''Love Is Work'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by John Kalangis and released in 2005. The film centres on five different couples with different issues in their relationships.Jason Anderson
"Love Is Work"
''

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 ...

'', June 8, 2007. Victor ( Fabrizio Filippo) and Celia ( Shauna MacDonald) are young professionals who are still at an early stage in their relationship, but are reaching the point where it's time to decide whether they want to commit. Harley (Kyree Vibrant) and Shaun (

Scott McCord William Scott McCord is a Canadian actor. He is known for his versatility and character work in film, television, animation and on stage. He is a Lifetime Member of ''The Actors Studio''. On television he has appeared in series regular, recurri ...

) are partners in both life and music, whose relationship is tested by Harley's suspicion that Shaun is faking a neck injury to avoid an opportunity that could take their career to the next level. Terry (Kalangis) and Sarah (Joa Gamelin) are an older couple challenged by the recent death of Terry's brother, which has resulted in their nephew Josh coming to live with them. Zoe (

Natalie Radford Natalie Radford (born 24 June 1966) is a 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 thes ...

) and Kathy (

Meredith Vuchnich Meredith Vuchnich is a Canadian film and television screenwriter. She is most noted as cowriter with Tracey Deer of the 2020 film ''Beans''. They won the WGC Screenwriting Award for Best Feature Film in 2021Musthafa Azeez"Schitt’s Creek and Tri ...

) are friends getting together to plan Zoe's baby shower, but who have never fully processed their feelings for each other after having briefly been lovers before Zoe married a man. Charlie (Ryan McVittie) and Samantha ( Kathryn Zenna) are a couple who have reached the breaking point due to Charlie's jealous belief that Samantha is having an affair.

Production

The film was made through a process of improvisation, in which the actors were given broad story outlines but had to improvise their dialogue. It was shot at the Rhino, a restaurant in the Parkdale neighbourhood of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

.Bruce DeMara
"Love and work inspire improv performances"
''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and pa ...

'', June 3, 2007. It was not originally intended as a film, but merely as a workshopping process toward the development of a screenplay; however, after struggling with the process and even undertaking a failed attempt to turn each scene into five separate short films, Kalangis and Roland Schlimme edited the original footage together into a feature film.

Release

The film premiered in the

Borsos Competition The Borsos Competition is the main awards program for Canadian feature films screening at the annual Whistler Film Festival. Introduced for the first time in 2004, the juried competition presents six awards annually to honour films, actors, screenpl ...

program at the 2005

Whistler Film Festival The Whistler Film Festival (WFF) is an annual film festival held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 2001, the festival is held the first weekend of December and includes juried competitive sections, the Borsos Awards, and the Pand ...

, where it was named the winner of the

Whistler Film Festival Audience Award The Audience Award is an annual award given by the Whistler Film Festival The Whistler Film Festival (WFF) is an annual film festival held in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Established in 2001, the festival is held the first weekend of December ...

.Ilona Berks
"Industry turns out for Whistler"
'' Playback'', January 9, 2006. At the 2006 Canadian Film Festival, the cast won the award for Best Ensemble Performance. The film received limited commercial release in 2007.

References

External links

* 2005 films 2005 drama films 2005 LGBT-related films Canadian drama films Canadian LGBT-related films LGBT-related drama films English-language Canadian films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films {{2000s-Canada-film-stub