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| Don't Get Killed in Alaska |
It’s always exciting to report on upcoming Canadian
productions, especially when projects offer new work by filmmakers I’ve come to
enjoy. Don’t Get Killed in Alaska is the new film by firstlovefilms, the
production company that brought you Dear Scavengers,
which got a pretty good review here on Cinemablographer
when it played at TIFF. Don’t Get Killed
in Alaska is the first feature from firstlovefilms and it “explores a young women’s struggle to forge her own destiny in
spite of what her family and the world expects of her.” The film is produced by
Laura Perlmutter and Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith, co-founders of
firstlovefilms, and is directed by Bill Taylor (debut). The film started
filming in Picton and Toronto on Oct. 24. (The director of photography is Ben
Lichty, who shot Ingrid Veninger’s i’m a
good person/i’m a bad person). Don’t
Get Killed in Alaska is funded by the Canada and Ontario Arts Council
Cast, plot details, and more info from firstlovefilms after
the cut:
CAST: Tommie-Amber Pirie (Michael: Tuesdays through Thursdays) is starring in the lead role, Rosemary Dunsmore (Total Recall), Oliver Dennis, Ben Lewis and Gianpaolo Venuta.PLOT: Liney has always been “one of the guys.” She’s not the girl that boys chase after. That is, until she meets Dan, a charming labourer with big ambitions for the both of them. In a down economy, Liney and Dan dream of moving to Alaska to find work on a fishing boat and start a new life together. They just need a little cash to get there. When Liney asks her family for a loan, old tensions boil up and Dan’s intentions are called into question.CREW BIOS:Writer/director Bill Taylor grew up on a small farm in rural Southwestern Ontario, Canada. In 1999, he moved to Toronto to study Political Science at York University, but ended up finding a home in the Film and Video Department studying screenwriting. It is here that he developed a profound respect for writers and filmmakers who told stories that were deeply rooted in the human experience.In 2007, Bill wrote and directed Silver Road, his first fictional film as a director. It was selected as one of the NSI Drama Prize recipients, for which Sarah Polley (Away From Her) served as Bill’s director mentor. The film was made with financial support from The Nation Film Board (NFB), Ontario Arts Council and Toronto Arts Council. Silver Road has played in festivals around the world and aired on CBC’s Canadian Reflections and MTV Logo in the United States. The film was also nominated for the prestigious Iris Prize, the largest short film prize of its kind in the world. In 2009, Bill participated in the National Screen Institute’s Features First training program as a writer/director for his feature film script “The Summer We Ran”. In 2010 Bill completed The Young Prime Minister, which premiered on Bravo!FACT Presents, and had the financial support of The Ontario Arts Council and the NFB.Producer Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith was named one of 2011 ReelWorld Film Festival’s top 20 Emerging Filmmakers. His films Home, Canoejacked, and Dear Scavengers have all premiered TIFF. Co-founder of firstlovefilms.Producer Laura Perlmutter graduated from the CFC Producers Lab in 2011. Her recent films include Dear Scavengers, Rishi’s World and Rattan. She is a Co-founder of firstlovefilms.firstlovefilms was founded by Laura Perlmutter and Andrew Nicholas McCann Smith. Their simple mandate is to produce interesting, unique stories for film and television. Their short film Dear Scavengers, was warmly received by critics at its premiere at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. firstlovefilms is in the midst of production with the features Don’t Get Killed in Alaska (Dir.: Bill Taylor) and A Trip to the Island (Dir.: Hrant Alianak). Currently in development are feature films: Almost Thirty (Dir.: Jordan Canning), Window Watching (Dir.: Svjetlana Jaklenec), and Fragile Minds (Dir.: Cody Campanale); and the TV series Critic (Writer.: Dylan Young).For more information, please visit http://www.firstlovefilms.com/
