Drinking and Driving
World Premiere
Saturday, April 11, 6:00 p.m. @ 2220 Arts & Archives
Q&A with writer/directors Avalon Fast and Jillian Frank, moderated by filmmaker Amanda Kramer
Sunday, April 12, 3:45 p.m. @ Now Instant Image Hall
Q&A with writer/directors Avalon Fast and Jillian Frank, moderated by Micah Gottlieb
Directors: Avalon Fast and Jillian Frank
Canada, 2026, 106 min, DCP
Early twenties Iris (Jillian Frank) and Palmer (Avalon Fast) never left their hometown. They work at the same restaurant, share the same bed, and both have a habit of drinking and driving. They run into Levi (Ethan Hawksworth), a guy they used to know. They spend time with him and his cousin, Phoenix (Henri Gillespi), in cars, backyards, and other people's bedrooms. When Levi shares a dream he had with Iris things change between the four of them. The reality of the summer becomes faded, the parties die. The four end in a field of unified confusion.
Vancouver-based filmmakers Avalon Fast and Jillian Frank put themselves behind and in front of the camera in this dreamy, funny and libidinal hangout movie, a beguiling portrait of working-class carnal oblivion in rural Canada. Resembling a seedy '90s Larry Clark movie but from a distinctly female perspective, the film's revelry of parties and drunken hookups blur the line between character and performance, but always with an authentic feel for place and character. The film's confident scrappiness and sneaky melancholy feel like getting a glimpse into a private world, and further evidence of the riches of recent microbudget Canadian cinema. -MG
In English
Cast & Crew
Producers: Avalon Fast, Jillian Frank, Jacob Glickman, Henri Gillespi
Writers: Avalon Fast, Jillian Frank
Editors: Jillian Frank, Avalon Fast
Key Cast: Avalon Fast, Jillian Frank, Ethan Hawksworth, Henri Gillespi, Payton Berg, Midge Salter, Derek McPhee, Bernadette Laderoute, Amanda Berg, Callum Manabe, Easton Weed, Nova McCabe, Ethan Bridger, Natalie Joy
Director of Photography: Jacob Glickman
Lighting: Ethan Bridgere
AD: Sophie Bawks-Smith
Sound Mix: Gordon Neil Allen
Distributor: Muscle Distribution