| Youkali Hotel | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Musical drama |
| Written by | Patricia Fogliato David Mortin |
| Directed by | David Mortin |
| Starring | Patricia O'Callaghan Albert Schultz |
| Theme music composer | Kurt Swinghammer |
| Country of origin | Canada |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Producers | Patricia Fogliato Stephen Onda |
| Cinematography | Kim Derko |
| Editors | Daryl K. Davis Mike Munn |
| Running time | 47 minutes |
| Production companies | WestWind Pictures Enigmatico Films |
| Original release | |
| Network | CBC Television |
| Release | December 4, 2003 |
| Infobox instructions (only shown in preview) | |
Youkali Hotel is a Canadian television musical drama film, directed by David Mortin and broadcast by CBC Television in 2003.[1] The film stars Patricia O'Callaghan as Trish, a waitress at a formerly opulent but now run down hotel bar in Northern Ontario, who learns about a mysterious unsolved murder of a cabaret singer that took place at the hotel in its glory days, and begins to imagine the story with herself as the singer.[2]
The film also features musical performances by Mary Margaret O'Hara, Hawksley Workman, Kurt Swinghammer and Albert Schultz,[2] with numbers performed in the film including songs by Kurt Weill, Randy Newman, Rufus Wainwright and Elvis Costello.[1]
It was loosely based on O'Callaghan's own history of having worked as a waitress before attaining success as a singer and actress, with Youkali having been the title of her first album.[3]
Although set in Northern Ontario, it was actually filmed in the old Grant Hall hotel in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.[4] The film received a private screening for cast and crew in Moose Jaw on November 26, 2003,[4] before premiering on December 4 as an episode of CBC's Opening Night arts anthology series.[5]