''Cloudburst'' is a 2011 Canadian-American comedy-drama film written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald and starring

Olympia Dukakis Olympia Dukakis (June 20, 1931 – May 1, 2021) was an American actress. She performed in more than 130 stage productions, more than 60 films and in 50 television series. Best known as a screen actress, she started her career in theater. Not lon ...

and Brenda Fricker. The film is an adaptation of Fitzgerald's 2010 play of the same name. ''Cloudburst'' premiered at the

Atlantic Film Festival FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival (known as The Atlantic International Film Festival until 2017) is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. FIN is the largest Canadian film festival ...

in Halifax, Nova Scotia on September 16, 2011."A queer Thelma and Louise story"
. '' Xtra!'', September 13, 2011. It opened in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unit ...

in Canada on December 7, 2012.

Plot

Stella and Dotty are an older lesbian couple from Maine who embark on a Thelma and Louise-style road trip to Nova Scotia to get married after Dotty is moved into a nursing home by her granddaughter. Along the way they pick up Prentice, a hitchhiker travelling home to Nova Scotia to visit his dying mother, and the three bond as they travel together.

Cast

as Stella * Brenda Fricker as Dot * Ryan Doucette as Prentice * Kristin Booth as Molly * Michael McPhee as Tommy * Mary-Colin Chisholm as Ynez * Marlane O'Brien as Cat

Production

Fitzgerald adapted his own stage play for the screen. The film version was produced by Doug Pettigrew and Fitzgerald, and executive produced by Sidney Kimmel, Vicki McCarty, William Jarblum, Trudy Pettigrew, Dana Warren and Shandi Mitchell. Fitzgerald had originally planned for the role of Dotty to be played by

Joan Orenstein Joan Orenstein (December 4, 1923 – October 10, 2009) was a British-born Canadian actress, primarily on stage, although she performed in other media. One of her best-known roles was in the 1997 film '' The Hanging Garden'' as the dotty old g ...

, but as she died while he was writing it, he cast Fricker instead. In press for the film, Fricker praised the screenplay, "I was so moved by it. The love story was so beautiful I couldn't say no to it." Three members of the original stage cast reprised their roles: Ryan Doucette, Marlane O'Brien, and Michael McPhee.

Critical reception

The film received an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator

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, with an average rating of 6.7/10, based on 9 reviews. The film debuted to an enthusiastic standing ovation on September 16, 2011 at the

, where it won an Atlantic Canada Award for Best Screenplay and the People's Choice Audience Award for Best Film of the Festival. Its second festival appearance was October 20, 2011 at Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival, where it also won the Audience Choice Award for Best Film, and on October 23, 2011 the film was the opening night selection of the Edmonton International Film Festival where it won the Audience Award for Best Canadian Film. ''Cloudburst'' was very well received at film festivals from coast to coast in Canada, winning awards at festivals in Halifax, Montreal, Kingston, Edmonton, Victoria, and others. ''Cloudburst'' made its U.S. debut at the

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where it was named a Best of the Fest. The film made its Australian debut at the Breath of Fresh Air Tasmania Film Festival. It made its European debut as Opening Night Gala of the

Dublin International Film Festival The Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF; ) is an annual film festival held in Dublin, Ireland, since 2003. History Dublin International Film Festival was established in 2003. It was revived by Michael Dwyer, international film critic and ...

. It was also selected as Opening Night Gala of the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival, formerly known as the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival (LLGFF), is the biggest LGBTIQ+ film festival in Europe. It takes place every spring in London, England. It began in 1986, as a season of gay and ...

and as the closing-night film of

Frameline The Frameline Film Festival (aka San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival) (formerly San Francisco International LGBT Film Festival; San Francisco International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) began as a storefront event in 1976. The first ...

36. Brenda Fricker commented in 2012, "Of all the films I've made, only three do I remember where I felt I'd moved forward as an actress: ''Cloudburst'', '' My Left Foot'' and '' The Field''."

