEN BY Brett Butler, Jason Butler

MUSIC BY Phil Tessis

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Michael Jari Davidson

EDITED BY Brett Butler, Jason Butler

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PRIMARY CAST

ROBERT NOLAN Husband

SHAWN DEVLIN Neighbour

JoANN NORDSTROM Bartender

JEN DE LUCIA Clerk

GRAHAM KENT Mechanic

ROBERT NOLAN

The weight of the film falls on the shoulders of Robert Nolan.  Robert has achieved critical acclaim for the portrayal of Geoffrey Oswald Dodd, a seemingly ordinary high school teacher in the horror short, Worm and for the role of John Dodd in the just released, Familiar. He played the role of a father whose world has fallen away with the death of his daughter in MADD: Shattered, and has worked in unusual comedies (Inside Steve’s Mind, Hitler’s Apology) while continuing to seek out challenging roles in a variety of genres. His ability to achieve powerful, commanding performances that were haunting, intimidating, poignant and yet filled with humour and pathos made Robert the perfect choice for “Husband”. His recent work includes a zombie hunter (co-lead) in the feature Sick and as a Nazi interrogator in director Min Sook Lee’s The Real Inglourious Basterds with upcoming roles including the lead villain in Human Pieces and the hero in Canswer. “The husband in Mourning Has Broken is a significant character representing deep spousal love whose denial of the sudden end of a loving relationship leads him into continuing the routine of that relationship. This film explores the depth of love in such a relationship, the unspoken ties that bind those whose closeness cannot conceive of separation. I’m interested in the role for these reasons. Such quiet love is not often portrayed. Actions speak louder than words - and often express what words cannot. This is a story worthy of being told.”

- Robert Nolan

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CREW BIOS

Brett Butler and Jason Butler / Writers, Directors, Producers, Editors Brett and Jason Butler have been prolific micro-budget filmmakers for the better part of a decade. With five feature films and two webseries during that time they have created a brand of comedy and drama that refuses to be categorized. The Butler Brothers have built a cult following that continually awaits their latest production and with Mourning Has Broken they have reached a new level of maturity, creative voice and artistic risk. Michael Jari Davidson / Director of Photography After graduating with Distinction from Western University, Toronto-born cinematographer Michael Jari Davidson built a strong reputation with his work ethic, creative eye, and tenacious spirit. In March 2010, Davidson was named as a Director Ex-Officio of the Canadian Society of Cinematographers. In August 2010, Davidson was welcomed to the membership as a Director of Photography in I.A.T.S.E. 667, the International Cinematographers Guild. Ingrid Veninger / Executive Producer An award-winning producer, Ingrid has made numerous films, including: Gambling, Gods and LSD (Genie Award for Best Documentary) and Modra (TIFF 2010). Ingrid was also the creative and driving force behind the 1KWave in 2012 and is a film faculty member at York University. Most recently, Ingrid’s feature film, The Animal Project, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013. DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

We have always found it fascinating to see what people are willing to deal with in day-to-day lives in order to retain a moral and ethical centre. But what if they didn’t have to?  With Mourning Has Broken we wanted to push the boundaries of what it means to grieve. We are expected to be sad, to be brave, to move forward. But more often than not it’s not that easy, especially when you just want to be left alone and deal with things on your own terms. We wanted to take the audience on a journey that would make them laugh, make them sad and make them think. Can you describe the character Husband? What did Robert Nolan bring to the role?

Husband was created as the everyman: middle class, loving partner, nine-to-five job and weekend chores. The opening scene with Husband and the cat was written to showcase his good nature. The character’s opening interaction with his

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cat is a very private moment illustrating his true personality as a good man with a good heart. During the course of the film we knew the character was going to be going to dark places and we wanted the audience to know this guy as someone they can relate to, someone they’d like to have a beer with. Otherwise we knew the character might slip into unlikeable terrain and we would lose the audiences empathy.

