A Double Eagle and Four Festival Awards

Here's a combination that's impossible to beat. On Friday, September 23rd, Halifax writer-director Michael Melski holed a double eagle on a Par 5 during the Atlantic Film Festival's Fore4Film charity golf tournament. The following day, Saturday, September 24th, he watched as his second feature Charlie Zone bagged four prizes: Best Atlantic Feature, Outstanding Direction, Best Actor, and Best Cinematography.

The acting winner in that bunch, Glen Gould, plays a washed up Aboriginal boxer working the waterfront and earning money on the side by participating in street fights posted to YouTube. When his Internet exploits earn him the assignment of rescuing a young heroin addict (Amanda Crew) from a dangerous part of Halifax known as the “Charlie Zone,” he delves into something that turns out to be much more complicated. By all accounts, the dark, gritty, and profane side of Nova Scotia's capital that emerges does justice to the movie's informal working title of the "Trainspotting of Halifax."

During the Atlantic Film Festival event, Melski told local blog “Haliwood Insider” that he finished post-production on his indie thriller just a few hours before the first screening on September 22nd. Armed now with the $10,000 cash prize that came with the Best Atlantic Feature nod, the playwright-turned-filmmaker might do well to put together a solid website for his sophomore effort.

Melski is no stranger to the Atlantic Film Festival. In 2008, his comedy feature Growing Op debuted there as well, earning a Best Art Direction prize. Charlie Zone is set to hit Canadian theaters in 2012.

[Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia: Michael Melski]