Canada only; until March 13 at 11:59 pm.
Director: Hannah Cheesman
Featuring: Michaela Kurimsky, Alan van Sprang, Taylor Belle Puterman
Language: English
Runtime: 90 minutes
Rating: suitable for most audiences; content advisory: sexually suggestive scene, violence, coarse language
While many of us may envy owners of stunning lakeside properties, this thriller is a reminder of the secrets and threats lurking behind the perfect façade of that magazine-ready cottage getaway. Last seen at the festival as one of the fierce teen leads in FIRECRACKERS (KCFF19), Michaela Kurmisky plays Anne, a young woman who comes to one such place after she’s hired as the nanny for the family of her former music professor who’s recently gone missing. The shadows in Anne’s past become more evident in her interactions with the family and their neighbours, though her dynamic with the missing woman’s husband Dominic (Alan Van Sprang) is the most volatile of all. Skillfully directed by Hannah Cheesman in the actor and filmmaker’s feature debut, this disquieting tale is a skillful exercise in controlled tension that may make viewers think twice about being anywhere near a dock.