Award winning director Heather Young's film 'Murmur' to premiere in 2019 TIFF

#TIFF2019; #HeatherYoung; #Murmur; #MarthaCooley

Toronto, July 31 (Canadian-Media):  Award-winning director Heather Young's film 'Murmur' would have its World Premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (2019 TIFF), which will run from Sep 5-15, 2019, TIFF reports said.

Heather Young. Image credit: Twitter handle

Skillfully crafted by Young and producer Martha Cooley, 'Murmur' is a documentary-feature narrative hybrid that presents an enduring story of aging and the human-animal connection

The film is based on the story of about 60 year-old Donna, who being alcohol dependent and lonely, turns to pet animals to ease her pain. Many Nova Scotian non-professional actors are starring in this film with Shan MacDonald starring as Donna.

Heather Young’s (@houseplantfilms) bold debut feature MURMUR is a story of crime, obsession, and pets, starring Shan MacDonald. □ #TIFF19 https://t.co/UNCfEFlsdI pic.twitter.com/KgyhyJXihk

— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) July 31, 2019

After being charged with driving under the influence (DUI), Donna was ordered to do community service in an animal rescue shelter, where she finds solace in the company of abandoned animals surrounding her. She finally bonds with a senior dog who she brings home to prevent from being euthanized.

​She then begins rescuing other animals from the shelter and buying them online, until her small apartment is over-run and ultimately home and life are again disordered.

“It is important to me to tell the stories of older women and allow them to be complex, flawed and fully realized characters, the likes of which are rarely depicted in cinema,” says award-winning filmmaker Heather Young. “Donna is a difficult character, but hopefully one that will resonate. Her loneliness and addictive nature cause her to act in ways that are at times counterintuitive and destructive but ultimately she is looking for connection -- and that is something that we can all relate to. We are happy Murmur will find a stage here at TIFF and that audiences will have a glimpse into Donna's world.” 

Murmur was funded with the support of  Telefilm Canada and the Talent Fund, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund and Arts Nova Scotia.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)​