Measures for a Funeral

Sofia Bohdanowicz’s latest pieces together the extraordinary story of real-life early 20th-century Canadian violinist Kathleen Parlow — who by rights should be a household name — blending fact with a fictionalized family history.

The director’s frequent collaborator, actress Deragh Campbell (also at this year’s Festival with Kazik Radwanski’s Matt and Mara), plays Audrey Benac, a woman on a single-minded mission to learn more about Parlow, who has slipped away from collective memory. Melding her own personal history into the film, Parlow was Bohdanowicz’s grandfather’s violin mentor and teacher.

Parlow is the subject of Audrey’s Ph.D. thesis and her research takes her from Toronto to London to Oslo and far away from her dying mother, who is bitter that she never got to pursue her own violin dreams while her husband did, a legacy that haunts Audrey.

Discovering a once-lost composition dedicated to Parlow, Audrey shoves aside her own personal problems to restage the opus.

Culminating in a beautiful final concerto that is layered in meaning and importance, this film brings to light a forgotten icon, while simultaneously reflecting on loss, regrets, and closure.

More ambitious than anything Bohdanowicz has previously made, Measures for a Funeral is still very much in line with her body of work. Fans will recognize her emotional precision and collaborative spirit while also appreciating her decision to stretch herself in new directions, adding new notes to her established melodies.

KELLY BOUTSALIS