''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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

written, produced and directed by

John Pozer John Pozer is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, producer and editor. He has had two independent films chosen for the Cannes International Film Festival and has directed a number of live action and animated television episodes. Biography P ...

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

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

'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; ) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with financial support by the federal Department of Canadian Heritage and Society of Com ...

Synopsis

Set in

Trail A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road (though it can also be a route along a navigable waterways) generally not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. Ho ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, 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 Conco ...

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 (film), Double Ha ...

and

Bruce Sweeney Bruce Sweeney (born 1962 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 (film), Live Bait'', won the award for Best Canadian Featur ...

, 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 Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

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

Atom Egoyan Atom Egoyan (; ; born July 19, 1960) is an Armenian Canadians, Armenian-Canadian filmmaker. One of the most preeminent directors of the Toronto New Wave, he emerged during the 1980s and made his career breakthrough with ''Exotica (film), Exotica ...

, who had won the award for ''

The Adjuster ''The Adjuster'' is a 1991 Canadian drama film directed by Atom Egoyan, his fourth feature film and the first to achieve international acclaim. The film won five awards, as well as two other nominations upon its initial release. Plot Insurance ...

'', declined his $25,000 winner's cheque and instead gave it to Pozer. Cavendish won the

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), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...

for Best Supporting Actress at the

14th Genie Awards The 14th Genie Awards were held on December 12, 1993 to honour Canadian films release in 1992. This year's event was dominated by two Vancouver productions: Paul Shapiro (director), Paul Shapiro's ''The Lotus Eaters (film), The Lotus Eaters'', and ...

. 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. Life and career During his early career in Winnipeg, Korven performed in a variety of rock and jazz music ensembles, mostly playing the guitar and singing in local bars. I ...

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'', Harlan in ''Stargate SG-1'' (1998, 2001), and for voicing Uncle Quigley in '' Sabrina: The Animated Series''. He is also known for his role as Bobby in ''D ...

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