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Levers film image; three men in suits speaking to a crowd

Levers

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Levers starts with a bang as a crowd gathers in an unnamed Manitoban city for the unveiling of a new sculpture. Later that evening, a large blast erupts and ushers in a day of darkness. Worldwide, people huddle around the warm glow of their television screens eagerly awaiting a new sun to rise. Determined to satiate her curiosity surrounding recent events, an intrepid civil servant undertakes an odyssey into a world shrouded in mystery.

Developed from a script of poetry, filmed on location throughout the Red River Valley on broken Bolex cameras, and mixing in-camera effects with a delicate eye for natural beauty, Rhayne Vermette’s sophomore feature conveys an ominous story through a potent mixture of bewitching fantasy and the idleness of the everyday.

Director
Cast

Val Vint, Andrina Turenne, Will George

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2025

Language

In English and French with English subtitles

18+
95 min
Experimental & Avant Garde Indigenous Cinema Women Directors
Exovedate Productions LTD

Book Tickets

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Credits & Director

Producer

Rhayne Vermette, Oliver King, Charlene Moore

Screenwriter

Rhayne Vermette

Cinematography

Rhayne Vermette, Ryan Steel, Heidi Phillips, Kristiane Church

Animation

Elise Simard

Production Design

Janelle Tougas

Original Music

Bret Parenteau

Rhayne Vermette headshot

Rhayne Vermette

Rhayne Vermette, born in Notre Dame de Lourdes, Manitoba, is a primarily self-taught artist and filmmaker whose work explores place, time, and rhythm through collage, photography, and analog film. Her films have screened internationally, including at TIFF, Berlinale, and New York Film Festival. In 2024, she was shortlisted for the Sobey Art Award. Her debut feature Ste. Anne (2021) received critical acclaim, winning TIFF’s Amplify Voices Award. Rhayne lives and works in Winnipeg.

Filmography: Ste. Anne (2021)

Photo by Calvin Thomas

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