Scouts are Cancelled


Scouts Are Cancelled
 72 minutes

“It’s Brilliant.” 
Glenn Sumi, Now Toronto
“It's a literary portrait you won't soon forget.”  
Henrietta Walmark, The Globe and Mail
“Scouts Are Cancelled is … one of the best filmed poetry books ever”
 Todd Swift, Eyewear.
“… one of the best literary biographies I’ve ever seen.” 
Ron Foley-MacDonald, Infomonkey
“… a moving portrait of a significant voice on the Canadian literary scene.” 
Rob Mclennan, Ottawa Poetry Newsletter
“Watching John Stiles … is like watching someone lost in a trance.  He squeezes his eyes shut, channels the voices of his speakers and loudly emits sounds of growling dogs, wailing sirens and non-verbal whoops of joy and despair.”  
Geoff Pevere, The Toronto Star
“…utterly absorbing … A fascinating portrait of a fascinating subject.” 
The Canadian Film Institute
“Scouts Are Cancelled is one the best contemporary literary biographies of the last decade.” 
The Atlantic Film Festival 

Awards & Distinctions
Rex Tasker Documentary Award at The Atlantic Film Festival
Top Jury Award for Documentary at the University Film and Video Associations Juried Screenings
Hot Pick at The Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival
Hot Pick at The Atlantic Film Festival  

Broadcast
Hotdocs Library

Educational Distribution
McNabb and Connolly 2008-11

Festivals & Screenings
Hot Docs  2007, Toronto
The Canadian Film Institute, 2007, Ottawa
The Rhode Island International Film Festival, 2008, Providence
Festivaletteratura (Italy) 2007, Mantova
Voices From the Water Film Festival, Bangalore, India, 2008
Poetry Film: Mythology and Celebration, (20 min. Version) London, 2009
Between a Rock and a Hard Place:  Contemporary Screening from Atlantic Canada, Winnipeg, 2009
University Film and Video Associations Juried Screenings, 2007, Denton, TX
The Atlantic Film Festival, 2007, Halifax
Halifax Independent Film Festival, 2011, Halifax
Slightly North of Boston Film Festival (SNOB) 2008, Manchester, NH
Indie Cinema Series, 2007, York University, Toronto
The Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, 2008, Ithaca, NY  

Summary
Scouts are Cancelled is an intriguing documentary on the life of Nova Scotia-born writer and poet John Stiles. Stiles once worked as a telemarketer in Toronto and used colorful voices and accents while speaking to customers on the phone. He later used those voice characters in his open-mike readings and garnered a cult following, which led to two published books. This film, from director John Scott, was chosen as a "Hot Pick" at both the Hot Docs Documentary Festival and the Atlantic Film Festival and was a critics choice for the Globe and Mail, The Toronto Star, Now Magazine, InfoMonkey.com and Eyewear. It it has won two awards and played around the globe. The Atlantic Film Festival called it "... one of the best contemporary literary documentaries of the last decade." 

Collaborators
JOHN STILES is a poet, novelist, and filmmaker. He is the author of two collections of poetry, SCOUTS ARE CANCELLED, CREAMSICLE STICKS SHIVS and, a novel, THE INSOLENT BOY, published by Insomniac Press. Originally from Port Williams, Nova Scotia, Stiles currently lives in London, England.

Charles Austin, Composer
Ariella Pahlke, Associate Producer
Ed Tracy, Associate Producer
Rob Todd, Sound Mixer

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