Bathurst — Bathurst City Council announced last week that they will be spending $60,000 to start a film festival in order to celebrate works that local police have shot on their personal body cameras.
“I think it’s so nice that our city is making such a great contribution to the arts, rather than wasting it on some useless security equipment,” said Police Chief Eugène Poitras.
While the festival isn’t until April, Poitras and the City of Bathurst have graciously allowed us a sneak-peak of what we can expect to see this spring. Here are the 3 movies that are generating the most buzz around town:
Drowning in the Bath…urst
As the resident artist at the Bathurst Police Station, Officer Jessica Richard jumped at the opportunity to create a body camera film for the festival. Her opus, Drowning in the Bath…urst is a 4-hour incomprehensible masterpiece about her gruelling day-to-day work on the force. Patrols, traffic violations, paperwork — it’s all here in grainy black and white for the world to witness.
Two Bullets and a Revolver
For all of the action junkies out there, Officer Roy Englund and Const. Jeffery Ryan bring you Two Bullets and a Revolver, an exciting new thriller about a wayward cop, and another wayward cop fighting for justice in the only way they know how.
“This is not your ordinary run-of-the-mill buddy cop flick,” said Englund. “There is no straight man in this pair. It’s just two wild, crazy guys who will do whatever it takes to get the job done.”
The film is partly autobiographical, drawing on elements of their own lives, and is written, produced and directed by the duo, who their co-workers call “inseparable.”
“He’s the best damn partner a guy could ask for,” said Ryan, placing his hand on Englund’s knee and squeezing gently.
Handcuffs and Hoes
Possibly the most talked-about film of the festival, Handcuffs and Hoes is gritty crime drama about a corrupt cop who’s lost his way. He takes bribes, bangs hookers and steals blow from the police evidence locker — all on the city’s dime. The film was directed by filmmaker Officer George Arkoff, who told The Manatee, “I didn’t even know the damn thing was on.”