Wildhood

2021 Canadian coming-of-age film

Wildhood

Film poster

Directed by| Bretten Hannam
Written by| Bretten Hannam
Produced by| Julie Baldassi
Damon D'Oliveira
Gharrett Patrick Paon
Starring| Phillip Lewitski
Joshua Odjick
Cinematography| Guy Godfree
Edited by| Shaun Rykiss
Music by| Neil Haverty

Production
companies

Rebel Road Films
Younger Daughter Films

Distributed by| Films Boutique

Release date

* September 10, 2021 (2021-09-10) (TIFF)

Running time

| 100 minutes
Country| Canada
Languages| English
Mi'kmaq

Wildhood is a 2021 Canadian coming-of-age romantic drama film, written and directed by Bretten Hannam.[1]

An expansion of Hannam's earlier short film Wildfire, which was the winner of the award for Best Short Film at the Screen Nova Scotia awards in 2020,[2] the film stars Phillip Lewitski as Lincoln, a young man in his late teens who was raised disconnected from his maternal Mi'kmaq heritage by his abusive white father Arvin (Joel Thomas Hynes); following the discovery that his mother Sarah, whom he had long been told was dead, is in fact still alive, he takes his younger half-brother Travis (Avery Winters-Anthony) on a journey to find her. En route, they meet the openly two-spirit Pasmay (Joshua Odjick), who becomes both a guide to Lincoln in reconnecting with his indigenous roots and a love interest.[3]

The cast also includes Michael Greyeyes, Savonna Spracklin, Jordan Poole, Samuel Davison and Steve Lund.

## Cast

[edit]

* Phillip Lewitski as Link
* Joshua Odjick as Pasmay
* Avery Winters-Anthony as Travis
* Joel Thomas Hynes as Arvin
* Michael Greyeyes as Smokey
* Steve Lund as Dale
* Mary-Colin Chisholm as Alice
* Savonna Spracklin as Sarah
* Desna Michael Thomas as Desna
* John R. Sylliboy as Mother Mary
* Becky Julian as Elsapet
* Callum Dunphy as Ross
* Ursula Calder as Amy
* Samuel Davison as Ryan
* Jordan Poole as Skater

## Production and distribution

[edit]

The film's screenplay won Telefilm Canada's Pitch This! competition at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival,[1] and was funded by Telefilm Canada in 2019.[4] The film entered production in 2020 in the Windsor, Nova Scotia area.[3]

The film premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2021.[5] It was subsequently screened at the 2021 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, the 2021 Atlantic Film Festival, and the 2021 Vancouver International Film Festival. It has been acquired for commercial distribution by Films Boutique.[6]

## Critical response

[edit]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 100% approval rating, based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10. The website's consensus reads, "A coming-of-age story with several refreshing twists, Wildhood sends its protagonist on a bittersweet, beautifully filmed journey."[7]

Lovia Gyarkye of The Hollywood Reporter reviewed the film favourably, writing that "The trio’s dynamic is entertaining, and they crack jokes with the same fierceness with which they argue. But it’s the evolving romance between Link and Pasmay that’s the most fun to witness. Maybe I’m a sucker for romance, but watching Link and Pasmay steal glances and exchange knowing smirks begins to feel more thrilling than the journey itself. Lewitski, who stars in Hulu's Utopia Falls, and Odjick have a subtle and exciting chemistry that makes rooting for their budding love easy. The progress of that love is measured by the proximity of their bodies, which, as they get closer to finding Sarah, feel bound by an almost spiritual force."[8]

For The Coast, Morgan Mullin wrote that "the movie is at its strongest when it turns away from the family that abandoned its leads and leans into their frisson-filled connection instead (even if their most intimate moment borrows a touch too heavily from Moonlight). Traipsing the countryside together and awash in that magic-hour light, the two youth learn to be themselves while Pasmay teaches Link pow wow dancing."[9]

## Awards

[edit]

