REEL CANADA At The Woodlands Secondary School
Actor Vinay Virmani with students at The Woodlands Secondary School
What a wild ride at The Woodlands Secondary School the morning of October 3rd. Over 400 students were in a frenzy inside the Woodlands Cafetorium. Before the film even began there was a serious buzz in the room. The crowd of mainly grade nines students was highly energized, vocal and very supportive even during the introductions.
The screening was a massive success. The sight of Canadian comedian Russell Peters on-screen, ignited the crowd with loud cheers. Every tender moment between the two leads Vinay Virmani and Camilla Belle received an “awwww” while everybody check an goal scored by the Speedy Singh’s garnered loud cheers and even standing ovations! When Toronto native Drake appeared on the screen the place went bananas.
Q&A with Vinay Virmani at The Woodlands School
The Q&A following the screening was amazing. A line up of over fifteen students assembled to ask Vinay jovial questions like what it was like to kiss Camilla Belle to more serious questions like his writing process and what it took to get BREAKAWAY on the screen. Many of the young students from Woodlands simply just wanted a hug from Vinay.
Woodlands student dance off
The Q&A completed with around 20 students taking the stage for a brief dance off, followed by a sing-a-long of Canadian Carly Rae Jepsen’s summer hit Call Me Maybe. It was something…special.
Vinay Virmani signing autographs for The Woodlands School students
The kids really loved Vinay. It took the REEL CANADA team over fifteen minutes to drag him away but Vinay was extremely gracious and accommodating by signing dozens of posters and REEL CANADA catalogues for the students.
To kick off REEL CANADA’S 8th season on such a high note was really special. The students, the teachers, the guests and the staff of REEL CANADA had a great time at The Woodlands School and we’re looking forward to returning next year. A special shout out to Woodlands Librarian Stephanie Alexander for being such a delight to work with and putting on a great event.