''Range Roads'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by

Kyle Thomas Kyle Thomas (born 23 June 1983) is a Canadian screenwriter, director, producer, and actor. His first feature film, ''The Valley Below'', premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014. It garnered two Canadian Screen Award nomina ...

and released in 2021 by Calgary-based production company

North Country Cinema North Country Cinema is a Canadian media arts collective based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The company was founded in 2005 by filmmakers Alexander Carson, Nicholas Martin, and Kyle Thomas, who met at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema at Conco ...

.Eric Volmers
"The Quiet Road: Calgary filmmaker's sophomore film, Range Roads, a subtle drama about estranged siblings"
''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'', April 16, 2021. The film stars Alana Hawley Purvis as Frankie King, an actress who has been estranged from her family for many years but is returning home following the death of her parents, who must navigate continued tensions between her and her brother Grayson (Joe Perry). The cast also includes

Nicole de Boer Nicole de Boer (born 20 December 1970) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for starring in the cult film ''Cube (1997 film), Cube'' as Joan Leaven, playing Ezri Dax on the final season of ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine'' (1998–1999), and as ...

Kris Demeanor Kris Demeanor is a Canadian poet, musician and actor, who received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the 3rd Canadian Screen Awards for his performance in the film ''The Valley Below''. Prior to his performance in th ...

, Jude Thomas, and Trevor Campbell, as well as the acting debut of country singer

Chad Brownlee Chad Brownlee (born July 12, 1984) is a Canadian country music artist, songwriter, actor, and former ice hockey defenceman. He has one #1 Canada Country hit with " Forever's Gotta Start Somewhere". Sports career Brownlee was a draft pick for ...

. The film had entered the planning stages in 2013, while Thomas's prior film ''

The Valley Below ''The Valley Below'' is a Canadian dramatic film, released in 2014. The feature film debut of filmmaker Kyle Thomas,

'', whose cast included Hawley Purvis, Perry and Demeanor, was still in production, but due to the various other projects that Thomas and the cast were involved in and the challenges of raising money to fund it, it took several years of discussions for ''Range Roads'' to take shape. The film was shot in the

Olds Olds may refer to: People * The olds, a jocular and irreverent online nickname for old age, older adults * Olds (surname) Places * Olds, Alberta, Canada * Olds, Iowa, United States * Olds Peak, Antarctica Other uses * F. E. Olds, an American b ...

area of

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 ...

in 2020. The film premiered at the 2021

Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It i ...

in March 2021,Randy Myers
"Cinequest 2021: Here are 12 films to see at San Jose’s virtual fest"
''

The Mercury News ''The Mercury News'' (formerly ''San Jose Mercury News'', often locally known as ''The Merc'') is a morning daily newspaper published in San Jose, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. It is published by the Bay Area News Group, a subsidia ...

'', March 16, 2021. and had its Canadian debut on April 17 as part of the

Canadian Film Festival The Canadian Film Festival, formerly known as the Canadian Filmmakers Festival, is an annual film festival in Toronto, Ontario. Showcasing a program of Canadian independent films, it is held in March of each year and usually runs for five days. ...

.Liam Lacey
"The Canadian Film Festival: Films by emerging Canadian filmmakers find a second-time-around pandemic home on Super Channel"
''Original Cin'', April 1, 2021.

Critical response

Reviewing the film for ''

'', Randy Myers wrote that "Thomas shows a natural grace with his storytelling, delicately handling a surprising family secret, and making Frankie a complicated and likeable character. 'Range Roads' might travel a familiar road, but its characters and situations are refreshingly real."

Awards

The film won the awards for Best Feature and Best Director at the 2021

Rosie Awards The Rosie Awards is the name given to the Alberta Film and Television Awards, presented annually by Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA). AMPIA is non-profit professional association that supports its members by encouraging th ...

. Hawley Purvis received a

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 ...

nomination for

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress award ...

at the

10th Canadian Screen Awards The 10th Canadian Screen Awards were presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television from 4–10 April 2022 to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2021. The presentations were held as a ...

in 2022.Brent Furdyk
"2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack"
''

ET Canada ''Entertainment Tonight Canada'' (commonly shortened to ''ET Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series that aired on the Global Television Network from 2005 to 2023. Its branding and format were based on the American entertainm ...

'', February 15, 2022.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 10102080 2021 films 2021 drama films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films shot in Alberta Films set in Alberta Films directed by Kyle Thomas 2020s English-language films 2020s Canadian films Freestyle Releasing films