''On the Corner'' is a Canadian drama film, directed by
Nathaniel Geary released in 2003. Set in the
Downtown Eastside
The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues including disproportionately high levels of drug use, homeles ...
neighbourhood of
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 ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, the film stars
Alex Rice
Alexandrea Kawisenhawe Rice (born September 16, 1972) is an Aboriginal Canadian actress. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York.
Early life
Rice was born September 16, 1972, into a Kanien'kehaka ( Mohawk) family on the Kahnawake reserve in Quebec, ...
and
Simon Baker
Simon Lucas Baker (born 30 July 1969) is an Australian actor in television and film, as well as a director. He is known for his lead roles in the CBS television series ''The Mentalist'' as Patrick Jane and ''The Guardian'' as Nicholas Fallin a ...
as Angel and Randy Henry, a brother and sister struggling with poverty and drug addiction.
The film premiered at the
2003 Toronto International Film Festival
The 28th Toronto International Film Festival ran from September 4 to September 13, 2003. A total of 336 films (252 feature length and 84 short films) from 55 countries were screened during the festival. Of the feature films, 73% were world, inte ...
.
Production
The film's cast also includes
JR Bourne
David Bourne (born April 8, 1970), known professionally as JR Bourne, is a Canadian actor. He portrayed Chris Argent on all six seasons of the MTV supernatural drama series ''Teen Wolf'' (2011–2017) and was part of the main cast in the final s ...
, Robert Harper,
Katharine Isabelle
Katharine Isobel Murray (born November 2, 1981), known professionally as Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress. She has been described as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films. She started her acting career in 1989, playing ...
,
Brent Stait
Brent Stait (born September 9, 1959) is a Canadian actor, best known for his roles as Rev Bem in the science fiction television series '' Andromeda'' and Louis Ferretti in ''Stargate SG-1''.
Biography
Stait was born in Snow Lake, Manitoba. Th ...
,
Gordon Tootoosis
Gordon Tootoosis, (October 25, 1941 – July 5, 2011) was a First Nations actor of Cree and Stoney descent. Tootoosis was a descendant of Yellow Mud Blanket, brother of the famous Cree leader Pîhtokahanapiwiyin. He was acclaimed for his commi ...
,
Margo Kane
Margo Gwendolyn Kane (born August 21, 1951) is a Cree-Saulteaux performing artist and writer known for her solo-voice or monodrama works '' Moonlodge'' and '' Confessions of an Indian Cowboy'', as well as her work with Full Circle First Nations P ...
and
Tina Keeper
Tina Keeper, OM (born March 20, 1962) is a Cree actress, film producer and former politician from Canada. .
Geary based the film's screenplay in part on his own experiences as a
social worker
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
helping sex workers and people who use drugs in the neighbourhood.
Baker's agent sent a clip of Baker's performance in the film to director
Ron Howard
Ronald William Howard (born March 1, 1954) is an American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He first came to prominence as a child actor, guest-starring in several television series, including an episode of ''The Twilight Zone''. He ...
, leading to Baker being cast as Honesco in the film ''
The Missing'' without having to audition.
Awards
At the 2003
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 ...
, ''On the Corner'' won the award for
Best Western Canadian Film. It was named Best Canadian Film at the 2003
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 ...
.
The film was named to TIFF's annual year-end
Canada's Top Ten Canada's Top Ten is an annual honour, compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival and announced in December each year to identify and promote the year's best Canadian films."Canada's Top Ten awards will honour excellence in Canadian cinema" ...
list for 2003.
Bourne won the
at the
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Awards 2003.
["Vancouver critics choose Arcand drama Les Invasions Barbares as best Canadian film, best Canadian director". '']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 ...
'', February 5, 2004.
References
External links
*
2003 films
Canadian drama films
Films set in Vancouver
Films shot in Vancouver
First Nations films
2000s English-language films
2000s Canadian films
{{2000s-Canada-film-stub