An Evening to Remember

On a cold and blistery winter’s night (Friday, February 12^th, 2016 to be exact), where drivers were hit with snow squalls, white outs, icy roads and frigid temperatures, more than three hundred people made their way to the seventy-five year old historic Port Theatre in Cornwall, Ontario to attend the first movie premiere the city has ever held. Though some arrived late and others would not make it to the cinema (some having to turn around, while others had to be towed home), most arrived unscathed, gathering to mingle in the lobby as writer, director, producer, editor and actor Marcus Ovnell waited to graciously greet the attendees.

With the doors opening nearly an hour and a half before the showing of Ovnell’s dramatic thriller, The Break-In, the filmmaker was able to chat, pose for photos as well as selfies, and shake numerous hands. As more people arrived, the viewers began to stake out their seats, finding space to continue their conversations with family and friends inside the massive old-style cinema. Many made sure to grab tasty treats and enjoyed the added benefit of the Port being fully licensed to serve alcohol.

Flashing back to earlier in the day, I took Ovnell on a tour of the city, which had to be scheduled around several interviews with local media. We packed in everything, from meeting the mayor and trying local eateries, to hitting city hot spots and getting tours of historic places that are very rarely seen by most eyes. Check out Boom 101.9 morning show host Dan Allaire’s video interview with Ovnell and myself at the radio station from earlier in the day.

As the clock ticked closer to the 7:15 start time (which was pushed back about ten minutes to allow for latecomers dealing with the inclement weather), the building, which seats 450 people, welcomed approximately 350, with nearly one hundred of them enjoying a heightened view from the balcony. Sadly, nearly one hundred people (many from out of town) were not able to make the trek to the theatre, though that did not dampen the festivities.

7:25 P.M. brought a chain reaction of speeches. It began with a brief overview by Manager Nick Sylvain, who then passed the microphone to me. I spoke of the history of the building, some of our interesting guests in the audience, and finally introduced our special guest of honour for the evening. This led to a brief speech by the filmmaker (the first introduction he has had to make for his award-winning Swedish film). Check out the video of the speeches which was taken from the first row of the balcony (it starts up about a minute into my introduction).

For the next hour and a half, the audience awkwardly laughed, gasped and sat on the edge of their seat as they hopped on for what can only be described as a slow burner of a ride.

Following the film, most of the audience stayed for the question and answer period. It is always a rather unique and interesting activity, as you never know how the audience or sound system will react – will the audience ask questions or will the wireless system work? I had prepared for my part as the mediator and emcee of the event, planning on asking questions and filling in the sounds of silence. Yet, what followed can only be described as awe inspiring. The audience participated in a rapid-fire query session on everything from cinematography and the sounds of the movie, to the rather unusual topic of sex scenes and cinematic influences, and everything in between. The audience sounded like Johnny Carson or David Letterman, firing off interesting and intelligent questions, allowing for me to comfortably fall into the position of an Ed McMahon style side-kick. For well over an hour, the audience posed hard hitting and original questions, making for one of the best Q&A’s I have ever witnessed. As we moved past the first thirty minutes of the closing activity, Ovnell began to draw names for door prizes – with both of us perhaps having too much fun for what would normally be called a mundane activity. Ovnell was kind enough to bring down three original posters signed by the entire cast and Sylvain was kind enough to give away two pairs of tickets for any upcoming movie shown at the Port theatre – adding a very special touch to an already memorable evening. Plus, for those of you who may be asking, the sound system worked to perfection – allowing for everyone to be heard and never giving any feedback (the way a microphone should be).

The humble and extremely happy Ovnell stuck around to chat and pose for photos with the few remaining stragglers – who ignored the nightmarish winter wonderland to spend some more time with the filmmaker before he flew out early the next morning for Stockholm.

