David O'Connell
An Interview with Matt Ravier, director of Possible Worlds: the Canadian Film Festival
November 12th 2008 00:22
It was late at night when Matt Ravier finally accepted my demands for an interview; the weekend was waning to a sickly close, clouds were rolling in to threaten Monday with the suggestion of rain.
Though there were no lights on, I tried the door to his flat, and the lock had been forced; it smelled like incense and projector bulbs, and I ascended the stairs, camera in hand.
I took this picture, of Matt cramming cookies violently in his mouth, as if he was terrified that the heat death of the universe would consume him.
"Aren't those the cookies for the community bake sale?" I asked gently, hesitant to make any quick gestures.
Ravier brushed off the crumbs on his shirt, and sat down across from me, ignoring my question. He started to launch into a monologue about Possible Worlds, the 3rd Canadian Film Festival in Australia, when I interrupted him.
"Why Canada?" I asked.
He stopped and looked at me in surprise.
"Why would you want to hold a festival for movies from that barren, icy wasteland? That country of fence-sitters? A culture of ice-hockey-watching, maple-syrup-eating, cannabis-legalizing, tuque-wearing, seal-clubbing rascals and no-goodniks?" I shrieked, vigourously devouring sedatives from my pocket.
Ravier found that, during his time in Canada, that Canadian cinema was diverse in breadth and scope, with similar themes and historical context to the Australian condition. After all, we're both countries formed as colonies as Mother England, both of us asserting our independence and rising to global prominence.
Unfortunately, Ravier says, Canadian cinema - and Quebec cinema, in particular - is often underrepresented in Australian cinemas... here, the big theatres want to screen Hollywood blockbusters, while the smaller chains are keen to show the latest films from France or Italy.
Meanwhile, there's a hardened core of Canadian filmmakers that are etching out their own place in the ice... Ravier gushes with excitement over "Everything is Fine (Tout Est Parfait)" by Yves Christian Fournier, the festival's closing night film.
It's about four teenagers and a suicide pact, which "[sounds] bleak but the film is about
reconnecting with the world and it’s one of the most honest and moving portraits of adolescence [he's] ever seen", according to Ravier.
Momentarily, I was touched. I shrugged it off and proceeded to grill Ravier further about his deluded folly of entertaining us with films from a place that was partially called "Rupert's Land".
"Isn't Canadian cinema really just a low-budget version of awesomely awesome American movies?" I concluded with certainty.
Ravier twitched. He acknowledged that some Canadian filmmakers aim to replicate a similar atmosphere, but with uniquely Canadian locations and themes, and that American actors often migrate up north for certain projects, but that there were Canadian stories that "tell the stories they want to tell, unencumbered by any need to appeal to the lowest common denominator of audience expectations"
He throws me a program, stained with red wine and bearnaise sauce. It's thumbed-open to "Only", and I raise my eyebrows in appreciation. Ravier says that "Only" "tells a simple boy-meets-girl story but does so with a terrific sense of place and character, beautifully conveying the kind of honesty and immediacy which so rarely graces the screens of our multiplexes."
I flip the page to a movie called "Young People F***ing", which will screen in a pole dancing studio, and feature naughty live performances. I whistle appreciatively while Ravier nods. "I know," he says, "I'm going to be a pole dancer!".
My mobile buzzed, reminding me that it was time to leave - a full moon was coming out, and Ravier was already itching at his scraggly beard. I thanked him for the cookies and got up, but he flung white flour in my face instead, ranting about french fries with cheese curds and gravy, insisting that I clean his apartment.
As I backed towards the open window and lowered myself out, Ravier was hurling paper plates across the room, making crashing sounds with his mouth. He seemed frenzied, but I could understand - he needed to burn off as much excitement as possible. Such is the life of a cookie junkie, a man pushed to the edge by desperation and love of good Canadian cinema.
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Comment by Mister Smith
MRS SMITH
READ THIS
SISTERS IN CRIME
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by Mister Smith
MRS SMITH
READ THIS
SISTERS IN CRIME
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
I've been away for 4 weeks and I feel so out of touch with Aussie releases and festivals! I'll be getting back into it as soon as possible. I haven't looked at what is on yet, but I will. Do you know what you're seeing?
Tracy
Comment by Anna Logica
Hi Mister Smith: would the movie be "The little book of revenge"?
Comment by Mister Smith
MRS SMITH
READ THIS
SISTERS IN CRIME
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Great interview, Cib.
Comment by m
Guide de la petite Vengeance