After creating five feature-length movies, four shorts and a television series, Kenneth Barr felt he couldn’t grow his business, Idiom Films, anymore in Edmonton and made the move to Vancouver in 2009.
Now the man who has directed, wrote, produced, filmed and edited is making his return to Alberta at the Edmonton International Film Festival with his movie The Academy.
“The Edmonton International Film Festival have been nothing but class from moment one,” Barr said from his new home on the West Coast. “I’m looking forward to coming back to Edmonton because of that.”
The majority of The Academy was shot in Edmonton and the surrounding area. It’s an Asian-inspired story of a select group of convicted youths who are given a second chance, trained to become efficient weapons of death.
“The Academy is getting (a lot) of notice worldwide,” he said. “We’ve actually got, in the last week or so, 16 distribution offers and offers from 23 different festivals.”
The Academy makes its Canadian debut tonight at 9:30.
