TIFF 2022 | INTERVIEW: "The Umbrella Men" Discussion With Director John Barker and Lead Actors Keenan Arrison and Jaques De Silva
Making its international premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, The Umbrella Men is screening as part of the festival’s Contemporary World Cinema program. The film will have in-person showtimes at the festival, as well as availability on Festival At Home via the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform.
Here’s the synopsis for the film:
When musician Jerome Adams flies into Cape Town for his estranged father’s funeral, he finds his dad has bequeathed him his beloved Goema Club as well as the care of The Umbrella Men minstrel troupe. Unfortunately, the Club comes with a huge overdraft, due in two weeks for repayment to the bank on penalty of repossession, in a shady deal engineered by Tariq Cupido, a long-time family rival. Jerome decides to rob the bank itself under cover of the annual carnival parade when thousands of troupes will invade the streets, Tariq’s troupe, The Maulers, competing against Jerome’s Umbrella Men. And as Jerome reconnects with friends, and community, he learns about himself and why he must stay in this special place.
To kick off our coverage of the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, I’m excited to share this interview with The Umbrella Men director John Barker and lead actors Jaques De Silva and Keenan Arrison. In this interview, we have a great conversation about the making of the film, their careers in entertainment, and the team shares entertaining stories that happen on set.
John describes The Umbrella Men not as a heist film, but a caper film, with the most unlikely of characters coming together to pull off this complex bank robbery. The result is a movie that is fun, entertaining, and vibrant, as this unlikely cast of characters attempt to pull off this mission.
You can learn more about The Umbrella Men at tiff.net, and find showtimes for the film during the festival.
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