‘Kooperman’ premiering in Halifax
Kooperman, a comedy feature film from P.E.I. director Harmony Wagner, has its world premiere at the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax on Saturday, Sept. 19, 9:45 p.m., at Cineplex Cinemas Park Lane.
The movie tells the story of Griffin Kooperman, who runs a struggling comic book store in a small town he has never left. When a bully from his past becomes his new landlord and threatens eviction, Kooperman must snap out of his fantasy world and become his own hero in order to save his store, his friendship and himself.
Co-written by Wagner and producer Jason Rogerson of Periscope Pictures, the film was selected from a competitive nationwide pool of projects as one of 15 recipients of the Telefilm Canada Microbudget Production Fund. After her successful shorts, “VAST” and “Queen of the Crows”, this is the first feature length film for Wagner.
“Kooperman is both an absurd romp and little commentary on our times,” says director Wagner.
“If you just want to laugh and forget your life for 76 minutes you are in for a fast-paced ride, but there is a deeper layer of meaning threaded through for those who want to look for it. Jason and I felt the comedy genre has been kind boxed in lately, so we had fun stretching the boundaries of what you expect from a comedy.”
Charlottetown's Lightning Bolt Comics was transformed into Kooperman Comics last September during the 15-day shoot. Local illustrators Troy Little, Brenda Hickey, Sandy Carruthers, Tyler Landry, Jeff Alward, Ramon J. Sierra and Pete Murphy provided a wealth of original comic book art to set the scene.
“We aim to cross-promote the existing projects of the artists and musicians as well,” says Wagner. “The level of talent here defies logic given our small population and it's important that the whole culture sector thrives if we want to make more film and television here.”
“It feels great to kick things off at a festival of such high repute,” adds Rogerson.
“We are dedicated to building an industry for P.E.I., and the Atlantic Film Festival is a great first step to launch the movie. So many talented people worked on this and we are so grateful to them and for the support of the community. There are too many to list here, but special mention should go to the Island Media Arts Co-op, P.E.I. Council of the Arts and The Guild.”
Periscope Pictures employed 85 people throughout the making of Kooperman. To learn more, visit Facebook.com/kupermanmovie or Twitter.com/koopermanmovie.