MONKEY BEACH
PR, Marketing, Creative & Strategic Consultant
Pender PR was engaged by the Monkey Beach team in advance of the films world premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival and was kept on through the films release at TIFF Industry, The Red Nation Film Film Festival in Los Angeles and the American Indian Film Festival in San Francisco. We worked alongside the team to secure and coordinate press, consulted on marketing materials including the trailer and poster and led the outreach for the theatrical launch as well as all festivals.
We were reengaged for promotion of the broadcast debut on Crave in 2021, where we worked alongside the team at Bell, coordinated deliverables and secured more interviews with the creative team. We worked in collaboration with the director, producers & cast to secure high-level national and international coverage every step of the way
Monkey Beach film poster 2020
The successful press campaign, combined with the many award wins led to the films pickup by Cineplex theatres nationally where Monkey Beach remained the #1 Canadian film for 4 weeks. We were responsible for all outreach to the media, working with the cast, team, collecting and consulting on deliverables including press kit, trailer, poster and strategizing every step of the way. Interviews we secured included outlets such as etalk, ET Canada, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety and hundreds more.
The success of our promotional campaign for Monkey Beach helped elevate this important film increasing exposure for the film and team, ticket sales and discoverability. This was a world class launch, which could only be done because of the brilliant film and team we were hired to promote.
Synopsis of Monkey Beach
Waking up in her East Van apartment, Lisa (Grace Dove) is served notice by her cousin’s ghost (Sera-Lys McArthur), "Your family needs you." Reunited with her Haisla kin in Kitimaat Village, she realizes that she’s meant to save her brother, Jimmy, (Joel Oulette) from a tragic fate she’s foreseen since childhood. There’s also the matter of contending with the mystical creatures lurking in the nearby woods. And so begins a captivating allegory about learning to coexist with both the ghosts that haunt us and spirits who might enlighten us.
In bringing Eden Robinson’s beloved novel to the screen, Loretta S. Todd offers us a modern epic underpinned by themes that have long defined heroic journeys. Todd’s first feature narrative unfolds through a thrilling array of temporal shifts and stylistic flourishes. A film about reconnection with the land, its denizens and the secrets it holds, Monkey Beach is also a testament to Indigenous women’s ability to not just endure trials but emerge from them empowered.