The Cinematheque

In Person: Nathaniel Geary

“A raw, compelling look at family, forgiveness, and community.”

Diane Burgess, VIFF

Nathaniel Geary’s assured feature is a tough, tender tale of life on the streets of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The director’s award-winning 1998 short Keys to Kingdoms dealt with the same troubled neighbourhood; Geary also worked for several years at the DTES’s Portland Hotel. Teenage runaway Randy (Simon Baker) arrives in Vancouver looking for his older sister Angel (Alex Rice). He finds her at the Pennsylvania Hotel, addicted to heroin and involved in sex work. Angel urges Randy to return home to their reservation in Prince Rupert, but drugs—and Angel’s best friend Stacey (Katherine Isabelle)—prove too alluring. Named Best Western Canadian Feature at VIFF 2003.

“Tough-minded yet compassionate, hard-edged yet sensitive, One the Corner is a salient British Columbia film of social engagement, with a message that resonates and reverberates to this day. A rare opportunity to connect or reconnect with this powerful and astonishing debut feature on the big screen. That the talented and passionate Nathanial Geary was never given the chance to make another feature is an unfortunate indictment of the filmmaking contexts in our country.” Harry Killas

After the screening, Colin Browne will moderate a Q&A with Nathaniel Geary and producer Marc Stephenson.

50% of ticket proceeds from this screening will benefit the PHS Community Services Society