A genre-defying documentary film,
Inspired by a medieval musical playcreated by an amazing company of artists with and without Down syndrome
Think "The Green Knight" meets "Crip Camp," but with songs!
SYNOPSIS
From John Bolton, filmmaker behind AIM FOR THE ROSES (called "one of the wildest, craziest, smartest docs in years" by POV Magazine), comes KING ARTHUR'S NIGHT, a genre-defying documentary inspired by a medieval musical play created by artists with and without Down syndrome, including award-winning playwrights Niall McNeil and Marcus Youssef, director James Long, and musician Veda Hille. Think "The Green Knight" meets "Crip Camp," but with songs.The original play was Niall's mashup of Arthurian legend with his childhood memories: Harrison Hot Springs, BC becomes Camelot; a bad goat experience becomes King Arthur facing a goat uprising; Niall's father-son relationship with Marcus becomes the bond between King Arthur (Niall) and Merlin (Marcus).
The film unfolds in Camelot as Arthur and Merlin reflect on their lives, and in Harrison Hot Springs as Niall and Marcus do the same. Featuring classic characters like Guinevere, Lancelot, and Morgana alongside the performers who play them, with the Lady of the Lake as guide. Brimming with magic, memory and metaphor, KING ARTHUR'S NIGHT explores difference and disability while asking who gets to tell stories and wear the crown. This deeply emotional father-son story, by turns comic and tragic, real and surreal, celebrates imagination and inclusion's power to change lives. Pushing access aesthetics boundaries, the film features Integrated Described Video and open captioning for truly inclusive screenings. An Opus 59 Films production, presented by AMI, with participation from Telefilm Canada, Canada Media Fund, Rogers Documentary Fund, Creative BC, BC Arts Council, and Knowledge Network.
THE PLAY
Developing the Play
Workshopping & Rehearsing the Play
The Play at Luminato in Toronto & PuSh in Vancouver
In 2017, “King Arthur’s Night” (the play) had its world premiere at the Luminato Festival in Toronto.
“Their attention to detail and commitment to quality truly stood out. We’ve already recommended them to others.”
— Former CustomerIn 2018, filmmaker John Bolton (and his mom) saw a relaxed performance of the medieval musical play “King Arthur’s Night” at the PuSh Festival in Vancouver.
“Their attention to detail and commitment to quality truly stood out. We’ve already recommended them to others.”
— Former Customer
It was one of the greatest theatre-going experiences that he’d ever had in his life. It was funny, sad and scary; he was amused, moved and upset; he laughed, cried and gasped. It brimmed with magic, memory and myth, and it effortlessly dramatized themes of imagination and inclusion. In its casting of neurodiverse performers in the highest status roles (the King; the Queen), it forced him to examine my privilege as an able-bodied neurotypical, and it made him think about the world in a new way.
The Published Play
In 2019, John’s mom gave him a copy of the recently published play, and he was able to more fully appreciate Niall’s and Marcus’ amazing writing. The better John got to know the text, the more he wanted to bring “King Arthur’s Night” to new life as a film.
The Original Cast Recording
In late 2019, John got himself a copy of the recently released original cast recording, and he was able to more fully appreciate Veda’s amazing songs. The better John got to know the tunes, the more he wanted to bring “King Arthur’s Night” to new life as a film.
THE FILM
DEVELOPING THE FILM
In 2020,
John started meeting with, and getting to know, Niall, Marcus and Veda. The more that he learned about the making of the play and songs, the more obvious it was to him that any adaptation would have to include as much backstory as story.
In 2021,
With the support of the Canada Council of the Arts and Telefilm Canada, John took the entire cast and a small film crew out to Harrison Hot Springs for two days and one night, for a test shoot consisting of interviews and musical numbers. It was the first time that the cast had seen each in almost two years (their tour was canceled because of COVID-19). It was also the first time that many of the cast had ever been to Harrison Hot Springs - the actual and spiritual setting of “King Arthur’s Night.”
In early 2022,
John started pitching the project to funders, and he held the entire cast for the first week of October 2022, the only window that year when all of them were available at the same time.
In mid-2022,
John got married to his girlfriend, Sarah. Shortly after, on his honeymoon, John received his first piece of funding from the Canada Media Fund. Shortly after, he received further funding from the BC Arts Council and Creative BC. Shortly after, Accessible Media Inc. (AMI) and Knowledge Network came on board as broadcasters. He was now able to start shooting the film.
MAKING THE FILM
In October 2022, John took the entire cast and a large crew out to Harrison Hot Springs for seven nights and six days, to shoot (mostly) the dramatic scenes and musical numbers from the play. The Copper Room at Harrison Hot Springs Resort was Arthur’s throne room; the cinderblock enclosure at the source of the hot springs was Morgana’s castle; the beach by the lagoon was the field of the final battle.