Now, one week after the first ever Canadian (and North American theatrical) premiere the city of Cornwall has ever held, I am still left pinching myself. It was a supremely special event and I am so honoured and humbled by all of you who braved the cold to enjoy it. I would also like to thank the Sylvain’s at The Port Theatre, André Pommier from Pommier Jewellers (who graciously donated a limited edition Canadian pin made out of copper salvaged from the Canadian Parliament rooftops as a final gift for the filmmaker), The Best Western Parkway for hosting Mr. Ovnell, Roy Studio and IceLevel for donating their time to take photos of the event, as well as everyone who spent some time with Ovnell as he made his way through the city and helped make his visit more than special. Finally, the media, the City of Cornwall, and the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce must be commended for their help in promoting this event.

Over the past week, a plethora of people have reached out to compliment me on the premiere. Though a few people did not care for the film (as is always the case with art), everyone could appreciate the special evening, the historic building, the enjoyable mingling, the impressive Q&A, and the thought provoking nature of the motion picture.

As you can probably imagine, I was both too tired as well as too close to the event to truly gain an outsiders’ view on the premiere. Thankfully, several attendees have been gracious enough to write up a short review of the evening so that you can truly gain a better appreciation of the soiree:

“The Canadian premiere showing of the Swedish film The Break-In was held at the Port Theatre in Cornwall on the night of the worst storm so far this winter yet the theatre, limited to 450 seats, was well-filled. The Port’s new digital projection system and acoustic audio system was transparently good, not to mention the advent of bar service now that the Port is the newest of only eight licensed theatres in Ontario. The on-stage question and answer session following the movie was moderated by the impresario, Nikolai Adams, and special guest producer from Sweden, Marcus Ovnell. The quality of the questions revealed the presence of an engaged and reflective audience. That this premiere happened as it did, signals a new venue for popular culture in Cornwall.” – David Anderson

“Having attended Marcus Ovnell’s Canadian premiere of “The Break-In” on Friday February 12^th, I feel compelled to comment on this film although as a general rule it is not in my nature. Many thanks to Nikolai and Marcus for blessing Cornwall with this opportunity to view such a world class cinematic movie on what I later found out was a shoestring budget. The abilities of Marcus are not only numerous, from writing, editing and producing, his charm and humbleness will make anyone who meets him an instant fan of his work. The style and the sequencing of the movie was an absolute breath of fresh air compared to the traditional Hollywood formula. Ovnell’s ability to tell this story with minimal dialogue and effective choice of every frame in the film is a testament to his skills as an editor and director. The fact that I could only read half of the subtitles due to my forgetting my reading glasses and was able to follow every nuance of the storyline is evidence to Ovnell’s ability to have the camera tell the story. Looking forward to Marcus Ovnell’s next project.” – Andre Loiselle

“It was a wonderful evening. The film was rivetting and half way through, I was thinking of Hitchcock, and Paul noticed that too and commented on it. Jenny Lampa is an excellent actress, even with the language barrier you can see exactly how she feels right from the first scene. The angles and lighting were very beautiful and the scene where Lampa is running into the barn is mesmerizing. Meeting the director and hearing him answer questions was the best part. He is so humble and generous in his comments that you like him instantly. So approachable and charming that you feel as though you are going through the unveiling with him, that you have a vested interest in his success. We expect great things from him! Paul was thrilled with winning the poster and it will be framed and shown off with pride. My favourite part was when Ovnell saw it was Paul that came to get it and he said ‘Oh, it’s you!’, as though he was glad it was Paul (Ovnell was introduced to Paul earlier in the day during his travels through Cornwall). The evening was a great success and we would definitely attend any future similar events.” – Dawn and Paul Dempster

Here is an interview that director Marcus Ovnell filmed with TV Cogeco on the day of the event. It aired on the Tuesday after the premiere.

How can I possibly put into words the magical essence of this experience? When I attended the St. Lawrence International Film Festival, I really had no idea what to expect. I feel more than lucky that I was graced with the chance of meeting Marcus at SLIFF and it is a compliment to the atmosphere of the festival that we left Canton, NY fast friends after three short days. I will be forever grateful for the love, care and effort he put into making this premiere wonderful. Hopefully this will be the groundwork for future events.