Over 40 Indigenous actors turned out to the Sandman Inn Wednesday for the first round of auditions for Tsilhqot’in filmmaker Trevor Mack’s upcoming feature film Portraits From A Fire.
People of all ages, backgrounds and experience showed up to try their luck, including Chief Willie Sellars of the Williams Lake Indian Band. Mack said that he had people show up from across the Interior, including actors from Prince George and Kamloops.
“It went really, really well. We had people from all types of diverse backgrounds of all ages. We had really great performances, surprising performances, it was inspirational seeing young Indigenous kids acting and trying. Some new, older Indigenous men were showcasing themselves out of this shell (of stoicism). It was really great to see. A lot of characters, a lot of funny people and some really real moments in auditions,” Mack said.
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While it’s still too early to say who he’ll be casting in the eight named roles people were reading for, Mack said there were some standout performances from Williams Lake his team is definitely keeping in mind. Overall, however, he and his team were very impressed by what they saw in the Sandman Inn conference room.
In fact, Mack thinks it’d be a smart business move for an acting agent to set up an office in Williams Lake in the future. In his opinion, Williams Lake and the Cariboo have a lot of untapped talent the world needs to see.
Local actor Jamie Regrier, best known for his role as Chief Dwight Grackle in the Williams Lake Studio Theatre’s November, was one of the lakecity locals trying his luck. He said he came because he’s always looking to try something new and finds the idea of a local film project like this to be an exciting one.
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“It’s exciting, I’m glad to see that there’s a lot of enthusiasm for the arts here,” Regrier said. “You only get one chance in this life — make the best of it.”
The shoot begins this August and will run from Augst 5 to 23 in and around the Cariboo-Chilcotin.Mack is currently also looking for young Indigenous interns interested in filmmaking to join the production in a mentorship program. Those who apply will be helping for the film’s entire shoot and can contact the production for more information via the Portraits From A Fire Facebook page.
As part of the filmmaking process, Mack will be releasing a monthly behind-the- scenes feature starting in June on YouTube and Facebook to allow people to follow along with the film’s progress.
patrick.davies@wltribune.com
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