| Sleeping Giant | |
|---|---|
.jpg) 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 |
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Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | English |
Sleeping Giant is a 2015 Canadiandrama film written and directed byAndrew Cividino. The film follows three teenage boys coping with boredom in cottage country on the shores ofLake Superior.
The film premiered in theCritics' Week section at the2015 Cannes Film Festival.[1] It is an expansion of a short film that Cividino made in 2013,[2] which was nominated forBest Live Action Short Drama at the3rd Canadian Screen Awards. The film is named after theSleeping Giant cliffs nearThunder Bay.
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.
Cividino has listed numerous films and filmmakers as influences forSleeping Giant, includingPeter Weir'sPicnic At Hanging Rock,Mike Nichols'The Graduate, andAndrea Arnold'sFish Tank.[3]
On review aggregation websiteRotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 23 reviews, and an average rating of 7.5/10.[4] OnMetacritic, 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 forThe 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]
Sleeping Giant wonBest Canadian First Feature Film at the2015 Toronto International Film Festival.[8] It also took home theBest Canadian Film award at theVancouver International Film Festival.[9] In December 2015, theToronto International Film Festival named the film to its annual year-endCanada'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 |
