''The Animal Project'' is a 2013 Canadian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by

Ingrid Veninger Ingrid Veninger (born August 21, 1968) is a Canadian actress, writer, director, producer, and film professor at York University. Veninger began her career in show business as a child actor in commercials and on television; as a teen, she was feat ...

and starring

Aaron Poole Aaron Poole (born March 17, 1977) is a Canadians, Canadian actor. Early life Poole grew up in Barrie, Ontario and attended Barrie Central Collegiate Institute, Barrie Central Collegiate. He is a graduate of the Etobicoke School of the Arts and Ge ...

Hannah Cheesman Hannah Cheesman is a Canadian actress and filmmaker. As a performer, Cheesman is known for portraying Lieutenant Commander Airiam in the second season of the CBS television series '' Star Trek: Discovery''. As a filmmaker, Cheesman has written a ...

, and

Emmanuel Kabongo Emmanuel Kabongo (born December 25, 1986) is a Canadian actor and producer. Born and raised in Zaire before it became the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kabongo immigrated to Canada with his family in the 1990s. He began his acting career as ...

. It debuted at the Contemporary World Cinema section at the

2013 Toronto International Film Festival The 38th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and 15, 2013. '' The Fifth Estate'' was selected as the opening film and '' Life of Crime'' was the closing film. 75 films w ...

Cast

as Leo *

as Alice *

Jessica Greco Jessica Greco (born June 26th, 1980) is a Canadian actress and comedian best known for playing Karen Thurston, the dead teenage daughter of a chemical factory worker, in the 1997 television adaptation of the '' Goosebumps'' book '' Welcome to De ...

as Pippa *

as Ray *

Joey Klein Joey Klein is a Canadian actor and film director. He is most noted for his performance in the 2016 film '' We're Still Together'', for which he won the ACTRA Award for Best Actor from the ACTRA Awards chapter in Toronto and received a Prix Iris nom ...

as Saul * Sarena Parmar as Mira * Johnathan Sousa as Jason * Jacob Switzer as Sam *

Joanne Vannicola Jo Vannicola (born 20 April 1968), formerly known as Joanne Vannicola, is a Canadian actor. They are most noted for their roles as Dr. Naadiah in ''Being Erica'', Dr. Mia Stone in '' PSI Factor'', Jerri in ''Love and Human Remains'', Sam in ''S ...

as Morag * Lindsay Owen Pierre as Matteo

Production

Music for the film is by Nick Storring, creating his first feature film score. Due to the film's "naturalistic tone", he notes there's little music. Storring wrote on his blog that Veninger and he "tried numerous types of things with different scenes, and in some of those cases the decision was ultimately no music at all." Friendly Rich & The Lollipop People appear in the film with "Sei Spento il Sole".

Reception

In a story about Canadian films at TIFF in 2013 when the film premiered, ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...

'' dubbed Veninger "Toronto’s reigning queen of DIY cinema".

Release

The film premiered at the Contemporary World Cinema section at the

. The film has also screened at the St. John's International Women's Film Festival, with a one-hour "making of" talkback section. In November, it will screen at the

Denver Film Festival The Denver Film Festival is held in November, primarily at the Denver Film Center/Colfax, in Denver, Colorado, now the Anna and John J. Sie FilmCenter (Sie FilmCenter). Premiere events are held in the Buell Theatre and Ellie Caulkins Opera House ...

Critical reception

'' NOW Magazine'' commented that "It may not be the sort of hyper-personal near-meta-fiction Veninger defined her career with, but The Animal Project seems to similarly prod the relationship between interiority and outside world." In a review, the magazine gave it their highest rating, "NNNN", declaring it a transitional project for the director, who "upped her game without abandoning any of her characteristic whimsy." They note the film has a narrative story unlike her previous films, and a "more formal visual style". Highlighting actor Aaron Poole in an article, Torontoist suggested that the film was "heavy with emotional baggage but imbued with a lightness that comes from being partially improvised," suggesting it might "demonstrate a different side of Poole." Ilse de Mucha Herrera for The Arts Scene website suggested that the film is "nothing short of delightful", a "refreshing" film with "a script full of passion with relatable characters and creative sequences," rating it 4/5. Isabel Cupryn of Canadian Film Review commented: "With pure honesty and unwavering compassion for its characters, it's hard not to fall in love with this quiet, thoughtful film. The Animal Project is like its creator Ingrid Veninger — genuine and true to its heart." Weekly newspaper ''

The Grid The Grid is an English electronic dance group, consisting of David Ball (formerly of Soft Cell) and Richard Norris, with guest contributions from other musicians. They are best known for the hits "Swamp Thing", "Texas Cowboys", "Crystal Cle ...

'' suggested that the use of costumes is "less striking than it's intended to be", but "the good moments... linger vividly in the rearview mirror," offering it 7/10. Pop culture website Dork Shelf suggested "the scattered moments of human observation that make up the film are almost always careful and poignant," but the overall film premise and characters' "revelatory experiences" "never

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

genuine." Canadian entertainment website Scene Creek also gave a less than enthused review, 2 out of 5 stars. Critic Danielle La Valle praised the father and son conflict, suggesting it should have been the film's focus, praising Jacob Switzer's "great skill and understatement" in the role. The review cites the dysfunction of Leo needing to disguise himself and offer free hugs at his son's high school, in order to feel comfortable hugging him. She suggests that the concept of obliterating comfort zones with the costumes is incorrect, as the outfits would add a layer of comfort through anonymity. ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'' connected the film with six other Canadian films screening at the festival, all with themes of identity. Critic Linda Barnard deemed it 3/4 stars. Yahoo! TIFF Blog writer Will Perkins named it among the top five Canadian films screening at the festival.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Animal Project 2013 films 2013 drama films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Ingrid Veninger 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films