By Kayla Morin
Most of us know by now life always gives you opportunities– it’s what you do with them that defines your character and determines your direction in life.
Playing on this theme, Housekeeping is an official selection of the Montreal International Black Film Festival (MIBFF). Directed by Chris Strikes, the comedic short will screen in the Short Series 2, alongside seven other selections at the Cinéma du Parc in the city October 2, 2016 at 3PM. (Tickets available here).
In a perfect round about way, this Canadian premiere is a true homecoming for the film, since Strikes originally got the idea while staying at a boutique hotel in La métropole last January.
“I was just going to breakfast and I saw the housekeeper there as I was leaving,” explains Strikes, “It was the first time I’d seen a young housekeeper. I’d never seen a young housekeeper before. She must have been in her early twenties.”
Starring Madeleine Claude, Brandon McKnight, and Alexandra Augustine, Housekeeping shows how a hotel housekeeper with a habit of frolicking with guests’ belongings as she cleans their rooms, imagining herself in their lives, decides to take advantage of a chance to radically alter her reality.
Strikes was writing a feature film at the time– and if you get to see the short, you’ll know why that’s important. He got a hilarious idea over breakfast, outlined it upstairs, then went to find the housekeeper.
“I was just picking her brain about how her day is and just, kind of, the funniest (stuff) that she’s seen,” says Strikes. “There’s a scene in there, the (vibrator) scene, that came from (one of her stories).”
A truly beautiful collaboration of souls, and good for a laugh, Housekeeping was produced by Strikes himself and Maya Bastian for Callowgrove Entertainment. Director of Photography is Chris Morsby, and the music is from composer Felix Arifin.
The MIBFF aims to bring audiences the most beautiful new black films and promote the development of the independent film industry, creating a space to debate cultural and socio-economic issues.
Following the screening there will be a Q&A period where Strikes and the cast will discuss more about the creation of the film and the environment on set.
Get your Short Series 2 tickets to see Housekeeping and seven other short films at Cinéma du Parc in Montreal October 2, 2016. Show starts at 3pm.