''Across the Line'' is a 2015 Canadian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Director X Julien Christian Lutz (born October 31, 1975), known professionally as Director X, is a Canadian filmmaker, commercial director, music video director, and television director. Having directed more than 100 music videos, he is widely known as a pr ...

(in his feature film directorial debut). The film stars Stephan James and

Sarah Jeffery Sarah Marie Jeffery is a Canadian actress, singer, and dancer. She is known for her work on the NBC series ''Shades of Blue'' and Disney Channel's ''Descendants'' franchise. From 2018 to 2022, she has portrayed the lead role of Maggie Vera on t ...

. It is set in Nova Scotia, where it was shot.

Background

The film's storyline was inspired by the 1989

Cole Harbour District High School Cole Harbour District High School is a Canadian public high school located in the Forest Hills area of Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia. It is operated by the Halifax Regional Centre for Education (HRCE), and is an International Baccalaureate (IB) world ...

race riots.

Plot

The film is set in North Preston, Nova Scotia where Mattie ( Stephan James), a black hockey player, is being considered for a professional career. However, his hopes are threatened by growing racial strife at his school while his brother Carter (

Shamier Anderson Shamier Anderson (born May 6, 1991) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing U.S. Deputy Marshal Xavier Dolls on the television series ''Wynonna Earp (TV series), Wynonna Earp'' and ''Invasion (2021 TV series), Invasion.'' Background Ander ...

) is involved in criminal activity. Mattie also has a romantic interest in Jayme (

), who already has a white boyfriend.

Cast

* Stephan James as Mattie Slaughter - Hockey prospect *

as Jayme Crawley - John's girlfriend * Steven Love as John - Jayme's boyfriend * Lanette Ware as Velma Slaughter - Mother * Jeremiah Sparks as Ancel Slaughter - Father *

as Carter Slaughter - Older brother * Denis Theriault as Todd * Simon-Paul Mutuyimana as Dwight *

Jim Codrington Jim Codrington is a Canadian actor known for his roles in ''The Border'', '' ZOS: Zone of Separation'', ''Da Kink in My Hair'', ''Pushing Tin ''Pushing Tin'' is a 1999 American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Newell. It centers on Nick Fa ...

as Fraser Crawley - Father policeman *

Jackie Torrens Jackie Torrens is a Canadian actress, writer and filmmaker based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. She was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Acting She began her career as an actress, most notably being cast as the frumpy but shrewd office mana ...

as Shelley Doucette * Cara Ricketts as Lori Downey

Production

The film was originally titled ''Undone''. The film was produced by Floyd Kane, Michael Donovan, Mark Gosine and Amos Adetuyi and was written by Kane, a native of East Preston, NS. Kane attended Cole Harbour High school when a race riot erupted at the school in 1989.

Release

The first screening of ''Across the Line'' was September 19, 2015 at the

Atlantic Film Festival FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival (known as The Atlantic International Film Festival until 2017) is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. FIN is the largest Canadian film festival ...

where it won the award for Best Atlantic Feature. The film opened in limited release in British Columbia and Ontario on April 8, 2016, with screenings in various Canadian cities throughout that month.

Reception

The ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'' assessed the film at 2.5/4 stars, noting the story's unwavering focus on racial themes was "to the detriment of the film's depth and realism" but noted that video producer Director X "makes the transition to feature film-making look easy". In 2017, the film was the subject of an episode of ''The Filmmakers'', the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

's web talk series on Canadian film."Racism, sports and the East Coast: Director X's film exposes something 'dangerous and problematic'"

CBC Arts CBC Arts (french: Radio-Canada Arts) is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's div ...

, October 2, 2017.

References

External links

* * {{Director X 2015 films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Films directed by Director X Films shot in Halifax, Nova Scotia Films set in Nova Scotia Films about race and ethnicity Black Canadian films Hood films Canadian ice hockey films 2015 directorial debut films 2015 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films