The Perfection of the Moment
Corey Lee | 5 min, DV | Calgary
It’s been said that we Canucks have been cursed with the ability to see both sides of an argument, and Writer/Director Corey Lee effortlessly presents this neurosis with obsessing over every possible detail. The Perfection of the Moment is an unapologetic re-examination of one bad night as our narrator (Joel McNichol) walks alone down a deserted city street, and when threatened by drunks, is called upon to question his own sexuality. As the night wears on, he is forced to contemplate the consequences of his seemingly poor choices (as well as alternate courses of action) that lead him to a fleeting, but unmistakably honest moment of clarity. Lee has created one of the more charming and playful critiques of homosexual politics in Alberta, a province with a widely known stance on same sex relationships both within government and civilian levels, that reads like a regret filled morning spent on a psycho-analyst’s couch, hung-over and sore.
Corey Lee is known for his debut feature film, Defining Edward, a dark, edgy and vibrant story of one man’s fight to unlock the truth about his own troubled past, which premiered in Toronto at the 2003 ReelWorld Film Festival, and was an official selection of the 2003 Calgary International Film Festival and aired across Western Canada on Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central in 2004 and 2005. The Perfection of the Moment (2006 AMPIA Award winner for Best Short Film) marks writer/director Corey Lee’s first foray into adaptation; the story, of the same name, is taken from John Gould’s kilter: 55 fictions collection, which was short-listed for the 2003 Giller Prize. Lee is currently in post-production on his new short film ClimaXXX: a love story.