Singing The Bones screens in Calgary : Halloran Shortlisted for Shavick Award
nextPix selects Singing The Bones as first "FirstPix"

SINGING THE BONES Screens in Calgary to Standing Ovation

(November 23, 2001) SINGING THE BONES, the feature film debut of Gordon Halloran, garnered excellent reviews at its world premiere in the Canadian Panorama at the MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL in August, at its U.S. premiere at the TAHOE INTERNATIONAL and the MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVALS in September and October. The filmmakers received a standing ovation at a screening in Calgary on Saturday, October 27th.

ON THE SUNSHINE COAST, the motion picture was screened at a GALA PREMIERE at The Raven's Cry Theatre on November 7th, where cast, crew, producers and artists who helped create the locally-made film gathered in celebration.

"Treat this film like a poem," reviewed Jan de Grass of THE COAST REPORTER . . ."the visual effects are superb. .There are also luminous moments that do not rely on scenery; they spring from adept prose and vital characters."

The audience, which filled the 275-seat theatre, clapped, hooted, whistled and stamped their feet at the end of the presentation. The following night the theatre SOLD OUT for an additional screening.

Immediately following the motion picture went to the OJAI FILM FESTIVAL November 9th and 11th.

"powerful new film ... complex, emotional and artistically challenging...a tour de force for Hicks" enthused John Griffin of THE MONTREAL GAZETTE, Montreal's major English language daily.

"the artist's eye is omnipresent . . .It's a poem, it's a painting, ...it's beautiful!" reported Jeannette Kelly of CBC ARTS REPORT.

Inspired by true stories, SINGING THE BONES enlivens debate surrounding a woman's right to control her own destiny and see the birth of a child as a personal, rather than institutional, event. It is the story of three women whose lives are transformed by a mother's decision to take on a difficult and complex birth. The film stars Caitlin Hicks (IT, THE BLACK STALLION) as she takes her virtuoso stage performance to the screen.

Mill Valley Film Festival reviewed the film, which was shown in the WORLD CINEMA section and in a special section called: DIGITAL FEATURES: NEW MOVIES NEW METHODS for 'cutting-edge examples of films that reveal, in content and form, the exciting shape of things to come'.

"The mystery, beauty and political turmoil surrounding what should be nature's simplest gift, childbirth, are explored in this kaleidoscope of storytelling. SINGING THE BONES brings Canadian writer-performer Caitlin Hicks's acclaimed one-woman stage play beautifully to film, with Hicks reprising her trible-threat performance. As Meg, a spirited midwife practicing illegally in rural Canada, she illuminates reasons why women 'do not need to be saved from childbirth'. As Nicole, a feisty young mother pregnant with twins, she howls out the sociological horrors and hilarity of the childbirth experience. As Sara, an aging obstetrician, she embodies tragedy transformed into pure survival. In a deeply layered and visually arresting production by Gordon Halloran, employing his camera as almost another character in the drama, the interlocking tales of the three women become a single narrative that is not just a woman's story, but an unforgettable window into the human experience." - D.Quinones, MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL

SINGING THE BONES, the play, written and performed by Caitlin Hicks, has toured 35 cities throughout the United States, Canada and Europe to standing ovations. Excerpts of the play were published by Smith & Kraus, New York, in the annual "The Best Women's Stage Monologues." The screenplay for the film version of BONES was adapted by Halloran. The film blends documentary and narrative film techniques, creating a unique fusion of styles that transcends genres.

Earlier in the year director Gordon Halloran was short listed for the Shavick Award, a $10,000 prize for first time directors in Western Canada. SINGING THE BONES was selected for the nextPix "firstPix" program that helps fund new directors working in digital video.

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