First look at the Canadian filmmaker's latest, starring David Thewlis.
A crop of upcoming films feature troubled female musicians - The Audition, Lara and Invisible Life - and joining the list is Guest of Honour, the latest from Canadian auteur Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter; Exotica).
Guest of Honour stars Laysla de Oliveira as Veronica, a music teacher who finds herself imprisoned following an inappropriate relationship with a young pupil. Her father (David Thewlis) attempts to free her, but Veronica seems determined to accept the punishment she believes she deserves. The film also stars Luke Wilson, Rossif Sutherland and Alexandre Bourgeois.
A UK/ROI release has yet to be announced but you can check out the first trailer below.
The official synopsis reads:
Jim (David Thewlis) and his daughter Veronica (Laysla De Oliveira), a young high- school music teacher, attempt to unravel their complicated histories and intertwined secrets in GUEST OF HONOUR, the new film from Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter) which weaves through time exploring perception and penance, memory and forgiveness. A hoax instigated by an aggressive school bus driver (Rossif Sutherland) goes very wrong. Accused of abusing her position of authority with 17-year-old Clive (Alexandre Bourgeois) and another student, Veronica is imprisoned. Convinced that she deserves to be punished for crimes she committed at an earlier age, Veronica rebuffs her father’s attempts to secure her early release. Confused and frustrated by Veronica’s intransigence, Jim’s anguish begins to impinge on his job. As a food inspector, he wields great power over small, family-owned restaurants. It’s a power he doesn’t hesitate to use. While preparing Jim’s funeral, Veronica confides the secrets of her past to Father Greg (Luke Wilson) who may hold the final piece of the father-daughter puzzle.
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