Exclusive: Erika Prevost (Saint-Pierre) and Dylan Playfair (Letterkenny) have signed on to star in Send the Rain, an indie drama written and directed by Hayley Gray and cinematographer Kaayla Whachell.
The film, based on Gray’s award-winning short film by the same name, is set against the backdrop of escalating wildfires in rural British Columbia, where production is taking place. The story follows Erika, a young Okinawan-Canadian woman who returns home to convince her aging grandmother, Oba, to evacuate their family farm. As tensions rise between the two strong-willed women, buried histories and generational trauma come to the surface, revealing a powerful story of resilience, legacy, and the bonds that survive even in the face of destruction.
“Send the Rain speaks to something deeply human — the way we weather loss, reconnect with our roots, and learn that healing often comes from unexpected places,” said Mike Johnston, who’s producing for Studio 104 Entertainment.
The film, based on Gray’s award-winning short film by the same name, is set against the backdrop of escalating wildfires in rural British Columbia, where production is taking place. The story follows Erika, a young Okinawan-Canadian woman who returns home to convince her aging grandmother, Oba, to evacuate their family farm. As tensions rise between the two strong-willed women, buried histories and generational trauma come to the surface, revealing a powerful story of resilience, legacy, and the bonds that survive even in the face of destruction.
“Send the Rain speaks to something deeply human — the way we weather loss, reconnect with our roots, and learn that healing often comes from unexpected places,” said Mike Johnston, who’s producing for Studio 104 Entertainment.
- 8/4/2025
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Montreal’s Frontières, the industry arm of Canada’s Fantasia Film Festival, has announced its winners.
In the official selection, “Freya” proved unbeatable, taking home the Post-Production Award by PurpleDOG Post worth Cad$10,000. The same award – and Cad$5,000 – was also given to Forum’s “In the Heart of the South” and Genre Film Lab’s “Alligator.”
The Pitch Deck Award, offered by The Film Deck, went to “Animal Realm,” presented in the Shorts to Features section.
“We are extremely grateful to PurpleDOG Post and The Film Deck for supporting us with the awards this year. Our plan is to continue doing it and hopefully grow, by partnering up with the companies that can support filmmakers in their production process,” Annick Mahnert, Frontières executive director, told Variety.
“Each of these projects has a specific identity and they are all extremely original. I know they didn’t have an easy job selecting the awardees.
In the official selection, “Freya” proved unbeatable, taking home the Post-Production Award by PurpleDOG Post worth Cad$10,000. The same award – and Cad$5,000 – was also given to Forum’s “In the Heart of the South” and Genre Film Lab’s “Alligator.”
The Pitch Deck Award, offered by The Film Deck, went to “Animal Realm,” presented in the Shorts to Features section.
“We are extremely grateful to PurpleDOG Post and The Film Deck for supporting us with the awards this year. Our plan is to continue doing it and hopefully grow, by partnering up with the companies that can support filmmakers in their production process,” Annick Mahnert, Frontières executive director, told Variety.
“Each of these projects has a specific identity and they are all extremely original. I know they didn’t have an easy job selecting the awardees.
- 7/29/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
At Frontières Market and Forum, it’s all about the exploding heads.
“Big, bloody and messy explosions of heads. Old-school style explosions à la ‘Scanners’,” enthuses director Olivier Godin, who will bring neo-noir comedy “Anna Will Talk to Us” to its official selection, about a book that literally blows people’s minds.
The much-anticipated event, back for its 15th edition, is bound to satisfy the oddest of tastes, delivering the likes of “Animal Realm” – “Full on Wuxia. Total cyberpunk. Stop-motion animation in full action,” teases director Caochong Maing – or vampire story “Drawn” in which the bloodsuckers don’t actually drink blood.
“They infuse it, fueled not by visceral needs but capitalist demands for youth and beauty. The horror portrayed in this film is in equal parts beautiful, grotesque and unflinching,” says Cosmo Salovaara about his “class exploitation buttressed by vampiric motifs.”
Many projects, however, will also reflect current reality from the perspective of women,...
“Big, bloody and messy explosions of heads. Old-school style explosions à la ‘Scanners’,” enthuses director Olivier Godin, who will bring neo-noir comedy “Anna Will Talk to Us” to its official selection, about a book that literally blows people’s minds.
The much-anticipated event, back for its 15th edition, is bound to satisfy the oddest of tastes, delivering the likes of “Animal Realm” – “Full on Wuxia. Total cyberpunk. Stop-motion animation in full action,” teases director Caochong Maing – or vampire story “Drawn” in which the bloodsuckers don’t actually drink blood.
“They infuse it, fueled not by visceral needs but capitalist demands for youth and beauty. The horror portrayed in this film is in equal parts beautiful, grotesque and unflinching,” says Cosmo Salovaara about his “class exploitation buttressed by vampiric motifs.”
Many projects, however, will also reflect current reality from the perspective of women,...
- 7/17/2023
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future and Danis Goulet’s Night Raiders lead nominees for the upcoming Dgc Awards with three each.
The Directors of Guild of Canada unveiled nominations for its 21st Dgc Awards on Nov. 5 on Friday. Del Toro, who shot Nightmare Alley mostly in and around Toronto, did not receive a nomination for best feature film direction.
But del Toro’s tribute to the film noir genre, which starred Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett, did earn Oscar-nominated production designer Tamara Deverell a Dgc Awards nod in the same category, Cam McLauchlin a nomination for feature best picture editing, and best sound editing nominations for Nathan Robitaille, Jill Purdy, Dashen Naidoo, Josh Brown, Nelson Ferreira, Kayla Stewart, Craig MacLellan and Kevin Banks.
Cronenberg received a best film director nomination for Crimes of the Future,...
Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley, David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future and Danis Goulet’s Night Raiders lead nominees for the upcoming Dgc Awards with three each.
The Directors of Guild of Canada unveiled nominations for its 21st Dgc Awards on Nov. 5 on Friday. Del Toro, who shot Nightmare Alley mostly in and around Toronto, did not receive a nomination for best feature film direction.
But del Toro’s tribute to the film noir genre, which starred Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett, did earn Oscar-nominated production designer Tamara Deverell a Dgc Awards nod in the same category, Cam McLauchlin a nomination for feature best picture editing, and best sound editing nominations for Nathan Robitaille, Jill Purdy, Dashen Naidoo, Josh Brown, Nelson Ferreira, Kayla Stewart, Craig MacLellan and Kevin Banks.
Cronenberg received a best film director nomination for Crimes of the Future,...
- 9/23/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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