Filmmakers audition potential actors in Thunder Bay

Joshua Bigblood and Dylan Fobister were enjoying the Lakehead University powwow on March 16 when they were approached by filmmakers to audition for a feature-length film.
The next day, having little acting experience, they found themselves reading and improvising scenes in front of Adam Garnet Jones of Toronto and Michelle Derosier and Dave Clement of Thunderstone Pictures.
“I was surprised when they came and asked us, and I said yeah and wanted to try something new,” said Bigblood, a 22-year-old of Whitedog First Nation. “When we were in there, I was nervous for sure.”
Fobister, an 18-year-old Grassy Narrows member, called the experience “nerve wracking.”
“I’m still shaking,” he laughed following the audition.
The friends from Kenora auditioned along with more than 30 people for Wild Medicine, the tentative title of the film written by Jones that he plans to shoot over the summer in two First Nations communities in northwestern Ontario.
About three years in the works, “Wild Medicine” follows Shane, an academically successful youth from a northern Ontario reserve who is conflicted on whether to pursue his post-secondary education or stay behind and support his family which had been recently impacted by suicide.
Jones said the story was inspired by his own experiences as well as what he learned from working with many Native youth living in urban areas.
“I felt like I was hearing the same stories all the time, about suicide,” said Jones, a Cree and Metis who was born in Calgary and attended college in Vancouver before moving to Toronto.
“The whole time they’re in the city, they’re not sure if they should be there or at home. There’s all this complicated stuff with home and country. And that’s the story I wanted to tell.”
Jones began making films when he was 14 and graduated from the film program at Ryerson University in 2006. He directed several short films that were screened at numerous festivals.
Wild Medicine will be his first feature film.
After first meeting Derosier and Clement during the B’iindigaate Indigenous Film Festival in Thunder Bay, Jones met with Derosier during the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts festival last fall to discuss the possibility of Thunderstone Picture’s involvement in the project.
Derosier, who is from Eagle Lake First Nation, said she was drawn by the script.
“The story just felt authentic and real and, having worked with a lot of youth, it just resonated with me,” said Derosier, who was a social worker before co-founding Thunderstone with Clement.
Derosier worked with Jones to rewrite aspects of the script to better reflect the northwestern Ontario region and to enhance its authenticity.
And while Jones will direct the film, Clement said Thunderstone is acting as a producer in addition to helping with casting.
“We’re producers in the sense we’re bringing resources of the local film community and the home communities and all the great people and places that we’re familiar with,” he said.
Thunderstone Pictures has previously produced award-winning films in the region. And while they produced feature-length documentaries, it will be their first feature drama film.
But it will not be their first time finding and casting local Aboriginal youth. They previously held city-wide auditions for “Seeking Bimaadiziwin” (2007), a 32-minute drama featuring four Aboriginal youth as the main characters.
“I know what happens when you give kids a chance to step out of their comfort zone,” Derosier said. “I know there’s a ton of talented youth here and talented people that would embrace and be part of the film.”
Jones is also excited about finding local talent. He said a short-term film program he joined as a youth was “the best thing that happened to me” and set the course for his filmmaking career.
“I remember getting that opportunity when I was 14 and it’s changed my whole life,” Jones said. “I definitely would not be here today. The opportunity to have that impact on people is exciting.”
Jones said casting actors is one of the most crucial aspects of filmmaking.
“It really hangs on the character and caring about the young people in the film and making (the audience) feel invested in them,” he said. “If you have a script and have actors halfway involved, it doesn’t matter. You need to have good people.”
The filmmakers were pleased with the turnout for auditions during the powwow. There was so much demand that they added an extra day.
And it will not be the only time they will be holding a casting call. More are planned for the future. Anyone interested in auditioning can e-mail: casting@thunderstonepictures.com.
More information on the film can be found on their Facebook page, Wild Medicine.
Bigblood and Fobister felt their auditions went well and hope they get a part.
“I’d be excited and just extremely happy,” Bigblood said.