The shoot was cross-cultural in many ways: bigger budget filmmaking meeting indie filmmaking; film culture meeting theatre culture; neurodiverse culture meeting neurotypical culture. It was one of the best experiences that almost every member of the cast and crew had ever had … except for John. After one day, the film was already behind schedule. After six days, the film was already over budget. After wrap, John and his editor started working away, and they realized that they didn’t have enough footage to make a movie.
In December 2022, John started pitching the project to more funders, and he held the entire cast for one week in May 2023, the only window that year when all of them were available at the same time.
In January 2023, Sarah gave birth to her and John’s son, Silas.
In April 2023, John received further funding from Telefilm Canada and the Rogers Documentary Fund. He was now able to continue shooting the film.
In May 2023, John took the entire cast, and a mid sized crew, back out to Harrison Hot Springs, for five nights and four days, to shoot (mostly) documentary footage, including an interview with Niall and Marcus (as themselves) in the nicest suite at the resort, as well as an “interview” with Niall & Marcus (as Arthur and Merlin) at the very end of a pier stretching out into Harrison Lake. They also shot several pickups, including the cast checking in with each other in the Copper Room; a musical number in the hot springs at the resort (standing in for the Arthur’s castle’s moat); and an insert shot of John’s and Sarah’s son Silas (with prosthetic horns) in his on-screen debut as a “goat baby.”
The shoot was one of the best experiences that almost every member of the cast and crew had ever had … including John. The film was now back on schedule, and back on budget, and John and his editor now had enough footage to make a movie.
Finishing the Film
For the rest of 2023, and throughout 2024, and into 2025, John and his editor worked on the film, finding the balance between the “Camelot” footage from the first shoot, and the “Harrison” footage from the second shoot, and behind-the-scenes footage from both shoots, telling three stories at the same time.
They also worked closely with AMI to make the film accessible for blind and partially sighted audiences by creating a character - the Lady of the Lake - who not only described the video, but also narrated the story in a straightforward way, and interacted with Arthur and Merlin in a more mysterious way.
They also worked closely with Line21 Media Services to create best-in-class captioning for deaf and hard-of-hearing audiences.
During this time, John’s father, Michael, dealt with numerous health issues. John, of course, was also a new father. As a result, the film became much more about fathers and sons than John had ever anticipated.
In another family connection, John dedicated the film to Sarah’s late mother Vivian, as well as Vivian’s late sister Allison, who had Down syndrome.
In May 2025, the director’s cut of the film had its world premiere at the DOXA Documentary Film Festival.
The Cast
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Niall McNeil as King Arthur
King Arthur
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Marcus Youssef as
Merlin
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Nathan Kay as
Mordred
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Andrew Scott Gordon as
Saxon
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Matthew Tom-Wing as
Magwitch
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Lucy McNulty as
Galahad
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Amber Barton as
Quelibel
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Billy Marchenski as
Lancelot
The Crew
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Director
John Bolton is an award-winning filmmaker from Vancouver, Canada, and the founder & chief creative officer of Opus 59 Films. As knowledgeable about music, literature and art as he is about film and television, he brings a very particular erudition and sensibility to Opus 59 Films’ portfolio of projects.
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Star
Niall McNeil is a multidisciplinary artist who, in his 20-plus year career has created, written plays, filmed, recorded and performed in works for stage and film across Canada. He is the first Canadian artist with Down Syndrome to be a 2022 recipient of a Canada Council for the Arts Composite Grant to support the development of three new multidisciplinary works.
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Marcus Youssef has written or co-written fifteen plays that have been performed at theatres and major international festivals across North America, Australia, Europe and Asia. In 2017, he received Canada’s most prestigious theatre award, the $100,000 Siminovitch Prize for Theatre. He was Artistic Director of Vancouver’s Neworld Theatre from 2005 to 2019.
Veda Hille
Veda Hille is a Vancouver musician, composer, theatre maker, and performer. She writes songs, makes records, co-writes musicals, collaborates in devised theatre, and fulfills other interesting assignments as they arise. Veda performs in a wide of array of places, alone or with bands, ensembles, symphonies, and casts. Her career spans 30 years of working in Canada and abroad, and shows no sign of flagging.
James Long
James Long is a director, actor, writer and teacher whose creative practice occurs in a wide variety of interdisciplinary and collaborative contexts, including as a co-founding Artistic Director of Theatre Replacement (2003-2022) and as an independent artist working in live performance, community engaged practice and public art.
AMI
AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more, visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.
Contact Us.
For the press kit, please contact:
Greg David / Accessible Media Inc. (AMI)
647.417.0631 | greg.david@ami.ca
John Bolton / Opus 59 Films Inc.
|604.817.9556 | john@opus59films.com