A further complication had arisen when the original distributor, Cinéma Libre, went bankrupt, but due to a revival of interest in the October screening, the film was picked up by Christal Films, who have acquired the international rights. They plan to distribute it in Quebec, the rest of Canada, and abroad, hoping that the festival circuit will allow them to reach a good audience.

Director Jeremy Peter Allen claims to have been ‘surprised’ when Manners of Dying was chosen to open the 23^rd Rendez-Vous du Cinéma Québécois in February 2005, not least because it’s filmed in English. But there was a precedent – in 2003 it opened with Bernard Hérbert’s The Favourite Game, also in English. Fourteen years ago it opened with Being at Home with Claude.

Jeremy Peter Allen was born in Toronto to a British father and a Quebecoise mother. He was raised in Ohio, Montreal and Quebec City, where almost all his previous work has been shot.

The words of Jeremy Peter Allen, reproduced from the official website: “Surprisingly, neither Roy Dupuis nor Serge Houde were the first actors I looked at. In Roy's case, I knew he would be perfect for the part but I guess I figured we were working with such a small budget (one million CAN, or about 750,000 USD) that we wouldn't be able to afford him. After going through a few casting session, I just wasn't seeing anybody I felt was right for the part of Kevin Barlow. I mentioned to Yves Fortin, my producer, that I was looking for somebody kind of like Roy Dupuis, to which he answered, ‘Well, why didn't you say so! Lets ask Roy Dupuis!’. Roy accepted immediately. He later told me it was the first time he had accepted a part without first meeting the director. I guess he liked the script.”

(He also liked it enough to take a substantial pay-cut!)

There are 8 manners of dying in the film, one less than in the original short story.

The last person to be condemned by the Canadian courts, whom Roy met with to research his role, was called Réal Chartrand. In 1972 he was sentenced to hang for the murder of a policeman during an armed robbery. He was later released on probation after spending 17 years in prison. He died of an illness a short time after their meeting.

During filming in 2003, former women’s prison Gomin House in Ste-Foy, Quebec was up for sale as a residential development. It has since been sold to a funeral business!

Apart from the real-life prison, some scenes were filmed in the kitchen of the Robert Giffard Hospital.

Roy’s old friend, Gregory Hlady, plays the cook.