One of the most quietly interesting titles in this year’s EIFF Competition isn’t the biggest, the loudest or the most visually ambitious. Instead, Jesse Noah Klein’s Best Boy draws attention by showing just how much can be achieved with limited means — and a very sharp script.
Developed over four years and shot in just twenty days, the film was produced entirely with public support. According to Klein, the film was backed by Telefilm Canada during production and by SODEC in post-production — a common structure in Canada, where many features can move forward.
The tight 20-day schedule left little margin for error, but the film benefits from Klein’s careful casting and a sharply structured script. Instead of stretching limited resources to imitate scale, Best Boy leans into performance — and uses its one-location setup to build pressure with precision.
The story follows three adult siblings and their elderly mother as they return to a long-abandoned family home to revive a bizarre childhood competition. For Klein, the youngest of four, that setup isn’t autobiographical, but a way to explore how childish instincts never quite disappear. “I think these are traits that we have as children which follow us into adulthood… they’re behaving in pretty ludicrous ways at times and they’re purportedly adults.” It’s precisely this tension — between grown-up façades and unresolved childhood roles — that gives the film its dark humour and emotional bite.
Darkly funny, uncomfortable and recognisable in equal measure, Best Boy proves that formal control, behavioural insight and confident writing can still compete with far larger productions — especially when a public funding ecosystem allows filmmakers to focus on craft rather than chasing finance.
