KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT

From John Bolton - the filmmaker behind AIM FOR THE ROSES, which POV Magazine called “one of the wildest, craziest, smartest docs in years”, and THE LAKE / nx̌aʔx̌aʔitkʷ, which the Georgia Straight called “remarkable, heartfelt and memorable” - comes KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT, the third film in his genre-defying trilogy.

KING ARTHUR'S NIGHT is a medieval musical documentary, inspired by the critically acclaimed play of the same name, created by an amazing company of artists with and without Down syndrome, including award-winning playwrights Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef; visionary director James Long; and iconic musician Veda Hille.

POV Magazine called KING ARTHUR'S NIGHT “spellbinding" and "unique" and "unmissable"; the Tyee called it "fascinating" and "an uproarious melange of the epic and the everyday"; and Stir called it "an authentically inspiring and buoyant documentary-myth mashup that makes us see the world in a new way".

King Arthur’s Night (the play) was a mashup of the Arthurian legend and Niall’s best and worst childhood memories. Niall’s favourite place in the world is the resort municipality of Harrison Hot Springs, British Columbia, Canada, where a hotel and its pools might be mistaken for a castle and its moat … so of course, it’s Camelot. Niall had a bad experience with a goat when he was a boy … so of course, Arthur faces an uprising from subjugated masses of goats. Niall has a beautiful and complicated father-son relationship with Marcus … so of course, so do Arthur (played by Niall) and Merlin (played by Marcus).

KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT (the film) unfolds in Camelot, as Arthur and Merlin look back on their lives … and in Harrison Hot Springs, as Niall and Marcus look back on their lives. Other characters include the famous Guinevere, Lancelot, Galahad, Morgana and Mordred, and the less famous Magwitch, Saxon and Quelibel … and all of the performers who play them. Their guide - and the audience’s - is the legendary Lady of the Lake.

Brimming with magic, memory and metaphor, KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT explores themes of difference and disability, and asks questions about who gets to tell stories, and who gets to wear the crown. A deeply emotional and powerful tale of fathers and sons, by turns comic and tragic, epic and intimate, real and surreal, it’s about the powers of imagination and inclusion to change lives and worlds.

Pushing the boundaries of access aesthetics, KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT features Integrated Described Video (IDV) for blind and partially sighted audiences, as well as open captioning for the Deaf and hard of hearing, offering opportunities for truly accessible and inclusive screenings for audiences across differences in the same theatres.

KING ARTHUR'S NIGHT is an Opus 59 Films production, presented by Accessible Media Inc. (AMI), with the participation of the Canada Media Fund, Telefilm Canada, the Rogers Documentary Fund, Creative BC and the BC Arts Council, in association with Knowledge Network.