Film Description
Act of God
Director: Jennifer Baichwal
Producer/Director of Photography: Nick de Pencier
Documentary, 76 minutes, PG
(CANADA)
"Thanks to filmmakers Jennifer Baichwal and Nick de Pencier, the after effects of these 1-in-700,000-odds' strikes are brought into horrifically mesmerizing view and accompanied by a music track ... that magically reinforces the storytelling."
– S. James Wegg, JWR
"Act of God fearlessly approaches the natural and the supernatural, and the result is visceral, intellectual, heartbreaking, delightful and instructive, all at once."
–Liz Braun, Jam! Movies
Synopsis: Is being hit by lightning a random natural occurrence or a predestined event? Accidents, chance, fate and the elusive quest to make sense out of tragedy underpin director Jennifer Baichwal’s (Manufactured Landscapes) captivating new work, an elegant cinematic meditation on the metaphysical effects of being struck by lightning. To explore these profound questions, Baichwal sought out riveting personal stories from around the world from a former CIA assassin and a French storm chaser, to writer Paul Auster and improvisational musician Fred Frith. The philosophical anchor of the film, Auster was caught in a terrifying and deadly storm as a teenager, and it has deeply affected both his life and art: It opened up a whole realm of speculation that I’ve continued to live with ever since.In his doctor brother’s laboratory, Frith experiments with his guitar to demonstrate the ubiquity of electricity in our bodies and the universe. Visually dazzling and aurally seductive, Act of God singularly captures the harsh beauty of the skies and the lives of those who have been forever touched by their fury.
Official website:
www.mercuryfilms.ca
Screening:
Friday October 16, 2009, 7 PM (Guests in attendance, Q & A), Bayfield 7 Cinemas
Wednesday October 21, 2009, 4:30 PM (encore, Bayfield 7 Cinemas
Sponsored by:
Guests for October 16, 2009 for a Q&A Cafe Reception following the screening, Bayfield mall, marked store location:
Jennifer Baichwal
Jennifer Baichwal was born in Montréal and grew up in Victoria, British Columbia. She studied philosophy and theology at McGill University and received an M.A. in 1994, supported by a McGill Major Fellowship and an FCAR Master's Scholarship. She has been directing and producing documentaries for 14 years. Her first film, Looking You In The Back of the Head, an enquiry into the problem of personal identity, asked thirteen women to try to describe themselves and was first broadcast, to critical acclaim, on TVOntario's From the Heart. It subsequently sold for broadcast across Canada. Baichwal founded Mercury Films Inc. with Nick de Pencier in 1998. Barrie screened their Manufactured Landscapes, a feature documentary about the work of artist Edward Burtynsky, was a co-production between Mercury Films, Foundry Films and the National Film Board. It won Best Canadian Feature Film, and has since received a number of other awards internationally.
Nick de Pencier
Nick de Pencier is a director, producer, and director of photography working in performing arts, documentary, and dramatic film. He is President of Mercury Films Inc., a Toronto based production company he shares with his partner, Jennifer Baichwal. After making short films while at McGill University in the late 1980's, he moved to New York City and was a researcher for a number of documentaries for PBS. Back in his native Toronto, he spent several years working in production on feature films. He produced and directed the video segments and interviews for the CD ROM Understanding McLuhan, published by Southam/Voyager. As a cinematographer, de Pencier regularly shoots TV segments, modern dance, rock videos (Gord Downie, Skydiggers, Bob Wiseman), and documentaries. In addition to producing the documentary Manufactured Landscapes, which won the Chum City Award for best Canadian feature at TIFF 2006 and the Genie Award for best Documentary, he has recently directed the High Definition feature documentary Four Wings and a Prayer, about the migration of the Monarch butterfly which won the Grand Prix Pariscience, and the Banff Rockie Award for best Wildlife and Natural History Program.
Interested in becoming a volunteer?