KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT

“Spellbinding … Unique … Unmissable … For those looking to watch a doc that sensitively explores community and culture through the eyes and minds of people who are often disregarded throughout history and society, KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT is the Holy Grail.” - POV Magazine

From John Bolton - the filmmaker behind AIM FOR THE ROSES, which POV Magazine called “the wildest, craziest, smartest doc in years” - comes KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT, a genre-defying documentary film inspired by a medieval musical play 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. Think: “The Green Knight” meets “Crip Camp”, but with songs.

“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, this is Camelot. Niall had a bad experience with a goat when he was a boy … so of course, King 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 King Arthur (played by Niall) and the wizard Merlin (played by Marcus).

KING ARTHUR’S NIGHT (the film) unfolds in Camelot, as King 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 story of fathers and sons, by turns comic and tragic, and real and surreal, it’s about the powers of imagination and inclusion to change lives and worlds.

KING ARTHUR'S NIGHT also pushes the boundaries of "access aesthetics" - the understanding that accessibility practices both remove barriers, and contribute to the creative vocabulary of a work. The film features "Integrated Described Video", or "IDV", for the blind and partially sighted - carefully considered dialogue & narration & sound design that does the job that "regular" described video does, without having to turn it on, and without "regular" audiences even realizing it. The film also features best in class captioning for the deaf and hard of hearing. Both of these features offer opportunities for truly accessible and inclusive screenings for audiences across differences - those who can see and those who can't, and those who can hear and those who can't, all gathering in the same theatres, having the same shared experiences.

KING ARTHUR'S NIGHT is an Opus 59 Films production, presented by AMI (Accessible Media Inc), with the participation of Telefilm Canada, the Canada Media Fund, the Rogers Documentary Fund, Creative BC and the BC Arts Council, in association with Knowledge Network. It was developed with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts, the Creative BC / Rogers Group Of Funds Documentary + Factual Development Fund and Telefilm Canada.

“The relaxed performance of “King Arthur’s Night” (the play) that I saw at the PuSh Festival in Vancouver in 2018 was one of the greatest theatregoing experiences of my life. It was funny, sad and scary; I was amused, moved and upset; I laughed, cried and gasped. It made me think about the world in a new way, and it changed my life, and I could imagine it changing the world, if only the world could see it. Thanks to AMI, now it will.”
- John Bolton, Director & Producer, Opus 59 Films

"I can answer about 25 questions about the film ... Arthur is really hard [to answer questions about]. He’s a great guy. He's a star. He's cool ... I really like me and Marcus. I like the music, when Veda is using her imagination. Same thing with Devon [Cooke, the location sound recordist]. Great sound ... Memories of Tiffany [King, who plays Guinevere] when she's sad ... When I first met John, we were having dinner, and I realized, maybe I could work with this guy. He’s extremely hard working, and tired all the time, and he never takes a break in the hot springs. Long days. Long nights. I can't believe we have to get up at 5am ... We need people to watch the film, and see how they feel about watching cast who have Down syndrome, and watching cast who are non- Down syndrome ... It's a long wait. Everybody wants to see it." - Niall McNeil, Producer & Star & Subject

"This project was the most massive undertaking of my artistic career, in scale, scope, and in the attempt to imagine a slightly better, more loving and more authentically inclusive society than the one we currently share. Its resonances with audiences across the country, and around the world was gratifying. John has realized it on an even bigger scale. His film version makes our production and the process we invented as part of making it accessible to people everywhere. I am grateful, and also a little cowed. It’s humbling to see our attempt to realize and honour the vision of an extraordinary artist who happens to have Down syndrome, as well as the complex, contradictory and loving inclusive community we built around it, come fully to life in the movies. And it’s thrilling, too.” - Marcus Youssef, Producer & Star & Subject

“John’s work is more than contemporary documentary - it’s an archive, a celebration, and a glorious act of storytelling. His care, consideration, and dedication throughout the filmmaking process has inspired its wide community of creators, reinforcing the value of artistic vision and inclusive practice in the arts.” - James Hill, Producer / Subject

“I still can't believe our luck in getting to collaborate with John on this film. His clear love of our original work, paired with his vision for his adaptation, was a wild and intriguing ride all the way along. I love what he’s captured on film, and I look forward to having the film in the world for decades to come.” - Veda Hille, Producer / Star / Subject