Accolades

* Asheville QFest Best Actress Award,

* Asheville QFest Best Supporting Actress Award, Brenda Fricker * Athens, Greece Outview Film Festival Best Film Award *

Atlanta Film Festival The Atlanta Film Festival (ATLFF) is a long-running, international film festival held in Atlanta, Georgia operated by the Atlanta Film Society, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Started in 1976 and occurring every spring, the festival shows a ...

Pink Peach Feature Grand Jury Prize * Atlanta Out on Film Festival Audience Award for Best Overall Feature * Atlanta Out on Film Jury Award for Best Film * Atlanta Out on Film Jury Award for Best Actress,

People's Choice Audience Award for Best Film of the Festival *

Michael Weir Atlantic Canada Award for Best Screenplay, Thom Fitzgerald * Barcelona International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Audience Award for Best Film * Birmingham UK Shout Festival Audience Award for Best Picture *

Opening Night Gala *Canadian Film Festival Opening Night Gala * Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival Audience Choice Award for Best Film of the Festival * CNKY Cincinnati Kentucky GLBT Festival Award for Best Feature Film * Copenhagen

MIX Copenhagen MIX Copenhagen LesbianGayBiTransQueer+ Film Festival is one of the oldest LGBTQ+ film festivals in the world, as well as being the oldest and one of the largest film festivals in Denmark. History The festival has first taken place in 1986 under ...

Film Festival Audience Award for Best Film * Edmonton International Film Festival Opening Night Gala *

Opening Night Gala * Edmonton International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Canadian Indie Film * Hannover Queer Film Festival Audience Award for Best Film * Image+Nation Montreal GLBT Film Festival Best Feature Film Award * Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival Audience Award for Best Lesbian Film * Kingston Reelout Film Festival Opening Night Gala * Kingston Reelout Film Festival Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature * Melbourne Queer Film Festival Opening Night Gala *Mix Milan Film Festival, Grand Jury Award for Best Feature * New Zealand Out Takes: A Reel Queer Film Festival, Audience Award for Best Feature * North Carolina Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature *

Best of the Fest Selection * Qfest Philadelphia Audience Award for Best Feature * QFest St. Louis Audience Award for Best Feature * Rainbow Reels Waterloo Film Festival People's Choice Award for Best Feature Film * Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Film Festival Audience Award for Best Film * San Diego FilmOut, Audience Award for Best Feature Film * San Diego FilmOut, Jury Award for Best Feature Film * San Diego FilmOut, Jury Award for Best Leading Actress * San Diego FilmOut, Jury Award for Best Direction * San Francisco

Festival Audience Award for Best Film * Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature *

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

Top Ten Most Popular Canadian Film Award *

Victoria Film Festival The Victoria Film Festival is a publicly attended film festival in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada running for ten days in February. The festival shows both Canadian and international films and unreels 150 films with 55 Features on 6 scree ...

Best Canadian Film Award

Adaptation

''Cloudburst'' is based on the stage play by Thom Fitzgerald, which debuted on April 8, 2010 at the Plutonium Playhouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The play starred Carroll Godsman, Deborah Allen, Ryan Doucette, Marlane O'Brien, Michael McPhee and Amy Reitsma. The successful engagement ran for five weeks and closed on May 8, 2010. The production was nominated for several Merritt Awards, Nova Scotia's professional theatre awards, including nominations for Outstanding Production, Outstanding New Play (Fitzgerald) Outstanding Lead Actress (Allen), Outstanding Supporting Actor (Doucette), and Outstanding Set Design (Fitzgerald). Fitzgerald won the Merritt Award for Outstanding New Play.

References

External links

* (Archive) * *
''Cloudburst''
at Northernstars (Canadian Movie Database) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cloudburst 2011 films 2011 independent films 2011 LGBT-related films 2010s adventure comedy-drama films 2010s road comedy-drama films American adventure comedy-drama films American independent films American LGBT-related films American road comedy-drama films Canadian independent films English-language Canadian films Canadian LGBT-related films Canadian road comedy-drama films Lesbian-related films LGBT and ageing LGBT-related comedy-drama films Same-sex marriage in film Films about old age Films set in Maine Films set in Nova Scotia Films shot in Nova Scotia Films directed by Thom Fitzgerald Sidney Kimmel Entertainment films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2010s Canadian films