The Cinematheque

Free Admission

“Built to last in a way that most feature debuts simply are not … Abrahamson’s skillful physical acting as a mournful scapegoat is one important tool in the movie’s arsenal; Benjamin Loeb’s cinematography, which keeps splitting the screen into grids and prisms, is another.”

Adam Nayman, Cinema Scope

Emily Carr University alumnus Kevan Funk’s remarkable debut feature, released a decade ago, heralded the arrival of a new wave of talented, arthouse-conversant filmmakers in this province. Offering a timely and uncompromising look at institutionalized violence in our national sport, it treats with intelligence and sensitivity themes of work, masculinity, competition, and failure, and has a keen eye and ear for the nuances of small-town Canadian life. Jared Abrahamson is junior hockey player Tyson Burr, a new recruit skating for the Prince George Warriors. Ty has no illusions about his role on the team: he’s an enforcer, tasked with protecting more skilled players and dropping the gloves when necessary. When his actions on the ice grievously injure an opponent, Ty discovers that he has become a liability and a pariah. The evocative images by cinematographer Benjamin Loeb (Mandy, Dream Scenario) make a significant contribution to the impact of Funk’s rigorous, affecting film, among Canada’s best of the 2010s.

Post-screening Q&A with Kevan Funk moderated by curator Harry Killas, professor and assistant dean of Film + Screen Arts, ECU.

Please note: Unclaimed tickets for complimentary screenings at The Cinematheque will be released 15 minutes before showtime. Please arrive early to guarantee your seat.

“A moody look at the side of sport nobody likes to talk about … In a sense, it’s not a hockey film at all. Hello Destroyer shoots for more: A story of alienation, and of youth rudely interrupted and lost in the machine.”

Brad Wheeler, The Globe and Mail

“Bold, and boldly Canadian … It’s in the sharp, observational rigor of Tyson’s increasingly fraught situation that the film’s tragic force resides.”

Lawrence Garcia, MUBI Notebook