Projects

O, BRAZEN AGE (2015)

Part coming-of-age story, part art-cinema meditation on photography, memory, and souvenirs, O, Brazen Age creates a tender and haunting portrait of friendship and faith in the 21st century. The film follows a group of Toronto artists in their twenties on a search for new mythologies, invoking a cinematic landscape where classical literature collides with new wave aesthetics and 90’s pastiche.

O, Brazen Age is the debut feature film by Canadian writer/director Alexander Carson. It was produced by Alexander Carson and Kyle Thomas at North Country Cinema, and Jeff Hanes at Walk on the Sunnyside, with the support of Telefilm Canada and the Canada Council for the Arts. O, Brazen Age had its World Premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2015, and was presented at numerous film festivals across North America and Europe. It received a theatrical release in Canada in March 2017, garnering much critical acclaim, and was made available for purchase and rent digitally through iTunes and the National Film Board of Canada later that year.

WATCH: O, Brazen Age – Trailer

WATCH: O, Brazen Age – Behind-the-scenes

Praise for O, Brazen Age

“An immersive and beautifully observed first feature.  Alexander Carson is prepared to take chances and has found a wonderful group of actors to explore the confusing and formative experiences of young adulthood.”
— Atom Egoyan

“Freshly lyrical, propulsive — and compulsively honest! These entwined narratives get airborne and soar off into atmospheric realms!”
— Guy Maddin

“Alexander Carson’s impressive debut feature is fascinatingly eerie… Carson applies the searching, yearning qualities of late-period Terrence Malick to a Canadian mumblecore drama – exploring thoughtful, talkative characters’ ideas about faith, purpose and desire – and it works.“
— Norman Wilner, NOW Magazine

Something like an edgier, avant-garde version of The Big Chill… The photography is exquisite and the telling of the story is unusual. O, Brazen Age is about the sadness of a single shoe, the rational fear of dentistry and the audacity of doubt. Mostly, it’s about things collected and the big area between the past and future: the never-ending present, or, why not, the Big Still.“
— Brad Wheeler, The Globe & Mail

THE VALLEY BELOW (2014)

A multi-narrative drama that chronicles the life of a small town in the badlands of Alberta over the course of one year. The film is divided into four chapters, each focusing on a different set of characters, including a pregnant teenager, a hard-drinking musician, an reclusive taxidermist, and an ambitious RCMP officer. The film’s intertwining stories combine to render a rich portrait of rural life in central Alberta.

The Valley Below is the first feature film by writer/director Kyle Thomas. It was produced by Alexander Carson, Cameron Macgowan, and Kyle Thomas at North Country Cinema. The Valley Below had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2014, when its Canadian distribution rights were acquired by A71 Entertainment. The film was released theatrically across Canada in 2015, and went on to receive two Canadian Screen Award nominations that year.

WATCH: The Valley Below – Trailer

WATCH: The Valley Below – Behind-the-scenes

Praise for The Valley Below

“First-time feature writer-director Kyle Thomas has made a deliberately small film set in small-town Alberta, and he was clearly aware of the many sinkholes into which it could fall, because he avoids all of them deftly… The Valley Below is a superb first feature, and it will be fascinating to see where this new talent turns his lens next.“
— Chris Knight, National Post

“This is a movie that gnaws away at you ever-so slowly and before you know it, the picture’s ripped your guts out. Basically, Thomas has delivered a film that is as muted as it is charged with the kind of emotion that explodes when you least expect it… The Valley Below is a film that indelibly aptures the myriad of exterior and interior vistas with a high level of artistry, always rooted in character and tone. Thomas elicits performances from his entire cast – from leads down to background extras – that ring with raw truth“
— Greg Klymkiw, The Film Corner

“Calgary native Kyle Thomas’s assured first feature, which consists of four interrelated dramas set in Drumheller, Alta., didn’t get the praise it deserved with its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. Away from the festival lights, though, this slow-burn collection of narratives, with its moody cinematography, original soundtrack and emotionally authentic performances, looks even stronger.“
— Liam Lacey, The Globe & Mail