Laurence Lionel "Larry" Kent (born May 16, 1937, in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

filmmaker, who is regarded as an important pioneer of independent filmmaking in Canada.

Biography

Larry Kent emigrated from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. Th ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

, Canada in 1957 to study psycjology and theatre at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...

.Jim Leach
"Laurence L. Kent"
''

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

'', October 14, 2010. A devout film buff and scholar, Kent made the transition from the stage to screen in the early 1960s. Kent wrote and directed the existential Canadian indie, post-beatnik, pre-hippie classic '' The Bitter Ash'' in 1962 and tirelessly toured the film despite the controversy it garnered nationwide."TIFF movie review: The Bitter Ash". '' The Globe and Mail'', September 6, 2012. Filled with profanity and brief nudity, the picture was produced on a shoestring, shot silent with audio dubbed in later and featured a

jazz music Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

score. His follow-up film, '' Sweet Substitute'' (1964) made money in the United States, a first for any Canadian independent picture."Caressed: gutsy view of teen lust". '' The Globe and Mail'', June 24, 1967. Together with his third picture, the proto-feminist film '' When Tomorrow Dies'', these three movies comprise Kent's "Vancouver Trilogy". Kent moved to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in the late 1960s, briefly working for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...

before quitting to make films that exemplified the wild, drug informed spirit of the youth driven counterculture.Eric H. Wilson, "Larry's At It Again: Movie-maker Kent reels opinions and talks about High, his new banned film". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', August 11, 1967. His 1967 film ''

High High may refer to: Science and technology * Height * High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area * High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory * High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...

'' was slated to premiere at the Montreal International Film Festival, but was banned by the Quebec Censor Board at the last minute, while ''

The Apprentice ''The Apprentice'' is a reality talent game show franchise originally aired in 2004 in the United States. Created by U.S.-based British producer Mark Burnett, the show depicts contestants from around the country with various professional backg ...

'' (1971) was one of the first films ever to directly address the linguistic and cultural tensions between anglophones and francophones in Montreal in that era.

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian. Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 16. Although none of these early films received wide distribution, his cultural and critical esteem began to increase when several of them were included in Front & Centre, a retrospective program of historically significant Canadian films which screened at the

1984 Toronto International Film Festival The 9th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 6 and September 15, 1984. The festival introduced ''Perspective Canada'' programme, devoted to Canadian films. The festival screened 225 fea ...

Jay Scott Jeffrey Scott Beaven (October 4, 1949 – July 30, 1993), known professionally by his pen name Jay Scott, was a Canadian film critic."Critic Jay Scott, 43 among world's best". ''Toronto Star'', July 31, 1993. Early life Scott was born in Lincol ...

, "Mon Oncle Antoine No. 1 with critics". '' The Globe and Mail'', August 2, 1984. ''The Bitter Ash'', ''Sweet Substitute'', ''When Tomorrow Dies'' and ''High'' were also screened as a Kent retrospective at a number of venues in 2002 and 2003, including Cinematheque Ontario in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most pop ...

, the Pacific Cinémathèque in Vancouver and the Canadian Film Institute in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

. Matthew Hays, "Catch up on your Kent". '' The Globe and Mail'', February 1, 2003. He also had occasional acting roles in other directors' films, including '' Q-Bec My Love (Un succès commercial)'' and '' One Man''."Larry Kent"
''Canadian Film Enyclopedia''. During the 1970s and throughout the 1980s, Kent continued to explore various aspects of the human condition in his work. Though he slowed down in the 1990s, he returned in 2005 with '' The Hamster Cage'', a black comedy/psychodrama which won the jury prize at the 2005 Austin Fantastic Fest. In 2007, Kent completed post-production work on ''Hastings Street'', a 20-minute Vancouver drama which he had actually made in 1962 as his first-ever film but had never completed due to lack of funding.

Select filmography

* '' The Bitter Ash'' (1963) * '' Sweet Substitute'' (1964) * '' When Tomorrow Dies'' (1965) * ''

'' (1967) * ''Facade'' (1968) * ''

'' (1971) * '' Keep It in the Family'' (1973) * ''The Slavers'' (1977) * '' Yesterday'' (a.k.a. ''This Time Forever'') (1981) * ''High Stakes'' (1986) * ''Mothers and Daughters'' (1992) * '' The Hamster Cage'' (2005) * ''Hastings Street'' (1962 photography / 2007 post-production) 20:28 * ''

She Who Must Burn ''She Who Must Burn'' is a 2015 horror film that was directed by Larry Kent. He co-wrote the film with Shane Twerdun, who also stars. The movie had its world premiere on 26 July 2015 at the Fantasia Film Festival and stars Sarah Smyth as a woman ...

'' (2015) * '' Short Film No. 6'' (2020)Norman Wilner
"Canadian directors are making films in self-isolation"
''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'', May 12, 2020.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kent, Larry 1937 births Living people South African film directors South African emigrants to Canada People from Johannesburg Film directors from Vancouver