Spinning Reels is proud to bring to the Norwood Theatre 3 The Bodybuilder and I, a funny and touching documentary about family, failure, redemption and oh yes, bodybuilding — for one night only, Monday, April 14.

Winner of the Best Canadian Documentary at the 2007 Atlantic Film Festival and Best Canadian Feature Documentary at the 2007 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, The Bodybuilder and I features 59-year-old Bill Friedman, an out-of-shape workaholic lawyer, a lousy husband and an absent father with a mansion in a Toronto suburb. Then, after his second divorce a few years ago, he sold the house, left the law firm and started working out. A lot. Bill became a competitive bodybuilder.

This is a fascinating documentary subject for director Bryan Friedman, but also a little embarrassing, for this bulging, bronzed and half-naked muscleman just happens to be his estranged father. Although the film enters the peculiar world of competitive bodybuilding — following Bill’s journey toward reclaiming his title — the real story is about a son coming to terms with the father who abandoned him 26 years ago.

Spinning Reels is a Bracebridge-based, non-profit volunteer organization affiliated with The Film Circuit, a division of the Toronto International Film Festival Group dedicated to bringing alternative films to smaller communities across Canada and around the world.

The group’s final two films this season are both Cannes film festival award winners. They are the luminous French drama The Diving Bell and the Butterfly on April 28, and on May 12, The Band’s Visit, an internationally produced comedy-drama in English, Hebrew and Arabic.

Spinning Reels tickets are $7 and can be purchased in advance at Readers’ World. See you at the movies!