Strand Releasing presents

A FILM BY BRUCE LABRUCE

GERONTOPHILIA
Gerontophilia: (jə-rän-to-fil-e-ə) noun –
the love or sexual preference for the elderly.

Starring:
Pier-Gabriel Lajoie, Walter Borden, Katie Boland, Marie-Hélène Thibault

PRELIMINARY PRESS NOTES

Official Selection:
Toronto International Film Festival 2013
Venice International Film Festival 2013
Montreal Festival of New Cinema 2013

Country of Origin: Canada

Format: DCP/2.35/Color
Sound Format: 5.1
Running Time: 82 minutes
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Not Rated
In English

National Press Contact:

Jenna Martin / Marcus Hu
Strand Releasing
Phone: 310.836.7500
[email protected]
[email protected]

Please download photos from our website:

http://strandreleasing.com/films/gerontophilia/
SYNOPSIS

In this wry “reverse Lolita” tale, 18-year-old Lake discovers he has an unusual
attraction for the elderly. Fate lands him a job at an assisted-living facility where
he develops an intimate relationship with Mr. Peabody. Upon discovering that
the clients are being over-medicated to make them more manageable, Lake
weans Mr. Peabody off his medication and helps him escape, resulting in a road
trip that deepens their bond. The always-provocative Bruce LaBruce returns with
a delicately perverse romantic comedy that is both darkly humorous and
emotionally heartfelt.
INTERVIEW WITH BRUCE LABRUCE
How did you come to the idea of a romance between a young man and
an elderly?

Over the years I’ve encountered a number of young people with very specific
fetishes involving relationships with much older people, and it’s always intrigued
me. I’ve been told stories, most often by younger men, of their first sexual
experience having been with a man in his sixties or older, and there always
seemed to be a pedagogical aspect to the relationship, as well as a deep affection.
Sometimes it’s a one time thing, but sometimes the fetish seems to persist. I also
made a film, Hustler White, about male prostitutes and their relationships to
their often much older johns. The straight-identified, “gay for pay” hustlers
sometimes develop very strong sexual and emotional bonds with their older
clients, who give them money or other support in exchange for sex. For
Gerontophilia, I wanted to create a character with some of these same impulses,
but who isn’t doing it for the money. In that sense I’ve configured him as a kind of
saint.

Why did you choose to apply the traditional codes of rom-com to this
very original subject?

My films, no matter how extreme or pornographic, have always had an intense

strain of romanticism running through them. Whether it’s the relationship
between a hairdresser and a skinhead, or a hustler and a john, the attachments
are emotional and romantic, even when there is a very specific and sometimes
extreme and taboo fetish involved. So I’ve always played somewhat ironically
with rom-com conventions. With Gerontophilia I wanted to engage these
conventions even further, and with a more subtle sense of irony. I also always like
to work within the conventions of a particular genre (pornography, horror, etc.)
and somehow push it to some extreme or unexpected territory.

Does age matter when you are in love?

Significant age gap relationships between consenting adults transgress a very

strong cultural taboo, so the people in such relationships must have a powerful
and committed attachment to each other if they are willing to put up with all the
disapproval and hostility directed toward them. Sometimes it’s perhaps a more
sexual dynamic at play - that is, a fetish - and sometimes it involves power and
money, but I think it usually involves love and emotional attachment as well.

Does this film mark a new departure for you?

Gerontophilia is a departure for me inasmuch as it doesn’t have any sexually

explicit content. My previous work has generally involved the intersection of art
and porn, but with this film I wanted to work in a more mainstream idiom,
specifically referencing certain rom-com conventions and seventies independent
and art film aesthetics. Some of my favourite films are seventies indie and/or art
films that were widely distributed but which had radical or controversial content.
Gerontophilia has presented me with my first opportunity to work within the
framework of the film industry proper - it’s my first film funded by mainstream
funding agencies, and my first union picture! - and with a somewhat significantly
larger budget.