This is where the casting of Robert Nolan came into play. There is a wide range of emotions and feelings this character goes through with very little dialogue. We needed an actor who could reveal internal character revelations without the aid of words and dialogue. There is no better scene that exemplifies this as the record store scene: with the headphones on Robert we see a complete story told through his face, it is easily the best thing I have been a part of shooting. We did it in one take with the record store open and Robert was absolute perfection, his husband character finally accepts the loss of his wife in one shot and the audience is able to feel every emotion that he is going through.

Although it was a slow burn for the character, we knew the he was going to be showing substantial cracks in his emotion throughout the film and these were going to be done in very aggressive scenes by the husband. Robert was able to chew up this scenery, from pain to nostalgia to anger to tranquility to confusion to rage to comedy - we needed an actor who lived inside this character and could show all these things. Robert nailed every facet of it and it was an amazing experience working with him. There was a constant dialogue between Robert, Jason and I throughout the shoot, it was never about blocking or dialogue but about all the major and minor things this character was going through, we all lived and breathed this character and I think that is why he comes across so three dimensionally. The film evokes many strong emotions in the viewer, including tears and laughter. How important is the humour to the story?

Our previous work was always more focused on comedy. I believe making someone laugh is one of the pure joys of storytelling but we knew we really wanted to stretch ourselves on this film and really push the audience in different and unexpected directions. This is where our background in comedy helped us to bring more impact to the dramatic scenes: a story of someone losing their partner to illness can easily be one note so we knew we had to pepper the story with a variety of emotions if we really wanted to the audience to come along for the ride.

The lighter, funnier moments as well as the angrier aggressive moments in the film open up the audience to be more affected by the dramatic ones, giving them greater impact and levity. We also believe this to be more of a “true to life” style of storytelling. This is an extreme day-in-the-life story but it a day-in-the-life story

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nonetheless. In any day there can be tears, arguments, belly laughs, boredom, peace, frustration and more. There is rarely a day that goes from start to finish in one emotional area. What attracted you to the idea of the 1KWave?

To begin with, everything. The 1KWave was created by Canadian indie film icon Ingrid Veninger in an attempt to fertilize some of the incredible talent in Toronto. Ingrid took $5,000 of her own money and challenged local filmmakers to write, shoot, edit and deliver a feature film for $1,000 in three months. Having worked in the micro-budget arena before, we knew this was our wheelhouse and just went for it, ultimately being one of five pitches selected.

A lot of filmmakers get caught up in waiting for someone to give them the go ahead and funding for their script or idea. Ingrid was propagating the complete opposite - don’t hold out for the perfect opportunity, do it before the inspiration passes you by. With technology today you can go out and do your own thing, take risks, hone your personal voice without people breathing down you neck and forcing you to compromise your vision. Stop talking and start creating. We loved her message, her passion, and that she put her money where her mouth was.

We liked the idea of challenging ourselves again too, there was no time for second-guessing, we just had to trust our instincts, and it was an exhilarating experience. Instead of doing a two-hander in one location, which we had already done before, we wrote a film that had over twenty speaking roles and close to thirty locations. That was our challenge within the challenge, and that’s why we knew it was important to find the right collaborators, which we did, especially with actor Robert Nolan and DOP Michael Jari Davidson who both did the film for next to nothing. We are extremely grateful to Ingrid for putting forth this challenge and for the people we met and worked with along the way. I believe we even surprised ourselves in what we were able to accomplish in such a short time, and I think that’s point, you don’t know what your capable of if you don’t do it. What were the challenges and, conversely, the benefits of shooting a feature film for $1,000?

The challenges were limitless but that is what was so exciting. It would have been easy to say that this is impossible and throw in the towel but what is the fun in that!? The first challenge was writing a do-able script. We had the idea for the pitch, but putting it to paper and giving it form was the first challenge. We also knew that the film was essentially going to weigh on one actor’s shoulders. Robert Nolan was in every scene, hell almost every frame, there was no way we could hand him a massive script full of dialogue, so instead we wrote it so all the other actors had the dialogue and Robert could just play off them.

