Creighton resident Aline Nasselquist plans to go from the theatre stage to the director’s chair for an upcoming film project set to be shot in Creighton this summer.
The film is based on the first chapter of the Nora Sakavic book The Foxhole Court, a novel that occupies a special status for Nasselquist.
“The story focuses on the main character of Neil Josten and he is on the run from his crime lord father. He’s been on the run since he was about eight years old,” she said.
“He gets recruited for a university sports team, the Foxes. They kind of teach him to trust and that it’s okay to lean on one another.”
The inspiration for the project came after a friend from Austria recommended the book to Nasselquist. Once she read it, she was hooked.
“We often talk about books and movies and things that the other person can focus on while we’re not able to talk to each other. She introduced me to the series. I instantly fell in love with it and my mind kept running with different ways to turn it into a movie or TV show or short film,” she said.
“What mainly drew me to it was I found that I related a lot to many of the characters and many of their struggles. Even though they’re nowhere near what my life has been like, I found that the way that they handled situations were very similar to ways that I would. It just gave me a lot of peace in times where I felt rather alone. It just helped me a lot and I wanted to share it with people.”
A graduate of Creighton Community School, Nasselquist has acted in Flin Flon before, including a main role in a Ham Sandwich production in 2017. Nasselquist will head to the University of Manitoba in the fall to go to film school.
“It’s something I’ve been interested in since I was about 11 when our English teacher had us write scripts and perform the shows in the class, and I just was drawn to it. It’s just been a small passion of mine ever since,” she said.
In planning for the film, Nasselquist has reached out to some of her former Ham Sandwich compadres who have shared advice and knowledge with her about how to structure such a production. Knowing Flin Flon’s arts scene is one of the main reasons why Nasselquist is shooting the film in her hometown.
“I think the main reason why I decided to do this now and not while I’m in university is because I know that in this town, in this community, we lean on each other and we support each other. We just want to see one another thrive,” she said.
Recently, Nasselquist was approved by Creighton town council to film at the Creighton Sportex in August. She is looking for local actors to play key roles in the production.
The story features dark tones and gallows humour at times, something that Nasselquist said may be outside the norm for northern arts.
“It’s definitely a story that I think Flin Flon, the arts council and such, has never had the chance to see. We usually do more upbeat, sometimes dark humor shows. Never something with this type of an underlying undertone of a lot of pain and abuse and fighting your inner demons,” she said.
Once completed, Nasselquist plans to upload the film online.
