Praxis Script "The Trotsky" Hits the Festival Circuit
February 22, 2010
Jacob Tierney’s The Trotsky (Praxis Spring/Summer 01) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last September and played as the opening night gala at Whistler this year. It’s won audience awards at both the Tokyo and Atlantic film festivals.
Only 21 when he brought the script to Praxis, Tierney already had an extensive acting resume that included fifteen features and TV movies, recurring roles in Dracula: The Series and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, and a stint as Wilbur Van Snob in Little Lulu. In the intervening years he has appeared in St. Urbain’s Horseman, Walk All Over Me, and Slings & Arrows, and has written and directed his first feature, Twist, setting the Dickens novel in the gay subculture of Toronto.
The Trotsky follows the comic adventures of Leon (Jay Baruchel), a privileged high school student who believes that as the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky he is destined to lead a revolution whether his fellow students want it or not. The film also stars Colm Feore, Genevieve Bujold and Emily Hampshire.
Al Kratina wrote in The Montreal Gazette about Tierney’s “deft comedic touch” with “strong performances” and Montreal in-jokes that “give the film a sense of place, something often lacking in similarly light-hearted comedies.” Screen Daily called it “a smartly paced rib-tickler that wears its heart on the sleeve of its collectivist tunic….The Trotsky’s great achievement is its inspirational message: that apathy and boredom need not be the lot of young people and that collective action is not just a phrase but the engine of change.”
The Trotsky is produced by Jacob’s father Kevin Tierney, who was named Producer of the Year by the Canadian Film and Television Producers’ Association. His action comedy Bon Cop, Bad Cop (also starring Feore) is the all-time Canadian box office champion. Father and son are currently collaborating on their third feature together, the thriller Notre Dame de Grace, which recently wrapped in Montreal.
The Trotsky opens across Canada on May 14. For more information, check the film’s website at
www.thetrotskymovie.com