''Blackbird'' is a 2012 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 ...

written and directed by

Jason Buxton Jason Buxton is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He wrote and directed three short films, ''A Fresh Start'', ''The Garden'' and ''The Drawing'', before debuting his first full-length feature film, '' Blackbird'', in 2012.Connor Jessup Connor William Jessup (born June 23, 1994) is a Canadian actor, writer, and director. He is known for his roles as Ben Mason on the TNT science fiction television series '' Falling Skies'' (2011–2015), Taylor Blaine and Coy Henson in the ABC ...

as a socially isolated and bullied

goth A Goth is a member of the Goths, a group of East Germanic tribes. Two major political entities of the Goths were: *Visigoths, prominent in Spanish history *Ostrogoths, prominent in Italian history Goth or Goths may also refer to: * Goth (surname) ...

teenager who befriends his " puck bunny" classmate (

Alexia Fast Alexia Fast (born 12 September 1992) is a Canadian actress who began her career at the age of seven when she wrote, directed and starred in the short film ''The Red Bridge,'' which premiered at the 2002 Atlantic and Reel to Reel Film ...

), but is falsely accused of plotting a

school shooting A school shooting is an attack at an educational institution, such as a primary school, secondary school, high school or university, involving the use of firearms. Many school shootings are also categorized as mass shootings due to multiple c ...

after he makes a threat against her boyfriend in an online chat session.

Plot

Sean Randall (

Connor Jessup Connor William Jessup (born June 23, 1994) is a Canadian actor, writer, and director. He is known for his roles as Ben Mason on the TNT science fiction television series '' Falling Skies'' (2011–2015), Taylor Blaine and Coy Henson in the ABC ...

), a

teenager, is a friend of classmate Deanna (

), with whom he rides the bus every day. Her boyfriend plays on an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

team and she is friends with the team's other members. Sean's father has a gun collection, and Sean sometimes joins him when he goes hunting. Sean films his father shooting a deer and shows the footage to his schoolmates, which (when combined with his goth fashion sense) makes them think that he is creepy. The members of the hockey team bully Sean for being weird and for being friends with Deanna, which angers Sean. Sean's teacher advises him to write down his feelings. He writes a revenge story about using his father's guns on the hockey team and Deanna, which he publishes on the Internet, although he has no real intention to harm anybody. He is put into a

youth detention center In criminal justice systems, a youth detention center, known as a juvenile detention center (JDC),Stahl, Dean, Karen Kerchelich, and Ralph De Sola. ''Abbreviations Dictionary''. CRC Press, 20011202. Retrieved 23 August 2010. , . juvenile det ...

, where inmates also bully him especially Trevor (

Alex Ozerov Alex Ozerov (born 1992) is a Canadian actor. He is most noted for his performance in the short film '' Pyotr495'', for which he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Digital Program or Series at the 7th Canadian Screen Awar ...

), who has served the longest time there after an incident as a child in which he killed a

Santa Claus Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...

impersonator who displayed an inappropriate sexual interest in him. Sean is punished for lying about why he is in jail; the others steal his food and he is forced to fetch the ball whenever Trevor plays

ping pong Table tennis, also known as ping-pong and whiff-whaff, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small solid rackets. It takes place on a hard table div ...

with the others. Tired of Trevor, Sean crushes the ping pong ball and Trevor threatens to kill him. Sean then deliberately commits an offence by withholding some cutlery in order to be put in the isolation ward. To be released from the jail sooner, he reluctantly follows his lawyer's advice to plead guilty for planning a

, even though he had no such plans. He is indeed released, under the condition that he does not have any contact with Deanna or the hockey team members. He avoids his previous goth look, but people still consider him weird and dangerous, and his car is vandalized. Sean violates the condition of having no contact with Deanna and is arrested again. With his father's support, he decides to dismiss his lawyer and tell the truth, after which he is sentenced for

perjury Perjury (also known as foreswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an inst ...

in the previous trial. He is returned to juvenile jail, where Trevor convinces one of his friends to murder Sean, but the attempt fails. Later on, it is Christmas time, which makes Trevor uncomfortable. Sean angers Trevor by suggesting that the Santa Claus he killed might have thought that Trevor looked

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

. This results in a fight, after which both of them are put in the isolation ward. Trevor is still very angry and hurts himself, causing increasing security measures by prison staff. Sean is relieved that Trevor is no longer in a position to bully him. One day, he does not have to stay in the isolation ward any longer, but prefers to and is allowed to stay while Trevor is still there. Sean begins to feel sympathy for him, and they reconcile.

Awards and nominations

The film garnered two nominations at the

1st Canadian Screen Awards The 1st Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 3, 2013, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2012.Brandon Cronenberg Brandon Cronenberg (born January 10, 1980) is a Canadian director and screenwriter. He is David Cronenberg's son and Caitlin Cronenberg's brother. He is known for his Science fiction film, science fiction horror films ''Antiviral (film), Antivira ...

's ''

Antiviral Antiviral drugs are a class of medication used for treating viral infections. Most antivirals target specific viruses, while a broad-spectrum antiviral is effective against a wide range of viruses. Unlike most antibiotics, antiviral drugs do no ...

'', for the Best Canadian First Feature Film award at the

2012 Toronto International Film Festival The 37th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 6 and September 16, 2012. TIFF announced the films that were accepted on August 21, 2012. On its 37th edition the TIFF included a 2 ...

. The film won three awards at that year's

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 ...

: Best Atlantic Feature, Best Atlantic Director, and the Michael Weir Award for Outstanding Atlantic Screenplay (sponsored by the

Michael Weir Foundation for the Arts The Michael Weir Foundation for the Arts is an organization that supports excellence in the arts, in memory of artist Michael Weir. The Michael Weir Foundation for the Arts sponsors awards that honour artistic excellence, including an annual award a ...

). and the

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

award for Best Canadian Film. It also won the 2013

Claude Jutra Award The John Dunning Best First Feature Award is a special Canadian film award, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the year's best feature film by a first-time film director. Under the earlier names Claude Jutra Award and Ca ...

for the best Canadian film by a first-time film director.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an aggregate score of 57% based on 4 positive and 3 negative critic reviews.

References

External links

* * *
Blackbird
' at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

{{VIFF Best Canadian Film 2012 films Canadian drama films Best First Feature Genie and Canadian Screen Award-winning films Films set in Nova Scotia Films shot in Nova Scotia Films about bullying Films about school violence 2012 directorial debut films English-language Canadian films 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films