Feb. 18–23, 2014, North Kildonan MB Church, Winnipeg, hosts the fourth annual Real To Reel Film Festival created by church member Paul Boge.
These 6 days of “Real Life through Reel Stories” will include 62 screenings of 10 feature films, 8 feature documentaries, 17 short films, 7 short documentaries, ranging from Coram Deo Studio’s Grace Unplugged, to When Quitting is Not an Option about NKMB member and marathon cyclist and orphan advocate Arvid Loewen.
Five “theatres” offer multiple film options at a given time and several screenings are followed by a talkback or filmmaker interview.
Jimmy
Dog Days Entertainment, Whitlow Films, Level Path Productions
Producer: Mark Freiburger
97 minutes
Jimmy Mitchell is a 14-year-old boy with a below-average IQ, an extreme fear of water and the ability to see angels. His uncompromising honesty puts him in the path of danger when he takes the stand in his defense lawyer father’s case, angering the town police and setting a drug dealer free.
Loving relationships abound in this adaptation of the novel by award-winning legal drama writer Robert Whitlow (Thomas Nelson). Jimmy is challenged to new heights (on a hydro pole) by his grandfather (played by Ted Levine from TV’s Monk) and nurtured by his stepmother (Kelly Carlson from Nip/Tuck).
Jimmy boasts a full roster of accomplished actors including Patrick Fabian (Saved by the Bell) as Jimmy’s father and Bob Gunton (The Shawshank Redemption) as the disgraced sheriff. The best performance is Ian Colletti’s as the jubilant and guileless Jimmy.
Free from gore, sexuality and obscenities, this film extolls the values of kindness and honesty, but suspense and threats of violence may be frightening for young children. Some viewers may find the ending unrealistic or overly sentimental, but for anyone hungry for little redemption, Jimmy delivers.
—Angeline Schellenberg
