Airbag director Aaron Wilson’s ‘Canopy’ highly praised on its debut at Toronto Film Festival

Airbag Productions director Aaron Wilson’s debut feature Canopy has been lavishly praised by reviewers after its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday.

Set during the Japanese invasion of Singapore in WW11, the thriller follows an Australian fighter pilot (Khan Chittenden) who is shot down in combat and is forced to navigate through enemy territory in search of sanctuary. Taiwanese actor Mo Tzu-Yi plays a Singapore-Chinese resistance fighter who joins him in the struggle to survive.

IndieWire’s Kevin Jagernauth hailed the film as an “assured outing that takes a simple premise and turns it into a unique cinematic experience…. The film is stunningly and gorgeously shot by Stefan Duscio, who makes the surroundings almost otherworldly.”

Says Frank Hatherley, Screen Daily: “Canopy is a short feature but it delivers authentic suspense and a powerful conclusion” and he predicted it will be a strong contender for international festival exposure.”

Says Eddie Cockrell, Variety: This ravishingly shot first feature from rural Australian-born filmmaker Aaron Wilson will spread among fests and find shelter with distributors eager to parlay the genre’s buzz into art house success.”

Cockrell also praised the sound design from Rodney Lowe and Nic Buchanan at Production Alley:

Says Cockrell: “Every bit their equal behind the scenes are sound designers Nic Buchanan and Rodney Lowe, who have created a rich, complex and terrifying soundscape in which nature and war comingle in cacophonous symphony.”

Says Megan Lehmann, The Hollywood Reporter: “From an early POV shot through cracked goggles to the insistent squelch of mud beneath combat boots, writer-director Aaron Wilson maintains a remarkable realism throughout as he builds a lean and focused meditation on the bewildering nature of war. It’s a plucky and promising feature debut from the young Australian, who should find his carefully calibrated art house film in demand on the festival circuit following its premiere in the Discovery program in Toronto.”

The “atmospheric CGI shots establish the scope of the battle, with smoke rising in the distance and aircraft streaking across the skies”  were created by Airbag Productions’ visual effects team the aptly named CanopyVFX.

Wilson will be back from Toronto next week and is available for commercial work. 

Please call Victoria Conners-Bell on 0418 349 123.