Run Robot Run!

Regimented worker Kent (Chris Gibbs) is replaced by a Ken-doll robot (Peter Mooney) in Run Robot Run!, the feature debut of Toronto director Daniel O’Connor. Not only does the robot want Kent’s job at the Dream Factory, he’s also after his gal (Lara Kelly). The robot causes Kent to examine the well-oiled routines in his machinelike life run by cell phones, pagers, computers and other technological devices.

The romantic comedy is executive produced by Nicholas Tabarrok of Darius Films (The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico) and edited by Gareth Scales, who also cut Everything’s Gone Green.

‘I always wanted to premiere my film in Canada – that’s important to me, and Vancouver is one of my favorite cities,’ says O’Connor.

Made on a budget of under $500,000, Run Robot Run! comes to Vancouver looking for a distributor. If he doesn’t find one, O’Connor is considering releasing the movie in Landmark Cinemas through Mark Cuban’s Truly Indie initiative – which helps producers act as their own distributors – to generate publicity for a DVD release.

Financed entirely through friends, family and private investors, the film was shot in HD – partly for budgetary reasons, but also to give it a fantastical and futuristic feel, says O’Connor, who hopes to transfer it to 35mm. It was shot over 18 days last December in Toronto, with post completed by Aug. 1.

O’Connor, who has directed the shorts The Juggler, Stand by Your Booth and A Wing and a Prayer, got the idea for his feature from a newspaper article on robotics. The film was also shaped by his work as a corporate leadership coach.

‘I find it interesting to see what people are doing in their work lives, and the direction things are going, which is why I felt quite comfortable in making a movie that primarily occurs in the workplace,’ he says.

Mount Pleasant

Director Ross Weber’s second feature, Mount Pleasant, chronicles what happens after a couple (played by Benjamin Ratner and Camille Sullivan) moves to the titular Vancouver neighborhood and their six-year-old daughter (Haley Adrianna Guiel) finds an addict’s discarded needle in the backyard. Heroin addict Nadia (Katie Boland) and her pimp Nick (Tygh Runyan) live only four blocks way, while real estate agent Stephen (Shawn Doyle) – Nadia’s regular john – and his socialite wife Anne (Kelly Rowan) reside in an upscale area across town.

The story was inspired by the director’s own experience. Shortly after moving to Mount Pleasant, Weber became aware of drug and prostitution problems, attended community meetings and participated in neighborhood patrols.

‘I would come home and take some notes, and go, ‘maybe there’s a movie here,” he says. ‘On the patrols, I actually stood beside prostitutes so they couldn’t work – to help the neighborhood out.’

After reexamining edgy dramas including Sam Mendes’ American Beauty and Todd Solondz’s Happiness, Weber wrote the script and Kimberley Wakefield, his wife, took on the role of producer. She also produced Weber’s first feature, No More Monkeys Jumpin’ on the Bed, which nabbed Weber the award for best new western Canadian feature director at VIFF in 2000.

Weber also has seven feature film editing credits, including the Genie Award-winning Last Wedding, and he wrote the screenplay for The Michelle Apts., which premiered at TIFF in 1995.

Mount Pleasant, made for $1.25 million (excluding deferrals), was shot in 19 days and financed by Telefilm Canada, British Columbia Film, Movie Central, The Movie Network, CanWest Western Independent Producers Fund, Film Incentive BC, and Weber’s L’Étranger Film Productions. Christal Films is the Canadian distributor.

Almost Heaven

In Almost Heaven, directed by Shel Piercy from a screenplay he wrote with Richard Beattie, a dead fish catapults alcoholic Mark (Donal Logue) into the path of feisty local fishing guide Nicki McAdam (Kirsty Mitchell). At the same time, he has to deal with his temperamental ex-wife (Joely Collins), star of the fishing show he’s forced to film in Scotland after his reputation in Canada is ruined.

The romantic comedy is produced by Vancouver-based Infinity Films, in which Piercy is a partner, and U.K.-based Rafford Films. Infinity’s Cynthia Chapman is producer. The movie, shot in Vancouver and Scotland, is being distributed in Canada by Norstar Films, with a spring 2007 release planned.

‘It’s a love story, but it’s a character-driven film. It’s a story with a lot of heart,’ says Collins, who, as executive producer, brought in some private financing for the under-$3-million production.

‘Let’s say my character’s marriage doesn’t have closure,’ jokes Collins, who has dual British and Canadian citizenship, and who starred in Bruce McDonald’s The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess.

Although it won’t be ready for the initial print, Joely’s pop-star dad, Phil Collins, is writing a song for the film that will be added after VIFF.