Arts & Culture

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OUR CITY Tonight: Spotlight Offers More Home Viewings

By Richmond Sentinel

Published 3:07 PDT, Fri October 16, 2026

Last Updated: 2:50 PDT, Tue October 20, 2026

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THE VIEW #1 – You Had To Be There
We step back in time to a 1972 Toronto production of Godspell and its cast of young unknown actors. Why are we looking back more than half a century? The reason is, those unknown actors, would go on to change the face of comedy for the next 5 decades! Writer Nick Davis and his wife and frequent collaborator, Jane Mendelohn, have taken this remarkable story and turned it into a documentary called You Had To Be There, an idea that began taking shape after Davis read Martin Short’s memoir and recognized that the 1972 Toronto production of Godspell represented something larger than an unlikely gathering of future stars—which included, along with Martin Short, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, Dave Thomas, and musical director, Paul Shaffer. It was the beginning of a creative community that would profoundly influence the comedy that was in the wings, waiting to take centre stage in Second City, SCTV, and Saturday Night Live (to mention just a few). Davis’s film is filled with reflections and recollections from those comedy icons who were there, thoughts from the devoted generations who would follow, like Mike Myers, Janeane Garofalo, and creative animated sequences that enhance the stories. As celebratory as this film is, Davis should also be applauded for showing that it wasn’t all wonderful. Cast member, Avril Chown, moved on to American TV after the success of Godspell only to suffer heartbreaking abuse while working on a Saturday morning show we used to watch as kids. Look for – You Had To Be There in theatres now. www.youhadtobetheredoc.com

THE VIEW #2 – Twiggy
Our next film, also a documentary, tells the story of the iconic model, award winning actress and singer, Twiggy. Director, Sadie Frost (an actress who, like Twiggy, experienced the good and bad of being in the public eye at a young age) has delivered a superb film that takes us back to Twiggy’s early days when she was Lesley Hornby from a working-class London upbringing who would become one of the defining faces of the Swinging Sixties. But those early days, though iconic, are but a small part for Twiggy’s story as she went on to achieve success in film, on the Broadway stage, in TV and as a singer. Frost uses rare archival footage alongside candid present-day reflections from Twiggy and friends and admirers including Paul McCartney, Dustin Hoffman, Brooke Shields and Joanna Lumley. The personal ups and downs are also covered in this film, and at the end, you feel a great affection for this woman who is now in her mid-70s. You also look upon her warmly and with admiration as someone who accepted professional challenges with enthusiasm: she’d never acted before but excepted a lead role in a film when she was barely in her twenties; Broadway musical sends her an invite, of course she excepts. Look for Twiggy on Our City Tonight in mid-October. Twiggy, the film, is available now for home viewing. www.theofficialtwiggy.com

THE VIEW #3 – A Safe Distance
It’s always nice when we can recommend a B.C. film, in this case a film called A Safe Distance. It stars Burnaby born, Bethany Brown (she has a long resume, including the popular show, Murder in a Small Town), as Alex, a young woman we first see on a camping trip she’s clearly taking to appease her boyfriend. But when she refuses his proposal, he takes off early the next morning, leaving her to wake alone in the deep BC woods. Unsure of where she is, and trying to make her way back to the nearby town, Alex is rescued by a couple who are also camping – or are they? A Safe Distance is part noir, part erotic suspense, with more happening in the first 35 minutes that we expected. This film succeeds in part due to the great on screen chemistry between Alex and Kianna (played by Tandia Mercedes). A Safe Distance makes its debut here in BC during the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF), October 5th at the Rio Theatre and October 7th at VIFF Theatre. And look for the Our City Tonight interview with Bethany Brown in October and in the pages of The Richmond Sentinel. www.asafedistancefilm.com