100 Films and a Funeral at the Royal

Even with the Brunswick Theatre closing its doors, it's still possible to catch some documentary screenings in the city. One that's worth a look is 100 Films and a Funeral, a documentary that chronicles the rise and fall of PolyGram Filmed Entertainment (PFE). It screens this Monday and Tuesday night at The Royal Cinema on College Street.

For those who may not be familiar, PFE was a subsidiary of Dutch technology giant Philips and its subsidiary Polygram Music. In its short life it produced such films as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Fargo, Trainspotting and The Usual Suspects and collected 14 Academy Awards.

I watched a preview copy of the film earlier this week and while it might be said it has all the qualities of an HBO special or straight to video release, I would still recommend it to anyone interested in the inner-workings of the film industry, or who is interested in independent film in general.

The director manages to land interviews with all the key Polygram and Phillips players and gets the inside scoop on how some of the films ended up being such big hits and how PFE tooks risks that the rest of the industry simply wasn't prepared to take at the time. The story of The Usual Suspects is particularly a good one. The script ended up winning an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay yet it was rejected by all the Hollywood Studios and probably would never have been made if it weren't for PFE.

Tickets for 100 Films and a Funeral are $10. Showtimes are December 3rd at 7pm and December 4th at 9pm.