Episode 334: In The Seats With...Patricia Rozema and 'I've Heard The Mermaids Singing'

Anniversaries tend to sneak up on you...especially big ones like this...On this episode we have the unique pleasure of sitting down with writer/director Patricia Rozema as her film 'I've Heard The Mermaids Singing' has just had a brand new 4K restoration as is having a theatrical run at the Metrograph in New York starting on March 11th and the Alamo Drafthouse in LA on March 18th before expanding out across North America during the spring.I've Heard The Mermaids Singing is a charming and whimsical story about a daydreamer with artistic aspirations, Patricia Rozema’s fanciful character study follows an amateur photographer Polly (Sheila McCarthy) as she lands a temp job at a Toronto art gallery run by elegant and sophisticated Gabrielle (Paule Baillargeon), who is also a painter. Polly is impressed with Gabrielle’s paintings, but as Polly gets to know Gabrielle’s lover, Mary (Ann-Marie MacDonald), and becomes entangled in their lives, she realizes that Gabrielle isn’t exactly who she appears to be. Winner of the Prix de la Jeunesse at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival, it's hard to believe that this charming Queer character study is celebrating it's 35th anniversary.I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Patricia to talk about how a restoration like this gets kicked off, the legacy of the film, the brilliance of Shelia McCarthy, how the film has aged and the evolution of Canadian cinema on the world stage.