EMILE

Year: 2003
USA: Castle Hill Productions
UK: Redbus Film Distribution
Cast: Ian McKellen, Deborah Kara Unger, Tygh Runyan, Chris William Martin, Ian Tracey, Theo Crane, Janet Wright, Nancy Sivak, Frank Borg
Director: Carl Bessai
Countries: Canada / UK
UK: 93 mins
USA Rated: R for language
UK Certificate: 15 contains strong language and suicide
USA Release Date: 4 February 2005 (Limited Release)
UK Release Date: 21 May 2004


Synopsis

In a story weaving the past and present together Sir Ian McKellen stars in EMILE, an artful and touching portrait of one mans' redemption from the family he abandoned.

When EMILE (Ian McKellen) is given the opportunity to travel from England to Victoria on Canada's West coast to receive an honorary degree at the university, he goes knowing that it might be his last chance to reconnect with his only living relatives. His niece Nadia (Deborah Kara Unger) and her daughter Maria (Theo Crane) hold the key to EMILE'S tragic past and the guilt which has haunted him his entire life.

But EMILE'S past is sometimes more familiar and immediate than the world before his eyes. As he tries to re-discover the family that he abandoned long ago, he is forced to confront the anxieties in his memories - the family he betrayed and abandoned at the expense of his own happiness.

Now, in the twilight of his life, EMILE shapes the final chapters of his mental autobiography. Will he become a grandfather, surrounded by the love and support of a family or will he retreat into his world of memories and lost opportunities?

Written and directed by Carl Bessai, EMILE stars two-time academy award nominated Sir Ian McKellen.