Filmmakers seek youth actors in northwestern Ontario

Thursday March 7, 2013

Filmmakers from Toronto and Thunder Bay are seeking Aboriginal youth to act in an upcoming feature film that will be shot this summer in northwestern Ontario.

Adam Garnet Jones of Toronto is set to direct the film, tentatively titled “Wild Medicine,” that he wrote about First Nations youth.

The film centres on Shane, an academically successful student who is planning to go to university. However, his sister commits suicide. So Shane must decide whether to pursue his education or stay home and support his family.

“I went to high school in the west coast and (the film) was inspired by things that happened to me when I was a teenager,” said Jones, who is of Cree and Metis heritage. “The issues in the film happen all over the country.”

The film is set in a fictional community and the filmmakers plan on shooting in Wabigoon Lake and Fort William First Nations.

Jones has teamed up with Michelle Derosier and Dave Clement of Thunderstone Pictures in Thunder Bay to shoot the film.

Jones was impressed with Derosier and Clement’s previous work and met with Derosier last fall at the imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival to discuss the project.

“She was really supportive of the project and from that meeting, I thought I have to make it with these guys,” Jones said. “They’re so passionate about the material and they’re great at working with young people. It just seems like a natural fit.”

The filmmakers are looking for young First Nations people ages 16-20 to audition for the film.
They are holding a casting call at the Lakehead University powwow Mar. 15-17 and encourage all youth to audition.

For more info on the film, you can like their Facebook page “Wild Medicine” for character breakdowns.

You can also e-mail Jones at garnetfilm@gmail.com to book an audition.