Press release

Montreal, March 22, 2005 — Atopia is pleased to announce the release of Simon Sauvé’s first feature film: Jimmywork. Since its World Premiere at The 2004 Toronto International Film Festival, Jimmywork was presented as part of the official selection of the 32nd Montreal Festival of Nouveau Cinema and also won the CHUM Television Award for Best Canadian First Feature at the 11th Victoria Independent Film & Video Festival. The film has recently been selected for Nyon’s Visions du réel Festival.

On the eve of his 50th birthday, Jimmy, a gambler-drinker and hopeless schemer, finds himself at the cross road of his existence. For him, it’s now or never - the time has come to escape from mediocrity. Pretending to be a big time American producer, Jimmy plans an elaborate TV ad campaign to promote a Northern Québec rodeo extravaganza. Filmmaker Simon Sauvé documents his whereabouts but a chain of events transforms the film into the making of a crime. The story unfolds mainly in the Mile-End neighborhood of Montreal yet takes us through the entrails of Québec’s Far East on a live action road movie. A cross between Film Noir, Biopic and Cinema Vérité…

Jimmywork is Simon Sauvé’s first feature. Simon had worked several years on many features and documentaries as an assistant-director. He got promoted to editor in 1996 and cut dramas, auteur docs and TV series. A few months after he first met Jimmy Weber, in fall 1999, Simon decided to start shooting a document about his neighbor. And, according to him: “4 years and 200 hours of rushes later, Jimmywork is the outcome of this journey.”

Since its foundation in 2000, by Pascal Maeder, Atopia has produced 3 features films: S.P.I.T.: Squeegee Punks in Traffic (2001), A Silent Love (2003) and Jimmywork (2004). Simon Sauvé’s film is the second feature to be released by the company. Atopia continues to collaborate closely with Canadian filmmakers to develop, produce and release independent films.

Jimmywork opens in Montréal Friday, April 8, at Cinéma Parallèle (Ex-Centris) and will be presented in its original English version with French subtitles. The film will open wider in selected Canadian cities as of April 29.

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News posted Monday, March 21, 2005.