The Lifer
Calgary, 2009
8:00
Dir: Christopher Markowsky
HD Video
Live action comedy/drama
While the popular expression “to go postal” takes its origin from a deeply disturbing event, for better or worse the phrase is now used quite casually to describe any egregious loss of composure, particularly in reaction to the inhuman pressures exerted by the modern workplace or by “the Man”. Which is why Christopher Markowsky’s choice to set The Lifer in a privatized post office in some fictional dystopia (or a Canada of the not too distant future) is an inspired one. Glen Atwal may dream of becoming the world’s greatest marine biologist ever, but his ambitions are slowly being drowned as he puts in the hours at the Regal Post Corporation in order to pay the bills. Almost everyone watching The Lifer can probably identify with Atwal and his disaffection with the rat race of modern daily life even as he’s presented with an opportunity to make his way up the corporate ladder. Watch for the cheap plastic throne in which one of Glen’s co-workers expires during a nightmare sequence, and the use of the digit zero as a recurring motif. But as Glen’s dream suffocates and his nightmare progressively becomes reality, there are fortunately a lot of laughs to be had. The performers ably deliver the satire in Markowsky’s script, and co-producer and lead performer Teddy G Alexander gives a sympathetic performance as Glen. On a technical note, The Lifer is one of two works on this year’s program shot using a RED Camera, which delivers a high resolution picture that is, so far, the closest video gets to reproducing the look of film (the other RED Camera piece is The Interrogation).
CHRISTOPHER MARKOWSKY
Born and raised in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, Christopher Markowsky attended the Alberta College of Art and studied filmmaking at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. He worked across Canada as a set dresser in the film and television industry for ten years until 2004. Then in 2005, he produced and directed his first short film, the acclaimed comedy The Milk Crate Recovery Team. His other works have screened for Olympic athletes in Turin and Athens, and the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian as well as at film festivals around the globe. The Lifer is his most recent film. Christopher lives in Calgary with his wife and son.
