''The Grocer's Wife'' is a 1991 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 ...

written, produced and directed by

John Pozer John Pozer is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and editor. He has had two independent features selected to the Cannes International Film Festival and directed a slate of episodic television, both live action and animation. Biogra ...

.''The Grocer's Wife''
at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...

's Canadian Film Encyclopedia. It won the inaugural

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 best feature film by a first-time director.Claude Jutra Award
entry at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

Synopsis

Set in

Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. ...

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 Simon Webb as Tim Midley, an emissions inspector at the local smokestack who lives with his domineering mother Mildred ( Andrea Rankin). When his mother falls ill, he invites stripper Anita Newlove ( Susinn McFarlen) to move in with him, while simultaneously fending off the advances of Mrs. Friendly (

Nicola Cavendish Nicola Cavendish (born 11 November 1952) is an English-born Canadian theatre and film actress. Early life Cavendish was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England and brought up in British Columbia, Canada. She began her acting career in ...

), the wife of the neighbourhood grocer. The film was also noted for giving rise to the "West Coast Wave" of Canadian filmmakers in the 1990s; several film students who would later go on to become prominent in Canadian cinema, including directors

Lynne Stopkewich Lynne Stopkewich (born 1964) is a Canadian film director. She attracted attention for her feature film directorial debut '' Kissed'' (1996). Life and career In 1987, Stopkewich obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in film studies from Conc ...

Mina Shum Mina Shum (born 1966) is an independent Canadian filmmaker. She is a writer and director of award-winning feature films, numerous shorts and has created site specific installations and theatre. Her features, '' Double Happiness'' and '' Long Li ...

and

Bruce Sweeney Bruce Sweeney (born in Sarnia, Ontario) is a Canadian film director. He has spent his career based primarily in Vancouver, British Columbia. Career Sweeney's debut film, '' Live Bait'', won the award for Best Canadian Feature Film at the 1995 Toro ...

, editor and director

Reginald Harkema Reginald Harkema (born 1967) is a Canadian film editor and director. He is a three-time Genie Award nominee for Best Editing at the 17th Genie Awards in 1996 for ''Hard Core Logo'', at the 19th Genie Awards in 1998 for '' Last Night'' and at the ...

and cinematographer Greg Middleton, worked on ''The Grocer's Wife'' as one of their first filmmaking jobs.

Awards

The film premiered at the

1991 Toronto International Film Festival The 16th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 5 and September 14, 1991. Jodie Foster's directorial debut film Little Man Tate, premiered in the ''Gala Presentation'' at the festival. A ...

, where it received an honorable mention from the Best Canadian Film jury.Mark Bastien, "Film festival winner gives $25,000 away". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', September 16, 1991. Although an honorable mention comes with no financial recompense,

Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; hy, Աթոմ Եղոյեան, translit=Atom Yeghoyan; born July 19, 1960) is a Canadian filmmaker. He was part of a loosely-affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave. Egoyan ...

, who had won the award for ''

The Adjuster ''The Adjuster'' is a 1991 Canadian drama film directed by Atom Egoyan. It premiered at the New York Film Festival, and was invited to the Director's Fortnight program at the Cannes Film Festival. It is Egoyan's fourth feature film, and the firs ...

'', declined his $25,000 winner's cheque and instead gave it to Pozer. Cavendish won the Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress at the

14th Genie Awards The 14th Genie Awards were held on December 12, 1993."Glenn Gould Still Scoring Prizes". ''The Globe and Mail'', March 13, 1993. In a bid to increase the visibility of the Genie Awards in the francophone market in Quebec, the ceremony was held in ...

. At the same ceremony, Pozer won the Claude Jutra Award, and

Mark Korven Mark Korven is a Canadian musician and composer for film and television. His work includes the music on the sci-fi horror cult film ''Cube (1997 film), Cube'' (1997), collaborations with director Robert Eggers on the period horror films ''The Wi ...

was nominated for Best Original Score.

Cast

* Simon Webb as Tim Midley * Susinn McFarlen as Anita Newlove *

as Mrs. Friendly *

Jay Brazeau Jay Brazeau is a Canadian actor, best known for his role as Sam Fisher in ''Cold Squad'', as Harlan in ''Stargate SG-1'' (1997–2007), and for voicing Uncle Quigley in '' Sabrina: The Animated Series''. He is also known for his role as Bobby in ...

as Barber * Andrea Rankin as Mildred Midley * Alec Burden as Hermann Melzer * LeRoy Schulz as Mr. Friendly * Walter Mills as Minister

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grocer's Wife, The 1991 films 1991 directorial debut films 1991 drama films 1990s Canadian films 1990s English-language films Canadian drama films English-language Canadian films Best First Feature Genie and Canadian Screen Award-winning films Films directed by John Pozer Films scored by Mark Korven Films set in British Columbia Trail, British Columbia