Sleeping_Giant_(film) Knowpia

Sleeping Giant
Sleeping Giant
	Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andrew Cividino
Written by	Andrew Cividino
Produced by	Karen Harnisch; Marc Swenker; James Vandewater; Aaron Yeger; Andrew Cividino
Starring	Jackson Martin; Reece Moffett; Nick Serino
Cinematography	James Klopko
Edited by	James Vandewater
Music by	Chris Thornborrow
Production; companies	Film Forge Productions; Hawkeye Pictures
Distributed by	D Films
Release date	May 14, 2015 (Cannes);
Running time	89 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	English

Sleeping Giant is a 2015 Canadian drama film written and directed by Andrew Cividino. The film follows three teenage boys coping with boredom in cottage country on the shores of Lake Superior.

The film premiered in the Critics' Week section at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.^[1] It is an expansion of a short film that Cividino made in 2013,^[2] which was nominated for Best Live Action Short Drama at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards. The film is named after the Sleeping Giant cliffs near Thunder Bay.

Plot edit

Teenage Adam Hudson is spending his summer vacation with his upper middle-class parents in Thunder Bay on rugged Lake Superior. His dull routine is given a jumpstart when he befriends Riley and Nate, working-class cousins staying with their grandmother, who pass their ample free time with debauchery and reckless cliff jumping. Sporadically joined by Adam's friend Taylor, the three boys become inseparable, but their friendship is uneasy and rife with hormonal tension, bullying and jealousy.

Riley witnesses Adam's father engaging an extramarital affair with a local shopkeeper and tells Adam, who begins to act out in his father's company and engage in increasingly dangerous mischief with his friends. The revelation of his father's infidelity triggers a series of irreversible events that test the bonds of friendship and change the boys forever.

Cast edit

Jackson Martin as Adam Hudson
Nick Serino as Nate
Reece Moffett as Riley
Katelyn McKerracher as Taylor
Rita Serino as Grandma
Erika Brodzky as Marianne
David Disher as William Hudson
Taylor Facca as Shanna
Lorraine Philp as Linda Hudson
Kyle Bertrand as Brad

Influences edit

Cividino has listed numerous films and filmmakers as influences for Sleeping Giant, including Peter Weir's Picnic At Hanging Rock, Mike Nichols' The Graduate, and Andrea Arnold's Fish Tank.^[3]

Release edit

Critical reception edit

On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 23 reviews, and an average rating of 7.5/10.^[4] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[5]

Variety's Guy Lodge called the film an "accomplished debut," adding, "Cividino depicts the tricky male power games between the boys with tact and compassionate impartiality."^[6] Jessica Kiang for The Playlist wrote "Perhaps most impressive is how, despite the nostalgia inherent in this kind of endeavor, Sleeping Giant never sentimentalizes its story, and never compromises on the essentially bleak idea that you can be transformed from a carefree child shading your eyes from the glare of a huge, wide future to a scarred and haunted young adult in a single moment."^[7]

Accolades edit

Sleeping Giant won Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.^[8] It also took home the Best Canadian Film award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.^[9] In December 2015, the Toronto International Film Festival named the film to its annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list.^[10]

Award	Date of ceremony	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result	Ref(s)
Toronto Film Critics Association	December 14, 2015	Rogers Best Canadian Film Award	Andrew Cividino	Nominated	^[11]
Canadian Screen Awards	March 13, 2016	Best Motion Picture	Karen Harnisch, Andrew Cividino, Marc Swenker, James Vandewater, Aaron Yeger	Nominated	^[12]^[13]
		Best Director	Andrew Cividino	Nominated
		Best Supporting Actor	Nick Serino	Won
		Best Editing	James Vandewater	Nominated

References edit

^ Felperin, Leslie (May 14, 2015). "'Sleeping Giant': Cannes Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
^ Knight, Chris (May 21, 2015). "Cannes 2015: Andrew Cividino debuts with Thunder Bay-shot Sleeping Giant". National Post. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
^ Knegt, Peter (April 7, 2016). "5 films that inspired the breakout director of Sleeping Giant". CBC. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018. Retrieved August 28, 2019.
^ "Sleeping Giant (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Archived from the original on May 10, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ "Sleeping Giant Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on April 24, 2018. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ Lodge, Guy (May 15, 2015). "Cannes Film Review: 'Sleeping Giant'". Variety. Archived from the original on April 21, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ Kiang, Jessica (May 16, 2015). "Cannes Review: Andrew Cividino's Chilling Coming Of Age Debut 'Sleeping Giant'". The Playlist. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ Tapley, Kristopher (September 20, 2015). "'Room' Wins Toronto Film Festival's People's Choice Award". Variety. Archived from the original on January 28, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ Pinto, Jordan (October 5, 2015). "Sleeping Giant, Fractured Land win VIFF prizes". Playback. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ Hertz, Barry (December 8, 2015). "TIFF reveals Canada's Top Ten Film Festival line-up". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ "Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson share $100K award for best Canadian films". CBC News. January 5, 2016. Archived from the original on October 17, 2017. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
^ "2016 Canadian Screen Awards: All the nominees". Hello!. January 19, 2016. Archived from the original on August 25, 2019. Retrieved August 25, 2019.
^ "Nick Serino wins Best Supporting Actor at Canadian Screen Awards". CBC News. March 14, 2016. Archived from the original on August 29, 2017. Retrieved August 25, 2019.