First Weekend Club: How did you think this film would appeal to anyone who's never lived in Winnipeg?

Guy Maddin: I'm hoping the film appeals to anyone who has ever had a hometown anywhere in the world. All of us have in common certain attitudes towards our homes, our memories, our families. This movie may be about Winnipeg, but I want it to be about these attitudes, these feelings.

What inspired the story?

Winnipeg is indeed a very strange place - enchanted even - and I wanted to embed, and thereby mythologize, these enchantments in film emulsion for posterity. It was only after starting the project that I realized I was talking about all cities when I spoke of Winnipeg.

What reactions have you received from "peggers" versus the rest of the country?

The crowd in Winnipeg was enormous and exceedingly generous to me the night we opened, but I didn't speak to anyone after the show, choosing instead to flee town before hearing anything back. I'm sure some people believe their Winnipeg is quite different from mine. There are 700,000 Winnipeggers, and therefore just as many Winnipegs, after all, and I don't claim to speak for anyone but myself. I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, but if they want to be hurt, so be it.

Is the part about the frozen horses true?

It's ALL true.

Thanks,
Guy