We don't talk a lot about Canadian entertainment company Pacific Northwest Pictures but they have been quietly picking up some really good flicks recently. In their current roster is Darius Marder's Sound of Metal with Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke, and Black Bear starring Aubrey Plaza, Christopher Abbott and Sarah Gadon. Seems PNP know a thing or two about getting good titles, eh?
Now you can add Canadian drama/horror Violation from filmmakers Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli. PNP have picked up the Canadian rights for Violation and are planning a March release. Violation had its world premiere at TIFF back in September and played at a handful of other festivals here in Canada. It plays at Sundance later this month.
Our own Josh caught the film, you will find a link to his review down below but here is a snippet.
To call Violation a gut punch would be selling it short. The film is an exceptionally observant and well-rendered look at the deep psychic scars faced by women around the world who are constantly being told to deal with their own violation on their own time... Violation is a tremendous film, an absolute stunner that is as horrifically gruesome as it is necessary, and I'll be thinking about it for a long time.
No word yet on how PNP plans to handle the release of Violation on March 26th. Cinemas have been closed across the country for a few months now though we have any number of digital platforms by which to watch this film.
The official press release follows.
Pacific Northwest Pictures (PNP) has acquired the Canadian rights to the drama/horror festival breakout Violation from filmmakers Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli. Violation is the debut feature from the duo who wrote, produced and directed the film in which Sims-Fewer also stars. Following the World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, the film also played the Vancouver International Film Festival, Montréal Festival of New Cinema, Calgary International Film Festival, Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival and will play at Sundance later this month. PNP will release Violation across Canada on March 26, 2021.Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli’s enthralling feature is a bone chilling portrait of trust, loyalty, and sibling rivalry. The film pulls the audience through a dark portal into a PTSD memory smash and untangles a sticky web of trauma and resentment. Sims-Fewer plays a troubled woman on the edge of divorce who returns home to her younger sister after years apart. But when her sister and brother-in-law betray her trust, she embarks on a vicious crusade of revenge. Combining lush aesthetics and heartbreaking violence, Violation is a turbulent, dreamy, feminist revenge fable that creates an intimate cataclysm of bloody and inevitable retribution.The film also stars Anna Maguire (The Hummingbird Project), Jesse LaVercombe (“Murdoch Mysteries”), Obi Abili (21 Bridges), Jasmin Geljo (“Schitt's Creek”), and Cynthia Ashperger (“Orphan Black”).Violation has received numerous awards including the TIFF Rising Star (for Madeleine Sims-Fewer), Emerging Canadian Artist Award (Calgary International Film Festival), Emerging Canadian Director Award (Vancouver International Film Festival) and was nominated for the Directors Guild of Canada Discovery Award.Deepa Mehta, David Hamilton, François Dagenais, Matthew Nayman and David James are Executive Producers on the project.“We are excited to bring Violation to Canadian audiences,” said Sardé Hardie, Vice President of Acquisitions and Sales at PNP. “Dusty and Madeleine have not only created a beautiful exhilarating film, but one that opens up important and much needed dialogue. That combination is when cinema is at its very best.”“We are absolutely overjoyed to be working with PNP on the Canadian release of Violation,” said Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli. “Their passion for our film has been inspiring, and we couldn’t imagine a better team to bring it to audiences in our home country.”