''Before I Change My Mind'' is a 2022 Canadian

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film co-written and directed by

Trevor Anderson Trevor Anderson (born 3 March 1951) is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager. He played as a forward. Playing career Born in Belfast, Anderson began his playing career at Portadown before signing for Manchester United in October 19 ...

in his feature directorial debut. Set in 1987, the film stars Vaughan Murrae as Robin, a

non-binary Non-binary or genderqueer Gender identity, gender identities are those that are outside the male/female gender binary. Non-binary identities often fall under the transgender umbrella since non-binary people typically identify with a gende ...

teenager who moves with their family to a small town in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, where they navigate the challenges of fitting into a new environment by befriending Carter (Dominic Lippa), the school bully. The film also stars Lacey Oake,

Matthew Rankin Matthew Rankin is a Canadian experimental filmmaker. His feature-length debut, '' The Twentieth Century,'' premiered in 2019 and was nominated for eight Canadian Screen Awards, winning three. His second feature film, ''Universal Language (Une l ...

, and Shannon Blanchet. The film premiered at the 75th Locarno Film Festival on August 10, 2022, and had its Canadian premiere at the 2022 FIN Atlantic Film Festival in September. It was released in the United States by Epic Pictures in select theaters on March 1, 2024, and on digital platforms on March 5. It was released theatrically in Canada on April 19, 2024.

Cast

Production

The film, Anderson's feature debut following a number of short films, was supported in advance of production by both the

Inside Out Film and Video Festival The Inside Out Film and Video Festival (formerly, Inside Out Lesbian and Gay Film and Video Festival), also known as the Inside Out LGBT or LGBTQ Film Festival, is an annual Canadian film festival, which presents a program of LGBT-related film. Th ...

's Financing Forum and

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

's 2020 list of LGBTQ-centred screenplays in development. It was shot in and around

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

, Alberta, in 2021.

Reception

Critical response

On the

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 8 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. '' IndieWire'' highlighted the film as one of ten must-see films at Locarno, writing that it was "convincingly draped in a soft and transportive '80s aesthetic" and that it "seems determined to confront the challenges and triumphs of self-becoming with the unwavering honesty of someone who remembers them both". For ''

Screen Anarchy ScreenAnarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

'', Martin Kudlac wrote that the film effectively subverted and refreshed many of the tropes and clichés of the teen coming-of-age genre.

Accolades

At the

Calgary International Film Festival The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. In 2020, thei ...

, the film was named as one of the ten advance finalists for the festival's RBC Emerging Canadian Artist competition. At the 2022 Festival du nouveau cinéma, it received an honorable mention from the National Competition jury. The film was longlisted for the

Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC; ) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assist ...

's 2022

Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award The Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award is an annual Canadian award, presented by the Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC; ) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupat ...

. Vaughan Murrae was awarded the Critics Award Boccalino d'Oro (Golden Jug) at the 75th Locarno Film Festival. Lacey Oake won the award for Best Performance in a Female Role at the 2022

Iris Prize The Iris Prize, established in by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBTQ film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex a ...

. The film won three Rosie Awards at the 2022 Alberta Film and Television Awards, for Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay for a Feature Film (Anderson, Griwkowsky) and Best Cinematography in a Feature Film (Wes Miron).

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 2022 films 2022 comedy-drama films 2022 directorial debut films 2022 independent films 2022 LGBTQ-related films 2020s Canadian films 2020s coming-of-age comedy-drama films 2020s English-language films 2020s LGBTQ-related drama films 2020s teen comedy-drama films Canadian coming-of-age comedy-drama films Canadian independent films Canadian teen comedy-drama films Canadian teen LGBTQ-related films English-language Canadian films English-language comedy-drama films English-language independent films Films about non-binary people Films directed by Trevor Anderson Films set in 1987 Films set in Alberta Films shot in Alberta LGBTQ-related coming-of-age comedy-drama films LGBTQ-related independent films