Toronto – Burton Cummings is a cultural institution in Winnipeg.  In Fahrenheit 7 – Eleven, director Walter Forsberg offers up a humorous look at Cummings’ importance to the city of Winnipeg.  Part of a proposed three part series on the Guess Who frontman, it revolves largely around one incident in particular, a night in 1985 when Cummings was attacked with a beer bottle at a local 7-11. 

Unfolding like a wacky Prairie version of Rashomon, several Winnipeg residents recount the events of that night as they heard it told.  These events are then re-enacted by those residents and given further cultural context by Weakerthans frontman John K. Samson.  It’s a ridiculous, entertaining, informative look at the cult of personality that revolves around Cummings in the ‘Peg.  It’s also your chance to see John K. Samson make his acting debut as a 7-11 employee in one scene.   At just 14 minutes, it’s brief but packs a lot in there.  I look forward to part two.