Anne At 13,000 Ft.

''Anne at 13,000 Ft.'' is a 2019 Canadian drama film. Directed and written by Kazik Radwanski, the film stars Deragh Campbell as Anne, a shy, socially awkward daycare worker whose attitude to her life and work is radically transformed after she skydives for the first time. It premiered in the Platform Prize, and received an honourable mention from the Platform Prize jury. In December 2019, the film was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list. After premiering on the festival circuit in 2019, the film's 2020 theatrical release was postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the film won the Toronto Film Critics Association's $100,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. It was also nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Motion Picture, and five Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards (winning two for the performances of Campbell and Johnson).

Premise

The film stars Deragh Campbell as Anne, a shy, socially awkward daycare worker whose attitude to her life and work is radically transformed after she skydives for the first time. Anne goes through the motions of life as a 20-something woman in Toronto, clashes with her co-workers, goes on an awkward Tinder date, and serves as maid of honour at her best friend's wedding. Anne suffers from an unspecified anxiety disorder, which remains undiagnosed throughout the film.

Cast

Release

''Anne at 13,000 Ft.'' premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, before screening at other international festivals, such as the Berlinale. During its festival run, the film was picked up for American distribution by Cinema Guild.

The film was scheduled to be theatrical released on March 20, 2020, but the planned release was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly a year later, the film was released virtually on February 19, 2021, through the TIFF Bell Lightbox, and Vancouver's Cinematheque.

Reception

Critical reception

The film received critical acclaim. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 46 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Held aloft by Deragh Campbell in the title role, ''Anne at 13,000 Ft'' tells the soaring story of a woman who's lost her moorings." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Jessica Kiang of ''Variety'' called the film "a brief, bracing burst of microbudget indie filmmaking at its most powerful." Barry Hertz of ''The Globe and Mail'' dubbed it "a startling, bracing achievement worth celebrating." Peter Howell of the ''Toronto Star'' praised Campbell's "riveting performance as a woman on the verge of vertigo is a sight to behold." Norm Wilner of ''Now'' wrote that "if the Dardenne brothers remade ''A Woman Under The Influence'', it might look a lot like Radwanski’s latest study of a Torontonian in a slow-motion crisis: this time, his protagonist is a young day-care worker whose equilibrium is slipping out of her grasp."

Accolades

In 2021, the film won the Toronto Film Critics Association's $100,000 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. It was also nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Motion Picture, and five Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards (winning two for Campbell and Johnson's performances).

References

External links

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{{TFCA Award for Best Canadian Film

2019 films
Canadian drama films
Films directed by Kazik Radwanski
2019 drama films
English-language Canadian films
2010s English-language films
2010s Canadian films