Saturday, May 13, 3:00 PM, Charles Theatre 3

Director: Bill Spahic

Cast: Gordon Pinsent, Jason Deline

Country: Canada
Year: 2006
Running Time: 54:00 minutes
Format: Beta SP

Arguably Canada’s greatest poet, Al Purdy was a high school dropout who rode the rails and worked as a laborer during the Great Depression before serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. With little formal education, he was truly a poet of the people writing what he knew: work, relationships, and his vast homeland. His words were able to reach everyone from literary scholars to working class folk who may have normally thought that poetry was “too fancy” for them.

When you want to tell the story of such a great writer, perhaps the best approach is to use his own words. Purdy wrote about the times, the places, and people of his life so the filmmakers are able to tell his life story using his poems and letters. The words are given ample personage by actor Gordon Pinsent who portrays the poet as he reflects upon his life. Yours, Al is a wonderful introduction to the life and work of one of Canada’s most original voices.

-- Dan Krovich

Showing with:

Poet Son
Director: Sandra Jacobi
14:00 minutes, DVD or mini DV, USA
:This short documentary explores the struggle of spoken word artist and teacher Dasan Ahanu, son of a teen mother and the product of an abusive relationship.  Through his powerful performance of "Brown Bag Daddy," Ahanu forces his father to confront how and why he abandoned his child.

Presented By: Anne Pick, Bill Spahic

Anne Pick won a Gemini Award for her documentary Ronnie Hawkins: Still Alive and Kickin’, about legendary rockabilly Hawkins whose band became “THE Band” Anne’s other recent productions include: Gemini nominated Helen’s War: Portrait of a Dissident, The Notorious Mrs. Dick, Moe Norman: The King of Swing, and Ryan’s Well. Anne was a founding member and a past co-chair of Hot Docs; served on the Boards of Hot Docs and DOC for 10 years; an advisory board member to IWT; is a member of WIFT and the Academy of Film and Television Canada, and the co-founder and partner in Real to Reel Productions Inc. with her husband Bill Spahic.

Bill Spahic has been involved in the film industry for over twenty years. In that time, he has worked in close collaboration with world-class directors such as Terry Gilliam, John Woo and Robert Mandel as their 1st Assistant Director on many Hollywood features and TV movies including Tideland, Three to Tango, Sing, Renegades and Blackjack. In addition to his work on dramas, he has directed award winning docudramas in collaboration with Anne Pick his partner in Real to Reel Productions.