Thought you might like to know about a new Canadian
film, shot in Toronto,
entitled Nurse.Fighter.Boy that is opening on Friday, February 6, at the
AMC at Dundas Square (416-335-5323), and the Royal at 608 College Street
(416-534-5252), and will be there on Saturday and Sunday as well. A short
trailer can be found at: http://www.nursefighterboy.ca
Their press release contains a brief description:
Charles Officer’s Nurse.Fighter.Boy is the latest
feature from the
Canadian
Film Centre Feature Film Project – an urban story
about love, passion
and faith. Since debuting at the 2008 Toronto
Film Festival, the
film has been reaping accolades, including Best Actress
(Karen
LeBlanc) at the 2008 Atlantic Film Festival and Best
Actor (Clark
Johnson) at the 2008 Whistler Film Festival.
The nurse (LeBlanc) is a single mother who descends
from a long line
of
Jamaican caregivers and is now living with sickle
cell anemia. The
fighter
(Johnson) was raised in a world bent on violence and
is now a
past-his-prime
boxer who fights illegally to survive. The boy
(Daniel J. Gordon) is
a 12-year-old who knows his mother feels “bad inside”
and takes
matters into his own hands.
During the last week of summer, their fates will become
forever
entwined.
Besides being very moving and very good entertainment, the film deals with
sickle cell anemia, a genetic disease that affects primarily Blacks, South
Asians, and those of Mediterranean origin. I am on the Board of the Sickle
Cell Association of Ontario, a small NGO that seeks to raise awareness
of
the disease. It is hoped that this film will play some part in doing that.
Although I do not know a great deal about the film industry, it is my
understanding that the film needs to attract a minimum of 500 people during
the three day weekend in order to guarantee its continued showing after
the
weekend.
There will be a reception following the opening on Friday night. Admission
to the reception is free for those who attend the opening, and $10. for
those who do not. This is a fundraiser for the Sickle Cell Association
of
Ontario, and all are welcome. It will be held at 10:30pm at Harlem, 67
Richmond Street East.
I hope you will be able to see the film sometime this weekend, and spread
the word far and wide to attract as many others as possible!
Best,
Bob Frankford