The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom
A screening that leaves room for the unexpected: the programming team saves this slot to present a film chosen at shorter notice, in response to current events, to seize an opportunity, or simply on a whim.
It's 1976 and Elizabeth is just your average suburban 11-year-old praying for adolescence to arrive when she discovers her whole life has been a lie. With only her imagination to guide her, Elizabeth runs away in search of her true identity. Her adoptive mother Marion is then forced to break out of the carefully constructed "truth" she's been clinging to and go after her daughter. This leads to a cathartic cross-country trek by a mother searching for a daughter who's searching for a mother - both of them really searching for themselves...
Tara Johns
Tara Johns is an Alberta-born filmmaker who’s built her home and career in Montréal. Along with many notable music videos and national television commercials to her credit, her first fiction film, Killing Time was awarded Best Canadian Short at the 2001 Toronto Worldwide Short Film Festival as well as Top 10 Best Québécois Shorts of the Decade at Rendez-vous du cinéma québécois. Along with her community contributions that include mentoring young screenwriters and tutoring illiterate adults, her time and attention is focused on continuing her longtime passion of creating and directing original Canadian fiction and documentary programming. The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom (2011) is her first feature film.
Photo: Anna Lupien | Collections de la Cinémathèque québécoise
