BEST NEW NARRATIVE DIRECTOR AWARD

The Best New Narrative Director Award goes to Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais for Whitewash.

The brutality of winter and the power of the mind are aptly portrayed in this dark comedy starring Thomas Haden Church. Bruce is lost. His wife has died and he lost his job. He is merely trying to survive a harsh Canadian winter when he meets Paul and only too late realizes the newcomer is more than he appears. When conflict leads to a death, Bruce finds himself even more isolated in the forests of Quebec, grappling with guilt and creating a prison from which he cannot escape.

Director Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais co-wrote Whitewash with Marc Tulin, creating an intense and entertaining one-man show centered on the landscape of a guilty mind. Against the harsh terrain, Thomas Haden Church delivers a wry, captivating performance, illustrating that where the mind goes, the body follows. When Bruce begins to comprehend the possible consequences of his actions, he flees. However, much to his chagrin, and as Whitewash cleverly reveals, the worst possible punishment is often the one we construct for ourselves.

—Holly Voges