Pavane

Dir. Paul Quarrington / Canada / 5:30 / Fiction
Connected by debilitating memories, bottomless drinks, and the pretense of being strangers, Phil and Jay play out a darkly comic ritual in an effort to redeem themselves, and each other, of a shameful childhood.

About the Film: Phil and Jay share more than a family bond - failed careers, failed relationships, bottomless drinks, and a debilitating memory of a shocking encounter in a ravine one childhood day. The pretext of being strangers, the darkly comic ritual that the broken, non-functioning brothers perform in an attempt to get at their pain, can’t cover the palpable connection between them, nor their deeply felt desire to find redemption.

Cutting between live action performed by an award-winning cast and ingenuous animation whose simplicity belies the impact of the incident it reveals, Pavane portrays both the loss of innocence and a subtle hint at the boys’ fragile potential for a new beginning.

The screenplay, adapted from his novel The Ravine, and the nuanced performances Quarrington has made possible with the stellar cast, allows audiences to empathize with his characters to a degree rarely achieved in the short film format.

About the Book: Everyone experiences at least one “ravine” moment in their life – an episode when the normal everyday takes a steep, life-changing tumble into something quite out of the ordinary. Delivered in his own voice both profound and profoundly funny, Quarrington’s semi-autobiographical novel is one of his most authentic in a long list of award-winning books.

About the Filmmaker & Author: Paul Quarrington’s extensive credentials span his artistic talent as filmmaker, author and musician. A graduate of the Canadian Film Centre in Toronto, he has written several screenplays including Camilla, Giant Steps, Perfectly Normal and Whale Music, adapted from his Governor’s General Award-winning novel. His professional resume for the screen includes a long list of credits in short film, television and feature film, for independent and studio producers in Canada and the United States. He is in continuous demand as an instructor in the art of writing for the screen. He is currently completing the feature film adaptation of The Ravine which will further explore the narrative and characters introduced in Pavane.