BRUCE LABRUCE - DIRECTOR

Bruce LaBruce is a Toronto based filmmaker, writer, director, photographer, and

artist. He began his career in the mid eighties making a series of short
experimental super 8 films and co-editing a punk fanzine called J.D.s, which
begat the queercore movement. He has directed and starred in three feature
length movies, No Skin Off My Ass (1991), Super 8 1/2 (1994) and Hustler White
(1996). He has also written and directed three art/porn features, Skin Flick
(2000) The Raspberry Reich (2004), and L.A. Zombie (2010), and the
independent feature Otto; Or, Up With Dead People (2008). Bruce LaBruce has
written a premature memoir entitled The Reluctant Pornographer, from Gutter
Press. The Plug-In Gallery in Winnipeg, Canada published a book on his work,
Ride Queer Ride, in 1998. Queer Frame, a division of Atlantide Entertainment,
published a book of his image-based work, Bruce(x)ploitation, in Italy in 2011. In
the past several years, Bruce LaBruce has written and directed three theatrical
productions: Cheap Blacky (2007), The Bad Breast; or, The Strange Case of
Theda Lange (2009) and Macho Family Romance (2009).

Bruce LaBruce was a contributing editor and frequent writer and photographer
for Index magazine, and he has also been a regular contributor to Eye and
Exclaim magazines, Dutch, Vice, The National Post, Nerve.com and Black Book.
As a fashion photographer he has contributed stories to such magazines as Dazed
and Confused, Bon, Tank, Têtu, Fake, Attitude, Blend, Tokion, Purple Fashion,
and The National Post.

Bruce LaBruce had his first solo show of photographs presented by the Alleged
Gallery in New York in December 1999. He has had subsequent solo exhibits of
his photographs in Vancouver, Milano, Toronto, San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Porto, Barcelona and New York. LaBruce’s latest exhibit of all-new photographs,
entitled Obscenity, premiered in Madrid at La Fresh Gallery on Feb 17th, 2012. In
2010 LaBruce directed two episodes of the ARTE documentary series Into the
Night with..., one featuring Harmony Korine and Gaspar Noé, the other featuring
Béatrice Dalle and Virginie Despentes. He also directed his first opera, an
adaptation of Arnold Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, in Berlin in 2011.

DANIEL ALLEN COX – WRITER

Daniel Allen Cox is an author, columnist, Lambda Literary and Ferro-Grumley

Award finalist. In the 2009 Montreal Mirror readers’ poll, Daniel was voted one
of the top 10 best local authors. In 2010, AfterElton.com named Daniel one of its
eleven “Favorite Gay Canucks.”
After stints as a Jehovah’s Witness and a porn model/actor, Daniel wrote the
novella Tattoo This Madness In, shortlisted for a 2007 Expozine Alternative Press
Award. This was followed by his debut novel Shuck, which was published to wide
acclaim and rave reviews, and was shortlisted for a 2009 Lambda Literary Award
and a 2009 ReLit Award. Shuck was an Arsenal Pulp Press bestseller in trade
paperback, and a hardcover bestseller for New York-based InsightOut Books Club.
His second novel, Krakow Melt, was published by Arsenal Pulp Press in
September 2010. It was excerpted in The Advocate, chosen by San Francisco’s A
Different Light bookstore as its October 2010 book club pick, named a Book
Marks Best Fiction 2010 selection, and selected as a finalist for the Ferro-
Grumley Award for LGBT Fiction and for a Lambda Literary Award.

GLENN BERMAN – EDITOR

Glenn Berman is a Montreal-based film editor. From the Grammy Award-

winning Peter Gabriel’s Secret World to the Oscar-nominated Prisoner of
Paradise, Glenn has collaborated on a diverse array of film projects. His work in
feature films, television and documentaries spans three decades and has been
recognized by multiple nominations. In 2005, Glenn received the Prix Jutra for
Mémoires affectives.

RAMACHANDRA BORCAR – COMPOSER

Half Indian, half Danish and raised in Montreal, Ram’s diverse roots and classical
training have assured him of having a unique voice and a comprehensive musical
career. One of his earliest musical ventures was as the drummer of the 80’s cult
hardcore band, Hazy Azure and he has since continued to branch out in a variety
of directions, including work as a film composer, studio producer, performer and
founder of both Semprini Records and Signed By Force record labels.

Following his studies in classical composition, orchestration and electro- acoustic

music Borcar went on to release two critically acclaimed albums under the
moniker Ramasutra, The East Infection and ElPipo DelTaxi.

