Defy Gravity

Defy Gravity
Directed byMichael Gibson
Written byMichael Gibson
Produced byDon Haig
Doug Dales
Michael Gibson
Loudon Owen
StarringR. H. Thomson
Chapelle Jaffe
Simon Reynolds
Tracey Moore
CinematographyDouglas Koch
Edited byDarryl Cornford
Music byMark Gane
Production
company
Shifting Weight Productions
Release date
  • September 15, 1990 (1990-09-15) (Toronto)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Defy Gravity is a Canadian drama film, directed by Michael Gibson and released in 1990.[1]

The film stars R. H. Thomson as Bill Fiddich, an inventor with bipolar disorder who is physically abusive to his wife Mary (Chapelle Jaffe) and daughter Debbie (Karen Saunders); Simon Reynolds as Patrick, his teenage son who is spared the physical abuse but is struggling to understand how to stand up to his father to protect the rest of the family; and Tracey Moore as Miss McInnis, Patrick's high school history teacher who tries to provide the emotional guidance Patrick isn't getting at home.[2] The film's cast also includes Louis Ferreira, London Juno, Damir Andrei and Earl Pastko.

The film's working title was Resistance.[3]

The film premiered at the 1990 Festival of Festivals.[4]

Moore received a Genie Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 13th Genie Awards in 1992.[5]

  1. ^ Fred Haeseker, "Defy Gravity believable tale". Calgary Herald, April 6, 1992.
  2. ^ "The forces that bind us". The Globe and Mail, November 16, 1991.
  3. ^ Brian Brennan, "Moore leaps from Green Gables to Age of Aquarius". Calgary Herald, May 14, 1989.
  4. ^ "Film festival turns focus on Canada". Toronto Star, August 1, 1990.
  5. ^ "The Genie nominees". Edmonton Journal, October 14, 1992.