A Wake (2009)

After the mysterious death of their infamous director, members of a formerly renowned theatre company reunite for his wake. The grieving widow welcomes the thespians to her country house, ... See full summary »

Director:

Penelope Buitenhuis

Writers:

Penelope Buitenhuis (story), Krista Sutton (story)

Stars:

Nicholas Campbell, Tara Nicodemo, Krista Sutton

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Nicholas Campbell	...	Gabor Zazlov
Tara Nicodemo	...	Hanna Zazlov
Krista Sutton	...	Maya
Raoul Bhaneja	...	Raj
Sarain Boylan	...	Danielle
Martha Burns	...	Sabina
Kristopher Turner	...	Chad
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Graham Abbey	...	Tyler
Paul Braunstein	...	Neighbour
Florence Walker	...	Nurse

Storyline

After the mysterious death of their infamous director, members of a formerly renowned theatre company reunite for his wake. The grieving widow welcomes the thespians to her country house, but the drama intensifies when old rivalries and jealousies erupt, exposing a myriad of secrets and lies.

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Taglines:

Some people are better off dead

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 September 2009 (Canada)

Filming Locations:

Cambridge, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Breakthrough Films, Penelope Films, Six Island Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Won Best Film at the Carmel Arts and Film festival in 2010, and was presented with the award by Clint Eastwood.

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Quotes

Raj: A truth in theatre doesn't cost you anything, its pretend. A truth in life can cost you everything.

User Reviews

Acting Out

A Wake is a really great bit of cinema. It's all about the acting, and the performances are excellent. A little bit of Hamlet, a little bit of Opening Night and it's all set up as a riff on The Celebration. It seemed to be so well written I was surprised to learn that the actors were improvising; it must have been the swift editing that made it all seem so tight. The only criticism that I can think of is the title because it is not so much about death as about performance; it's theatrical without losing it by going over the top. Buitenhuis has taken the chamber drama concept of Dogma and put in a Canadian winter setting, so you get that closed in cabin-fever sense, along with a group of fairly wild personalities trying to work out some festering issues from the past. I can't wait to see it on the big screen!