Short Synopsis - 65 words
Synopsis - 275 words
Long Synopsis - 500 words

EAST OF EUCLID is a twisted comic film noir set in 1972 in the North End of Winnipeg.

A newspaper reporter breaks a story that involves a strange love triangle between a Russian gambler, a perogie factory girl and a daring news photographer.

Mix in gambling, money-laundering, murder and a kidnapped Finnish hockey player and you have a plot that is as thick as homemade borscht, with characters as colourful, and sometimes as fragile, as Ukrainian Easter eggs.

EAST OF EUCLID is a comic-noir about the different ways that people gamble, with a plot that is as intricate as a painted Ukrainian Easter egg.

The story is set in 1972 in the North End of Winnipeg.

Villosh (Michael O’Sullivan) is a shadowy Russian gambler hiding from the KGB. He rules the North End of Winnipeg’s gambling scene, but he dreams of moving to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he thinks all real gamblers should be. In order to get there, Villosh needs a lot of money, so he hatches a scheme to kidnap and hold for ransom Winnipeg’s newest hockey star, Veli-Pekka Kaurismäki (Miles Boisselle), who has just arrived from Finland.

One evening, Valeri (Brent Neale), a daredevil photographer for the Tribune newspaper, unwittingly takes a candid photo of Villosh with his companion, Alexandria (Maria Lamont), a perogie factory girl with a secret life. It’s a snapshot with dire consequences for the award-winning photographer.

Violence erupts when Villosh believes that the kidnapping has been figured out and his hiding place uncovered. Villosh nearly “blows his samovar” thinking that the KGB will find him and he will never be able to fulfill his dream of moving to Atlantic City.

Natalia Daina Leitold), an eager reporter, breaks this story for the Tribune. But it’s a story that almost breaks her heart. She realizes that she is part of a complex love triangle involving Villosh, Alexandria and Valeri, with whom she is in love.

Natalia’s front page story exposes not only Villosh’s crimes of kidnapping, money-laundering, and murder, but also the risks of gambling and the dangers of playing it safe. As Valeri says, “only a person who takes risks is free.”

EAST OF EUCLID is a dark comedy about gambling, gangsters and garlic sausage in the North End of Winnipeg in the early 1970s.

The 88-minute independent film has a plot as thick as homemade borscht and characters as colourful, and sometimes as fragile, as Ukrainian Easter eggs. It is loaded with nostalgic Winnipeg references (like the old Tribune newspaper and the former Winnipeg Jets hockey team) and slavic props used in unusual ways (plaques for award-winning perogies and garlic sausages used as weapons of small destruction).

Told through the eyes of an eager newspaper reporter, Natalia (Daina Leitold), the story begins in an illegal gambling den run outof a perogie warehouse in the city’s North End. The landlord, Villosh (Michael O’Sullivan), is the best gambler in the neighborhood. He wins at all games of chance and regularly rolls the dice for his groceries and cuts the cards for a steak dinner or even a new fur hat.

Even though he’s admired by a motley crew of card-playing two-bit gamblers, Villosh becomes bored with the small neighborhood that he practically owns. He sets his sights on the big time – Atlantic City, USA. But a consultation with house-keeper/fortune teller Olya, (Gabrielle Hampton), who looks deep into the headcheese, warns him to act quickly in pursuit of his dream.

In need of big money quickly, Villosh hatches a scheme to kidnap hockey player Veli-Pekka Kaurismaki (Miles Boisselle). He hires Betman (Jeff Skinner) to do the dirty work for him. The weapon of choice: a garlic sausage.

A group of boys who play hockey in the rink across the street from the Independent Perogie Factory become suspicious when the rink caretaker goes missing and when muffled sounds start coming from a closet at the factory. They decide to investigate…

Also unwittingly drawn into the story is the star photographer for the Winnipeg Tribune, Valeri (Brent Neale). At a Winnipeg social, Valeri takes a routine photograph of Villosh “the Gambler” and Alexandria (Maria Lamont), a perogie factory girl. But when Villosh sees the picture published the next day, he almost “blows his samovar” with rage. Violence erupts and then the handsome, daredevil photographer becomes fixated with “finding the guy who ruined my eye.”

Threaded through the story are two intriguing love triangles (Valeri-Natalia-Alexandria and Alexandria-Valeri-Villosh) and a clandestine love affair that will take you by surprise.

Gambling is at the heart of this film. While playing games of chance may provide monetary reward, it’s only by gambling in life and in love that true happiness can be attained. “Only a person who takes risks is truly free.”