Alberta as a backdrop for new indie film, Father of Nations

When it comes to films and film production in Canada, most people think of Vancouver or Toronto, but rarely do they think of Calgary, or even Alberta for that matter. 

Father of Nations is an upcoming film from Calgary-based production company, Thousand Year Films, and is filmed entirely with an Albertan cast and crew. 

Ten years ago, after seeing I am Legend, Nathan Horch, the lead actor, writer and producer of Father of Nations came up with the premise of a group of survivors dealing with the aftermath of a global catastrophe. 

“Lots of post-apocalyptic films, it’s about getting to a colony or finding a way to rebuild and that’s the goal,” said Horch. “But, I wanted to go past that, what if all those attempts to rebuild humanity and society had failed and you’re looking at actually facing extinction.” 

Horch grew up in Alberta and would spend his summers travelling around the province. Wanting others to see the beauty of this province, filming took place in various locations around Alberta, such as Calgary, Brooks, and the Badlands. Additionally, Horch wants to foster all the talent that is here in Alberta and depict all the diverse landscapes Alberta has to offer. 

“There’s a lot of talent here. For years, I think people would leave, if they’re in Canada, they would go to Vancouver or Toronto, which are the larger film-making hubs, or even down to L.A.,” said Horch. “There are so many wonderful, talented people that come here and with technology becoming more accessible, I think it’s been a lot easier to start maintaining and creating an actual industry here, even if it’s a lot smaller than other areas, it’s [still] growing.”

Many Canadian actors star in the film, such as Kyra Macpherson, Griffin Cork, Reamonn Joshee and Joel David Taylor. Furthermore, both Joel David Taylor and Reamonn Joshee are Albertan actors with links to Edmonton; Taylor trained at the University of Alberta, while Joshee was raised in Edmonton. 

“It’s really important that we invest in our own communities and our own industry and build that up so that we create jobs for Albertans,” said Aleisha Anderson, the director for Father of Nations. “If we continue to lose our creative and our very technically savvy people to other markets, then we can’t grow and create the best products here. Investing in the local production companies is really important because then we grow the community here.”

Of course, there are challenges when it comes to filming in Alberta. During development, one of the primary locations was hit with a devastating fire. This impacted the nearby communities heavily, but, instead of stopping production, the residents encouraged the filmmakers to continue and to utilize the devastated environment in their film. 

Father of Nations does deal with dark themes, but the filmmakers hope audiences take away a more uplifting message. 

“I like [audiences] to feel that they were able to emotionally connect to the characters and the things that they’re going through and that they may find themselves in some of these decisions,” said Anderson. “And it helps them to reflect on their own lives and also really highlighting how beautiful life is and how important it is.”

Father of Nations is set to be released in 2020 and has already secured local, limited theatrical release.