''Before I Change My Mind'' is a Canadian coming-of-age drama film, directed by

Trevor Anderson Trevor Anderson (born 3 March 1951) is a Northern Irish former footballer and manager. He played as a forward. Playing career Born in Belfast, Anderson began his playing career at Portadown before signing for Manchester United in October 1972. ...

and released in 2022.Martin Kudlac
"Locarno 2022 Review: BEFORE I CHANGE MY MIND Embraces Tired Tropes, Then Reenergizes Them"
''

Screen Anarchy Screen Anarchy, previously known as Twitch Film or Twitch, is a Canadian English-language website featuring news and reviews of mainly international, independent and cult films. The website was founded in 2004 by Todd Brown. In addition to films, ...

'', August 17, 2022. Set in 1987, the film stars Vaughan Murrae as Robin, a

non-binary Non-binary and genderqueer are umbrella terms for gender identities that are not solely male or femaleidentities that are outside the gender binary. Non-binary identities fall under the transgender umbrella, since non-binary people typically ...

person whose family moves to a small town in

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, where they navigate the challenges of fitting into a new environment by befriending Carter (Dominic Lippa), the school bully.David Ehrlich and Sophie Monks Kaufman
"10 Must-See Movies at the 2022 Locarno Film Festival"
''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'', August 2, 2022. Its cast also includes Lacey Oake,

Matthew Rankin Matthew Rankin is a Canadian experimental filmmaker. He is most noted for his 2014 film '' Mynarski Death Plummet'', which was a shortlisted Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Live Action Short Drama at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards and a s ...

, Shannon Blanchet, Rohan Khare, Jhztyn Contado, Milana Bochinska, Kaitlyn Haugen, Kristin Johnston, Etta George House, Andrea House, Heather Noel, Ethan Nasr, Joshua Carter, Onika Henry, and Desiree Burkett, as well as Anderson himself in a small supporting role as a music teacher. The film premiered on August 10, 2022 at the

75th Locarno Film Festival The 75th annual Locarno Festival opened on 3 August 2022 in Locarno, Switzerland with film ''Bullet Train'' by David Leitch. The 75th edition of Locarno Film Festival celebrated as diamond jubilee edition screened 226 films including 105 world p ...

,Kelly Townsend
"Before I Change My Mind sets world bow at Locarno"
'' Playback'', July 6, 2022. and had its Canadian premiere at the 2022

FIN 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 eas ...

in September.

Production

The film, Anderson's feature debut following a number of short films, was supported in advance of production by both the

Inside Out Film and Video Festival Inside may refer to: * Insider, a member of any group of people of limited number and generally restricted access Film * ''Inside'' (1996 film), an American television film directed by Arthur Penn and starring Eric Stoltz * ''Inside'' (2002 f ...

's Financing Forum and

GLAAD GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...

's 2020 list of LGBTQ-centred screenplays in development. It was shot in and around

Red Deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or hart, and a female is called a hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Iran, and parts of wes ...

, Alberta, in 2021.

Critical response

'' highlighted the film as one of ten must-see films at Locarno, writing that it was "convincingly draped in a soft and transportive ‘80s aesthetic" and that it "seems determined to confront the challenges and triumphs of self-becoming with the unwavering honesty of someone who remembers them both". For ''

'', Martin Kudlac wrote that the film effectively subverted and refreshed many of the tropes and clichés of the teen coming-of-age genre.

Awards

At the

Calgary International Film Festival The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. The Festival's ...

, the film was named as one of the ten advance finalists for the festival's RBC Emerging Canadian Artist competition. At the 2022 Festival du nouveau cinéma, it received an honorable mention from the National Competition jury. The film was longlisted for the

Directors Guild of Canada The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a Canadian labour union representing more than 5,500 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. Founded in 1962, the DGC represents directors, editors, assistant ...

's 2022

Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award The Jean-Marc Vallée DGC Discovery Award is an annual Canadian award, presented by the Directors Guild of Canada to honour works by emerging filmmakers. Presented for the first time in 2016, the award is given primarily to filmmakers making their ...

. Lacey Oake won the award for Best Performance in a Female Role at the 2022

Iris Prize The Iris Prize, established in by Berwyn Rowlands of The Festivals Company, is an international LGBT film prize and festival which is open to any film which is by, for, about or of interest to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex au ...

. The film won three

Rosie Awards The Rosie Awards is the name given to the Alberta Film and Television Awards, presented annually by Alberta Media Production Industries Association (AMPIA). AMPIA is non-profit professional association that supports its members by encouraging the ...

at the 2022 Alberta Film and Television Awards, for Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay for a Feature Film (Anderson, Griwkowsky) and Best Cinematography in a Feature Film (Wes Miron).Jenny Feniak
"Edmonton features see big wins at the 2022 Alberta film and TV awards"
''

Edmonton Journal The ''Edmonton Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network. History The ''Journal'' was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as ...

'', September 26, 2022.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, 15209902 2022 films 2022 drama films 2022 LGBT-related films Canadian coming-of-age drama films Canadian teen LGBT-related films Films shot in Alberta Films set in Alberta Films directed by Trevor Anderson LGBT-related coming-of-age films English-language Canadian films 2020s Canadian films 2022 directorial debut films