ABOUT THE FILM: - OPENING NIGHT is replaying for World AIDS Day (Dec. 1st) an award-winning drama previously broadcast on Adrienne Clarkson Presents - the dramatic piece is based on a prize-winning short story by Yann Martel, who also wrote the screenplay adaptation - initially published in a literary journal, The Facts Behind The Helsinki Roccamatios went on to win the 1991 Journey Prize ($10,000) for its young author and helped launch his literary career - the prize was named after a short story written by Canadian author James Michener, who asked his publishers to use the royalties from his book to establish a prize honouring new young writing talent in Canada - Martel's story was published in the Journey Prize Anthology collection and was subsequently published as the title story in his own first book, a collection of short stories - the book was well received critically and the story has since gone on to be translated into several different languages - the drama, directed and produced by Robert Sherrin, was aired in 1994 and met with positive critical attention - it won several Gemini Awards including Best Actor in a Dramatic Miniseries for Michael Riley's performance, Best Photography and another Gemini Award for Best Editing - the film uses Ultimatte, a chromakey process which integrates historical footage into the live action -this is integral to the story because as the story progresses, the two friends pass the time by creating an ongoing story about the fictional Roccamatio family and each event is based on a similar historical event from the twentieth century, depicted by archival photos and footage - the story centres on two university friends who become very close - however, in second year, one of them, Paul (Michael Mahonen) develops AIDS, falls ill and eventually dies - during the eight months of his illness, his friend (played by Michael Riley, whose character remains nameless) comes up with the idea that they should pass the time by creating a family history, based on the story of the fictional Roccamatio family from Helsinki - his idea is that each individual story about the family should mirror an actual historical event from the twentieth century (so, for example, it opens with the death of the family patriarch, mirroring the death of Queen Victoria at the beginning of the 20th century) - as the story progresses and Paul becomes increasingly more ill, the stories he tells become darker while Paul's friend tells increasingly positive stories - much of the action is superimposed upon historical newsreel footage or photographs
"Here is a new writer outlining his literary manifesto, staking his imaginative terrain and doing so, not with an air of sobriety and highmindedness but one of buoyancy and humility in the face of life's often terrible mysteries. At any age, that is no slight achievement." The Montreal Gazette "Martel's exuberant writing makes reading an intense experience … Each story in The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios leads us, through a different path, to the centre of human experience." Vancouver Sun "Ultimately however, it is Martel's moving story and some equally passionate performances - particularly by Riley as the increasingly confused and guilty friend - that make this drama worth watching." The Ottawa Citizen "All the while the passing history, most of it about sad and regrettable events, is a metaphor for the two men who are trying to come to grips with the larger human issues - love, loss, life and death … Riley conducts what amounts to a monologue for much of the drama. 'It was a joy, like preparing for a play and we had a week and a half of rehearsal,' he said. 'The real luxury was also shooting in sequence, so that on the last day of filming, Paul actually dies in the final scene. This role was cathartic and you learn you can't circumnavigate grief; you have to go through it, go to the end for hope,' he says." TV Times " ... a deeply personal memoir of how one young man gets through watching his best friend die. … The best scenes are the simplest, and the dramatic punch relies on two promising Canadian actors, Riley (Chasing Rainbows) and Mahonen (Conspiracy of Silence). They really deliver in the big scenes and make this drama truly special." Starweek
ABOUT YANN MARTEL:
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