The Office meets Lord of the Flies. Nominated for five Canadian Comedy Awards, Eating Buccaneers is a feature film written, directed and produced by Bill Keenan. It's about four self-absorbed advertising execs and one officious client whose small plane crash-lands into the northern Ontario woods. They survive the crash, but can they survive each other? Watch the trailer below.
After playing film festivals around North America, Eating Buccaneers opened theatrically in Toronto and Vancouver. Then it premiered on The Movie Network (now Crave TV) and HBO Canada. Eating Buccaneers is available for purchase on DVD.
crew & cast
Bill Keenan Writer/Producer/Director
Bill studied film and television at Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson) in Toronto. After graduating, Bill joined The Second City Touring Company, where he performed and improvised comedy sketches throughout Ontario.
Later, Bill entered advertising, first as an award-winning copywriter for many of Toronto’s top agencies, then as a creative director, still writing but now managing teams of creatives.
Bill co-wrote, directed and produced an award-winning 18-minute short comedy called The Homework Bureau that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (“a dead-on satire of television cop shows”). The Homework Bureau screened at film festivals around North America (“A wonderful film.” – Palm Springs International Film Festival) before being broadcast on The Comedy Network and Global Television (“hilarious”).
Bill made his feature debut with Eating Buccaneers. After playing film festivals around North America (it was nominated for Best Direction at the Long Island International Film Festival), Eating Buccaneers opened theatrically in Toronto and Vancouver. Later it played on The Movie Network (now Crave TV) and HBO Canada. It was also nominated for five Canadian Comedy Awards—including Best Writer for Bill.
Bill has now left advertising to focus on film and TV projects.
Tracy Keenan Executive Producer
Mark Montefiore Producer
Jennifer Mesich Producer
Wes Lake Cinematographer
Andy Ames Editor
Ari Poser Composer
Reviews
“The film is funny, ferocious and full of bitter wit...a sharp slice of absurdity.” Chris Alexander, Metro News
“Eating Buccaneers is laugh-out-loud funny!” Terry O’Reilly, CBC Radio
“Sharply written…3 cheers for Buccaneers!” Jim Slotek, Toronto Sun
“Think Lost but funny.” Simon Houpt, The Globe and Mail
“The old plane-crash-in-the-wilderness genre gets a very funny reworking." Just For Laughs Film Festival, Chicago
“This absurdist dark comedy is one of the most relentlessly funny Canadian films of this or any year…Eating Buccaneers is a confidently constructed debut feature film.” Victoria Film Festival
“Eating Buccaneers is one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time.” Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival
Peter Keleghan plays Jerry, the A-type VP Account Services with a secret agenda.
Leah Pinsent plays Vanessa, the new-age art director with a knack for picking the wrong men.
Shannon Beckner plays Andrea, the perky junior account exec with wilderness survival training.
Neil Crone plays the Pilot, who brings a whole new meaning to Monty Python's line "I'm not dead yet."
Steven McCarthy plays Stewart, the client brand manager who can't make a decision without a focus group.
Jeff White plays Doug, the hot-shot copywriter with writer's block.
About / In development
Mad Keen Pictures is a Toronto-based production company founded by Bill Keenan.
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All content copyright of Bill Keenan.
