A charming, whimsical story about a waifish daydreamer with artistic aspirations. Structured around a video-recorded confession, in Patricia Rozema’s fanciful character study, aspiring photographer Polly (comedian Sheila McCarthy) lands a job at a Toronto art gallery run by Gabrielle (Paule Baillargeon), who is also a painter. Polly is impressed with Gabrielle’s paintings, but as Polly gets to know Gabrielle's lover Mary (Ann-Marie MacDonald) and becomes entangled in their lives, she realizes Gabrielle isn’t exactly who she appears to be.
The gauche absent-minded temp with spiky orange hair and the polished, bourgeois curator with a gift for gab are like night and day, yet a strong connection builds between these two women through their shared love of art, and their genuine curiosity and appetite for love.

Winner of the Prix de la Jeunesse at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.

To commemorate Canada 150, this film was digitally restored by Library and Archives Canada, Cinematheque Quebecoise, The Cinematheque, and TIFF. 4K Restoration made possible by The Government of Canada, Canada 150, RBC, Ontario 150 and Telefilm.

"Utterly beguiling. No point fighting the feeling you'll have for Polly (Sheila McCarthy) in 'I've Heard The MermaidsSinging'. Everyone else will have it anyway. If it isn't love, it's an overpowering like." (The Pittsburgh Press)

"McCarthy gives an extraordinary performance in the role." (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)

Wednesday, April 20
Doors 6:00 pm | Movie 6:30 pm *Start time subject to change. Please arrive on time.
Advance tickets HERE

*Minors permitted. Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service. Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK for any single film screening only. Please redeem at the box office.
*If you are looking to redeem your tickets to either a canceled Rio Theatre screening or a Rio Theatre gift certificate, please email with info including your name, canceled receipt number, gift certificate info, what you are wanting to see and when, and we can make the switch for you in advance. Alternately, you can bring this information with you to the venue, and we will do our best to help you at the box office.

I'VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING (Patricia Rozema, 2987 / 87 mins) Awkward, shy and delightfully funny, Polly Vandersma is an "organizationally impaired" temporary assistant who finally gets her first permanent job at the age of 31. While she works for the curator of an art gallery, Polly narrates her own story, sharing the comical and bittersweet pretensions of the art world. At the same time, she reveals a special part of her own private world, taking the viewer to enchanted places in this quiet assault on the notion of authority everywhere.