Telefilm Canada supports the production of nine English-language feature films for a total amount of nearly $13 million

Nine films whose stars include Robert Pattinson, Emma Watson, Jennifer Connelly, Mélanie Laurent, François Arnaud, Sarah Gadon, Gael García Bernal and Alison Pill

MONTREAL, June 19, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Telefilm Canada announces its support of nearly $13 million towards the production of nine English-language feature films through the Canada Feature Film Fund. The films selected are: After the Ball (Sean Garrity); A Christmas Horror Story (Steven Hoban, Grant Harvey, Brett Sullivan); Aloft (Claudia Llosa); A Worthy Companion (Jason Sanchez, Carlos Sanchez); LIFE (Anton Corbijn); Regression (Alejandro Amenabar); Rest Home (Michael Rowe); The Girl King (Mika Kaurismäki); and Zoom (Pedro Morelli).

Quebec Region

Rest Home (a majority Canadian coproduction with Australia)
Director: Michael Rowe
Writer: Michael Rowe
Production: Possibles Média
Distribution: Mongrel Media
Genre: Drama
Confirmed actors: Melissa George (The Good Wife), Paul Doucet

David works days and nights as a guard in a retirement home. He dotes on his children, plies his wife with latest gadgets and keeps the wheels of his life turning with painkillers. But when he catches her with a lover, his life spirals out of control, taking him to the brink of insanity.

A Worthy Companion
Director: Jason Sanchez, Carlos Sanchez
Writer: Jason Sanchez, Carlos Sanchez
Production: micro_scope
Distribution: Les Films Christal
Genre: Drama

In the aim of procuring a companion in life, 35-year-old Robert Drake abducts and imprisons a teenage girl, whom he breaks down and rebuilds into his vision of perfection.

Ontario and Nunavut Region

After the Ball
Director: Sean Garrity
Writers:  Jason Sherman, Kate Miles Melville
Production: DCP Mystery Arts, Jane Silverstone Holdings
Distribution: Pacific Northwest Pictures
Genre: Comedy
Confirmed actors: Portia Doubleday (Carrie), Marc-André Grondin (C.R.A.Z.Y), Chris Noth (Sex and the City), Lauren Holly, Natalie Krill, Anna Hopkins, David Michael, Mimi Kuzyk, Carlo Rota, Colin Mochrie

Release: 2015

Kate Castle's dream is to design couture clothing, but after graduating at the head of her class in fashion school the harsh reality hits no one will hire her. Sure, she's got a fantastic eye, but she's also the daughter of retail guru and knockoff pioneer Larry Castle, whose stores sell clothes inspired by the very designers Kate wants to work for. Kate is left with no choice but to join Castle Clothing, where she must navigate around a duplicitous stepmother and two wicked stepsisters, whose aim is to discredit her at every turn. But through a budding romance with a prince of a guy in the shoe department, her godmother's vintage clothes and a shocking switch of identities, Kate is able to expose the evil trio, save Castle Clothing and prove that it's what's on the inside that counts.

A Christmas Horror Story
Directors: Steven Hoban, Grant Harvey, Brett Sullivan
Writers: Doug Taylor, Sarah Larsen, James Kee, Pascal Trottier
Production: Copperheart Entertainment
Distribution: Entertainment One Films Canada
Genre: Horror
Confirmed actors: George Buza, Adrian Holmes, Michelle Nolden, Olunike Adeliyi, Zoe De Grand'Maison, Alex Ozerov, Shannon Kook, Amy Forsyth, Jeff Clarke, Orion John, Julian Richings, Rob Archer

Christmas: a time of Joy, Peace and Goodwill. Unless you happen to live in the town of Bailey Downs. Here, on Christmas Eve, Joy is corrupted when a malevolent spirit traps three teens in a school basement intent on recreating a twisted version of the Nativity story. Peace is shattered when a family returns from a snowy forest with the perfect Christmas tree only to find something is terrifyingly wrong with their 7-year old son. Goodwill is perverted when a not-so-nice family is hunted down by Krampus, the demonic anti-Santa Claus of Nordic mythology. This is a small town and like all small towns everyone knows everyone and this year their Christmas nightmares are all connected. Even Santa Claus himself is drawn into the horror when he has to fight off a horde of howling Zombie Elves before making his rounds.

