Hello Destroyer

{{Infobox film

| name = Hello Destroyer

| image = Hello Destroyer poster.jpg

| caption = Film poster

| director = Kevan Funk

| producer = {{Plainlist |

Daniel Domachowski
Haydn Wazelle{{cite web |url=https://www.viff.org/Online/article/f23051-hello-destroyer |publisher=Vancouver International Film Festival |title=Hello Destroyer [programme note] |access-date=22 January 2017 |year=2016 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}}}

| writer = Kevan Funk

| starring = Jared Abrahamson

| music = Edo Van Breemen

| cinematography = Benjamin Loeb

| editing = Ajla Odobašić

| production_companies = {{plainlist |

Tabula Dada
Type One}}

| distributor = Tabula Dada

| released = {{film date|2016|9|10|TIFF|df=yes}}

| runtime = 110 minutes

| country = Canada

| language = English

}}

Hello Destroyer is a 2016 Canadian drama film written and directed by Kevan Funk.{{cite web |url=http://cinema-scope.com/cinema-scope-online/hello-destroyer-kevan-funk-canada-discovery/ |title=Hello Destroyer (Kevan Funk, Canada) — Discovery |work=Cinema Scope |date=7 September 2016 |access-date=7 September 2016}} It had its world premiere in the Discovery section at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.{{cite press release |title=POLITICS AND BOLD STORYTELLING HEADLINE CANADIAN LINEUP AT THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL |date=3 August 2016 |access-date=21 January 2017 |publisher=Toronto International Film Festival |url=http://assets.contentful.com/22n7d68fswlw/7DLR6wSe9acWMmsQIMYUi4/2f9071a9f7b7e909e5090b123e021bee/Canadian_Features_2016_.pdf }}

The film stars Jared Abrahamson as an enforcer on a hockey team who faces difficult consequences when a hit on an opposing player during a game turns more violent than intended.{{Cite web |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/vice-sports-qa-we-talked-to-the-director-of-hello-destroyera-film-that-critiques-canadas-national-pastime/ |title=VICE Sports Q&A: We Talked to the Director of 'Hello Destroyer'—a Film That Critiques Canada's National Pastime |last= |first= |work=Vice Sports |date=9 September 2016 |access-date=13 September 2016 |archive-date=21 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921061917/https://sports.vice.com/ca/article/vice-sports-qa-we-talked-to-the-director-of-hello-destroyera-film-that-critiques-canadas-national-pastime |url-status=live }} It was nominated for four Canadian Screen Awards, including Best Motion Picture.

Cast

Jared Abrahamson as Tyson Burr
Kurt Max Runte as Coach Dale Milbury
Joe Buffalo as Eric
Paul McGillion as Ron Burr
Sara Canning as Wendy Davis

Production

The film was an expansion of his 2013 short film Destroyer.Rob Alexander, "Funk brothers share Calgary limelight". Rocky Mountain Outlook, September 26, 2013.

According to Funk, his intention was to make a film that explored institutional and systemic violence rather than a sports film per se;{{Cite web|url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2017/03/10/hello-destroyer-director-kevan-funk-wanted-to-make-aggressively-canadian-film.html |title=Hello Destroyer director Kevan Funk wanted to make 'aggressively' Canadian film |last= |first= |work=Toronto Star |date=10 March 2017 }} he chose a hockey-related setting as it represented an "aggressively Canadian" cultural institution which has a complex relationship with violence and toxic masculinity, and has stated that if he were making the same film in the United States he would likely have chosen a military setting.

The film was shot primarily in Prince George, British Columbia, including at the CN Centre.{{Cite web|url=http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/entertainment/local-a-e/hello-destroyer-producer-grateful-to-city-for-help-with-film-1.2330485 |title=Hello Destroyer producer grateful to city for help with film |last= |first= |work=Prince George Citizen |date=24 August 2016}}

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 11 reviews.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hello_destroyer|title=Hello Destroyer|last= |first= |date=|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=24 March 2021}} Vice Sports describes the film as "about how violence is cultivated, showcased and then punished within a set of institutions that require its presence to be profitable", and Alex Rose of the magazine Cult MTL called the film "as Canadian as a Weakerthans song and as depressing as that second Leonard Cohen record."[http://cultmontreal.com/2016/09/leconomie-du-couple-hello-destroyer-the-bleeder-american-honey-review/ "Hot new films from day four of TIFF"]. Cult MTL, 12 September 2016.

