Rob Stefaniuk wrote, directed & stars in this first for Canadiana cinema: a beer-swilling alien's coming of age story as he befriends a talking beaver and battles
the industrial military complex... and a Quebecois assassin. Wowzers.
Talking with Rob Stefaniuk, you'd never know that this guy is already a Canadian film industry heavyweight, having worked in the industry for a number of years as an actor, screenwriter, producer
and director. Being so familiar with the ins &
outs of Canuck film funding, he was able to get $340,000 worth of film funding from Ottawa to finance his self-penned, self-directed, self-starring alcoholic alien opus, "Phil the Alien." He comes
across as a genuine guy, with none of the artsy-fartsy fake airs you might expect from an independent filmmaker - he's a regular dude, who happened to make a very funny movie right here in Canada.
"Phil the Alien" started out as a quirky idea in the quirky mind of Mr. Stefaniuk, but quickly grew to much larger proportions thanks to the financial backing of the Telefilm Low Budget Feature Film
Fund. Rob enlisted the aid of his brother, who does special effects and has his own creature shop and was able to supply the alien and the beaver (easily the best on-scren Canadian duo since "FUBAR"
graced the screen). He was able to get such notable Canadian actors as Joe Flaherty (SCTV) and Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves) to lend their talents to the realization of his celluloid dream, not to mention the incredible and tireless efforts of his
dedicated cast & crew. Falling into the lead role himself, Rob mentioned that he actually did audition himself, was terrible, but ended up sleeping with himself to get the part (who says only the Hollywood productions are
sleazy?
Shot on Super-16mm in just 17 days, "Phil the Alien" was screened at such notable film festivals as Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver and Slam Dance and was picked up by the mighty
Lions Gate Films after a festival screening. Blown up
to 35mm, the film is about to receive its theatrical debut across Canada later this month and will be released on DVD sometime in June. In talking with Rob, I asked how
the film has been received by audiences, as well as the distinctive Canadian flair it presents, and he replied that "funny is funny and it doesn't matter if you're Canadian or American." The film won
an award and an honourable mention at U.S. film festivals, so American audiences are obviously finding humour in the on-screen hijinks and Canadian viewers can obviously enjoy all the inside
Canucklehead humour that we've grown to love with such classics as the already-mentioned "FUBAR", as well as "Strange Brew" and "Canadian Bacon."
Next up for Stefaniuk? A rock n' roll vampire movie. If he's not careful, he's going to turn himself into a true filmmaking success story, nevermind a Canadian one.
"Phil the Alien" is slated to open in Calgary at Paramount Chinook and the Uptown in mid-March - be sure to check CalgaryMovies.com for showtimes and dates.
Film Synopsis:
PHIL THE ALIEN a classic coming of age story, told through the
bloodshot eyes of an alcoholic alien. Phil (Rob Stefaniuk) crashes into
a small town in Northern Ontario, befriends a young boy, and a
super-intelligent beaver (voiced by Joe Flaherty), and quickly develops
a heavy drinking problem. Phil is an innocent lost in the wilderness.
He learns that everyone in town (children included) drinks hard liquor
and carries a gun. He's surrounded by hunters, prostitutes, an ex-CIA
operative, a bartender named "Wolf" (played by Graham Greene), the
house band, and other Northern misfits.
Meanwhile over at the "Top Secret American UFO Base" (located beneath
Niagara Falls), "The General" (John Kapelos) has discovered Phil and
ordered his fur-clad Agents to bring him in. Back up North, the beaver
tells Phil that there is a ship in Niagara Falls that can take him
home, but Phil has hit rock bottom and wants nothing to do with it.
Instead he uses his alien powers to perform bar tricks, and falls deep
into the depraved depths of alcoholism.
After a short stint in prison, Phil finds Jesus and joins the band as t
heir singer. When the General learns that Phil is performing miracles
on a touring pilgrimage to Niagara Falls he orders Quebecois assassin
"Madame Madame"(Nicole deBoer) to kill the alien and his band. Phil the
Alien is an original cutting edge comedy.