Page 8: INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT presents MOURNING HAS BROKENindiecanent.com/2015/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MHB-EPK.pdf · SYNOPSIS (Long) Mourning Has Broken is a complex and nuanced film

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

From casting to finding crew and equipment it was basically like a gun starting at the beginning of a hundred metre dash, all you can do is trust your gut, your instincts, and have confidence in your ability and the will to cross the finish line. Once we cast Robert, everything just seemed to fall into place in terms of supporting cast, crew and equipment – like it was meant to be. Then came finding locations: living in a city that handles big budget studio films, there are a lot of places that demand a high fee, but our motto is always just ask, you never know. And we did, managing to find great spots in a very supportive city, that’s not to say we didn’t shoot a bunch of the film guerrilla style but we did have some great locations that were given over free of charge. The record store, bar, mechanics, clothing shop, sports store were all donated to the cause.

I think therein lies the benefit of shooting on a microbudget, it becomes a collaborative effort, not only with your cast and crew but with outsiders as well who can see the passion for the project everyone involved has. Without money there can be no egos, the reason people work on these projects is the love of film, the love of the story, the love of the project. It’s like going on a mission: if you’re not in it together and on the same page you’re not going to make it. We shot Mourning Has Broken in just over 5 days, sleep didn’t exist, only the film. There was no paycheck at the end of the day for anyone just the experience and the movie - and that is a great buzz to be a part of!

What was your favourite moment during the making of the film?

There were two moments during this film that were complete standouts for us. The first was the actual first shot of the film, a scene where the husband through sheer frustration blows through a stoplight. We had planned to manipulate the scene in editing to make it look like the character goes through the red light because this was guerrilla filmmaking and there was no way we could shut down a city street. But there is Robert and Michael in the car, Jay and I are outside on the street watching and we see the car peel out on a red light and turn left into traffic. It was completely awesome and crazy at the same time. One shot in and I knew we had an actor and shooter who were fully committed to the cause and thought we just might be able to pull this off!

The other moment was shooting Robert in the record store with the headphones on. This is the scene where the character finally lets the audience into his world. The record store, Sonic Boom, allowed us to shoot there for free but the store was open. There were customers coming in and walking around him but Robert was locked in on what he had to do. It is a 4 minute shot just on his face and what Robert is able to get across in that time without any words is easily the most incredible cinematic experience I have been a part of in filmmaking. After the take, I remember myself and Michael’s eyes were glassed over, I went over and

Page 9: INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT presents MOURNING HAS BROKENindiecanent.com/2015/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/MHB-EPK.pdf · SYNOPSIS (Long) Mourning Has Broken is a complex and nuanced film

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

hugged Robert, Michael checked the gate and we had it in one take. That was the moment I knew we had a film. The palette of the film has a distinct shift, how important was colour? And how important was the clothing choice for the character of Husband?

We actually had a “look book” done before the script. Images and pictures with the colour and framing that we wanted for the film. We gave the book to Michael as soon as he was on board as DOP and it was amazing to compare the final images that were captured in the film to the initial images we had given him, they were almost spot on and done without the aid of lighting equipment.

We wanted the husband’s home to be a lot warmer than anything else in the film. That is where he feels most comfortable, so the reds and oranges were more prevalent. In the outside world we wanted a colder look and feel, so the blues and greens were more important to see pop. The most important colour shift for us was when the husband goes back into the bedroom for the final scene, the list is complete and he has come to terms with his wife’s passing. The cold and isolation that he was feeling during the day has faded, this scene is the warmest in terms of colour but is also a tragic scene in terms of the husbands actions. The choice of putting Robert in a grey shirt was an important one. He was the “through line” for the narrative, navigating everything that was going on around him. He was black and white, colourless, so the audience could paint their own feelings of frustration and pain on him, bring their own experiences to his. All the characters that the Husband ran into were full of colour, causing immediate conflict of images on the screen. We had loud tourqoise, red hair, nasty yellows, greens, each character had an instant contrast to Robert's grey, his darkness, his anger, his inner us.

The film was shot in 6 days with nearly 30 locations, how did you deal with all the logistics?

