Award-winning Fredericton film company Strike Pictures will debut its first feature film at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
It has been over a decade since a New Brunswick made feature film opened at the prestigious Toronto International Film, Festivall (TIFF). But that is all about to change. This September, Fredericton-based film company Strike Pictures will see its first feature film, Do I Know You From Somewhere? make its world premiere at Canada’s biggest film event.
“It feels incredibly overwhelming,” said Strike’s Arianna Martinez, the film’s director. “It’s really validating as a filmmaker and artist to have the movie be invited to be a part of such a prestigious festival, but the realization that the film will now be seen by so many people is scary! It’s out of our hands at this point. We did our best to make a beautiful film and now it’s up to the public to decide if they like it or not.”
This new opportunity follows Strike’s lengthy history of beautiful filmmaking. Together with fellow filmmakers Gordon Mihan and Lance Blakney, Martinez has been making visually stunning, culturally relevant, award-winning films that feature New Brunswick’s vast talent base and natural beauty.
The company’s invitation to screen at TIFF is just the latest in a growing number of accomplishments for the Strike crew. Earlier this year the company joined a contingent of Atlantic filmmakers at Cannes to explore the industry and meet with distributor and sales agents.
“This has potential to open a lot of doors for us as an indie film company,” said Martinez. “The buzz around TIFF may help it get into other festivals, and eventually get a theatrical run. It could also lead to opportunities for future projects. Lance, Gordon, and I have a few scripts in early development, so it would be really cool to get some of those off the ground.”
Do I Know You From Somewhere? was funded through Telefilm Canada’s Talent to Watch Program with additional support from the Province of New Brunswick. The film was shot in the summer of 2023 in multiple New Brunswick locations including Fredericton, Maquapit Lake, and Bloomfield. Made with an almost entire cast and crew of New Brunswickers, the film tells the story of a couple whose shared past begins to be replaced by an alternate timeline. They face a bittersweet choice — embrace newfound joy or cling to a fading connection before they lose each other forever.
“I think what sets this film apart from previous works is how personal it is,” said Martinez. “Gordon and I co-wrote it, and there are threads of truth that stitch the story together. Because this film is so much bigger in scope than anything we’ve ever made before it gave us time to really play and see what worked for us. Lance was also the Director of Photography. We really found an incredible rhythm while shooting. I think the whole cast and crew did. It was such good vibes on set, and I think when morale is high it shines through in the work.”
The Toronto International Film Festival takes place September 5–15, 2024.
