The Song and the Sorrow
When
Approximate running time: 0 hours and 42 minutes
Venue
Performance Notes
Dir. Millefiore Clarkes; 42 mins
Content Warning: Conversations of suicide
Musician Catherine MacLellan—the daughter of Canadian singer/songwriting legend Gene MacLellan—grew up surrounded by her father’s music. He committed suicide when she was 14. Two decades after his loss, Catherine is finally ready to confront the hurtful mystery of her absent parent and embrace his musical legacy.
The Song and the Sorrow follows Catherine as she journeys to understand her father and face her own struggles with mental illness. Through archival footage and intimate interviews with friends, family members, and musicians who knew and played with Gene—including Anne Murray, Lennie Gallant, and the late Ron Hynes—the film reveals a troubled and loving man who was never at ease with fame or money.
Catherine is determined to lift the oppressive burden of silence that accompanies the stigma of mental illness and hopes that others can take strength and solace from her story.
Screens with: My Dead Dad’s Porno Tapes Dir. Charlie Tyrell, 2018, Ontario, 14 min Filmmaker Charlie Tyrell seeks to better understand his emotionally distant late father through the personal belongings he left behind … including a stack of VHS dirty movies
Screening Sponsored by the National Film Board of Canada