Five and a half days actually - we had a half-day rain out. Which was a blessing, it gave us a chance to get organized for the next few days.

We had an incredibly organized schedule in terms of times to hit with the locations and actors. All the secondary actors were only in one scene in one location while us, the crew and Robert were shooting all over the city. We would slot in the locations for the day based where they were on the map. We shot from east end to west end, so it was important not to be traveling too far in any given day, especially in Toronto’s rush hour traffic.

Being tightly organized and having contingency plans allows you to be able to

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adapt to spontaneous problems easier. Also having Jason and myself being both able to direct and produce at any given time gave us the capability to deal with any situations that arose much easier than many independent projects. There were times when locations or actors would cancel on us and I’d be directing one scene while Jay was out locking down a location or actor for our next scene. A big thing for us is having the utmost confidence in getting it done and not letting that waiver no matter what the circumstance, I think the cast and crew fed of that emotional momentum and that’s what allowed us to get so much done in so little time. We all became one badass entity in the city with a take no prisoners attitude - Mourning Has Broken will be done! CINEMATOGRAPHER’S NOTES (by Michael Jari Davidson)

Can you talk about how the cinematography reflects the film's story?

From the early technical treatment, it was important that the cinematography mirror the Husband’s emotions, from a deep sense of loss to his explosive anger. Building on this premise, I asked The Butler Brothers to work out an `emotional Richter Scale` for each scene in the film and I matched that in lensing, camera operating and shutter angle manipulation. From the opening frames of calm, locked compositions, the film progresses with the Husband into frenzied hand-held with a 90° shutter angle to heighten the sense of realism. There are also three pivotal scenes in the film, taking place in the bedroom and the record store, that employ shots composed in one-point perspective. The composition draws the audience into the film with an unsettling effect. Those scenes turned out to be very effective. What were the biggest challenges you faced in such a compacted and streamlined shoot?

The production challenges were actually the reason I wanted to become involved, and it turned out to benefit the look and feel of the film. Working quickly with all available light, it was much more about shot composition and capturing the emotion of each scene. This film being the first time I have worked with The Butler Brothers, it was a tremendous leap of faith on their part, working without director’s monitors and trusting that we had gotten the shots and scene successfully. I feel this honest approach to the cinematography matches the Husband’s plight throughout the film. Do you have a favourite scene that you shot? And why?

That would have to be the record store. The one-point perspective sucks you right into the store and culminates in a three and a half minute close up of Robert’s Nolan’s sublime performance. There is no escaping the frame and the

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audience is forced to identify with the pain the Husband is feeling as he reminisces listening to vinyl. Simply magical. COMPOSER’S NOTES (by Phil Tessis)

What kind of direction did the Butler Brothers provide about the music they wanted for the film?

They were inspired by Neil Young’s score in Dead Man, no just in terms of the music but the process it came about. Young actually sat down and simply strummed along to the movie as it unfolded, like a conduit to the emotions. They wanted something minimal but memorable. That was really it. How did you go about achieving it?

I went about this by stripping down the instrumentation and focusing on the essence of what I was seeing and feeling. I just sat there and watched the film with my guitar in hand and tried to do my best to capture the melancholic vibe of the film. What was your favourite moment of the film to capture musically?

My favourite part to score in the film was when the protagonist freaks out in the park and runs through a couple’s linked hands and screams “red rover”! It was moments like that that kept me on my toes and took my score in different directions musically. AWARDS

AUDIENCE CHOICE – Anchorage International Film Festival BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE – Weyauwega International Film Festival BEST LEAD ACTOR (Robert Nolan) – Laughlin International Film Festival GRAND PRIX AWARD (Nominated) – Northwest Ohio Film Festival BEST DIRECTOR (Nominated)) – SoCal Independent Film Festival

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THE 1KWAVE (GLOBE AND MAIL ARTICLE) By Robert Everett-Green – October 9, 2012 Can a great film be made for $1,000? Ingrid Veninger thinks so

