Overview
- The National Film Board–produced documentary by Matthew Rankin is scheduled to premiere at TIFF’s Midnight Madness with a screening set for Tuesday, Sept. 15 at the Royal Alexandra Theatre.
- Rankin wrote, directed and edited the film with Pierre‑Mathieu Fortin listed as producer and the project built from an immense archive that the director says includes roughly 20 terabytes or about 80,000 individual clips.
- The film uses satirical, psychedelic collage techniques and deliberately inserted fake title cards and animations to blur history and invention while tracing Mulroney’s ascent through party leadership races and televised moments.
- Critics at TIFF have largely praised the film’s formal inventiveness and comedy while some reviewers fault its tone as smug, and the film is now headed to several Canadian festivals as it seeks broader North American distribution.
- Rankin faced practical challenges clearing archival material because the Progressive Conservative Party no longer exists and ownership of some party-era footage is unclear, a reality that shaped his sourcing and licensing approach.