Montreal: Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution will open the Paul Gross romance-comedy Men With Brooms in Canada on 175 screens in some 150 venues on March 8. The film’s P&A marketing campaign, at a cost of $1.5 million or more, may well be the biggest in Canadian film history.

In addition to a myriad of retail promotions and ancillary tie-ins, AAMPD organized prerelease publicity junkets and ‘red carpet’ premieres with the film’s cast, director Gross and Serendipity Point Films producer Robert Lantos in eight cities, opening with a two-screen premiere Feb. 25 at the Famous Players Uptown Theatre in Toronto, attended by over 1,200.

The rollout included a Museum of Civilization screening in Ottawa Feb. 26, sponsored by Telefilm Canada, with Prime Minister Jean Chretien and Heritage Minister Sheila Copps on the official guest list. Additional premiere screenings were held in Vancouver (Feb. 27), Calgary (Feb. 28), Edmonton (March 1), Winnipeg (March 2), Halifax (March 5) and at the FP Paramount in Montreal (March 7).

Men With Brooms, produced on a budget of $7.5 million, was scripted by Gross, playwright John Krizanc and novelist Paul Quarrington and shot by cinematographer Thom Best. It’s one of the first releases produced under the $100-million Canada Feature Film Fund, with industry hopes high the offbeat comedy will herald stronger box-office performances for Canadian films in 2002.

Prerelease buzz has been positive and the film was widely promoted on CBC during the Olympics, with AAMPD buying additional coverage on all over-the-air Canadian TV networks and select specialty channels.

Men With Brooms was shot over 12 weeks in the spring of 2001 and stars Gross, in his directing debut, Molly Parker, Leslie Nielsen as Gross’ eccentric father and a former curling champ, Peter Outerbridge, Jed Rees, James Allodi, Polly Shannon, Michelle Nolden, Kari Matchett and Janes Spidell.

-www.allianceatlantisfilms.com