TIFF 2012 MOVIE BIBLE: 100 Musicians, Based on the short story "June" by acclaimed Canadian poet and novelist Dionne Brand, director Charles Officer confronts our civic cynicism and optimism

100 Musicians

100 Musicians is a sensual and intimate film. It is a hazy summer night in Kensington market. Sydney and June are in bed, in the afterglow of making love. The tender moment slowly culminates into a social/political quarrel over what they hear on the radio.

100 MUSICIANS

SYNOPSIS

A couple quarrels over what they believe they heard on the radio. Is the mayor planning to hire 100 musicians, or is it 100 policemen? Based on the short story "June" by acclaimed Canadian poet and novelist Dionne Brand, director Charles Officer confronts our civic cynicism and optimism by bringing politics into the bedroom.

KEY CREDITS

Director:

Charles Officer

Exec. Producer:

Bravo!FACT, John Nadalin, Charles Officer, Randall Thorne, & Aeschylus Poulos.

Producer:

John Nadalin & Rory Halsall

Production Co.:

Canesugar Filmworks in association with The NE Creative Group

Principal Cast:

Rainbow Sun Francks, Abena Malika, Helene Joy, Walter Borden

Author:

Dionne Brand

Screenplay:

Charles Officer

Cinematographer:

John Price

Editor:

Jorge Weisz

Sound:

Mike Filippov

Production Designer:

Samantha Brown

THE DIRECTOR

CHARLES OFFICER

Officer’s debut short film,

When Morning Comes

premiered at the 2000 Toronto Int’l Film Festival to

wide acclaim. His second film,

Short Hymn Silent War

received a Special Jury Citation at TIFF 02’ and a

Genie nomination in 2004. In 2005, Charles developed

and directed the television pilot

Hotel Babylon, then

followed up with a short documentary commissioned

by Canadian reggae, punk band

Bedouin Soundclash

entitled,

In The Year of Our Lord. 2007 found Charles

focusing on episodic television directing two episodes

of the hit comedy series,

Da Kink In My Hair for Global Television. His screenplay,

Nurse.Fighter.Boy

was selected to participate in the ‘Sparkling Tales’ Writers Lab

moderated by acclaimed producer Fred Roos at the 57th Berlinale Film Festival. The lyrical love story about a young boy’s faith in magic premiered at TIFF 08’ and was picked up by international sales agent Rezo Films.

Nurse.Fighter.Boy was theatrically

released in 2009 by Mongrel Media across Canada, and in the U.S. with New York distributor Film Movement in 2010.

Nurse.Fighter.Boy garnered 10 Genie nominations

(Canadian Oscar), where Charles was recognized for his achievement in direction and original screenplay at the 30th Awards. Named "10 to Watch" by Playback magazine in 2009, Charles was also the recipient of the Ontario Premier’s Emerging Artist Award that same year. His first feature documentary

Mighty Jerome: The Greatest Comeback in Track & Field History was

fully financed and produced by the NFB. The film was theatrically released across Canada in 2011, won four Leo Awards and nominated for an Emmy Award in 2012. He completed

Fuelled By Passion, The Return of the Jets, a one-hour documentary

produced by the CBC about the Winnipeg Jets return to the National Hockey League for the 2011-12 season. Currently, Charles is working on a one-hour documentary “The

Stone Thrower” commission by CTV celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the CFL (Canadian Football League). His film features the story of Chuck Ealey, an undefeated African-American Quarterback who went undrafted in the NFL in the 70s, but found an opportunity to play the game he loved in Canada. Recipient of a Special Jury Mention for the 2012 Don Haig Award, Charles is moving back to fiction for his third featurfilm, a contemporary noir entitled,

Torchbearer slated for release in 2013.

THE TALENT

ABENA MALIKA

Actress Abena Malika was born and raised in Toronto.

She is a dynamic performer, spanning the worlds

of film, television, theatre and music. Recently Abena

starred on Flashpoint (CTV/CBS), SUITS (Bravo!/USA NETWORK) and Lost Girl (Bravo!)

This September she will be seen starring in the film

100 Musicians, which has been chosen to screen at the

2012 Toronto International Film Festival. Later this

fall, she will be playing the role of Mayme in a

production of Intimate Apparel. Other credits include: Cruel and Tender, directed by Atom Egoyan for Canstage, A Raisin In The Sun, Jitters, A Midsummer Night's Dream, E.E. Cummings in song (Soulpepper Theatre); Da Kink In My Hair (Mirvish/San Diego

Repertory Theatre/Hackney Empire, London UK); The Adventures of a Black Girl In Search of God (Mirvish/Marquis); Mamma Mia! (Mirvish). Abena is the recipient of a 2007 NAACP Theatre Award and two Dora nominations.

RAINBOW SUN FRANCKS

It was at the age of seventeen that Rainbow decided

to seriously pursue a career in acting, landing his first

leading role in the film “The Planet of Junior Brown”,

directed by Clement Virgo. The two worked together

several more times, including the films “Love Come

Down” and “One Heart Broken into Song”, for which

Rainbow received a Gemini Award nomination for

Best Male Leading Actor.

Rainbow showcased yet another skill-set when he became a VJ on Canada’s famous MuchMusic television channel, hosting various programs and award shows includingthe “MMVAs” and the popular “Electric Circus”.

In 2004, Rainbow moved to Vancouver to begin working on the popular sci-fi television

series “Stargate: Atlantis” as LT. Aiden Ford. While in Vancouver, he also played on the short-lived comedy “This Space for Rent”.

After returning to his hometown, Toronto Ontario, Rainbow was fortunate to land the role of Corp. Dev Clarke in season two of the CTV series “The Listener”. In between filming, Rainbow continues to write and produce music under the name “Whippersnapper”. Currently he can be seen on season three of the “The Listener” on

CTV.

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TIFF 2012

Short Cuts Canada: Programme #3

September 10, 2012 – 6:45 pm TIFF Bell Lightbox Cinema 4

September 11, 2012 – 12:15 pm TIFF Bell Lightbox Cinema 4

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