With 25 years of bringing fine films to Huntsville under their belts, Reel Alternatives is back for another season of intriguing and entertaining screenings in partnership with the Algonquin Theatre. Their new season launches at 7 p.m. on September 9th with EZRA, featuring Bobby Cannavale, Rose Byrne, and Robert De Niro in a heartwarming comedy about parents struggling over how to best raise their autistic son. In the spirit of the film, Reel Alternatives is providing complimentary sponsorship to raise awareness for One Kids Place which provides services for children and youth with special needs and their families in our community.
Both an unpredictable family dramedy and a road movie that runs on mischief, EZRA is the story of three adults with wildly divergent opinions about what’s best for one precious little boy. After being diagnosed with autism, a doctor insists Ezra be sent to a special school and medicated. Ezra’s mom Jenna, (Byrne), who shares custody of the boy, is inclined to go along with the program, but his father, Max (Cannavale), will have none of it. One night, Max, who is a stand-up comic and has been promised a spot on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, takes Ezra on a cross-country excursion — without the permission of Jenna or his own dad (De Niro), whose car Max has “borrowed.” The film has an astonishing ensemble cast, which counts Vera Farmiga and Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg among its ranks.
Over the past 25 years Reel Alternatives has screened hundreds of films starting with Atom Egoyan’s THE SWEET HEREAFTER in 1998. It was one of the earliest groups to sign up for the Toronto International Film Festival’s Film Circuit, which helps small markets bring festival quality films to their communities. Past president Rob Saunders has been on the Reel Alternatives committee since the beginning and recalls that “there were only a handful of Film Circuit groups when the Huntsville group first started, and now it’s Canada’s largest film club with over 100 communities participating from coast to coast to coast.”
Current acting president Laura Kennedy says, “Being part of the Film Circuit means we have a direct pipeline to films vetted by TIFF that might not be on the mainstream radar. We try to mix up the film selections to offer a variety of comedies, dramas, international and Canadian films, with some quirky ones along the way.” In addition to Saunders and Kennedy, this year’s Reel
Alternatives committee is rounded out by Gail Orr, Cheryl Stamper and new member Cydney Jones.
Tickets for EZRA and the full lineup of films through December are available online at reelalternativeshuntsville.ca, at the door, or by calling the Algonquin Theatre box office at 705- 789-4975.
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