UBC T&F SUCCEEDS! CELEBRATE CANADIAN FILM WEEK WITH OUR ALMUNUS MARK SAWER’S DOC “NO MEN BEYOND THIS POINT” AT VIFF!
Mark Sawers: http://www.viff.org/theatre/films/fc8755-no-men-beyond-this-point
Mark Sawers’ documentary traces the rise of the virgin birth in the latter half of the twentieth century, the redundancy of the male sex, and anticipates man’s imminent extinction, as womankind inherits the planet. This is all in jest, of course – a mockumentary, if you will – but also sci-fi, and sex comedy.
Spoofing a conventional talking heads format, Sawers (Camera Shy) delivers a witty commentary on the gender gap. Set more or less today, but revising the history of the last 60 years, the film posits 37-year-old Andrew Myers (Patrick Gilmore) as the last-born male, the youngest man on earth. He’s working as a caregiver for a conventional post-nuclear family (two mums, four daughters), cooking and looking after the kids. Most of his sex live in sanctuaries, safe but slowly dying out, while the dominant majority of humanity gets on with the job of running the planet.
Sawers has fun teasing out the implications of such a scenario: Christianity is out, along with the space program and sexual intercourse, and harmony prevails across the united nations. Meanwhile interviews with Andrew and his two mistresses suggest that this brave new world hasn’t quite worked out all the kinks yet. Guys may have outlived their evolutionary purpose, but at least some women still feel fondly towards them. Think early Woody Allen (Sleeper meets Zelig) minus the sexism.
http://www.nomenbeyondthispoint.com
NO MEN BEYOND THIS POINT poster
Mark Sawers is a Vancouver writer and director who has been creating unique, offbeat film and television projects for nearly twenty years. He has made several acclaimed short films, including Shoes Off!, which won the Best Short Film prize at the Cannes Film Festival’s International Critics Week. He has also directed numerous episodes of TV series, including The Kids In The Hall. His feature, Camera Shy won the Best International Feature Film prize at the Washington DC Independent Film Festival as well as six LEO Awards, including Best Feature and Best Director. His latest feature, No Men Beyond This Point, played to sold out crowds at TIFF, VIFF and Rotterdam and was recently acquired by Samuel Goldwyn Films.
