By John Corrado

A critical darling from the 2015 festival circuit, and one of the best movies of last year, Sleeping Giant follows restless teens Nate (Nick Serino), Riley (Reece Moffett) and Adam (Jackson Martin), who are spending the summer hanging out in a small Northern Ontario community.  But the weight of jealousy and various family problems lead to tested friendships and make things increasingly volatile between them.

It’s been nearly a year since I first saw Sleeping Giant, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since, even after another viewing.  Beautifully filmed, brilliantly edited, and anchored by impressively naturalistic performances, Sleeping Giant is an absolutely incredible coming of age drama that deserves to be sought out.  It’s a small gem, and one of the finest Canadian films in recent memory.  My full review is right here.

The DVD includes a commentary track with director Andrew Cividino and the three leads, and a very interesting featurette that shows how composer Chris Thornborrow worked with the indie rock band Bruce Peninsula to craft the soundtrack.  There’s also a selection of deleted scenes which reveal some interesting little character moments that were mainly just cut for length, a genuinely funny blooper reel, and a highly entertaining home video-style documentary that shows Nick Serino and Reece Moffett’s experience at Cannes.  Close to an hour in total, these bonus features are all worthwhile.

Sleeping Giant is a D Films release.  It’s 89 minutes and rated 14A.