A new feature film being shot in the city has special meaning
for two Regina brothers.
Directed by David Hansen and written by his brother Jaymie, Shot in the Face is a twisted, dark romantic comedy produced by Saskatchewan production company WestWind Pictures, with financial assistance from SaskFilm and Telefilm Canada.
According to David, a U of R graduate who has directed documentaries and music videos, there is no other place he would rather shoot his first feature.
"I don't think this film could've been made anywhere else, actually,'' said David, on set at McNally's Tavern on Wednesday.
"I don't think we would have had the type of crew involved and everyone in the city was really behind the film. It's a low-budget feature so a lot of people are doing favours. Overall, it's been really exciting. My brother wrote it, so it's sort of a family affair.''
The film received $100,000 from a SaskFilm Low Budget Feature initiative in 2000, intended to develop the skills of writers and directors who don't necessarily have feature film experience.
"That sort of got the ball rolling and it made it a lot easier to solicit other agencies, Super Channel and the Movie Network, and eventually Telefilm came in to support it as well,'' said David.
The film stars Bruce Ramsay (Killing Zoe, Alive), Katharine Isabelle (Insomnia, Josie and the Pussy Cats) and Nicholas Lea (X-Files, Once a Thief), as well as Benjamin Ratner and John and Frank Cassini.
"It's a nice little 'brat pack' of Canadian talent gathered around the two Hansen brothers,'' said producer Stephen Onda.
This is also Jaymie's first screenplay, which he wrote in a Korean hotel room. David was attracted to the script by the bizarre dialogue and interesting characters.
"Jaymie's got a really vivid imagination and a wacky sense of humour. I was probably the right person to direct it because I'm not sure if everyone would get his sense of humour,'' said David.
"In my mind, it's playing out performance-wise better than I had envisioned while I was writing it,'' said Jaymie.
The movie is shooting throughout August at various locations in the city.
"It has a very Regina feel to it. It's what it's about. We're not hiding the fact that we're shooting in Regina. Saskatchewan people are quite funny and I think they'll enjoy this film and that same sort of humour,'' said David.