I Don't Know Who You Are

{{short description|2023 Canadian drama film}} {{Infobox film | name = I Don't Know Who You Are | image = I Don't Know Who You Are movie poster.jpeg | caption = Theatrical release poster | director = Houston Bone | producer = Houston Bone<br>Mark Clennon<br>Martine Brouillet<br>Victoria Long | writer = Houston Bone<br>Mark Clennon<br>Victoria Long | starring = Mark Clennon | music = Spencer Creaghan | cinematography = Dmitry Lopatin | editing = Houston Bone | studio = Black Elephant Productions | distributor = | released = {{film date|2023|9|7|TIFF|2024|5|24|United States}} | runtime = 103 minutes | country = Canada | language = English | budget = }}

'''''I Don't Know Who You Are''''' is a 2023 Canadian drama film, written, directed, and edited by Houston Bone.<ref name="mullen">{{Cite web |last=Mullen |first=Pat |date=2023-08-03 |title=TIFF Announces Midnight Madness and Discovery Line-ups |url=https://thatshelf.com/tiff-announces-midnight-madness-and-discovery-line-ups/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=That Shelf |language=en-US}}</ref> Bone's full-length directorial debut, the film stars Mark Clennon as Benjamin, a gay working class musician who is urgently trying to find $1,000 to pay for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP)<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Spoors |first=Gavin |date=2024-03-22 |title=I Don't Know Who You Are – BFI Flare 2024 (Film Review) |url=https://filmhounds.co.uk/2024/03/i-dont-know-who-you-are-bfi-flare-2024-film-review/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Filmhounds Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> to protect himself from HIV after he is sexually assaulted by a stranger.<ref name="mullen" />

The film premiered in the Discovery program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival,<ref name=":0" /> before being picked up for theatrical distribution in 2024.<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":4" />

== Plot == Over the course of one weekend, a gay working class musician named Benjamin must urgently scrape together $1,000 to pay for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) to protect himself from HIV after he is sexually assaulted by a stranger.<ref name="mullen" /><ref name=":2" />

== Cast == {{Cast listing| * Mark Clennon as Benjamin * Anthony Diaz as Malcolm * Nat Manuel as Ariel * Deragh Campbell as Agnes * Victoria Long as Lola * Kevin A. Courtney as Oscar * Michael Hogan as The Man * Grace E. McDonald as Benjamin's mother, Angela * Radcliffe Goldbourne as Benjamin's father, Marcus * Randy Davis as Carl from the HIV clinic * Cheryl Wagner as The Emergency Room Doctor * Chris Wong as The Pharmacist * Lawrene Denkers as Melanie * Peyton McLean as Terrence * Ilgi Bodan as Cassandra * Nileigh Bodan as Tabetha * David Draper as Paul * Felicia Morrison as Anne * Erik Berg as The Security Guard * Denzel Grant as Ed }}

Health care workers depicted in the film are portrayed by real medical professionals involved in HIV treatment and advocacy.<ref name="milton" />

==Production== [[File:M. H. Murray and Mark Clennon at TIFF.png|thumb|Houston Bone and Mark Clennon at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. ''I Don't Know Who You Are'' was their second film collaboration.]] Benjamin is a reprisal of the same character Clennon previously played in Bone's 2020 short film ''Ghost''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Erica |date=2021-05-12 |title=Filmmaker M.H. Murray Tackles Modern-Dating Anxieties in 'Ghost' |url=https://occhimagazine.com/filmmaker-m-h-murray-tackles-modern-dating-anxieties-in-ghost/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=occhimagazine.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The screenplay is based in part on Bone's own experience having to navigate the health care system to attain PEP treatment after being sexually assaulted.<ref name="milton">{{Cite web |date=2023-09-07 |title="It can be a struggle to get health care": Filmmaker M. H. Murray on bringing the realities of HIV treatment to TIFF |url=https://torontolife.com/culture/mh-murray-i-dont-know-who-you-are-tiff-hiv/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=Toronto Life |language=en-US}}</ref>

