RANDALL OKITA’S EVOCATIVE FEATURE FILM
THE LOCKPICKER
SCREENS IN TORONTO, CALGARY, AND VANCOUVER
Screenings to feature special Q&As and panel discussions on issues of youth suicide prevention, with Okita in attendance
Toronto, ON - June 13, 2018 - Canadian artist and filmmaker Randall Okita’s multi-award winning feature debut, The Lockpicker is coming to big screens in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary for special one-night-only screenings.
Filmed in actual Toronto classrooms over the span of two school years with a cast of non-professional teenagers in key roles, this intimate coming-of-age drama follows high school student Hashi (Keigian Umi Tang) as he struggles to maintain a state of calm in the wake of the sudden suicide of his friend. When people close to him are victimized by violence, he is forced to choose between fighting back and becoming what he fears, or leaving behind everyone and everything he knows.
Screening details
Toronto: June 22 at 6:45 PM at TIFF Bell Lightbox, followed by a Q&A session with Okita discussing the film’s powerful themes and its deeply personal connection;
Calgary: July 13 at 7 PM at The Globe Theatre, followed by a Q&A with Okita;
Vancouver: July 17 at 6:30 PM at Vancity Theatre, followed by a panel discussion featuring Okita in conversation with experts in the field of youth care and suicide prevention.
In 2016, The Lockpicker received the Canadian Academy’s inaugural John Dunning Discovery Award and in 2015, Okita was the recipient of the Toronto Film Critics Association’s Technicolor Clyde Gilmour Award with a cash prize of $50,000, which made the production of The Lockpicker possible.
Okita is an award-winning Canadian artist and filmmaker whose work employs sculpture, physically challenging performances and stuntwork, and rich cinematography. He is currently in production on The Book of Distance, an international, multi-generational room-scale virtual reality project with the National Film Board of Canada. Later this year, a collection of Okita’s original artwork, including large-scale sculptures and interactive installations featured in some of his films will be on display at the Prince Takamado Gallery in Tokyo, Japan.
Okita’s list of celebrated film works include The Weatherman and the Shadowboxer, Portrait as a Random Act of Violence, Machine with Wishbone and No Contract. His films have been broadcast on television and screened internationally, and he has won awards from film festivals around the world, including the Toronto International Film Festival, Festival du Nouveau Cinema, L.A. Shorts Fest, and the Winnipeg International Film Festival.
For tickets and information, please visit:
Toronto: www.tiff.net
Calgary: www.globecinema.ca
Vancouver: www.viff.org