Award  | Date of ceremony  | Category  | Recipient(s)  | Result  | Ref(s)

|
|
|
|
|

Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival | 2021 | Cinema Indigenized Outstanding Talent | Bretten Hannam | Won | [10]
FIN Atlantic Film Festival | 2021 | Best Feature | Wildhood | Won | [11]
Best Director | Bretten Hannam | Won
Best Screenwriter | Won
Best Actor | Avery Winters-Anthony | Won
Directors Guild of Canada | 2021 | DGC Discovery Award | Bretten Hannam | Nominated | [12]
Canadian Screen Awards | 2022 | Best Picture | Gharrett Patrick Paon, Julie Baldassi, Bretten Hannam | Nominated | [13]
Best Director | Bretten Hannam | Nominated
Best Actor | Phillip Lewitski | Nominated
Best Supporting Actor | Joshua Odjick | Won
Best Original Screenplay | Bretten Hannam | Nominated
Best Casting in a Film | Stephanie Gorin | Nominated
Vancouver Film Critics Circle | March 7, 2022 | Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film | Joshua Odjick | Won | [14]
Screen Nova Scotia | 2022 | Best Feature Film | Wildhood | Nominated | [15]
ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance | Mary-Colin Chisholm | Nominated
Desna Michael Thomas | Nominated
Avery Winters Anthony | Won

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Gow, Steve (August 25, 2020). "Nova Scotia's film industry restarts with 'Wildhood'". Halifax Today. Archived from the original on July 28, 2021.
2. ^ "Murmur wins top prize at Screen Nova Scotia awards". CBC News. December 6, 2020.
3. ^ a b "Hannam's Wildhood, a two-spirit teenage road trip, now filming in Windsor". SaltWire Network. August 19, 2020.
4. ^ Kay, Jeremy (June 27, 2019). "Telefilm Canada unveils eight indigenous filmmakers to receive backing". Screen Daily.
5. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (July 28, 2021). "Toronto Film Festival Unveils Contemporary World Cinema and Discovery Lineup". Variety.
6. ^ Barraclough, Leo (August 27, 2021). "Toronto-Bound 'Wildhood,' Helmed by Bretten Hannam, Picked Up by Films Boutique". Variety.
7. ^ "Wildhood". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 4, 2022.
8. ^ Gyarkye, Lovia (September 22, 2021). "'Wildhood': Film Review (TIFF 2021)". The Hollywood Reporter.
9. ^ Mullin, Morgan (September 16, 2021). "Movie review: Wildhood's ephemeral glow". The Coast.
10. ^ Macdonald, Donald (October 3, 2021). "Sudbury entertainment briefs: New novel; Cinefest awards". Sudbury Star.
11. ^ Robins, Mark (September 24, 2021). "Wildhood scores a quartet of awards at this year's FIN Atlantic International Film Festival". Halifax Presents.
12. ^ "TV & Film News – DGC reveals Discovery Award long list of emerging directors to watch". Broadcast Dialogue. September 23, 2021.
13. ^ Furdyk, Brent (February 15, 2022). "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, 'Sort Of' & 'Scarborough' Lead The Pack". ET Canada. Archived from the original on February 15, 2022.
14. ^ Gee, Dana (March 8, 2022). "The Power of the Dog named year's best feature by Vancouver Film Critics Circle". Vancouver Sun.
15. ^ David, Greg (May 17, 2022). "Screen Nova Scotia Announces 2022 Award Nominees and Return to In-Person Gala". TV, eh?.

## External links

[edit]

* Wildhood at IMDb
* Wildhood at Rotten Tomatoes
* Wildhood at Metacritic

* v
* t
* e

Films produced by Julie Baldassi

* My Dead Dad's Porno Tapes (2018)
* I Am in the World as Free and Slender as a Deer on a Plain (2019)
* Wildhood (2021)
* Tenzin (2021)
* Darkest Miriam (2024)

*[Ref(s)]: Reference(s)
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template