Canadian Movie Night and Kick Off to the Holiday Season

The now famous “Canadian Movie Night” of the Athens Friends’ Association of CIG will take place on Wednesday, December 9^th at 19:30 in the Library of the Institute. As in the past the Canadian Embassy has assisted us in obtaining the 2013 Canadian film “The Grand Seduction” directed by Don McKellar. This film was shown last September at the Athens International Film Festival.

The film is about a dying Newfoundland fishing outpost community of Tickle Head mounting a wild scheme to draw a petroleum byproducts factory to save the unemployed inhabitants from dispersal. For this to happen it needs 250 residents and a full time doctor. It's a remake of "Seducing Doctor Lewis", a French Canadian movie. The Grand Seduction stars Brendan Gleeson as Murray, Taylor Kitsch as Dr. Paul Lewis, Liane Balaban as Kathleen and Gordon Pinsent as Simon. The Grand Seduction is in the same genre as “Billy Elliott”, “The Full Monty”, “Waking Ned Devine” and “Brassed Off”. As Roger Ebert observes, “for a supposedly feather-light comedy, "The Grand Seduction" is unusually interested in the fate of traditional labor in a cruel global economy. The town's deception of Paul has a metaphorical dimension—all over the world, communities are rejecting their proud pasts and adopting new identities to survive—but it's one that's never emphasized at the expense of laughs and sentiment.” I saw the film last year and it brought many smiles and some sniffles as the convoluted plot unfolds with some brilliant acting. This will be an excellent portion of “Canadian Content” to slake your hunger temporarily for things so far away in True North!

Our December Friends’ Association event is also the time of our annual holiday season reception afterwards. Jonathan will prepare his special mulled wine, Sarah and Vicki will fix even tastier nibbles and Xristougenniatika glyka will complete the celebration. We will also say fond farewells to Vicki Newson as her three-month internship comes to an end the following week, alas.

Cordially,
David Rupp
Director