Out of the Way Premieres at Calgary
International Film Festival
Film provides funny and insightful look inside Canada’s literary world
It is every writer’s worst nightmare. You have spent years working on a
novel, and just as you are getting close to finishing, you wake up one
morning to find that your computer has crashed – and you forgot to make
a back-up. It happened to Neil McArthur, and he turned it into the
inspiration for his new film Out of
the Way. The film, which is McArthur’s first, is also the first
film to chronicle Canada’s dynamic literary scene. It will have its
world premiere at the Calgary International Film Festival on Saturday,
September 30.
“I could have just sat and cried, and then forgotten the whole thing,”
says McArthur, who is both the writer and director of the film. “But
I’m a writer, so of course I’m going to deal with it by writing
something.” He decided to turn the basic idea, of an unlucky novelist
who loses his life’s work, into a comedy about the lives and struggles
of writers in Canada.
“We have one of the world’s great literary cultures,” McArthur
explains, “but people know fairly little about what goes on behind the
scenes.” In writing the script, McArthur drew extensively on his
own experiences trying to make it as a writer, as well as on his family
background. “My mother has spent many years on the board of directors
for Coteau Books, in Saskatchewan, and I grew up around writers and
people involved in publishing.”
Alongside a talented cast of young Canadian actors, McArthur’s crew
included Calgary musician Nathan Krentz, who wrote and produced all the
music, and Ottawa-based Director of Photography Nena Toth, one of the
country’s most accomplished cinematographers.
“Nena really made it happen technically,” according to the film’s
executive producer Chan Park, who also produced the acclaimed film Clutch (Odeon Films, 1998). “Her
camerawork is exquisite. It looks gorgeous.”
Out of the Way premieres at
the Calgary International Film Festival on Saturday, September 30 at
3.30, Globe Cinema (Upstairs) 617 8th Ave SW. For show
information, please visit www.calgaryfilm.com.
Contact: protagonistafilms@gmail.com
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