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Patricia Rozema Retrospective: When Night Is Falling (1995) 4K Restoration
Director: Patricia Rozema Run Time: 94 min. Rating: Unrated Release Year: 1995
Starring: David Fox, Don McKellar, Henry Czerny, Pascale Bussières, Rachael Crawford
Country: Canada
Language: English
About the film:
Long considered to be a pivotal addition to the LGTBQ+ film canon, When Night Is Falling (1995) centers on the story of Camille, a professor at a Protestant college who is engaged to Martin, a respected minister and fellow professor. As “career Christians,” they are urged to get married so that they can become co-chaplains of the New College of Faith. When Camille meets Petra, a wry and flamboyant performer in a modern Felliniesque circus troupe, she is inexplicably drawn to her. Camille pursues this sensual, dream-like woman, throwing her whole conservative life—not to mention her engagement—into disarray.
“a magical film full of small delights.”
—Alison Macor, Austin Chronicle
A Canadian classic which screening in Official Competition at the 1995 Berlin International Film Festival, When Night Is Falling (1995) tells a lesbian story beautifully photographed by Douglas Koch, catching a romantic wintry Toronto landscape.
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About the filmmaker:
Patricia Rozema is a Canadian writer and director who is known for her uniquely tender films. When Rozema was growing up, television was severely restricted in her house, and didn’t go to a movie theatre until she was 16 years old. She graduated from Calvin College and Seminary with a degree in philosophy, and after a brief stint in journalism, she began work on her first feature film, I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987). The film, a magical realist film about a socially inept secretary in an art gallery, made for one of the most outstanding and celebrated feature debuts in the history of Canadian cinema. At the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) won the Prix de la Jeunesse and was runner-up for the Camera d’Or. In 2023, it was announced by Telefilm Canada that Rozema’s sophomore feature, White Room (1990),would be digitally restored under its government-funded program to preserve classic Canadian films.
In 1995, Rozema wrote and directed the queer classic When Night is Falling (1995), which won festival audience prizes around the world and remains a celebrated film in the LGBTQ+ community. Her following films include Mansfield Park (1999), Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008), Happy Days (2000), and Into the Forest (2016). Rozema’s latest feature, Mouthpiece (2019), was adapted from a play of the same name by Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava, who also star in the film. Mouthpiece (2019) opened at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival and was named one of TIFF’s Top Ten Canadian Films of the year.
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