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I Like Movies film image, director Chandler Levack

I Like Movies

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Lawrence (Isaiah Lehtinen), a teenage cinephile, is convinced that he’s destined for bigger things than Burlington, Ontario can offer. Obsessed with Paul Thomas Anderson and Todd Solondz, he’s intent on attending film school at NYU before unleashing his directorial vision on an unsuspecting world. This despite the fact his artistic output is, well, underwhelming. Faced with the prospect of daunting tuition fees, he lands a job at a local video store where he promptly sets about condescending to customers, fixating on what his free rentals will be, and confounding his manager, Alana (Romina D’Ugo), and mother, Terri (Krista Bridges).

Well-appointed with both film references and endearing Canadiana, Chandler Levack’s humane comedy traces this pretentious curmudgeon’s path from practically sociopathic self-involvement to his first fraught encounters with self-awareness. Demonstrating tremendous understanding and affection for obsessives, Levack thoughtfully details the circumstances behind Lawrence’s fanaticism and anxiety. Through her impeccable scripting, we witness this film bro come of age thanks to the women in his life.

 

Presented by

Media Partner

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Director
Cast

Isaiah Lehtinen, Percy Hynes White, Anand Rajaram, Eden Cupid, Krista Bridges, Alex Ateah, Romina D’Ugo

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2021

Language

English

Film Contact
18+

At VIFF Centre — Vancity Theatre

19+

At The Rio

99 min
Comedy Drama Women Directors

Book Tickets

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Credits

Producer

Lindsay Blair Goeldner

Screenwriter

Chandler Levack

Cinematography

Rico Moran

Editor

Simone Smith

Production Design

Claudia Dall’orso

Original Music

Murray A. Lightburn

Director

Chandler Levack headshot, director I Like Movies

Chandler Levack

Chandler Levack grew up in Burlington, Ontario, and lives in Toronto where she studied cinema at the University of Toronto and screenwriting at the Canadian Film Centre. She has directed numerous music videos, earning two JUNO nominations, and is a veteran journalist and critic who has earned several National Magazine Awards for publications that include The Globe & Mail, The Village Voice, and Maisonneuve. I Like Movies is her feature debut.