When you think of the Creighton Sportex, the first thing you think of may not “film location”. Nevertheless, the building took on that duty late last month for an independent film, catalyzed by a local director and community actors.
The film, an adaptation of the novel The Foxhole Court by American author Nora Sakavic, was shot in a pair of marathon sessions in and around the building last week. Creighton’s Aline Nasselquist directed the film and has recruited a stable of exclusively local talent to help bring the project to life.
Eli Plamondon plays the main character of the novel, Neil Josten. In the book, Josten is the son of a notorious and abusive crime lord who has spent substantial time on the run from underground figures before joining a small college.
In the novel, characters bond around a fictional sport called “Exy” - a combination of lacrosse, hockey, soccer and other sports. After joining his college’s Exy team, Josten finds a sense of belonging that had been absent from his early life.
To create a sense of immersion in the new sport, appropriate equipment has been brought in - lacrosse sticks, fan signs showing the characters’ names, even a small change to the sign that says “No hockey in the hallways,” changing it to “No Exy in the hallways”.
An open casting call was held earlier this year, through which Plamondon received the main role. After that, Nasselquist reached out to friends in the community’s acting scene and put out calls online for actors. That ended up paying off, allowing the director to fill out her cast with local talent.
Laurence Gillespie plays Josten’s high school Exy coach, while Christina Adeyemo plays the college team’s coach. Bubba Adegboye, Haven Vankoughnett and others play Josten’s teammates.
Some of the cast members come into the production with little to no film experience.
“I’ve been acting for a while, but I’ve always done stage and theatre. Getting used to this is a little bit different. On the stage, you’re more dramatic, because people can’t really see micro mannerisms, small changes in your face and whatever, as opposed to this where you can zoom into everything,” said Adeyemo.
“The way that I move is different. The way I say my lines is a little bit different.”
“I’ve done a lot of short film stuff in school, some for assignments and some just for fun. This is probably the biggest thing we’ve done,” added Plamondon.
“There’s makeup and stuff - I’ve never worked with real costume and makeup stuff before, so that’s kind of neat to see.”
Some challenges have already presented themselves in the shooting. Plamondon, a 15-year-old who stands just under six feet tall, plays a character described in the book as a 5-foot-4 college freshman. The age difference isn’t an issue for the actor.
“I don’t find it that hard working with a bunch of old people,” quipped Plamondon, drawing laughs and eye rolls from the rest of the cast.
The mood of the makeup room is casual, if not slightly nervous. A makeup artist draws a series of intricate tribal tattoos onto Adeyemo, whose character is described as heavily tattooed. Plamondon’s hair is gunked up with product, then covered with a cap for a short time so he appears sweaty in action shots.
Director Nasselquist plans to attend the University of Manitoba this fall to study film, specifically script writing. With this project, she’s had to wear many hats - casting director, writer, script supervisor and, once production wrapped, editing.
“Ninety per cent of the work is the editing,” said Nasselquist.
She hopes the project will provide her and all involved with some much-needed experience before heading into film.
“They say that with film, you become a family - not just like with your actors and stuff, but all the people you work with,” she said.
