VANCOUVER AND CALGARY ADDED FOR THEATRICAL PREMIERE OF BIRDLAND, THE NEW FEATURE FROM WRITER/DIRECTOR PETER LYNCH, STARRING KATHLEEN MUNROE, DAVID ALPAY, BENJAMIN AYRES, JORIS JARSKY, CARA GEE, MELANIE SCROFANO AND STEPHEN McHATTIE
108 Media, in association with MEI: Media Events Innovation, is pleased to announce Vancouver and Calgary have been added to the theatrical rollout for the premiere of Birdland, a post noir mystery directed by award-winning Peter Lynch (Cyberman, Project Grizzly, Arrowhead). Birdland will play at the Globe Theatre in Calgary and Rainbow Cinemas Golden Mile in Regina starting February 9th, and at Cinemateque in Vancouver on March 6, 9, 11 and 17, as well as Toronto at the Carlton Cinema on Friday, January 26, 2018. The dates at the Roxy Theatre in Saskatoon are being revised and will be announced shortly. The film will be released simultaneously, January 26, 2018, on VOD in Canada and the US (iTunes, Amazon, Xbox, Google as well as Vudu in US only)
Birdland stars Kathleen Munroe (Patriot, Resurrection, Flashpoint, Call Me Fitz), Melanie Scrofano (Letterkenny, Wynonna Earp, Designated Survivor), David Alpay (The Tudors, Quantico, The Lottery, Ararat), Benjamin Ayres (Saving Hope, Bitten, Less Than Kind), Joris Jarsky (First Response, Numb Chucks, The Art of More, Toronto Stories), Stephen McHattie (Orphan Black, The Strain, Pontypool), and Cara Gee (The Expanse, The Empire of Dirt, Strange Empire).
Birdland is written by Peter Lynch and Lee Gowan (Paris or Somewhere), produced by Peter Lynch and Katarina Gligorijevic (He Never Died, Mark of the Witch, The Demon’s Rook), with Ryan Reaney (Born to Be Blue, Portal to Hell!!!, Distilled Love) as Co-Producer and Daniel Iron (Madiba, The Book of Negroes, Away From Her, Manufactured Landscapes) serving as Executive Producer. Birdland was filmed entirely on location in Toronto, Canada.
In a story told through surveillance, memories and flashbacks, we meet ex-cop Sheila Hood (Kathleen Munroe) as she is being interrogated about two deaths by Calvin (Benjamin Ayres), her former partner on the police force. Sheila’s husband, Tom (David Alpay), an ornithologist, had been having an affair with his ex-girlfriend, Merle James (Melanie Scrofano), whose fragile beauty echoes that of the birds he studies. Rather than confronting him, Sheila hides surveillance cameras in her home to watch his transgressions and ultimately becomes a voyeur of her own life. Sheila conducts her own rogue investigation and discovers Merle has more than one lover. The other man is Ray Starling (Joris Jarsky), a Machiavellian hotelier with business ties to Merle’s father, John James (Stephen McHattie), a wealthy oil man who operates in the shadows. When Merle falls to her death from a bridge and Ray Starling ends up dead in his own hotel, Hood is pulled into a dark world of corruption, sex and death and her surveillance footage forms the backbone of a police investigation that threatens to incriminate her and destroy her marriage.
Cinematography by Adam Swica (The Art of the Steal, Casino Jack), edited by Caroline Christie (Frankie Drake, Private Eyes, Republic of Doyle), production design by Patricia Christie (The Disappearance, Cyberbully), hair/costume design by Chanel Croker (Grimes ft. Janelle Monae: Venus Fly), music by Laura Barrett (Porch Stories) and José Miguel Contreras (By Divine Right, Porch Stories).
Birdland is produced by Acqua Film Inc. and Ultra 8 Pictures with theparticipation of Telefilm Canada, through the Canada Feature Film Fund.
ABOUT PETER LYNCH:
Lynch is responsible for several internationally acclaimed feature films and shorts. His first dramatic short Arrowhead received a Genie Award in 1994. In 1996, Lynch made the wildly successful Project Grizzly, one of the most acclaimed Canadian documentaries of all time, and spoofed the next year on The Simpsons. Fans of the film include Quentin Tarantino. This was followed by his Genie-nominated docu-drama The Herd (1998), a festival hit worldwide. In 2001, Cyberman, a portrait of cyborg Steve Mann, played to critical acclaim at over 50 international film festivals and was listed as one of the Top 10 Feature Films of 2002 by Film Comment. This was followed by the doc, A Whale of Tale (2004), and The National Parks Project (2011) which earned a CSC nomination for Best Cinematography in Documentary and a Genie Award for Best Short Documentary.
Before he turned to filmmaking, Lynch was a major player in the early video/new media revolution and chronicler of punk, new wave music, hip-hop, dancehall, and the avant-garde music scene. Lynch co-founded, co-produced and co-directed “Video Culture International”, a landmark video new media festival he produced. He was also a creative director and vice president at Sony Creative Video, a Sony initiative to develop cultural markets for new Sony technology.
Birdland is his first narrative feature film, a contemporary noir which he has written, directed and co-produced. It belongs to a chapter of new digital, theatrical and television works Lynch is developing over the next several years including Galveston, a film adaption of Paul Quarrington’s best-selling novel which is being adapted for the screen by Lynch who will direct with producer Marty Katz and actor/producer Gil Bellows.
ABOUT 108 MEDIA:
108 is redefining and revolutionizing the way content is created, curated and distributed. Empowering visionary creators and championing bold new voices to satisfy the demand for unique, diverse and compelling content. Connecting and developing high quality content from emerging markets, such as Asia, to global audiences. Going beyond traditional channels and leveraging new technology to deliver comprehensive programming and experiences across all media platforms. 108: Changing what the world is watching.
###
For more information, interviews and photographs please contact:
Lesley Diana | Lesley@thepromotionpeople.ca | 604-726-5575
Follow us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BirdlandMovie
Instagram: @birdlandmovie
Twitter: @birdlandmovie
Press materials available at: www.birdlandmovie.com
The Promotion People
Website: thepromotionpeople.ca
Twitter: @PromotionPeople
Facebook: The Promotion People
Instagram: @promotion.people