Firecrackers (film)

Firecrackers is a 2018 Canadian drama film written and directed by Jasmin Mozaffari. An expansion of Mozaffari's 2013 short film of the same name, the film stars Michaela Kurimsky and Karena Evans as two teenage girls trying to escape their small town.[1]

Firecrackers
Film poster
Directed byJasmin Mozaffari
Produced byCaitlin Grabham
Kristy Neville
Written byJasmin Mozaffari
StarringMichaela Kurimsky
Karena Evans
Music byCasey Manierka-Quaile
CinematographyCatherine Lutes
Edited bySimone Smith
Production
company
Prowler Film
Wildling Pictures
Alcina Pictures
Distributed bylevelFILM (Canada)
Good Deed Entertainment (USA)
Release date
  • September 8, 2018 (2018-09-08) (TIFF)
Running time
93 min
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

The film has its world premiere on September 8, 2018 at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.[2] It was released theatrically on March 29, 2019 in Canada[3] and on July 12, 2019 in the United States.[4]

Plot

Lou and Chantal are best friends whose plan to leave their isolated small town to move to the city are threatened when Chantal is assaulted by her possessive ex-boyfriend. The young women take revenge and the consequences threaten their chances of ever leaving. The more Lou fights to save her friendship and hold onto her dreams, the more she spins out of control.

Cast
  • Michaela Kurimsky as Lou
  • Karena Evans as Chantal
  • Callum Thompson as Jesse
  • David Kingston as Johnny
  • Tamara LeClair as Leanne
  • Scott Cleland as Josh
  • Dylan Mask as Kyle
  • Gabe Meacher as Eric
  • Robert Cormier as Shane
  • Tarick Glancy as Travis

Release

Critical reception

On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 96%, based on 23 reviews, and an average rating of 8.29/10.[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]

Katie Walsh wrote in the Los Angeles Times, "Firecrackers isn’t just a confident feature debut from Mozaffari, but a daring one, the kind of fast and furious feminine filmmaking that heralds the arrival of several exciting new talents."[7]

The film was named a New York Times Critic's Pick in 2019[8] and David Edelstein named it to New York (magazine)'s "The Movies We Loved in 2019" list.[9]

Accolades

In December 2018, the Toronto International Film Festival named the film to its annual year-end Canada's Top Ten films.[10]

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref(s)
Canadian Screen Awards March 31, 2019 Best Director Jasmin Mozaffari Won [11][12]
Best Costume Design Mara Zigler Nominated
Best Editing Simone Smith Won
Best First Feature Jasmin Mozaffari Nominated
Directors Guild of Canada 26 October 2019 Outstanding Directorial Achievement In Feature Film Nominated [13]
Best Production Design – Feature Film Thea Hollatz Nominated
Best Picture Editing – Feature Film Simone Smith Nominated
Stockholm International Film Festival November 2018 Best Film Jasmin Mozaffari Won [14]
Best Actress Michaela Kurimsky Won
Toronto Film Critics Association January 9, 2020 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award Jasmin Mozaffari Runner-up [15]

References
  1. Erbland, Kate (August 1, 2018). "'Firecrackers' First Look: Jasmin Mozaffari's Female-Centric TIFF Premiere Challenges the Patriarchy". Indiewire. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  2. Wilner, Norman (August 1, 2018). "TIFF 2018: Rob Stewart, Denys Arcand, Jennifer Baichwal films among Canadian titles". NOW Magazine. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  3. Hertz, Barry (March 28, 2019). "Review: Jasmin Mozaffari's Firecrackers is an incendiary, four-star debut". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  4. Debruge, Peter (July 13, 2019). "Film Review: 'Firecrackers'". Variety. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  5. "Firecrackers (2019)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  6. "Firecrackers Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  7. Walsh, Katie (July 11, 2019). "Review: Canadian drama 'Firecrackers' marks the daring arrival of new talent". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  8. Catsoulis, Jeannette (2019-07-11). "'Firecrackers' Review: Young, Angry and Trapped". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  9. "The Movies We Loved in 2019". Vulture. 2019-11-04. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  10. Wilner, Norman (December 5, 2018). "TIFF's Canada's Top Ten list skews a lot younger this year". Variety. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  11. Wilner, Norman (7 February 2019). "Canadian Screen Awards 2019: English-Canadian films shut out of best picture category". NOW Magazine. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  12. Wong, Jessica (1 April 2019). "Canadian Screen Awards: Love rules on Schitt's Creek, Stephan's hometown shoutout and other memorable moments". CBC News. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
  13. "Nominees announced for 18th Annual DGC Awards". CNW Group. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
  14. Keslassy, Elsa (November 16, 2018). "'Firecrackers,' 'Skate Kitchen' Win Top Awards at Female-Centric Stockholm Film Festival". Variety. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
  15. "The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open nabs TFCA award for best Canadian film". The Globe and Mail. January 10, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
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