Graham Foy on the Journey to Venice for Teen Drama ‘The Maiden’
Jennie Punter “The Maiden,” Graham Foy’s finely tuned story of adolescent mythmaking, togetherness and grief, has its world premiere Tuesday in Venice Days before heading to Toronto, but the film’s impressive international journey actually began in Cannes two years ago. Based in Toronto since 2008, Foy grew up in suburban Calgary where “Maiden” is set, spent teenage summers near the graffiti-covered railroad bridge and ragged ravine, where much of the film was shot, and, like one of the characters, was an avid skateboarder. He had been tapping away at the “Maiden” script — which draws from his experiences but is not autobiographical — for several years when his short “August 22, This Year” was selected for the 2020 Cannes’ Critics’ Week.