ROSIE
A film by Gail Maurice
Opens Across Canada
OPENING IN THESE THEATRES ACROSS CANADA BEGINNING NOV. 11
Toronto
Cineplex Cinemas – Yonge-Dundas Square and VIP – Nov 11 – 17
(Hold over: Nov 18 – 21)
Hamilton
Playhouse Cinema – Nov. 11 + 12
(Hold over: Nov 21 + 23)
Sudbury
Sudbury Indie Cinema – Nov. 11 – 17
(Hold over: Nov 22 + 24)
Calgary
The Plaza Theatre – Nov. 11 – 17
Red Deer
Carnival Cinemas – Nov. 11 – 17
Vancouver
Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas – Nov. 11 – 17
(Hold over: Nov 18 – 21)
Winnipeg
Cinematheque – Nov. 11 – 13
Saskatoon
Magic Lantern Roxy Theatre – Nov. 11 – 17
Halifax
Cineplex Cinemas Park Lane – Nov. 18 – 24
North Bay
North Bay Film Festival – Nov. 25
Ottawa
Mayfair Theatre – Dec. 2 – 8
Belleville
The Empire Theatre (TIFF Circuit) – Dec. 7
St. John
Imperial Theatre – Jan. 24
Kingston
Reelout Queer Film Festival – Jan. 27 – 29
Kingston
Kingston Canadian Film Festival – Mar. 3 – 5
PRESS RELEASE
Following its world premiere in the groundbreaking Discovery Programme of TIFF, ROSIE has been on a whirlwind festival run, capturing hearts all along the way, and now readies itself for a Canada-wide theatrical run starting November 11.
ROSIE is the feature debut by Métis filmmaker/actor Gail Maurice, and is based on Maurice’s celebrated 2018 short of the same name. A story about family, love, and misfits, ROSIE heralds an important new voice on the Canadian cinematic scene.
ROSIE opens in the summer of 1984 in Montréal, and follows the title character, a young, orphaned, Indigenous girl who is forced to live with her reluctant, street-smart Aunty Frédérique (Mélanie Bray).
Frédérique (Fred) has just lost her job and is on the verge of eviction. An artist who creates art from found and discarded objects or other peoples’ trash, Fred introduces Rosie to her two best friends Flo and Mo, glamorous street workers who refuse to be confined by gender. In the end, it is Rosie who transforms the lives of these colourful characters and finds love, acceptance, and a true home with her new chosen family of glittering outsiders.
The film – both funny and poignant – showcases an original ensemble of emerging talents, headed by six-year-old Keris Hope Hill as Rosie. A Kanien’kehá:ka girl from the Six Nations of the Grand River, Hill was cast after an exhaustive search for a young Indigenous actor who could carry the role. ROSIE marks the young actor’s film debut.
When English-speaking, Indigenous Rosie is thrust upon her French-speaking, Caucasian aunt she feels a sense of alienation and isolation but it doesn’t last long. What connects all of the characters is their ability to uncover beauty and magic, both in their circumstances and surroundings.
“This film is about resilience and the beauty of love and acceptance,” says Director Gail Maurice, whose multiple acting credits include 2021’s award-winning feature Night Raiders as well as the hit television shows Trickster and Cardinal.
Maurice continues: “It’s about alienation, identity, and the revelation that we are all capable and worthy of love. It’s a story about fringe dwellers, society’s ‘throwaways,’ struggling to survive against all odds. It’s about finding your chosen family and seeking ‘treasures’ in trash.
ROSIE is a story of triumph over adversity.
ROSIE is written, directed and produced by Gail Maurice (Assini Productions). Jamie Manning (Night Market) is Producer, Mélanie Bray is Co-Producer, Celiana Cárdenas is Director of Photography, Joshua Turpin is Production Designer, Shaun Rykiss is Editor, and Scotty Taylor is Music Supervisor.
ROSIE stars Mélanie Bray as Fred (Frédérique), Keris Hope Hill as Rosie, Constant Bernard as Flo, Alex Trahan as Mo, Josée Young as Barb, Brandon Oakes as Jigger, Jocelyne Zucco as Germaine, and Arlen Aguayo Stewart as Janine.
ROSIE is produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, The Indigenous Screen Office, Ontario Creates, Urban Post Production, Canada Council for the Arts, Superchannel, and APTN.
ROSIE is distributed in Canada by PHOTON Films.
ABOUT ASSINI PRODUCTIONS
Gail Maurice incorporated Assini Productions, a 100% Indigenous-owned company, in August 2006 to produce short and feature length films that portray strong, positive Indigenous stories and characters by Indigenous people. Assini Productions was born out of a need to tell their own stories. To make films that inform, educate and encourage awareness of Indigenous history, culture, language and traditions.
ABOUT NIGHT MARKET
Jamie Manning’s Night Market produces film and television driven by diverse voices and unique visions. It strives to support both emerging and established artists, while bringing intriguing, thought-provoking and inspiring material to niche and mass audiences worldwide.
Night Market founder Jamie Manning most recently produced Bent Hamer’s The Middle Man, starring Pål Sverre Hagan, Paul Gross, and Tuva Novotny, which premiered as a Special Presentation at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival. Previous to this, he produced Darlene Naponse’s TIFF Official Selection and imagineNATIVE Audience Choice award-winner Falls Around Her, starring Tantoo Cardinal, as well as Sook-Yin Lee’s Octavio is Dead!, starring Sarah Gadon and Rosanna Arquette. Jamie was also an associate producer on Atom Egoyan’s Guest of Honour, starring David Thewlis and Luke Wilson, which world premiered in competition for the Golden Lion at the 2019 Venice Film Festival.
ABOUT PHOTON FILMS AND MEDIA (FORMERLY PACIFIC NORTHWEST PICTURES)
Launched in 2010, Photon Films and Media (photonfilms.ca), formerly Pacific Northwest Pictures, is a leading Canadian entertainment company specializing in the development, financing, production and distribution of feature films for the domestic and international marketplace. With an emphasis on high quality films from leading filmmakers in diverse genres, Photon Films brings those films to consumers with innovative forms of marketing and distribution across all distribution platforms.
Releases include the Academy Award Winning Sound of Metal with Riz Ahmed and Olivia Cooke, Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby starring Rachel Sennott, Molly Gordon and Dianna Agron, Leo Award Winning Portraits from a Fire from Trevor Mack, and Alice starring Keke Palmer and Common. Upcoming releases include Sundance Audience Award Winner Girl Picture, and 2022 TIFF selections ROSIE from Gail Maurice and Until Branches Bend from Sophie Jarvis and starring Grace Glowicki.