The film was co-produced by Bone and Clennon, with Martine Brouillet and Victoria Long,<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 3, 2023 |first=Kelly |last=Townsend |title=TIFF adds several Canadian world premieres in Discovery lineup |url=https://playbackonline.ca/2023/08/03/tiff-adds-several-canadian-world-premieres-in-discovery-lineup/ |access-date=2023-09-14}}</ref> while Clennon and Long also served as story editors for the screenplay.<ref name=":1" />

In an essay for CBC Arts, Bone described the process of making the film on a limited budget, particularly in having to shoot many of its scenes guerrilla-style without permits.<ref name=":1">M. H. Murray, [https://www.cbc.ca/arts/mh-murray-i-don-t-know-who-you-are-tiff-2023-1.6960752 "We snuck in without permission to shoot our film's climax — and then everything went black"]. CBC Arts, September 8, 2023.</ref>

==Distribution== The film premiered in the Discovery program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Complex |first=Valerie |date=2023-08-03 |title=TIFF Unveils Cinematic First Looks With Discovery And Midnight Madness Program; World Premieres Include 'Hell Of A Summer,' 'Gonzo Girl,' 'Widow Clicquot,' And 'Boy Kills World' |url=https://deadline.com/2023/08/tiff-discovery-and-midnight-madness-program-1235453808/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}</ref> In March 2024, the film screened at the 38th annual BFI Flare in London.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Calnan |first=Ellie |title=BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival unveils full line-up |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/bfi-flare-london-lgbtqia-film-festival-unveils-full-line-up/5190446.article |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Screen |language=en}}</ref>

The film was picked up for distribution after its TIFF premiere,<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Kay |first=Jeremy |date=March 6, 2024 |title=TIFF premiere 'I Don't Know Who You Are' lands US deal (exclusive) |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/tiff-premiere-i-dont-know-who-you-are-lands-us-deal-exclusive/5191256.article |website=Screen Daily |language=en}}</ref> and later had a limited theatrical release in Canada and the United States in 2024.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title='I Don't Know Who You Are': Canadian film explores HIV health care challenges {{!}} Watch News Videos Online |url=https://globalnews.ca/video/10452554/i-dont-know-who-you-are-canadian-film-explores-hiv-health-care-challenges |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=Global News |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Scheetz |first=Cameron |date=2024-06-06 |title=WATCH: A gay man's search for preventative HIV meds becomes a race against time in this thrilling drama |url=https://www.queerty.com/watch-a-gay-mans-search-for-preventative-hiv-meds-becomes-a-race-against-time-in-this-thrilling-drama-20240605 |access-date=2024-12-01 |website=Queerty |language=en}}</ref>

