Rare is the artist who can attack every medium in the liberal arts lexicon and manage to succeed in virtually all of them.
B.C. based writer, musician, playwright, comedian and filmmaker Mark Leiren-Young, however, is on the road to doing just that. His first feature film, the Green Chain, has been steadily touring the country, accumulating rave reviews and expanding his fan base.
The movie is a lighthearted yet passionate and profound comedy detailing the eternal struggle between tree loggers and environmentalists.
“My interest in environmental issues first started when I was doing sketch comedy, “ says the multi talented filmmaker.
“In B.C., saving the planet has always been topical. All that stuff that Al Gore now worries about, we were concerned with in 1990. The Green Chain is just an extension of that.”
Shot over seven days on a minimal budget, The Green Chain’s social conscience and satirical edge is complemented by a first rate cast of Canadian actors that includes Tricia Helfer and Tahmoh Penikett (TV’s Battlestar Galactica), Brendan Fletcher (88minutes), August Schellenberg (The New World) and Jillian Fargey (Mount Pleasant).
“The cast was a dream,” admits Leiren-Young. “Many of them I’d met whole working as a playwright for stage and radio and from my work in TV. And I mean, Jillian, literally every time I’ve ever worked with her I’ve either been nominated for an award or won. It was a no-brainer to cast her in the film.”
• The Green Chain is currently in theatres.
