''A Great Big Thing'' is a Canadian-American comedy-drama film, directed by

Eric Till Eric Till (born 24 November 1929) is an English film and television director working in Canada, the United States, and Europe since the 1960s. His 1977 film ''It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet'' was entered into the 10th Moscow International Film Fes ...

and released in 1968. Gerald Pratley, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 90. The film stars Reni Santoni as Vinny Shea, an aimless young man and aspiring writer who gets into various misadventures around

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

while trying to write his first novel.Kaspars Dzeguze, "Canadian feature film overcomes an unfortunate title". ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', February 4, 1970. The film's cast also included Louise Latraverse,

Paul Sand Paul Sand (born March 5, 1932) is an American actor and comedian. Background Sand was born Pablo Sanchez in Santa Monica, California, in 1932, the son of Ernest Rivera Sanchez, an aerospace tool designer, and Sonia Borodiansky (aka Sonia Stone) ...

, Marcy Plotnick, Gerard Parkes, François Yves Carpentier,

Roberta Maxwell Roberta Farnham Maxwell (born June 17, 1941) is a Canadian stage, film, and television actress. Biography Maxwell began studying for the stage in her early teens. She joined John Clark (actor/director), John Clark for two years as the child co ...

Leon Pownall Leon Pownall (April 26, 1943 – June 2, 2006) was a Welsh Canadian actor and director. He was born in Wrexham, Wales and moved to Hamilton, Ontario with his family in 1957. He performed at the Stratford Festival during the 1960s and return ...

and Heath Lamberts. Screenwriter

Terence Heffernan Terence Heffernan (October 10, 1941 – January 13, 1998) was a Canadian screenwriter and playwright."Lives Lived: Terence Heffernan". ''The Globe and Mail'', February 18, 1998. He was most noted for writing the film '' Heartaches'', for which he w ...

had originally submitted the film's screenplay to the

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...

drama anthology series ''

Festival A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival c ...

'', but after Till signed on as director, he instead opted to make the film independently with the participation of the American Argo Films studio. The film premiered in 1968 at the

18th Berlin International Film Festival The 18th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 21 June to 2 July 1968. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Swedish film ''Ole dole doff'' directed by Jan Troell. Jury The following people were announced as being on the jury for ...

as part of Young Canadian Film, a non-competitive program highlighting recent films by new and emerging

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

film directors. Gerald Pratley, "In and Out of Cinema". '' Cinema Canada'', September 1968. It had its Canadian premiere in 1970 at Gerald Pratley's Ontario Film Institute.

References

External links

* 1968 films 1968 comedy-drama films American comedy-drama films Canadian comedy-drama films Films directed by Eric Till 1960s English-language films English-language Canadian films 1968 directorial debut films 1960s American films 1960s Canadian films {{1960s-Canada-film-stub