With Brian busy making wedding plans (to Coyote make-up artist Kris Kane), I trekked alone to Quebec City, Quebec for the Quebec Festival De Cinéma Des 3 Amériques. Being a novice Canadian traveler (I’ve never been east of Vancouver), I was really looking forward to the trip; yet, at the same time, I was a blank slate of expectations — I’d never spoken to anyone who had been to this city or festival. Now, having been and returned, my expert opinion is that Quebec City is a fantastic place that hosts a first-rate festival every filmmaker or movie lover should go out of their way to attend.
Coyote was so well-received by the festival goers that it caught me a little off-guard. The response was enthusiastic! Yes, the film has gone over very well at every festival it’s played, but in my mind this was really the first time it had screened for a crowd was that wasn’t closely affected by US/Mexico border issues. I was also naively concerned about the fact that for most of the audience, English was a second language. None of this mattered. The satire brought in big laughs, the thriller aspects had some people using their festival pass to hide their eyes, a woman told me she cried. One gentleman told me he thought Steve and J’s transportation package options was ingenious and so distinctly American that he was still laughing about it hours later.
My favorite observed reactions, however, were to the story of Steve and J. We received numerous compliments from people who said this story of life-long friendship — stretched to its limits against the backdrop of Illegal Immigration — resonated deeply with them. Stewart Grant, a 6th-grade school teacher in Quebec City, was a big admirer. He said he “felt the pull on each character” as they struggled to make decisions that could ultimately end what was, essentially, their brotherhood. He said he hadn’t seen a film this unique and satisfying in quite some time. Thanks, Stewart.
And it turns out I was wrong to be concerned that a movie dealing with US/Mexico border issues wouldn’t play as familiar in French Canada. Many attendees were quick to remind me that Quebec deals with cross-border issues all the time — both with the US and it’s neighboring province. It’s a universal situation to have friends, allies, enemies, & family on both sides of any border. Crossing that line — literally or figuratively — is, at some point, on everyone’s mind.
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So…I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better experience at this festival. My only regret is that more of the Coyote crew couldn’t have been there to share in the fun. They missed out on the young woman hailing me from across the room with her French-accented English: “Oh, Mr. Coyote!” May very well have been the cutest thing ever…
We’d like to thank — huge thanks!! — the festival goers who showed up during the snowstorm to fill our theatre. Your response to Coyote has excited us all and made us even more determined to find newer audiences for the film.
A few more Thank-You’s and Shout-Out’s: Program Director Martin Brouard for creating an exceptional line-up of films and for simply being a generous and all-around great guy; David Birnbaum for his exquisite direction of Found Objects - send this guy your script, he’ll make it gold; Scot McFayden for Global Metal - cool guy, awesome movie. He gets to fly on Iron Maiden’s plane. I’m jealous, too; and to Sophie, Hilary, Brian, Kim, Andre, Mia, Stewart, Julie, Yves, Jean-Guillaume, all the festival staff, and everyone else I met — I had a really, really great time and hope to see you all again someday soon.