On 7 December 2016, the film was named to the Toronto International Film Festival's annual Canada's Top 10 list.{{Cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/tiff-canada-top-10-films-2016-1.3884421|title='Telling stories that show Canadians who we are:' TIFF unveils top 10 Canadian films of 2016|newspaper=CBC News|access-date=8 December 2016}}

=Accolades=

The film received four Canadian Screen Award nominations at the 5th Canadian Screen Awards in 2017, including Best Motion Picture and Best Actor (Abrahamson).{{Cite web|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/canadian-screen-awards-nominations-1.3938015 |title=Orphan Black, Schitt's Creek, Kim's Convenience up for Canadian Screen Awards |last= |first= |work=CBC News |date=17 January 2017 |access-date=13 March 2017}}

class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"

style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"

! scope="col"|Awards

! scope="col"|Date of ceremony

! scope="col"|Category

! scope="col"|Recipients and nominees

! scope="col"|Result

! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}

rowspan=4|Canadian Screen Awards

|rowspan=4|12 March 2017

| Best Motion Picture

| Daniel Domachowski, Haydn Wazelle

| {{nom}}

|rowspan=4|{{Cite web|url=http://globalnews.ca/news/3186086/2017-canadian-screen-awards-nominees-revealed/ |title=2017 Canadian Screen Awards nominees revealed |last=Furdyk |first=Brent |work=Global News |date=17 January 2017 |access-date=2 March 2017}}

| {{nom}}

| {{nom}}

Best Original Screenplay

| Kevan Funk

| {{nom}}

rowspan=7|Leo Awards

| rowspan=7|2017

| Best Motion Picture

| Haydn Wazelle, Daniel Domachowski

| {{won}}

| rowspan=7|{{cite web|title=Leo Awards, 2017 Winners by Name|url=http://www.leoawards.com/2017/winners/by_name.php|website=www.leoawards.com|access-date=7 June 2017|archive-date=8 June 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608101713/http://www.leoawards.com/2017/winners/by_name.php|url-status=dead}}

Best Direction in a Motion Picture

| rowspan=2| Kevan Funk

| {{won}}

Best Screenwriting in a Motion Picture

| {{won}}

Best Cinematography in a Motion Picture

| Benjamin Loeb

| {{won}}

rowspan=2| Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Motion Picture

| Kurt Max Runte

| {{nom}}

Joe Buffalo

| {{nom}}

Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Motion Picture

| Jared Abrahamson

| {{won}}

rowspan=5|Vancouver Film Critics Circle

|rowspan=5|16 December 2016

| Best Canadian Film

| rowspan=3|Kevan Funk

| {{won}}

|rowspan=5|{{Cite web|url=https://vancouverfilmcritics.com/2017/01/10/the-vfcc-names-hello-destroyer-best-canadian-film/ |title=Hello Destroyer Named Best Canadian Film by VFCC |last= |first= |work=Vancouver Film Critics Circle |date=10 January 2017 |access-date=13 March 2017}}

Best British Columbia Film

| {{won}}

Best Canadian Director

| {{won}}

Best Actor in a Canadian Film

| Jared Abrahamson

| {{won}}

Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film

| Kurt Max Runte

| {{won}}

rowspan=1|Vancouver International Film Festival

|rowspan=1|2016

| BC Emerging Filmmaker Award

| Kevan Funk

| {{won}}

|{{Cite web|url=https://www.straight.com/movies/804401/viff-honours-bc-filmmakers-ann-marie-fleming-kevan-funk-julia-hutchings-jessica |title=VIFF honours B.C. filmmakers Ann Marie Fleming, Kevan Funk, Julia Hutchings, Jessica Parsons, and Jennifer Chiu |last=Smith |first=Charlie |work=The Georgia Straight |date=11 October 2016 |access-date=13 March 2017}}