''Cole'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by

Carl Bessai Carl Bessai (born 1966 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. Bessai studied at OCAD University and at York University in Toronto graduating with a Master of Fine Arts Degree. He got his start directing documentary fi ...

and released in 2009."Plight of the outsider enthralls director; Carl Bessai's latest film about a young man who longs to get out of Lytton". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', October 8, 2009. The film stars

Richard de Klerk Richard de Klerk is a Canadian actor and producer, known for his work in independent Canadian films. His filmography includes ''Repeaters'', '' Cole'', ''Fathers & Sons'', '' Bang Bang You're Dead'', ''Mr. Rice's Secret'' and ''CBGB''. Early li ...

as Cole Chambers, a young man from Lytton who longs to escape his smalltown existence with his dysfunctional family. He is accepted into a university creative writing program in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, where he begins a romance with Serafina (

Kandyse McClure Candice McClure (born 22 March 1980), known professionally as Kandyse McClure, is a Canadian actress. She is known for her roles as Anastasia Dualla in the SyFy series ''Battlestar Galactica'' and as Dr. Clementine Chasseur in the Netflix series ...

), but faces a difficult choice when his friends and family back home struggle to survive without his presence."Portrait of a wannabe artist". ''

The Province ''The Province'' is a daily newspaper published in tabloid format in British Columbia by Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, alongside the ''Vancouver Sun'' broadsheet newspaper. Together, they are British Columbia's only ...

'', September 17, 2010. The cast also includes

Rebecca Jenkins Rebecca Jenkins (born 1959) is a Canadian actress and singer. Acting She had starring roles in the 1990s CBC series ''Black Harbour'', and the films '' Bye Bye Blues'', '' Marion Bridge'', ''Wilby Wonderful'', ''Whole New Thing'', ''South of W ...

as Cole's mentally ill mother,

Sonja Bennett Sonja Bennett (born August 24, 1980) is a Canadian actress and screenwriter. Her film debut was in the Canadian feature film ''Punch'' (2002), for which she won the Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress in a Canadian Film. She ha ...

as his sister Maybelline, and

Chad Willett Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic t ...

as Maybelline's abusive husband Bobby. The film premiered at the

2009 Toronto International Film Festival The 34th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 10 and September 19, 2009. The opening night gala presented the Charles Darwin biography ''Creation''. ''The Young Victoria'', based ...

, and screened at a number of other film festivals before going into commercial release in 2010.

won the

Leo Awards The Leo Awards are the awards program for the British Columbia film and television industry. Held each May or June in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the Leo Awards were founded by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of British C ...

for Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama in 2010 Bennett received a

Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978; also known as the "Etrog Awards," for scu ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 31st Genie Awards."Letting the Genies out of their bottles". ''

Regina Leader-Post The ''Regina Leader-Post'' is the daily newspaper of Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, and a member of the Postmedia Network. Founding The newspaper was first published as ''The Leader'' in 1883 by Nicholas Flood Davin, soon after Edgar Dewdney, Li ...

'', March 3, 2011.

References

External links

* 2009 films English-language Canadian films Canadian drama films Films shot in British Columbia Films set in British Columbia Films directed by Carl Bessai Films scored by Clinton Shorter 2009 drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films {{2000s-Canada-film-stub