Metamorphosis (1975 film)

Metamorphosis
Directed byBarry Greenwald
Written byBarry Greenwald
Produced byBarry Greenwald
StarringBob Green
Ali Kubik
Albert Williams
CinematographyJohn Westheuser
Edited byBarry Greenwald
Distributed byCanadian Filmmakers' Distribution Centre
Release date
  • September 15, 1975 (1975-09-15) (Stratford)
Running time
10 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Metamorphosis is a Canadian short comedy-drama film, directed by Barry Greenwald and released in 1975.[1] A satirical parable about the rat race, the film centres on a man (Bob Green) who is bored with his daily routine, and decides one day to undress and dress himself again in the elevator on his way to work; successfully accomplishing the task, he sets greater challenges to accomplish during the nine-floor elevator ride, culminating in a day when he lives his entire life in the span of the trip and is dead by the time he reaches the ground floor.[1]

Greenwald made the film as a student project while studying film at Conestoga College.[2]

The film premiered in 1975 at the Stratford Film Festival. It was screened ten days later at Concordia University's Canadian Student Film Festival, where it received an honorable mention,[2] and Greenwald won the Canadian Film Award for Best Sound Editing in a Non-Feature at the 26th Canadian Film Awards.[3]

It was subsequently screened at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Short Film Palme d'Or.[1]

  1. ^ a b c Frank Daley, "Cannes prize-winner forced to drive taxi". Ottawa Journal, June 18, 1976.
  2. ^ a b Dane Lanken, "Last year's festival entrant is one of this year's judges". Montreal Gazette, September 24, 1976.
  3. ^ Maria Topalovich, And the Genie Goes To...: Celebrating 50 Years of the Canadian Film Awards. Stoddart Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-7737-3238-1. pp. 111-114.