Everyone knows it takes a lot of money to make a feature film. But even if you don’t have much money, and you really want to make a movie, Ingrid Veninger says you probably should. Veninger made her latest feature, i am a good person/i am a bad person, for $20,000, playing the lead role opposite her daughter Hallie Switzer, shooting in hotels and friends’ apartments in Europe while touring film festivals with her 2010 film Modra. But she believes you can make a good feature for a lot less than that – say, $19,000 less. Last May, Veninger put up $5,000 of her own money to see if anyone in the Toronto film community would commit to making a feature with just $1,000 upfront. Thirty-four applicants responded with project pitches for the first $1,000 Feature Film Challenge, or 1K Wave.

“I would say 30 were really doable, which was very surprising,” she says. Five that she couldn’t finance got made anyway, which means her $5,000 helped spark the creation of 10 films – amazing leverage by any standard.

In addition to the cash, the winners got executive production by Veninger, a day’s mixing at The Royal cinema – in its daytime role as a film mixing and editing venue – a guaranteed screening at The Royal, and possible distribution through Royal programmer Stacey Donen’s new College Street Pictures.

Making a film for almost nothing may be a cineaste’s ultimate test of resolve and resourcefulness, but for Veninger it’s also a liberating exercise in creativity and community-building. When directors, actors and technicians know they can band together to make art, she says, they worry less about pleasing an external source of funding.

“You don’t have to wait for permission from anyone to do your art,” she says. “You can put $1,000 on your credit card. You can make a feature that can play festivals and hit the big screen. And if we can keep costs low enough, we can make money on these films.”

That wouldn’t have been possible without a technological revolution that put the big screen within reach of anyone with a good video camera and editing software. A film made in one’s neighbourhood with friends can play the same festivals as a major studio project.

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Veninger initially planned to finance the 1K Wave with her share of the box office from i am a good person/i am a bad person’s brief run at the Royal. But that came out to around $2,000, “and two films do not make a wave.” So she financed her challenge with $5,000 she received last winter from the Toronto Film Critics Association’s Jay Scott Award for emerging artist and plowed the other $2,000 into a day-long workshop for all applicants with New York micro-budgeting pioneer Amos Poe. The final films must be at least 75 minutes long and may defer up to $2,000 in wages to crew, recoupable from revenues, just like Veninger’s $1,000 investment. The filmmaker keeps everything after the first $3,000 in sales.

Some of the applicants and many of the people working on the selected projects are neophytes looking for a feature-film credit on their resumés, but some are veterans of micro-budget film. Brothers Jason and Brett Butler made their most recent feature for $500. Their $1,000 windfall gave them the profile and leverage to get better equipment and more actors, for a project that has 25 speaking roles and was shot in locations all across Toronto.

“We don’t even consider budgets. We just come up with an idea and do it,” says Jason. “We’re just trying to stick to our instincts and reach an audience.” Recently, they went to their public with a Kickstarter pitch for a Web series about low-powered superheroes called The Undrawn – “we say it’s The Office meets X-Men ” – and raised $14,000. More money is nice, though the brothers say the process can change for the worse when crew go from volunteering their labour to feeling underpaid. Veninger believes that too much capital can be a curse, especially for a rookie filmmaker trying to develop his or her own voice.

“How can you take risks and not choose the safe thing when you’ve got a million-dollar gorilla on your back?” she says. The flip side is that if you’re not paying people, she adds, you have a duty to do everything possible to get their work seen.

John L’Ecuyer didn’t manage to finish his film within the budget allowed. He and Veninger will turn his part of the evening into a “live documentary” about his mixed experience of micro-budget filmmaking, with a semi-scripted conversation between chunks of footage from the film.

“It’s a most interesting and constructive case study,” Veninger says, “for anyone who wants to do a $1,000 feature” – of whom there seem to be many. Half the box-office revenue from this week’s screenings will go to keeping the 1K Wave rolling.

