Do I Know You from Somewhere? Several years after their meet-cute — at a wedding, of course — Olive (Caroline Bell) and Benny (Ian Ottis Goff) are spending an entirely ordinary day at their lake house. Until, that is, things start to shift, little by little. At first it’s just an apparently misplaced package or some scrambled letters on the fridge.
Then, it’s more meaningful stuff. And then, almost casually, Olive finds Benny replaced by a woman named Ada (Mallory Amirault), who can’t understand why Olive doesn’t know her. They’ve been together for years, after all. Since they met at that wedding.
The debut feature from Fredericton filmmaker Arianna Martinez is easier to experience than describe. It’s a multiverse picture without a single visual effect, unless you count the actors.
Working from a script she co-wrote with producer Gordon Mihan, Martinez keeps the storytelling clear and coherent even when her characters don’t know what’s happening, using a slightly theatrical style and making the most of a very limited budget. And New Brunswick stage actor and playwright Bell is sensational in her first film role as Olive. She glows — sometimes literally — as a woman slowly realizing she might not have been living the life she wants, and grappling with everything that means. It’s slippery and strange, and sort of wonderful. You’ll want to hold this one close.
Do I Know You from Somewhere? is a Canadian drama film directed by Arianna Martinez, and released in 2024. Described as a multiverse story told without special effects, the film stars Caroline Bell as Olive, a woman who has been in a relationship with Benny (Ian Ottis Goff) for a number of years since they first met at a mutual friend’s wedding, only for her reality to begin shifting until one day Benny has been fully replaced by Ada (Mallory Amirault), a woman Olive does not recognize even though they’ve been in a relationship for a number of years since they first met at the same wedding.
The cast also includes Gillian Salmon, Hailey James Trifts, Dani Brun, Megan Murphy, Sophie Brander, Jean-Michel Cliche, Bhreagh MacNeil, Alex Rioux, Gordon Mihan and Sydney Hallet in supporting roles. Martinez’s feature directorial debut, the film was shot in 2023 in various locations throughout New Brunswick.
The film premiered in the Discovery program at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival, and was also screened at the 2024 Atlantic International Film Festival. It will also be screened at the 29th Busan International Film Festival in Flash Forward section.
Do I Know You from Somewhere? (2024)
Directed by: Arianna Martinez
Starring: Caroline Bell, Ian Ottis Goff, Mallory Amirault, Gillian Salmon, Hailey James Trifts, Dani Brun, Megan Murphy, Bhreagh MacNeil, Sophie Brander, Jean-Michel Cliche, Gordon Mihan
Screenplay by: Arianna Martinez, Gordon Mihan, Sydney Hallet
Production Design by: Sharisse Lebrun
Cinematography by: Lance Kenneth Blakney
Film Editing by: Gordon Mihan, Lance Kenneth Blakne
Costume Design by: Michelle Duncan
Art Direction by: Cassidy Ingersoll
Makeup Department: Kaylee MacNeil
Music by: Zachary Greer
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Vortex Media
Release Date: September 6, 2024 (TIFF)
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