Jasmine Road is a Canadian drama film, directed by Warren Sulatycky and released in 2020.[1] The film stars Greg Ellwand as Mac Bagley, a rancher in rural southern Alberta who has been emotionally closed off since the death of his wife; after his schoolteacher daughter Loretta (Caitlyn Sponheimer) learns that her student Heba (Melody Mokhtari), a Syrian refugee who came to Canada with her mother Layla (Aixa Kay) and uncle Salem (Ahmed Muslimani), needs to find a new place to live, she invites the family to stay at the ranch, with Mac's initial resistance to the idea giving way to acceptance and a new lease on life as he gets to know them.[1]
| Jasmine Road | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Warren Sulatycky |
| Written by | Warren Sulatycky |
| Produced by | Caitlyn Sponheimer |
| Starring | Greg Ellwand Aixa Kay Melody Mokhtari Caitlyn Sponheimer |
| Cinematography | Wes Legge |
| Edited by | Geoff Ashenhurst |
| Music by | Suad Bushnaq |
Production company | Raging River Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 128 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Languages | English Arabic |
The film premiered at the 2020 Calgary International Film Festival,[2] and was subsequently screened as the opening gala of the 2020 Edmonton International Film Festival.[3]
Production edit
According to Sulatycky, the film was originally conceived as two separate ideas, one for a film about a grieving rancher and another for a film about what happens to refugee families after they've begun to establish themselves in Canada, but the concepts didn't really come together until he decided to combine them.[4]
Awards edit
The film won the award for Best Canadian Feature at Edmonton, and an Audience Choice award at the 2021 Central Alberta Film Festival.[5]
The film received five Rosie Award nominations from the Alberta Media Production Industries Association, for Best Feature Film, Best Direction, Best Screenplay, Best Sound and Best Costume Design.[6] Sulatycky won the award for Best Screenplay.[7]
Aixa Kay received an ACTRA Award nomination for Best Actress from the Vancouver chapter of UBCP/ACTRA.[8]
Suad Bushnaq received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Original Score at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.[9]
References edit
- ^ a b Eric Volmers, "Warren Sulatycky's new drama Jasmine Road a quiet study of intersecting lives". Calgary Herald, September 25, 2020.
- ^ Stephen Hunt, "Dispatch from CIFF: A socially distant world premiere of Jasmine Road". CTV Calgary, September 28, 2020.
- ^ Matt Marshall, "You can watch the EIFF from home this year". CTV Edmonton, September 29, 2020.
- ^ a b Natalie Valleau, "New film explores how Syrian refugees would live in Alberta's cowboy culture". CBC News Calgary, September 17, 2019.
- ^ Lana Michelin, "Two made-in Red Deer films honoured at recent film festival". Red Deer Advocate, October 25, 2021.
- ^ Eric Volmers, "Calgary-filmed productions dominate Rosie Award nominations with 212 finalists". Calgary Herald, September 2, 2021.
- ^ Eric Volmers, "Marlene, Tribal, Secrets of the Wild West, Range Roads among winners at 47th annual Alberta Film and Television Awards". Calgary Herald, September 26, 2021.
- ^ "Actors honoured with award nominations". Edmonton Journal, October 15, 2021.
- ^ Brent Furdyk, "2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominees Announced, ‘Sort Of’ & ‘Scarborough’ Lead The Pack". ET Canada, February 15, 2022.
External links edit
- Jasmine Road at IMDb
