Jeremy Podeswa, producer, writer and director of best motion picture Genie nominee The Five Senses, tells a great story about the first public screening of his film. But first he had to get it there.

The 25-day shoot was completed with an accelerated post-production process that involved six-day weeks and working through Christmas and New Year’s in order to get the film finished for this year’s Cannes Film Festival, without at that point knowing if it had even been invited.

The heavy work schedule paid off, however, with the film ready, barely, for Cannes once the invitation arrived. So tight was the scheduling that there was no time for a screening prior to the festival: the Cannes showing was the first time an audience viewed the film. The filmmakers were rewarded for their efforts with a five-minute standing ovation, which Podeswa says was ‘overwhelming.’

‘There was applause, then a lot of applause, then they shone a spotlight on us and we stood up. I was very moved.’

The film, from Five Senses Production, inspired in part by the circumstances surrounding coproducer Camelia Frieberg’s meeting her husband, incorporates five plot lines. The lead character in each has a story that pivots on one of the senses.

Financing was provided by Telefilm Canada, Alliance Communications, the Harold Greenberg Fund, cbc, TMN-The Movie Network, the Canadian Television Fund and presales to foreign markets.

The nature of the film, lensed by Gregory Middleton, made raising funds especially difficult, says Podeswa. ‘It’s not easy to describe. There’s a lot going on in the film, multilayered stories and themes. It’s a very subtle kind of thing. People liked it, but had to make the leap from knowing it was good to putting their money on the table.’

The Five Senses, which is slated to open in the u.s. in April and is still in the process of rolling out in Canada, appears to have been buried somewhat under the sheer number of pictures competing for audiences.

‘It conflicted with a whole bunch of foreign films, American independents and American studio films with an indie feel to them all aiming for a very similar audience. That makes it tough,’ says Podeswa.

‘Your average [film] go-er deciding what to go to see has an excessive amount of choice right now.’

Odeon Films is distributing domestically and Alliance Atlantis has international rights.