End of the world is just the beginning
Calgary native launches first full- length film
Jennifer Liao insists the world she helped create for her featurelength debut, End of Days Inc., is not based on her own experiences working in business offi ces.
Sure, the Calgary native may have drawn on her working life to some degree. But she would never want past or present employers to think her fi ctional Godfrey Global Inventory, a company that takes soul- deadening drudgery to surreal levels, is based on her own dayjob experiences.
“I do want to add that I have not had poor experiences working in offi ces,” says Liao with a laugh, in a phone interview from her home in Toronto. “But when you go somewhere every day, you fall into a routine and it can become you getting stuck in a certain way of being and doing.”
Described as a “dark comedy with a supernatural spin,” End of Days Inc. takes place on the fi nal night of operations at Godfrey Global, which appears to deal in processing punch cards from around the world. Brought back to the offi ce on the promise of a farewell party, the soon- tobelaid- off four- person staff are bribed to stay for one last, extralong shift to fi nish doing inventory. Under the watchful eye of the peculiar, baldheaded Mr. Godfrey ( Paulino Nunes) and his hyper- bureaucratic sister, Esther ( Anna Ferguson), the employees are told their severance will grow to $ 1- million each if they fi nish the inventory on time.
Eventually, it becomes clear that their work may be having global, and somewhat apocalyptic, consequences. But for all the far- reaching ramifi cations, End of Days Inc. is actually quite small in scale. Practically all of it was shot in a rundown building in Toronto, which production- designer David Orin Charles fi lled with antiquated but often overly elaborate machinery.
“The company is supposed to look like it hasn’t advanced in technology in the last 50 years,” says Liao, who will be screening her fi lm at the Calgary International Film Festival on Wednesday. “And part of that is drawn from the actual theme of the fi lm, which is really around working yourself into obsolescence, if you want to be blunt about it. The labour- intensive nature of the work and the equipment they are using, that’s all from a bygone era.”
It might be best if you don’t think too hard about the whole “working yourself into obsolescence” thing, as it could lead to a bit of a spoiler.
What’s important to know about End of Days Inc. is that it’s an often very funny, albeit darkly so, ensemble piece with a surreal tone that occasionally recalls the films of Wes Anderson or Coen Brothers curios such as The Hudsucker Proxy and Barton Fink.
That the film maintains this tone while still making us care about the characters is a testament to the ensemble cast, Christina Ray’s droll screenplay and Liao’s deft touch with actors.
They include: Calgary native Paul Sun- Hyung Lee as the pompous Mort, who seems unduly proud of his “11- year tenure” at Godfrey Global; Mark O’Brien as weaselly would- be corporate- climber Jason; Janet Porter stars as cynical receptionist Misty; and Carolyne Maraghi as the sweet and trusting Janet.
“It was shooting in an extremely cold building in the dead of winter and nobody had a trailer,” says Liao. “The actors are in lots of scenes together because it’s an ensemble piece. I think they really fell in love with their characters, as flawed and as strange as they were.”
Born and raised in Calgary, Liao studied drama at Mount Royal Conservatory before leaving for Montreal to study business and theatre at McGill University. She moved to Toronto to focus on acting, but soon found herself drawn to filmmaking. As a producer, she worked on the ensemble comedy, Sex After Kids, which played at CIFF two years ago.
For now, Liao is prepping End of Days Inc. for a release next year before turning her attention to writing and directing other features.
“I have a couple of projects in development and they are also ones I’m writing myself,” she says. “That’s not always been the most natural thing for me. It’s definitely a challenge. But one of them is quite personal and the other one is surrounding themes that I’m really interested in. So I wanted to do the writing myself, spending that solitary time to do that.”
End of Days Inc. screens Wednesday at 9: 30 p. m. and Sunday at 4: 30 p. m. at Cineplex Eau Claire as part of the Calgary International Film Festival.
The actors are in lots of scenes together because it’s an ensemble piece. I think they really fell in love with their characters.