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Multi-disciplinary Frankenstein to play Canadian premiere at NACC

Manual Cinema_s Frankenstein, Sarah Fornace and Julia Miller 2 photo by Michael Brosilow

Horror fans will be able to get a taste of a classic example of the genre next week as a special Chicago-based cinema group is coming to the Northern Arts and Cultural Centre.

Manual Cinema, an Emmy Award winning performance collective, design studio and film/video production company will be showing the Canadian premiere of Frankenstein, March 4.

A news release from NACC said the multi-disciplinary artistic performance will focus on the Frankenstein story by Victorian author Mary Wollstonecraft and themes involving "how the forces of family, community and education shape person-hood – or destroy it by their absence."

"We want to juxtapose the cleanness of the film screen with the humanity and mess and athleticism of a small group of performers creating each image in real time, by hand," stated Sarah Fornace, co-director in the release. "In today's world, we are all surrounded by screens large and small. We want to take the ubiquitous experience of watching a story onscreen and make it strange and human and wondrous."

Yellowknifer was unable to reach those involved with the cinema this week.

The trailer of the show can be viewed here.

https://www.facebook.com/www.naccnt.ca/videos/192057005393313/

 

As of Thursday at noon, NACC had sold 98 of 300 tickets. Marie Coderre, executive director of NACC said the event has been highly acclaimed by major American media outlets and so it should be seen as a special treat for the community.

"They use so many arts forms and everything is live cinema with actors on stage," she said.  "It has live music with live musicians and uses of old projectors and involves drawing. It is a real blend and multi-disciplinary kind of show and really of its own genre."

Sarah Fornace, co-Artistic Director and performer with Manual Cinema and Julia Miller, director, puppeteer, and puppet designer, perform in a past performance of Frankenstein.
photo by Michael Brosilow and courtesy of Manual Cinema

Coderre said because of the scale and size of the performance, months of preparation ahead of times has gone into bringing the show North, including acquiring funding for the shipment of a 12-member cast and supportive and technical materials. As a result NACC has been working closely with other performance centres to bring the act North, including with the Yukon Arts Centre and the Port Theatre in Nanaimo, B.C.

"So there has really been a lot of work to get it to Yellowknife," Coderre said.

Lia Kohl, a cellist, vocalist and percussionist performs during a past performance of Manual Cinema's Frankenstein.
photo by Michael Brosilow and courtesy of Manual Cinema

"This one was very complicated and we pushed really hard to make it happen because of how technical it is. We were really glad (to have the other arts centres) on board. Now it just a matter of selling tickets."

Dead North Film Festival 

The Dead North Film Festival, which opened Feb. 27, will be present to show a selection of Zombear-winning films from this year's festival in the lobby. Screening begins 6:45 pm, according to a NACC news release.

 

 

Manual Cinema_s Frankenstein, Lia Kohl, photo by Michael Brosilow