Under his own name, he released the original soundtrack to the award-winning
documentary Regular or Super, a film on the works of German architect Mies van
der Rohe. The score and its soundtrack album Steel And Glass gained notoriety
amongst both film and music critics alike.

PIER-GABRIEL LAJOIE – Lake

Pier-Gabriel (known to his friends as PG) was born in 1994 in Greenfield Park,
Canada. He plays hockey as a center for the National of Bromont and is currently
a full time drama student in Montreal’s Conservatoire Lassalle. Before landing
the lead in Gerontophilia, he appeared as a principal in several episodes of the hit
Canadian TV show 30 Lives.
KATIE BOLAND - Désirée

Katie Boland, chosen by Elle Canada as one of the three “Canadians to Watch”, is
one of today’s most promising young actresses. Splitting her time between
Toronto and Los Angeles, she has starred in over 25 productions and shows no
sign of slowing down. In the past two years, Katie has completed a slew of high
profile projects; she appeared in Oscar winner Paul Thomas Anderson’s The
Master with Phillip Seymour Hoffman. She wrote and starred in her own web
series Long Story Short, she appeared on stage in Sam Shepard’s sold out Fool
For Love. She starred in the films Cold Spring, Where are the Dolls, Ferocious,
Sex After Kids and Gerontophilia. She guest starred in roles on the TV series The
Listener, Murdoch Mysteries, and SyFy’s Lost Girl. Also an avid writer, she
contributes to various blogs. This year her literary debut Eat Your Heart Out a
collection of short stories, was released across Canada. She has written and
directed two short films: Fateful premiered in 2010 at Toronto’s Female Eye Film
Festival; and Figurative Reality. In 2012, Katie was selected as one of the ‘TIFF
Rising Stars’.

WALTER BORDEN - Mr. Peabody

Walter Borden has received acclaim in Canada and around the world for his
distinguished acting career. His Stratford credits include The Odyssey, The
Comedy of Errors, Harlem Duet, The Duchess of Malfi, Edward II, Orpheus
Descending, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, King Henry VIII, Macbeth, Agamemnon,
Electra, The Flies and The Swanne (The Acts of Venus). Other Stage credits
include Fernando Krapp Wrote Me A Letter, El Numero Uno, Hamlet, The
Merchant of Venice, Driving Miss Daisy, Hosannah and The Adventures Of A
Black Girl In Search Of God (Dora nomination for Best Actor).

Film and television credits include; A Dark Matter, Nurse.Fighter.Boy, Feast of

All Saints, Lexx, The Event and the voices of Scorch in the animated series, The
Boom Crew and Gerontophilia.

Mr. Borden’s play Tightrope Time was published in 2005 and his CD, Walter
Borden Reads The Sonnets Of William Shakespeare has received great critical
praise. He is a recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jublilee medal, the
African-Nova Scotian Music Association Heritage award, the Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr. Achievement award and the Portia White Prize. He is also an inductee
into the Dr. William P. Oliver Wall of Honour Society.

Mr. Borden became a member of the prestigious ORDER OF CANADA, Canada’s

highest civilian honour, in 2006.

MARIE-HÉLÈNE THIBAULT – Marie

Marie-Hélène Thibault has had an impressive track record since leaving the
National Theatre School of Canada.
On stage, she has been cast in many productions, including Coma Unplugged and
La Société des loisirs at the Théâtre La Licorne. In spring 2012, she was part of
the cast of L’histoire du roi Lear directed by Denis Marleau at the Théâtre du
Nouveau Monde, then Emovere, directed by Éric Jean au Théâtre de Quat’Sous.
On television, she was first discovered in the role of Sophie, Catherine’s hateful
roommate in the Radio-Canada series Catherine for which she received three
Genie Award nominations. She has also been seen in Providence, Aveux, Les
étoiles filantes and in Chroniques d’une mère indigne. A brilliant improviser, she
has participated in Télé-Québec’s improve series Grands duels de la LNI.

