With Love And A Major Organ Movie

[Heike Fallago]

Basedon a stage play by Julia Lederer, the film is set in an alternate reality in which all human individuality and emotion has been suppressed by technological mediation; life decisions like careers and relationships are mediated by a computer application called LifeZap rather than personal passions, emotions are explored only in facilities that resemble escape rooms, and even the heart itself is simply a physical object that can be removed from a person's chest.[2]

The cast includes Veena Sood, Donna Benedicto, Arghavan Jenati, Laara Sadiq, Ryan Beil, Kern Burkett, Enid-Raye Adams, Miho Suzuki, Ken Godmere, Linda Pollard, Jennifer Copping, Michael Daingerfield, Lynda Boyd, Calix Fraser and William Vaughan.

Anabel (Anna Maguire), an artist who is one of the few remaining people who still experience a world of individuality and emotion, falls in love with George (Hamza Haq), a man who is part of the dominant paradigm and who rejects her because LifeZap has not selected her for him. Heartbroken, Anabel removes her heart so that she can finally blend into the norm, and sends it to George, who places it in his own chest and begins to experience genuine emotion and individuality for the first time in his life.[3]

Albright did a residency at the Canadian Film Centre in 2018, during which she met Lederer and began to collaborate on a film adaptation of Lederer's stage play.[4] In 2020 she won two awards from Women in the Directors Chair for the screenplay treatment.[4]

Rachel Ho of Exclaim! praised Maguire and Haq for their performances, writing that "the flip between Anabel and George notably does not simply elicit a one-to-one switch in Maguire and Haq's performances. Refreshingly, both play their characters' newfound perspectives in different registers that go beyond a typical personality swap."[3] She further stated that "With Love and a Major Organ has moments of fantastical surrealism, including a whimsical dance sequence that is reminiscent of a bygone era of film, as well as the premise that hearts are inanimate objects that can be removed and replaced. Albright grounds each of these elements with a down-to-earth production quality that grants audiences the ability to suspend disbelief easily, which is further aided by a humorous script by Julia Lederer."[3]

It won the awards for Outstanding Feature Film, Outstanding Feature Actor (Haq) and Outstanding Feature Cinematographer (Leo Harim) at the 2023 Reelworld Film Festival,[10] and the award for Best Feature Film at the 2024 Canadian Film Festival.[11]

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In an alternate world where hearts are made of objects and suppressing emotions is self-care, a lonely woman rips out her own heart for the man she loves, only to discover that he has run away with it.

With Love and A Major Organ is a sparkling debut for Albright and a wonderful piece of independent cinema that keeps its world alive and relevant. It speaks to what life means and how difficult it can be to navigate, especially if you are sensitive. One can predict a vivid future for Kim Albright because her heart is most certainly in the right place.

VIFF thanks the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱w7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations for their continued stewardship of the unceded and occupied land on which our work takes place. As an organization founded and predominantly directed by settlers and immigrants, we understand our responsibility to seek out and build authentic relationships with Indigenous communities, and to allow this ongoing dialogue to influence our practices. As part of this process, we remain committed to collaborating with and supporting Indigenous artists, filmmakers, curators, and audiences.

In a fantasy world paralleling our own, two lost souls find a fleeting connection amid a landscape of toxic self-care. The majority of people inhabiting this realm exist in a detached emotional state, and plan their lives virtually through an app called LifeZapp. On the fringes of this society, human hearts are glowing objects that people can rip from their bodies and exchange with one another.

Whimsical, quirky, and wildly original, With Love and a Major Organ pushes on the ever-stranger phenomenon of physical human interaction in the age of technology. Why is it that we are ever more connected and yet we have never felt more alone? During her morning commute, a young woman falls in love with a total stranger she meets on the subway. After giving the man her actual beating heart, he disappears -leading this unlikely heroine on a quest to retrieve her heart, accidentally cracking open those of others she meets along the way. An eccentric, edgy comedy about what it costs to give your heart away, and what happens when you discover you actually have one.

Andrew Parker fell in love with film growing up across the street from a movie theatre. He began writing professionally about film at the age of fourteen, and has been following his passions ever since. His writing has been showcased at various online outlets, as well as in The Globe and Mail, BeatRoute, and NOW Magazine. If he's not watching something or reading something, he's probably sleeping.

This Partner Label release is distributed through Vinegar Syndrome's sister company OCN Distribution. Vinegar Syndrome had no part in, nor are responsible for, the restoration, extras, quality control or any content(s) of this release. We hope you enjoy our growing roster of Partner Labels and the expertise and curation brought to each release by their dedicated staff!

This special limited edition slipcover (designed by Luke Insect) is limited to 1,000 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.

In a world where everyone's heart is an object and there's a strong societal pressure to dampen emotion, lonely Virtual Insurance broker Anabel (Anna Maguire) always follows her heart. At odds with this overly pragmatic society, and after a series of devasating emotional blows, she rips her heart from her chest and gives it to a man she's fallen for, the strangely unfeeling George (Hamza Haq). Unburdened by her unique yet cumbersome heart, Anabel finds life easier. George, on the other hand, begins to feel everything, to the shock of his overbearing mother, Mona (Veena Sood). Anabel soon realizes she needs to get her heart back if she's going to survive.

Anabel gives her heart to a man she meets on the subway and he disappears with it. Her limbs begin to fall asleep. George is on the run but keeps getting distracted by romantic comedies. he begins to blame his mother. Mona resorts to seeking therapy from GoogleShrink, forcing herself to speed-date, and taking in a stranger who appears on her doorstep clad in purple plaid. With Love and a Major Organ uses magic realism to reinvent the modern romantic comedy. Poetic, quirky, and deeply original, the play examines love in the age of technology, our ability and need to connect with strangers, and the universally trying task of reconciling the head and the heart.

Her real passions are painting and poetry, and falling in love. She waltzes into work (usually late) in jumpers and paint smeared on her face, frizzy blonde hair going this way and that. Her only real friend is Casey (Donna Benedicto), her next-door deskmate and an ardent devotee of LifeZapp. Casey is about to get married to a guy she barely knows after meeting on her phone.

I\u2019m kind of a quirky guy and I definitely enjoy quirky movies. Films that leave most others scratching their head with their weirdo premises or warped senses of humor like \u201CBrazil\u201D or \u201CLars and the Dead Girl\u201D are decidedly my bag. God bless the misfit flicks.

Sometimes, though, it feels like a movie is wandering into relishing quirkiness for its own sake. The strangeness is supposed to be its own reward, rather than in service to a story or an enticing idea. \u201CWith Love and a Major Organ\u201D falls into this set.

It\u2019s set in a near-future where our current obsession with apps and always-online attention seeking has progressed to the natural stage: LifeZapp, an app that can literally run your entire life for you, including deciding who you marry.

The film\u2019s knockout lead performance is by Anna Maguire playing Anabel, the rare woman who\u2019s vibrantly independent and free-thinking. Working her thankless telemarketing job at an insurance company, she answers every call with an offbeat or ad-libbed greeting. She\u2019s the hot sauce in a society of plain oatmeal.

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