A young Victoria-based filmmaker’s feature debut will have its world première at the Busan International Festival in South Korea.
Connor Gaston’s homegrown crisis-of-faith drama The Devout was selected as one of 10 films to compete for the Busan Bank Award, top international prize at the “the Cannes of Asia,” as the festival, which takes place Oct. 1-10, is nicknamed.
“I’m thrilled to be premièring at Busan. It’s an incredible opportunity,” said Gaston, 26, who shot his film in January at locations that included a home in the East Sooke wilderness, the Robin Hood Motel, St. Michael and All Angels Church and Michell’s Farm Market.
The University of Victoria fine arts graduate’s film, loosely based on real events, was his master’s thesis. It was produced by Daniel Hogg (Two4One), a digital media technology and lab instructor at UVic, and Amanda Verhagen, a UVic theatre grad.
The movie, starring Duncan native Ali Liebert (Bomb Girls), Charlie Carrick (Ally Was Screaming), Kamloops-born Gabrielle Rose (The Sweet Hereafter), David Nykl (Arrow) and pint-sized newcomer Olivia Martin, focuses on a small-town Christian schoolteacher who risks his marriage and friendships when he begins to believe his terminally ill four-year-old daughter is the reincarnation of an astronaut from an Apollo space mission.
“Olivia is a natural. I never thought working with a four-year-old could be such a joy,” said Gaston, who cast the youngster as Abigail, the child he had originally envisioned as a boy, after discovering her at Lambrick Park Pre-School.
Although dates are yet to be confirmed, The Devout, which Gaston directed from his own screenplay, will make its North American debut at the Vancouver International Film Festival Canadian Images program and as part of the B.C. Spotllight Competition. The fesival runs from Sept. 24 to Oct. 9.
Shooting The Devout in and around Victoria with its cast of Canadian stars and crews was a pleasant experience, said Verhagen, who grew up here.
“Every person was so supportive and helpful,” she said. “A resident at one of the houses we filmed at baked cookies for the entire cast and crew.”
The Devout was produced with participation from Telefilm Canada, the B.C. Arts Council and CineVic Society of Independent Filmmakers.
