The Wasting

The Wasting is a 2017 Canadian-British drama film written and directed by Carolyn Saunders and starring Lauren McQueen, Gray O'Brien, and Alexz Johnson. It screened at film festivals in Europe and North America, winning Best Horror at the 2017 Austrian Independent Film Festival[4] and Best Feature awards in two categories at the Vittorio Veneto film festival.[5] The film's public premiere took place in Toronto on March 2, 2018,[6] and it was released online in the United States and Canada in June 2018.[3]

This article is about the 2017 movie. For similar terms with different meanings, see Waste (disambiguation).

The Wasting
Film poster
Directed byCarolyn Saunders
Written byCarolyn Saunders
Produced byJeanne Stromberg
Carolyn Saunders
Alan Hausegger
StarringLauren McQueen
Gray O'Brien
Alexz Johnson[1]
CinematographyMichal Wisniowski
Edited byDiane Brunjes
Music byMatthew Chung
Marko Koumoulas
Production
companies
Endzone Films
Stromhaus Productions
Distributed byIndiecan Entertainment (Canada)
Release dates
  • 13 January 2017 (2017-01-13) (Borrego Springs Film Festival)[2]
  • 1 June 2018 (2018-06-01) (Canada)[3]
Running time
93 minutes
CountriesCanada
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

A teenage woman faces emotional challenges – a budding romance with her new boyfriend and growing conflicts with her father's strictness. While trying to deal with these issues, she stops eating. While her health deteriorates because of her eating disorder, she sees the ghost of a frightening old woman every night. Her friends and family believe these sightings are hallucinatory or mere nightmares. With no one believing her, she must search for a solution.[7]

Cast

Production

Writer-director Saunders said that her inspiration came while writing for the documentary series Ghostly Encounters, when she met an anorexic young woman whom nobody believed was visited nightly by a ghost.[8] The woman's story became the television episode, "Anorexia and the Haunting Hag,"[9] and, intrigued by the relationship between eating disorders and the supernatural, Saunders wrote The Wasting "with input from several people suffering anorexia."[10]

Initially, the filmmakers attempted to fund the movie through the Canadian Film Centre's CFC Features program, which would have required filming in Canada.[11] When Canadian Film Centre funding was unavailable, production was moved to Upton-upon-Severn in Worcestershire, U.K.,[12] to benefit from the UK Film Tax Relief program and the availability of experienced crew and actors.[13]

During early development of the film, Saunders approached her friend Alexz Johnson to participate as actor, musician, and co-producer.[14] Saunders described the movie as a "family affair," as her sons, Brendan Flynn and Sean Stevenson appear in the cast as brothers.[15]

Release

The Wasting premiered to excellent reviews at the 2017 Borrego Springs Film Festival in Borrego Springs, California.[2] The film won the Best Horror award at the 2017 Austrian Independent Film Festival,[4] and was an official selection at the Carmarthen Bay Film Festival,[16] the Madeira Film Festival, and the Nevada Women's Film Festival. At the Vittorio Veneto film festival, The Wasting won the Monte Pizzoc and Monte Visentin awards, voted by more than 1000 young adults in the audience.[17][18][5]

North American rights to distribute The Wasting were acquired by IndieCan Entertainment in 2017.[19][20] In 2018, the North American premiere of the film took place in Toronto.[6] The online release of the film for Canada and the United States took place in June 2018.[3]

Critical reception

At its Borrego Springs Film Festival premiere, Steve Oldfield of FoxTV called The Wasting "a mind-bending visual feast" and said "director Carolyn Saunders' first feature shows she is a force to be reckoned with - a visual storyteller with a gift for creating suspense." After a sold out premiere screening in Toronto, The Extra Mile said "Saunders has woven many visual and sound elements to create a compelling film that shines a light on perception and reality," praising Lauren McQueen's "stellar performance" and the "poignant portrayals of Johnson, Flynn and Stevenson."[21] Leora Heilbronn in Brief Take said "there’s a hauntingly ghoulish subplot in there that’s reminiscent of a Gaskell or Poe story, but the film also tackles the all too prevalent acceptance of toxic masculinity and anorexia in a refreshingly original way."[22] Edmonton Movie Guide called it "a thoughtful, complex film" in which "the characters are well drawn and realistic, strongly portrayed by the young, highly watchable cast."[23] Other reviews were mixed, and mostly positive.[24][25][26][27]

References
  1. "Alexz Johnson Biography". Tribute. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  2. ""The Wasting" Screening Schedule". Borrego Springs Film Festival. 13 January 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  3. "The Wasting on Amazon". Amazon. Retrieved 16 June 2018.
  4. "Austrian Indie Adler Awards 2017". Austrian Film Festival. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  5. "Vittorio Veneto Film Festival, ecco i vincitori" [Vittorio Veneto Film Festival, here are the winners]. Oggi Treviso (in Italian). 5 August 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  6. "#Review The Wasting". The Xtra Mile. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  7. Musivision (25 March 2015). "Canada shines in the INDIEGOGO Spotlight". FilmFestivals.com.
  8. "5 Q's w/Carolyn Saunders "The Wasting" Director". Borrego Springs Film Festival. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  9. "Anorexia and the Haunting Hag". TV Guide. 21 April 2006. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  10. Santos, Helenna (17 May 2019). "Spotlight Interview: Writer/Director Carolyn Saunders". Ms. In The Biz. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  11. "CFC Features". Canadian Film Centre. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  12. Pinto, Jordan (30 November 2015). "Carolyn Saunders on building out 'The Wasting'". Playback. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  13. Deehan, Tom (10 November 2015). "The Wasting filming on location in Upton". On Location. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  14. Heilbronn, Laura (3 March 2018). "Interview: The Wasting's Alexz Johnson". BriefTake. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  15. Klassen, Judith (14 December 2014). "Canada's Call Sheet - Teenaged Wasteland". Judecast. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  16. Morrow, Jerome (16 May 2017). "BAFTA qualifying Carmarthen Bay Film Festival announces 2017 winners". Screen Anarchy. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  17. Editorial Board (5 August 2017). "Vittorio Veneto Film Festival 2017: Programma e Vincitori" [Vittorio Veneto Film Festival 2017: Program and Winners]. Movietele (in Italian). Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  18. "The wasting della canadese Saunders sul trono del Film Festival per ragazzi" [Canadian Saunders's The Wasting on the throne of the Film Festival for Children]. Il Gazzettino (in Italian). 7 May 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2018.(subscription required)
  19. Miska, Brad (31 July 2017). "Hunger Strike Brings Out the Demons in 'The Wasting'". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  20. Kay, Jeremy (28 July 2017). "Indiecan Entertainment acquires 'The Wasting'". Screen Daily. Retrieved 21 February 2018.
  21. "#REVIEW The Wasting | The Xtra Mile". thextramileca.com. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  22. "Interview: The Wasting's Alexz Johnson - Brief Take". Brief Take. 2 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  23. "The Wasting Reviews and Ratings | Movie Reviews | Edmonton Movie Guide". Edmonton Movie Guide. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  24. "Film Review: "The Wasting" (2017)". Let the Movie Move Us. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2018.
  25. Robinson, Andrew (2 March 2018). "Our Review of: 'The Wasting'". In the Seats. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  26. "The Wasting User Reviews - 5.00/5". Tribute.ca. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
  27. Babiera, Angelica (2 March 2018). "Don't waste on self-love". Excalibur Publications. Retrieved 7 March 2018.
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