Posted by: Adria Iwasutiak - Senior Publicist

Last week I had the special privilege of attending a “sneak peak” screening party in honour of the television adaptation of Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam. The event was hosted at Toronto East General Hospital, where Dr. Lam works in the ER, making the entire evening a unique and memorable experience! We started off in the TEGH’s new Emergency Ward, which has not yet been used by patients. The crowd attire ran the gamut from suits to scrubs, as Dr. Lam’s colleagues, friends, booksellers, media, hospital board members and donors enjoyed a tour of the new space with wine in hand. After a warm welcome from Dr. Lam (at the hospital they call him Vince!) we headed upstairs to the E2 Lecture Hall, a lovely space for a screening.

The Neal Brothers provided us with delicious popcorn and seventy-five of us laughed, gasped and sat on the edges of our seats as the first in the HBO Canada original eight-part series played. Shawn Ashmore, perhaps better known to most of us as Ice Man from X-Men, was outstanding as Fitz and drew all of us in as the flashbacks to his romantic affair with Ming and the love triangle with Chen unfolded. Everyone had their copies of Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures signed by Vincent Lam at the end of the night, and many shared how eager they are to revisit this outstanding collection of stories and share with new readers!

Bloodletting and Miraculous Cures airs on HBO Canada Sunday nights at 8 pm. Visit www.bloodletting.tv for episode guides, bonus features and more.