==Critical response== ''I Don't Know Who You Are'' has received generally positive reviews from film critics,<ref>{{Cite web |title=I Don't Know Who You Are {{!}} Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_dont_know_who_you_are |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Guzman |first=Andres |date=2023-10-30 |title=Andres' TIFF23 Round-Up |url=https://theunderscene.com/2023/10/30/andres-tiff23-round-up/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=The UnderSCENE |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Fulton |first=Claire |date=2024-02-28 |title=I Don't Know Who You Are Review: Poignant HIV Drama |url=https://loudandclearreviews.com/i-dont-know-who-you-are-review/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |website=Loud And Clear Reviews |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Arnold |first=Darren |date=2024-03-21 |title=BFI Flare 2024: I Don't Know Who You Are |url=https://www.hollandfocus.co.uk/2024/03/bfi-flare-2024-i-dont-know-who-you-are.html |access-date=2024-03-26 |language=en-GB}}</ref> with particular praise for Clennon's lead performance.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Levitt |first=Barry |date=2023-09-20 |title=The Best Performances at the Toronto International Film Festival |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/toronto-international-film-festival-2023-the-best-acting-performances |access-date=2024-01-10 |work=The Daily Beast |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=29 September 2023 |title=Mark Clennon on I Don't Know Who You Are - Popdust |url=https://www.popdust.com/mark-clennon-idont-know-whoyouare-2665754063.html |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=www.popdust.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Trussow |first=Tomas |date=2023-09-22 |title=TIFF 2023 Report #1 |url=https://thelonelyfilmcritic.com/2023/09/22/tiff-2023-report-1/ |access-date=2024-01-10 |website=The Lonely Film Critic |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Creith |first=Matthew |date=2023-09-08 |title=Review: 'I Don't Know Who You Are' Sheds An Uncomfortable Light On Sexual Assault In The Queer Era |url=https://inmagazine.ca/2023/09/review-i-dont-know-who-you-are-sheds-an-uncomfortable-light-on-sexual-assault-in-the-queer-era/ |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=IN Magazine |language=en}}</ref> Critics have drawn comparisons between ''I Don't Know Who You Are'' and ''Cléo from 5 to 7'' (1962),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Chambers |first=Bill |date=2023-09-13 |title=TIFF '23: I Don't Know Who You Are |url=https://filmfreakcentral.net/2023/09/tiff-23-i-dont-know-who-you-are/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=FILM FREAK CENTRAL |language=en-US |quote="I thought a lot about Agnès Varda’s Cléo from 5 to 7, of which this film is something of a micro-budget Canadian update, and how after Cléo receives a diagnosis that’s serious but not the end of the world, a man tells her he wants to be with her, and she says he’s with her right now."}}</ref> ''Uncut Gems'' (2019),<ref>{{Cite web |title=I Don't Know Who You Are |url=https://tiff.net/events/i-dont-know-who-you-are |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=TIFF |language=en |quote="Benjamin’s increasingly fraught visits to his friends serve as a tour through the city’s unspoken class system, shading in further aspects of his mounting anxiety; there are points in the film when it feels like we’re watching a microbudget version of Uncut Gems (TIFF ’19), with a frenzied protagonist trying so hard to hide his desperation and panic."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='I Don't Know Who You Are' Honours Those Who Fall Through the Cracks │ Exclaim! |url=https://exclaim.ca/film/article/i-dont-know-who-you-are-film-review |access-date=2024-11-14 |website='I Don't Know Who You Are' Honours Those Who Fall Through the Cracks │ Exclaim! |language=en |quote="The frantic and tense nature of Benjamin's quest creates the edge-of-your-seat anxieties reminiscent of Josh and Benny Safdie's Uncut Gems. While the latter revolves around a man trying to cheat the system, I Don't Know Who You Are shows that it's far more difficult to simply exist within it."}}</ref> and ''Never Rarely Sometimes Always'' (2020).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Heeney |first=Alex |date=2024-04-24 |title=Film Review: M. H. Murray's I Don't Know Who You Are |url=https://seventh-row.com/2024/04/23/tiff-23-film-review-m-h-murray-i-dont-know-who-you-are/ |access-date=2024-11-14 |website=Seventh Row |language=en-CA |quote="I Don’t Know Who You Are, the first feature film from M. H. Murray, does for access to PEP what Never Rarely Sometimes Always did for abortion access."}}</ref>

Barry Hertz of ''The Globe and Mail'' ranked the film 7th on his list of the top 10 Canadian films of 2023,<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-12-26 |title=The 10 best Canadian films of 2023, a year of crises and breakthroughs |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-the-10-best-canadian-films-of-2023-a-year-of-crises-and-breakthroughs/ |access-date=2024-03-26 |work=The Globe and Mail |language=en-CA}}</ref> describing the film as "a tremendously tense portrait of small-scale desperation" and "a seriously impressive micro-budget debut".<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-09-11 |title=TIFF 2023: Muted opening weekend puts focus on films instead of celebrities, with mixed results |language=en-CA |work=The Globe and Mail |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/tiff/article-tiff-2023-muted-opening-weekend-puts-focus-on-films-instead-of/ |access-date=2023-09-14}}</ref>

