The Mayor of Comedy: A Canadian Stand-Up Story is a disruptive, eye-opening documentary that follows Canadian comedian Sandra Battaglini as she rallies the biggest names in the Canadian comedy industry.
The Mayor of Comedy will have three screenings in November 2019 at the Ottawa Canadian Film Festival, the Hamilton Film Festival, and at the Fox Theatre in Toronto.
In The Mayor of Comedy,filmmaker Matt Kelly gives viewers an all-access pass to the murky world of Canadian showbiz, a world where the funniest people in the country struggle in a system that limits their ability to make a living. Canadian comedian Sandra Battaglini is an award-winning performer, a headlining comic and a veteran of the Just For Laughs comedy festival. Despite her success Sandra feels trapped in a system that offers low pay, few opportunities and a lack of support from the government.
The Mayor of Comedy: A Canadian Stand-Up Story features interviews with over 30 of Canada’s top comics including Scott Thompson (Kids In The Hall), Debra DiGiovanni (Conan), Mark Forward (Fargo), Aisha Brown (Terrific Women), Dave Merheje (Ramy) and K. Trevor Wilson (Letterkenny).
Battaglini also interviews politicians, industry leaders and experts in an effort to find out why Canadian comedians struggle to work abroad and why comedy isn’t officially recognized as an artistic discipline by the federal government. On stage Battaglini has been hailed as Canada’s Joan Rivers, but off stage she’s become comedy’s Michael Moore by using her humour and wit to help share the plight of her community, all while making the audience laugh, cringe and cry at the state of the comedy industry.
Matt Kelly is a Canadian all-in-one producer and director of The Mayor of Comedy: A Canadian Stand-Up Story. Matt has previously directed documentaries for leading Canadian entertainers including Wayne Gretzky and Rush. Recently Matt directed and produced the hockey documentary A Portrait of Damian which appeared on TSN’s BarDown. In 2016 Matt’s Inhuman Resources was selected by Kevin Hart at Just For Laughs ComedyPRO for his digital comedy platform LOL Network. Matt’s scripted comedy pilot Mrs Football made the finals of JFL ComedyPRO 2017.