The Image Before Us wraps up with Strathyre and My American Cousin, August 30 at The Cinematheque
The history of B.C. film series celebrates finale with Sandy Wilson’s beloved summertime nostalgia trip
The Cinematheque presents Strathyre and My American Cousin as part of The Image Before Us: A History of Film in British Columbia on August 30 at 7 pm
THE IMAGE BEFORE US curator, professor, and filmmaker Harry Killas calls My American Cousin “Everyone’s favourite summer movie” in his notes for the final installment of his latest series on the history of B.C. film
And it’s hard to disagree with his assessment of a feature that’s a perfect choice for the last week of August.
Director Sandy Wilson nostalgic 1985 film recalls growing up on a ranch in rural Penticton in the summer of 1959. The semi-autobiographical story chronicles the coming-of-age of 12-year-old Sandy Wilcox after her flashy, James Dean-idolizing American cousin Butch hits town in his shiny red Cadillac convertible. It famously begins with bored 12-year-old Sandy (Margaret Langrick) scrawling in her diary “Nothing ever happens.”
Killas has paired My American Cousin with another, very different film that’s also set on a B.C. ranch: Vancouver writer, poet, scholar, filmmaker, and film historian Colin Browne’s 25-minute documentary Strathyre, in which he and friend Colin Ritchie search out the titular homestead near Kamloops, built by his grandparents.
Surprise guests will be on hand to speak about both cinematic offerings and their role in B.C. film histiry.
Note that Browne’s short documentary, “The Image Before Us”—built from historic archival footage promoting Vancouver as a natural playground by the sea, and a cheeky creation made to be shown at Expo 86—inspired the entire title of Killas’s curated series. Just like that short pushed the viewer to look beyond manufactured images for the truth about this place, Killas has searched for nuance in the depiction of B.C. in his installments of the series.
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