Spoiler alert. Keith Stata, the “curmudgeonly and eccentric” owner of Highlands Cinema in Kinmount, admits he is a bit of a “potty mouth” in The Movie Man, which will feature at the April 13 Doc(k) Day in Haliburton.
Matt Finlin’s documentary will cap the film festival at the Northern Lights Performing Arts Pavilion with an 8 p.m. screening on Saturday night.
“It’s interesting to note this thing seems to be all over the place,” Stata said of Finlin’s tribute to the house that Keith built.
Director Finlin said after a sleepy start, the reception is now “beyond my expectations.” It made its film festival debut in Santa Barbara. It’s at the Roxy Theatre in Uxbridge this weekend. In addition to Ontario screenings, Finlin said he just found out the doco has been accepted to prestigious festivals in British Columbia and Alberta. He added it’s been acquired in the U.S. by Cargo Films, based in New York City. He’s hoping for a “good theatrical run” in the States, and hopefully streaming.
“I feel very lucky to have this happen, and get Keith’s story out there.” He said at a Kingston screening, the film, and Stata, received a standing ovation.
“I’m so happy that we made this movie. People seem to like it. It’s being seen and the support from the community in Haliburton and the Kawartha area has been so nice,” the director added.
Stata said he is pleased for Finlin, who spent five years working on the documentary.
The Kinmount cat aficionada added, “I think the Roxy Theatre is listing it as ‘language may offend’ and somebody called me ‘an old curmudgeon’ on one of the critic reviews. The ‘eccentric’ part wasn’t so bad, really. It’s kind of fun. So, I’m glad that it’s getting exposure.”
Stata will attend the film screening in Haliburton and join in the question-and-answer session. Finlin will also be there. Stata said he had only agreed to do so in three places (Haliburton, Kingston, and Toronto) even though, “I know an awful lot of theatre owners and they are pressuring me to go, but I don’t have the time.”
Finlin commented, “every screening I go to, someone knows Keith, which is pretty amazing.”
As for the language warning, Stata said, “the problem was he followed me around for five years and after a while I just forgot he was there. There’s a lot of laughter involved in some of the stupid things I said. Like, I’m fighting with the projector. There’s a board that’s worth $10,000 and there’s like 120 connections, so trying to shove the thing in is ridiculous. So, I was a little potty-mouthed at times. Normally if I’m around people, I try to keep my act together.”
Stata said from what he has seen, and heard, the film elicits emotion. “People are crying and laughing. I think he did a good job.”
He added he believes the documentary works because it was filmed during COVID.
“I think if COVID had not happened, I would not have been an interesting enough character to carry the movie. Because of the pandemic, it made it a whole different movie.”
Finlin added, “it’s hard making movies and it’s hard to get it seen. I don’t want to sound like I’m launching the space shuttle. I’m not doing anything really important. But, it’s a lot of grassroots effort, it’s a lot of luck, and, of course, the film has to be good as well. And, all of these things have kind of aligned and I’m just grateful for it.”
For more, go to ThoseOtherMovies.com, ThoseOtherMoviesHaliburton@gmail.com or call 705-4570428.
