Vancouver International Film Festival

Camera Shy

Dates and Venue 18 – 24 January 2013, 6.30pm (6.10 on Jan 20) | VancityTheatre, 1181 Seymour St.

Director Mark Sawers Producers Leah Mallen, Galen Fletcher Screenplay Mark Sawers, Doug Barber Camera Brian Johnson Editors Cameron Glegg, Mark Sawers Music Don Macdonald Cast Nicolas Wright, Lara Gilchrist, Gerard Plunkett

Reviewer Karen Fitzgibbon


Camera Shy is entertaining with a fresh perspective of right and wrong. Our main character, a city councillor, is Larry Coyle played by Nicolas Wright. Wright does a great job portraying a corrupt politician who is eventually torn between money and doing what is right. His dealings with corrupt land developer Bob Sterling (Gerard Plunkett) eventually leads to Coyle’s mental unravelling.

Coyle backs the corrupt Bob Sterling on a land development site that they both know is dangerous and an environmental hazard. The result of his involvement in this public deceit eventually lands him in a psychiatrist’s office. He has trouble differentiating between what is real and what he thinks is a movie.

Coyle’s conscience gets the better of him as he starts to hallucinate and becomes paranoid when he sees a camera man following him around everywhere. Of course when he points to the camera man to get other people to see him, the camera man disappears. Coyle’s narcissistic mind sees himself as the main character of his own movie in which he has complete control of its outcome. As the movie progresses it is obvious that this is not the case.

Although people are killed during this film, it really has good tongue in cheek humour. The film is fast moving and definitely worth seeing. Canadian films have come a long way and it’s good to see a new twist.

All in all, it was a good film. The only thing that stands out is that the camera work was out-of-focus at times. Tonight January 18th is the reception with First Weekend Club. The screening is followed by a question and answer period with the filmmakers. It was a thrill to see the talented people involved in making this film.

© 2013 Karen Fitzgibbon