PRODUCERS

NICOLAS COMEAU – PRODUCER

After completing degrees in Communication Studies as well as Literature and

Film, Nicolas Comeau earned a graduate degree in Film Production from
Montreal’s prestigious National Institute of Image and Sound (INIS). Since 2003,
he produced seven short films. In 2005 he worked as a line producer on The
Passenger by François Rotger and in 2008, co-produced Story of Jen with the
same director. The feature A Cloud in a Glass of Water by Srinath C.
Samarasinghe coproduced with Avenue B Productions (France) premiered in
Rotterdam 2012. Bruce LaBruce’s Gerontophilia will be delivered in the fall of
2013.

JENNIFER JONAS – PRODUCER

Jennifer Jonas is president of New Real Films and has been nominated as
TIFF/CMPA’s Producer of the Year 5 times. Her latest film, Gerontophilia by
Bruce LaBruce will premiere at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals in 2013.
Her many features as producer include I’m Yours by Leonard Farlinger, Reg
Harkema’s Leslie, My Name is Evil which premiered at TIFF in 2009 and Bruce
LaBruce’s gay zombie movie, Otto; or, Up with Dead People, which premiered at
Sundance and Berlin in 2008. Other feature film credits as producer include All
Hat, which premiered at TIFF and Monkey Warfare, which won a Special Jury
Prize at TIFF in 2006.

LEONARD FARLINGER – PRODUCER

Leonard Farlinger is a writer/director/producer and co-founder of Canadian

production company New Real Films. His many features as producer include
Trigger by Bruce McDonald, Leslie, My Name Is Evil by Reg Harkema, and Otto,
or Up With Dead People by Bruce LaBruce, which premiered at Sundance and
Berlin. His latest project Gerontophilia will premiere at the Venice and Toronto
Film Festivals in 2013. Leonard’s first feature as writer/director, The Perfect Son
was nominated for two Best Actor Genies and premiered at TIFF. Other projects
include the Gemini-winning movie-of-the-week In the Dark, and the romantic
comedy I’m Yours which premiered at TIFF.
COMPANY PROFILES

1976 PRODUCTIONS

1976 Productions was created in 2005. Its founders, Stéphane Raymond and
Nicolas Comeau had worked on several commercial projects as well as short films
that played the national and international festival circuit. Nicolas Comeau line
produced The Passenger (2005) and Story of Jen by François Rotger in 2008,
which premiered in competition at Locarno and was selected in Seattle, Pusan
and Hong Kong. In 2011, 1976 completed their second Canada/France
coproduction Srinath Samarasinghe’s Un nuage dans un verre d’eau, which
premiered in Rotterdam 2012. Their latest project, Bruce LaBruce’s
Gerontophilia will be delivered in 2013.

NEW REAL FILMS

New Real Films has made thirteen feature films and works in a wide range of
budgets and genres. They are an author-driven production company that creates,
develops and produces original thought-provoking film.

In 2010, New Real produced Trigger directed by Bruce McDonald, written by

Daniel MacIvor, starring Molly Parker and Tracy Wright. In 2009, New Real
produced Reg Harkema’s Leslie, My Name is Evil, winner of DGC’s Best director
award which premiered at TIFF. In 2011, they released the romantic comedy I’m
Yours by Leonard Farlinger which also premiered at TIFF and their latest project
Gerontophilia will premiere at the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals in 2013.

1976 Productions Feature Credits

2013 Gerontophilia
2011 Un Nuage dans un verre d’eau 2008 Story of Jen

New Real Films Feature Credits

2013 Gerontophilia
2012 The Resurrection of Tony Gitone 2011 I’m Yours
2010 Trigger
2009 Leslie, My Name is Evil
2009 Hungry Hills
2008 Toronto Stories
2008 Otto; Or Up With Dead People
2007 All Hat
2006 Monkey Warfare
2004 Cake
2004 Suger
2001 The Perfect Son
CAST

Pier-Gabriel Lajoie Lake

Walter Borden Mr. Peabody
Katie Boland Désirée
Marie-Hélène Thibault Marie

CREW

Directed By Bruce LaBruce

Screenwriters Bruce LaBruce, Daniel Allen Cox
Producers Nicolas Comeau, Leonard Farlinger, Jennifer
Jonas
Composer Ramachandra Borcar
Cinematographer Nicolas Canniccioni
Editor Glenn Berman
Casting Directors John Buchan, Jason Knight, Paul Weber
Costume Designer Marilyne Garceau