Local Kitamaat author, Eden Robinson, is set to have the world premiere of the film adaptation of her novel at Tillicum Twin Theatres in Terrace on Sept. 24.
The film, Monkey Beach, is based on Robinson’s novel of the same name, and is a supernatural mystery about a young Haisla woman who returns home to Kitamaat Village to save her brother.
Monkey Beach was written in 2000 and Robinson began working on the screenplay adaptation only a few years after that, until a professional screenwriter eventually took it over. The actual filming of the movie was done in Kitimat and Kitamaat Village in 2018, though, more than 17 years after the novel was first published.
However, the TV series based on her Trickster book series, which is premiering on CBC Gem this fall, was filmed only last fall in Kitimat. Robinson said the turnover on that felt very quick and exciting compared to the time it took for the Monkey Beach film to come about.
“I just assumed production took years due to my experience with Monkey Beach,” Robinson said in an interview with the Kitimat Northern Sentinel earlier this year. “But it’s so exciting that both are coming out so soon now.”
Although the premiere is Sept. 24, public screenings will run afternoons and evenings from Sept. 25 to Sept. 30. Screening times have yet to be announced. Tickets will be available for presale on Tuesday, Sept. 15 and will cost $10. Contact tillicumtheatres@gmail.com for more info.
There will be a limit of 50 patrons per screening and masks will be required.
The film is premiering as part of this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), which is operating in a modified format this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. VIFF has unveiled a new streaming service that will feature over 100 films. Meanwhile, there will be a very small number of physical screenings, including a handful in Vancouver and Monkey Beach in Terrace.
Tillicum Twin Theatres has been open to the public since June 20th, after closing down on March 16 due to the pandemic.
— with files from Jake Wray, Terrace Standard
clare.rayment@northernsentinel.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