The Girl King (a minority Canadian coproduction with Finland)
Director: Mika Kaurismäki
Writer : Michel-Marc Bouchard
Production: Triptych Media, Galafilm Productions
Distribution: Equinoxe Films
Genre: Historical drama
Confirmed actors: Sarah Gadon (Cosmopolis), Lucas Bryant, Malin Buska, François Arnaud, Peter Lohmeyer, Mathieu Almaric, Martina Gedeck

The Girl King paints a portrait of Kristina of Sweden, a young, extravagant and a typical queen who ruled her country from the age of seven until her startling abdication at 28.

LIFE (a majority Canadian coproduction with Germany)
Director: Anton Corbijn (Control)
Writer: Luke Davies
Production: First Generation Films, Barry Films, See-Saw Films
Distribution: Entertainment One Films Canada
Genre: Drama
Confirmed actors: Robert Pattinson (Twilight), Dane DeHaan (The Amazing Spider-Man 2), Sir Ben Kingsley, Joel Edgerton

Inspired by the now famous photo-shoot commissioned by LIFE magazine in 1955, LIFE reveals the unlikely friendship between unproven photographer Dennis Stock and a little-known actor on the cusp of stardom called James Dean. The LIFE assignment, which would ultimately provide the world with some of the most lasting and iconic images of the age, took the pair on a road trip and created a friendship that would change Stock's life forever.

Regression (a minority Canadian coproduction with Spain)
Director: Alejandro Amenábar
Writer: Alejandro Amenábar
Production: First Generation Films
Distribution: Elevation Pictures Corporation
Genre: Thriller
Confirmed actors: Ethan Hawke (Before Midnight), Emma Watson (Harry Potter), Devon Boshuck, Devon Bostick, David Thewlis, Dale Dickey

Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner investigates the case of young Angela, who accuses her father, John Gray, of sexual abuse. Unexpectedly, John admits his guilt despite having no recollection of his crimes.

Kenner brings in renowned psychologist Dr. Raines to help relive John's memories, which seem to implicate more people. Their worst fears are confirmed when the investigation reveals the existence of a Satanic cult that has been performing horrifying rituals in the area for years.

The officers are alarmed when similar reports come in from all around the country. Bruce Kenner is standing in the middle of what looks like a nationwide conspiracy.

Zoom (a majority Canadian coproduction with Brazil)
Director: Pedro Morelli
Writer: Matthew Hansen
Production: Rhombus Media
Distribution: Alliance Films
Genre: Drama
Confirmed actors: Gael García Bernal (Bad Education), Alison Pill (Goon), Mariana Ximenes, Jason Priestley, Don McKellar, Jennifer Irwin.

Release: 2015

A multi-dimensional interface between a comic book artist, a novelist, and a film director. Each lives in a separate reality but authors a story about one of the others.

Emma smuggles drugs inside artificial love dolls to fund a secret cosmetic procedure. Emma is also creating a comic book about Edward, a cocky film director with a debilitating secret about his own anatomy. Edward's film features Michelle, a beautiful novelist living in Brazil, escaping her former life as a model. Michelle's novel tells the story of Emma, who smuggles drugs in artificial love dolls to fund…

And so around it goes...

Western Region

Aloft (a minority Canadian coproduction with Spain)
Director: Claudia Llosa (The Milk of Sorrow)
Writer: Claudia Llosa
Production: Buffalo Gal Pictures
Distribution: Mongrel Media
Genre: Drama
Confirmed Actors: Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind), Mélanie Laurent (Inglorious Basterds), Cillian Murphy, Oona Chaplin, Ian Tracey, Peter McRobbie, William Shimell, Andy Murray

Release: Winter 2014

Set in rural Minnesota and Canada, Aloft jumps back and forth between past and present, following a mother and then her son, as we delve into their history marred by an accident that tears them apart. She will grow into an renowned artist and healer, and him, into a peculiar falconer who bears the mark of a double absence. In the present, a young journalist will bring about an encounter between the two that puts the very meaning of life and art into question.

About Telefilm Canada
Telefilm is dedicated to the cultural, commercial and industrial success of Canada's audiovisual industry. Through its various funding and promotion programs, Telefilm supports dynamic companies and creative talent here at home and around the world. Telefilm also administers the programs of the Canada Media Fund. Visit telefilm.ca and follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/telefilm_canada and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/telefilmcanada.

SOURCE: Telefilm Canada

Douglas Chow, Telefilm Canada
[phone], ext. 2225 or 1-800-567-0890
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