''Octavio Is Dead!'' is a 2018 Canadian supernatural drama film written and directed by

Sook-Yin Lee Sook-Yin Lee is a Canadian broadcaster, musician, film director, actress and multimedia artist. She is a former MuchMusic VJ and a former radio host on CBC Radio. She has appeared in films, notably in the John Cameron Mitchell movie ''Shortbus' ...

. It premiered on June 2, 2018 at 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 ...

before going into theatrical release on June 22.Chandler Levack
"Sook-Yin Lee and Canada’s new queer cinema"
''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

'', May 25, 2018. The film stars

Sarah Gadon Sarah Lynn Gadon (born April 4, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She began her acting career guest-starring in a number of television series, such as ''Are You Afraid of the Dark?'' (1999), '' Mutant X'' (2002), and '' Dark Oracle'' (2004). She also ...

as Tyler, a young woman who unexpectedly inherits all of her estranged father Octavio's (

Raoul Trujillo Raoul Max Trujillo (born May 8, 1955) is an American actor, dancer, choreographer and theatre director. A former soloist with the Nikolais Dance Theatre, he is the original choreographer and co-director for the American Indian Dance Theatre. Hi ...

) possessions after his death. Over the objections of her domineering mother Joan (

Rosanna Arquette Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film '' The Executioner's Song'' (1982) and won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for th ...

), she goes to the apartment, only to discover that her father is still present there as a ghost who leads her through a complex exploration of her sexual and personal identity. While wearing her father's clothes, she meets and becomes attracted to Apostolis (Dimitris Kitsos), a gay university student who perceives her as a man.

Reception

''Octavio Is Dead!'' currently has a score of on

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 ...

based on reviews. The film received four

Canadian Screen Award The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

nominations at the

7th Canadian Screen Awards The seventh annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 31, 2019, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2018.Best Cinematography The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best ...

( Daniel Grant), Best Art Direction or Production Design (Elisa Sauve), Best Costume Design ( Hanna Puley) and

Best Original Song The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best ...

(Lee, Adam Litovitz and Alia O'Brien for "Ghost of Love (Onakabazien Remix)". The film had its television premiere on July 20, 2019 on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

."CBC Films Celebrates Canadian Features This Summer"
''Channel Canada'', July 13, 2019.

References

External links

* 2018 films English-language Canadian films Canadian ghost films Canadian drama films 2018 drama films Films directed by Sook-Yin Lee Cross-dressing in Canadian films 2018 LGBTQ-related films 2010s LGBTQ-related drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films {{2010s-Canada-film-stub