World Premiere
“I don’t think I’m doing very well,” Ruth Mackie (Marlene Jewell) tells her doctor during a cognitive exam. An elderly Nova Scotian woman struggling with dementia, Ruth likes feeding pigeons and playing TV bingo. She believes that her home is infested with bugs and that they live inside her, too. Ruth’s pregnant young caretaker, Shannon (Katie Mattattal) is grappling with her abandonment by the baby’s father, a race-car driver. As Ruth’s cognition deteriorates, these two women overlooked by society leave an indelible impression on each other.
Winner of the Emerging Canadian Director Award for Murmur at VIFF 2019, writer/director Heather Young once again brings exceptional nuance to themes of loneliness and isolation. A realist drama with contemplative pacing, There, There deploys formal restraint through its static shots and naturalistic dialogue to deliver a bittersweet portrayal of the universal need for companionship. With a tender performance by Katie Mattattal, Young’s sophomore feature endears us to the unsung caregivers who bring an essential human touch to the lives of others.
Sept 29 & 30: Q&A with director Heather Young and producer Martha Cooley
Presented by
Media Partner
Marlene Jewell, Katie Mattatall
Canada
2024
English
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Indigenous & Community Access
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Credits & Director
Producer
Britt Kerr, Martha Cooley, Heather Young
Screenwriter
Heather Young
Cinematography
Catherine Lutes
Editor
Heather Young
Production Design
Michael Pierson
Heather Young
Heather Young is a filmmaker based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She made the short films Howard and Jean (2014), Fish (2016), and Milk (2017). Her first feature, Murmur (2019), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival where it won the FIPRESCI Prize for the Discovery Programme and went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival. There, There is her second feature.
Filmography: Murmur (2019)
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