CANADA – 2011 – 81 MIN – COLOUR - FEATURE - IN ENGLISH
A FILM BY KRIS ELGSTRAND & DYLAN AKIO SMITH

Following a near-death experience, Karl comes to believe that Paul is his doppelganger. When Karl finally reveals himself to Paul, a unique and troubled relationship begins to form, a relationship that is severely tested when Karl grants Paul the privilege of reading his 20, 000 page manuscript, A Book About How Much I Hate Myself. 

When Karl’s book is published 17 months later in a vastly edited version credited to two other author/doppelgangers, Karl and Paul hit the road to confront the plagiarists but end up confronting themselves instead.

 

"This is a bright and funny effort with lots of imagination, a generous dollop of quirkiness and not much sign of its low budget."
- VANCOUVER OBSERVER

"...ludicrous and appealing"
- VANCOUVER PROVINCE

"...playful genre-shifting, inventive structure, and melodic rhythms are quite unlike anything else to be found in Canadian cinema."
- WE VANCOUVER

"...DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL is decidedly original"
- THE NATIONAL POST

"DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL's a ringer for real life: Road movie born of writer Kris Elgstrand's frustration with bigger project"
- THE PROVINCE

"The nature of identity can be confusing at the best of times. It can be messy. It can also be incredibly revealing, which is why the creative tag team of Dylan Akio Smith and Kris Elgstrand decided to make DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL, a movie that ponders the central question of ``who am I?'' with a rather creative twist."
- CANADA.COM

"Two strangers meet in a restroom near Stanley Park, but it’s not what you think. You see, these guys think they might be doppelgängers—or doubles for each other, if you’re not feeling Teutonic today."
- THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT

"It’s a beautiful thing when a project seems to mysteriously compose itself, as if it was just waiting for a channel to the outside world to open. It sounds like Kris Elgstrand hit that creative third rail when he banged out the script for DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL."
- THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT

"Seldom predictable, and with a loose rein on reality reminiscent of the work of Charlie Kaufman, DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL is a free-wheeling, low-budget gem."
- TORONTO SUN

"DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL will baffle as many people as it delights, but it’s certainly unique. Smith and Elgstrand were determined to chart their own course, damn the torpedoes, and they have succeeded."
- THE TORONTO STAR

"...a weird, oddly appealing little head-scratcher"
- THE FINANCIAL POST

Interview: Dylan Akio Smith and Kris Elgstrand
- NOW MAGAZINE

"An unconventional, unpredictable and happy turn of events"
- THE GLOBE AND MAIL

"This is an original, weird and wonderful film that will make you laugh and get you talking about two of the quirkiest characters on screen this year."
- METRO

"...the comedic give-and-take between Runyan and Dryborough makes the trip easy enough to take."
- NOW MAGAZINE

Video Interview with DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL cast and filmmaker.
- SPACECAST

PODCAST: Interview with DYLAN AKIO SMITH on his film DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL
- PRESSPLUS1.COM

"A dark and slyly funny comedy riffing on identity and the insatiable hunger for connection, Doppelganger Paul delights in the same sort of meta-comedy that we've come to expect from Charlie Kaufman"
- TWITCH FILM

4 Stars! "DOPPELGÄNGER's jittery, strung-out poking of contemporary issues of identity and authorship proves consistently engrossing" 
- TORONTOIST

"For our money, the most original Canadian movie at TIFF this year is the extremely odd and dryly funny DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL"
- TORONTO SUN

"...the performances in the film go for understated while the tone goes for unassuming, but it all works to create an engaging, and original, cinematic adventure."
- FILM THREAT

"DOPPELGÄNGER PAUL is a very funny film that asks some poignant questions about the value of a relationship if it’s built on a creepy level of deceit and, oddly enough, the ethics of authorship that rings true in the era of SOPA and digital theft."
- FILMMAKER MAGAZINE

"The tone set by co-directors Dylan Akio Smith and Kris Elgstrand is wacky, but the film's depiction of the complications of male friendship is right on the money"
- THE TORONTO STAR

"An oddly Charlie Kaufman-esque brain-twist of a film from a promising pair of young B.C. feature filmmakers, this is one of the most original pieces of writing on offer from Canadian filmmakers this year."
- TORONTO SUN