Film Burial Society wins CityTV award

Local filmmaker Nicholas Racz's film The Burial Society took home the CityTV Western Canada Screenwriters Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival's closing gala Oct. 11. The honor includes a cash prize of $12,000.

Racz wrote and directed this film about a bank loans officer named Sheldon Kasner, played wonderfully by actor Rob LaBelle. Kasner is accused of stealing $2 million and, after being dangled upside down from a bridge by his bosses, he finds refuge in a small town's chevra kadisha (burial society). But life is not quiet for long in this refuge, as Racz's plot is full of crimes, double-crosses and some incredibly (and perhaps surprisingly) interesting tidbits about the Jewish interment process.

Anyone who didn't see The Burial Society at the film festival should check it out in the new year, when it is due for general release. ns.