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PRODUCTION STILLS

Mourning Has Broken was shot over six days using two and sometimes three Canon 5D MKII cameras simultaneously. Robert Nolan

Graham Kent, Robert Nolan

 

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       Robert Nolan

Robert Nolan

   

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Twenty-eight locations, six days, total commitment. Robert Nolan, Jason Butler, Brett Butler

Robert Nolan, Alex Turner, Michael Jari Davidson

 

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     Robert Nolan, Michael Jari Davidson

Robert Nolan  

       

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ANECDOTES  

- Cinematographer Michael Jari Davidson shot the entire film with available light. Davidson was conflicted whether or not to light the Husband's monologue in the movie theatre scene due to the low light levels. In the end, Davidson chose to push the camera to its limits and shoot with the light being emitted by the film projector.

- The “headphone scene” in the record store became a galvanizing moment for the cast and crew as Robert delivered this unforgettably emotional performance in a single three and a half minute take, uncut. Everyone knew we had something special at that point.

- Both Directors (Brett Butler and Jason Butler) have cameos in the film,

and in each case they are physically assaulted by the protagonist. SOCIAL MEDIA

Facebook Page(s): www.facebook.com/MourningHasBroken www.facebook.com/SubProd

Company Website: www.subprod.com

Twitter(@SubProd): www.twitter.com/SubProd www.twitter.com/MourningMovie

Email Address: [email protected] PRESS

“Robert Nolan plays the husband and is absolutely phenomenal… Mourning Has Broken is the highest kind of catharsis a movie ticket can buy.” - Philip Clarke, Beatroute Magazine “If there is any justice in the world of indie cinema, Nolan’s name would be mentioned when The Independent Spirit Awards come around once again.”

- Richard Propes, The Independent Critic “The Butler Brothers have done a brilliant job” - Michael Smith, Rogue Cinema

“Mourning Has Broken is the Canadian proof that dark comedy is not a British privilege.” - Colin Guillaume, Support Your Local Cinema  

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CREDITS

INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT presents a SUBSTANCE PRODUCTION

WRITTEN and DIRECTED by Brett Butler and Jason Butler

PRODUCERS

Brett Butler Jason Butler

EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS

Ingrid Veninger Stacey Donen Bruno Marino Brett Butler

Jason Butler

DIRECTOR of PHOTOGRAPHY Michael Jari Davidson

EDITORS

Brett Butler Jason Butler

ORIGINAL SCORE by

Phil Tessis

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CAST

(in order of appearance)

Husband ROBERT NOLAN Wife JANE POKOU Neighbour SHAWN DEVLIN Pharmacist KAREN SUZUKI Clerk JEN DE LUCIA Bitch ROBYN KAY PILARSKI Hipster DAMIEN GULDE Texter KATY STEPHEN Douche MIKE DONIS Bimbo SARA MILLER Homeboy BRETT BUTLER Mechanic GRAHAM KENT Father JASON BUTLER Son MICHAEL SALESIO Salesman KEVIN SCOTT Signaller GRAEME BOYCE Bartender JoANN NORDSTROM Barfly VITTORIO CORTESE Mignon MIGNON THE CAT

Filmed on location in Toronto, Ontario, CANADA

Any resemblance to persons in the past or future is strictly coincidental.

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MUSIC

Original Score Recorded and Mixed by

Phil Tessis

“Morning Has Broken” Composed and Performed by Harold Harris

Courtesy of Harold Harris

“Morning Has Broken” Performed by Mike McAvan Written by Eleanor Farjeon Courtesy of Mike McAvan

“Morning Has Broken”

Performed by Devin Young Written by Eleanor Farjeon Courtesy of Mike McAvan

“Blind”

Written and Performed by Ryan Noel Courtesy of Ryan Noel

“Morning Has Broken”

Performed by Deb Whalen Written by Eleanor Farjeon Courtesy of Mike McAvan

“Morning Has Broken”

Performed by Oxfordtown Written by Eleanor Farjeon

Courtesy of Oxfordtown

“Morning Has Broken” Performed by Greg Zajac

Written by Eleanor Farjeon Courtesy of Greg Zajac

PROUDLY PRODUCED AS PART OF THE 1KWAVE