Adam Nayman, writing for the ''Toronto Star'', called the film “deeply affecting” and wrote that the movie "transforms its furtive production circumstances into a fully realized style. Instead of showing the city off, it cultivates a dizzy dislocation — the paranoid sensation of being surrounded at all times without necessarily feeling connected, or of anxious walks home under flickering street-lights."<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Adam |last1=Nayman |first2=Michelle |last2=Krasovitiski |title=As TIFF 2023 kicks off, meet five filmmakers fearlessly reshaping the future of Canadian cinema |url=https://www.thestar.com/interactives/as-tiff-2023-kicks-off-meet-five-filmmakers-fearlessly-reshaping-the-future-of-canadian-cinema/article_a4c0a244-48e4-11ee-8218-d36259acaa95.html |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=Toronto Star |language=en}}</ref>

Vadim Rizov of ''Filmmaker Magazine'' felt that some scenes were “overly attenuated” but concluded that the film is "a solid feature debut" with “a strong sense of a particular micro-milieu."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rizov |first=Vadim |date=2023-09-09 |title=TIFF 2023: Evil Does Not Exist, I Don't Know Who You Are {{!}} Filmmaker Magazine |url=https://filmmakermagazine.com/122794-tiff-2023-reviews-evil-does-not-exist-i-dont-know-who-you-are/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=Filmmaker Magazine {{!}} Publication with a focus on independent film, offering articles, links, and resources. |language=en-US}}</ref>

Angelo Muredda of ''Cinema Scope'' described the film as "an empathetic character study that effectively balances its punchy genre elements with its human drama."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Muredda |first=Angelo |date=2023-09-05 |title=TIFF 2023 {{!}} I Don't Know Who You Are (M.H. Murray, Canada) — Discovery |url=https://cinema-scope.com/cinema-scope-online/tiff-2023-i-dont-know-who-you-are-m-h-murray-canada-discovery/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=Cinema Scope |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Accolades == {| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Award ! Date ! Category ! Nominee(s) ! Result ! class="unsortable" | Refs |- |Calgary International Film Festival |2023 |$10,000 RBC Emerging Artist Award | rowspan="3" |Houston Bone |{{Nominated}} |style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-16 |title=Calgary International Film Festival adds new competition to 2023 |url=https://livewirecalgary.com/2023/08/16/calgary-international-film-festival-adds-new-competition-to-2023/ |access-date=2023-09-14 |website=LiveWire Calgary |language=en-US}}</ref> |- |Riviera International Film Festival | rowspan="2" |2024 |Best Film |{{Nominated}} |style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{Cite web |last=Verbaro |first=Valeria |date=2024-05-11 |title=I Don't Know Who You Are, la recensione del film di M.H. Murray |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.it/film/festival-e-premi/i-dont-know-who-you-are-mathew-hubert-murray-riviera-international-film-festival-2024-concorso-trama-cast-recensione/105151/ |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=The Hollywood Reporter Roma |language=it-IT}}</ref> |- |Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival |Rising Star Award |{{Won}} |style="text-align:center;" | <ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharpe |first=Josh |title=Winners Revealed for Out Film CT's 37th Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/connecticut/article/Winners-Revealed-for-Out-CTs-37th-Connecticut-LGBTQ-Film-Festival-20240702 |access-date=2024-08-16 |website=BroadwayWorld.com |language=en}}</ref> |- |rowspan=2| Canadian Screen Awards |rowspan=2| 2025 |Best Original Score |Spencer Creaghan |{{nom}} |style="text-align:center;" rowspan=2| <ref>[https://academie.ca/medias/files/PEC%202025/2025%20Canadian%20Screen%20Awards%20-%20Film%20Nominations%20-%20v.March%2026%202025.pdf Canadian Screen Awards: Film Nominations]. Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, March 26, 2025.</ref> |- |Best Original Song |Mark Clennon, "I Don't Know Who You Are" |{{nom}} |}

== References == {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== *{{IMDb title|28585739}}

Category:2023 films Category:2023 drama films Category:2023 LGBTQ-related films Category:English-language Canadian films Category:Canadian drama films Category:Canadian LGBTQ-related films Category:2023 Canadian films Category:Black Canadian films Category:HIV/AIDS in Canadian films Category:Films shot in Toronto Category:LGBTQ Black Canadian culture Category:2023 directorial debut films