Drive Back Home is a 2024 Canadian drama film, written and directed by Michael Clowater.
[1] Set in 1970, the film stars Charlie Creed-Miles as Weldon, a blue-collar plumber from New Brunswick who has been forced to travel to Toronto to bail his estranged brother Perley (Alan Cumming) out of jail following his arrest for having sex with another man in a public park, and centres on their road trip back to New Brunswick.
[2] The cast also includes Clare Coulter, Sprague Grayden, Gray Powell, Judah Davidson, Guy Sprung, Alexandre Bourgeois, Anthony Jones Nestoras, Gord Rand, Brian Bisson, Thomas Mitchell, Jennifer Carroll, Deborah Tennant, Dan Beirne, David Assinewai, Jayden Kirton, Joe Drinkwalter, Cameron Nicoll and Jude Zappala in supporting roles.
The film was based on the true story of Clowater's grandfather Ernie and great-uncle Hedley,[3] with coverage of the film noting that it was a common tactic of police in the era to deal with arrests of gay men by having a family member come pick the person up in lieu of jail time, thus effectively outing the gay man to their families involuntarily.
[5] It was subsequently screened at the 2024 Calgary International Film Festival, where it won the audience award for Canadian narrative features.