Programmer's Note

Carl Bessai’s third installment in his family trilogy is a bracingly funny look into the lives of four sets of siblings. Brimming with affection, hostility and a healthy dose of guilt, Sisters&Brothers cleverly tills the volatile territory of siblinghood. For the task, Bessai brought together an ensemble cast featuring a coterie of skilled regulars and several new talents, including Cory Monteith of Glee fame. With an intimate vérité style, the film presents the complicated bonds and rivalries of each uniquely charged relationship through a vibrant observational lens.

Justin (Monteith) is a hot young star living in L.A. who routinely gets swarmed by fanatical girls, while his brother Rory (Dustin Milligan), a former actor, lives in his shadow and promotes a vaguely dubious charity. Louise (Gabrielle Miller) is devoted to the well-being of her schizophrenic brother Jerry (Benjamin Ratner), but his behaviour is becoming increasingly turbulent. Psychologically fragile Maggie (Camille Sullivan) resents her stepsister Nikki (Amanda Crew), a spunky aspiring actress, for a laundry list of reasons. Nevertheless, the two wind up taking a bizarre road trip to L.A. in pursuit of Nikki’s breakthrough role: Fembra the Huntress. And then there is Sarah (Kacey Rohl), a fiery-tempered teen prone to verbally attacking her mom Marion (Gabrielle Rose), who skulks about in her pajamas bracing herself for another confrontation. When Marion’s long-lost daughter Sita (Leena Manro) arrives, Sarah suddenly finds herself with a sister and yet another reason to be angry.

Bessai guides us through the currents of these stories, each of which bubbles with touching and outlandish moments, and each of which leads to an inevitable, full-blown sibling battle. Layered with punchy comic book-style transitions and priceless interview asides in which the characters reveal their quirky selves, Sisters&Brothers is a rich and gratifying journey through familial love and dysfunction by one of Canada’s most prolific and intriguing filmmakers.