The Enlightened Screen
Nicole Dorsey • Black Conflux
Photo: Gemma Warren
Writer-director Nicole Dorsey joins Canadian Film Institute Executive Director Tom McSorley to discuss her critically acclaimed debut feature film, Black Conflux. Their wide-ranging 30 minute conversation discusses how she came to write the story, how she cast the film, and what she's about to do next.
Having received its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019, Black Conflux went on to be selected as one of Canada's Top Ten films, and was chosen for Telefilm Canada's showcase of new Canadian films in New York City and Los Angeles, 'Canada Now.'
The film's original release was to be in March 2020, but COVID-19 stopped everything. Now the film is being released in select theatres across Canada and since July 2 has been streaming at the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox.
"We are honoured to have Nicole Dorsey as our most recent Canadian film artist in the Enlightened Screen series," says CFI's Tom McSorley. "She is a very talented filmmaker, part of a new generation of Canadian women directors such as Jasmin Mozzafari, Anne Emond, and Ashley McKenzie; I can't wait to see what she'll make next."
Now in its 12th season, the ongoing The Enlightened Screen series has previously presented guest artists such as Ashley McKenzie, Brandon Cronenberg, Catherine Martin, Peter Mettler, Alan Zweig, Hugh Gibson, Ingrid Veninger, and many others.
The CFI is pleased to bring this Enlightened Screen conversation to you online for free. If you appreciate CFI content and want to support our non-profit organization, please consider donating or becoming a member.
Set in suburban Newfoundland in 1987, Nicole Dorsey’s debut feature is a dreamy account of two converging lives.
Fifteen-year-old Jackie (Ella Ballentine) is navigating the tricky transition between vulnerable adolescence and impending adulthood. The film opens with Jackie auditioning for her school choir with a gorgeous rendition of “Hey, Who Really Cares?”, by obscure early-’70s psychedelic folk singer Linda Perhacs. It’s a symbolic overture for a promising young woman from a broken home. Raised by her aunt and living under the cloud of all the disappointments endured by the women in her family, Jackie finds herself giving in to internal and external pressures — partying, skipping school, and hitchhiking — in search of her own identity. Her choices leave her speeding inevitably towards Dennis (Ryan McDonald), a socially inept loner with a volatile dark streak and delusional fantasies of adoring women at his beck and call.
Black Conflux is a vibrant and stunning debut, one that shies away from conventions common to small-town coming-of-age stories. Dorsey exhibits an inspiring cinematic style — both assured and mature — as she reflects on the past and her own experience. Exploring womanhood, isolation, and toxic masculinity, Black Conflux is a bracingly relevant narrative for today.
- Ravi Srinivasan for TIFF
Writer-director Nicole Dorsey joins Canadian Film Institute Executive Director Tom McSorley to discuss her critically acclaimed debut feature film, Black Conflux. Their wide-ranging 30 minute conversation discusses how she came to write the story, how she cast the film, and what she's about to do next.
Before watching this in-depth conversation, we recommend you watch Black Conflux, online at Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox, or in a theatre, if you’re lucky enough to have it playing nearby.