From discovery to bringing community together: Anthony Curtis

Based out of Vancouver, Anthony Curtis is an actor and filmmaker. He acted for the first time in a high school drama class, which he took to fill a spare in his schedule. He didn’t plan on making acting his career at the time. 

Curtis said after he graduated from high school back in 2018 in Beaumont, he was looking to go into a business program at either North Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) or MacEwan University, but ended up on the path of acting after seeing a Facebook ad. “It was an open call audition for an acting program at the Saw Ridge Hotel. I went down there and it was like 200 kids. And to my surprise, a Disney actor showed up at this audition.” 

It was Adrian R’Mante, who played Esteban in The Sweet Life of Zack and Cody. “He runs a program that finds up-and-coming talent and streamlines them to get representation and break into the [film] industry. I ended up doing the audition and they really liked me. That was the spark that made me think, ‘maybe I could pursue this as a career.’” 

Curtis ended up moving to Vancouver to attend a dramatic arts school. Since then, he’s gone on to act in multiple projects, and has written and produced his own films as well. 

One of his recent projects is a short film, directed by Y-Dang Troeung, called Easter Epic. The film follows a day in the life of a Cambodian refugee family after relocating to a small town in Ontario. Bits of the film are spun together with scenes from the longest ever game seven overtime playoff game in National Hockey League (NHL) history, which is nicknamed the Easter Epic. 

“This was a film she wanted to make before she passed away,” Curtis says

For Curtis, this was something “very special and rewarding” to be a part of. He even ended up presenting the film at the Reel Asian film festival. 

“Easter Epic was one of my favourite things I’ve done when it comes to acting. I felt I knew the character. An Asian kid living the Canadian life, obsessed with hockey. The film is also based on the memoir of the director. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer during the filmmaking process and this was a film she wanted to make before she passed away. Unfortunately, a month after the picture wrapped, she lost her battle to pancreatic cancer,” Curtis said. 

The film is not currently available to watch online, but Curtis said they’re hoping to make it available in the future.

Currently, Curtis just finished shooting a short film called April Sunset. The film, while fictional, details his emotional experience of the 2025 Vancouver car attack. 

On April 26, at the annual Lapu Lapu festival in Vancouver, which celebrates Filipino culture, a man drove through the festival. Eleven people were killed. Curtis was at the festival an hour before the attack and said many of his friends were as well, one of whom was injured in the attack. 

“My heart dropped to my stomach as I realized how many people I knew were there,” Curtis says

Curtis found out what had happened through a friend after he had left. “He called me like, ‘hey, man, just wanted to check in if you’re good.’ And he told me what happened. My heart dropped to my stomach as I realized how many people I knew were there and not knowing if they were caught in that incident or if they were okay,” Curtis said.

“It was one of my best and worst days. I remember going to the festival and it was such a beautiful thing to witness everyone in the community coming together, just being proud of their Filipino heritage. I was so proud that I was a part of it all,” Curtis detailed. 

The short film details Curtis’ emotional experience through the story of an older brother named Daniel who takes his younger sibling, named Xander, to a festival despite their mom not wanting them to go anywhere while she’s at work. The brothers end up going. Towards the end of the festival, there’s a bit of a commotion and Daniel loses Xander in the crowd. He ends up running home and calling his mom, leaving her a voicemail. In the voicemail he is “asking for forgiveness and pleading for help.” 

Curtis is reaching out to Filipino non-profit organizations for their blessing to make the story, and is looking to release the film in partnership with them. 

“I’m making this for the community. And I’m hoping this film can bring light to the situation and act as a space for grief to help the community with so much loss. I worked with a lot of Filipino artists and filmmakers and hearing their stories helped me connect more to the community.”

Curtis is looking to submit the film to the Vancouver Asian Film Festival or maybe the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) under the TIFF New Wave section.