Nova Scotia-Filmed And Produced Feature Debuts At Cineplex
HALIFAX-People across Nova Scotia are starting to go out as Covid-19 restrictions disappear and consumer confidence grows. For many, that will mean a trip to their local Cineplex to see some of Hollywood’s newest releases.
But now there’s a local alternative. The indie drama Dawn, Her Dad and the Tractor, filmed and produced in Nova Scotia, makes its debut in select Cineplex theatres March 4.
The movie, filmed in 2020 on a modest $1.5 million budget, is written and directed by Shelley Thompson, most famous for her role as Barb in Trailer Park Boys. She has been an auteur filmmaker in several short films, but Dawn marks her debut as a feature-length film director.
Dawn also features actor Robb Wells, famous for his portrayal of Ricky on Trailer Park Boys.
The film’s release comes with its fair share of blood sweat and tears: Thompson spent the last seven years working on Dawn.
“It’s lucky I just love these people’s faces and I love them because it’s such a long… project,” Thompson laughed, describing her love for the cast and crew.
The movie is about John Andrew, played by Robb Wells, and his family coming to terms with the fact that his son Donald has transitioned to Dawn. The movie highlights the struggles a transgender person can face in rural areas where everyone knows each other.
But the film is one of triumph and acceptance. John Andrew bonds with Dawn by restoring a tractor as they prepare for her to race in the local tractor trials.
“It was nice just to be able to do something different and something a little more dramatic rather than just doing comedy,” said Wells. “I was flattered that Shelley offered me the chance.”
“She’s an amazing director and it was nice to work with her on something other than Trailer Park Boys.”
Dawn was inspired by Thompson’s family life and history. She has a trans son, musician T. Thomason, so she understands a family’s journey when a loved one goes through a transition.
“My son’s transition has been very much part of our family life and experience over the last five or six years,” said Thompson. “I’ve become very aware of my son’s community of trans individuals who struggle all around the world.”
“And my mom grew up on a farm and learned to drive on a tractor. It’s part of my family lore.”
When it came to casting Dawn, it was important for Thompson that the role was played by a transgender person.
“For us, it was absolutely a no-brainer,” she said. “It’s just time for those areas of representation to be not up for discussion.”
She struck gold by casting Maya Henry, who got the starring role despite this being her first feature film. Thompson called Henry a “revelation” and she also got high praise from her co-star Robb Wells.
“She’s a terrific actor, she was an inspiration definitely as an actor and as a person,” said Wells.
For Henry, playing the lead role of Dawn was art imitating life. Growing up in rural Ontario, before her transition, she was often picked on for being a feminine boy in a small town.
“Growing up I was always bullied and this magnet of attention because I didn’t necessarily prescribe to gender tradition,” said Henry. “My whole life I was very feminine, and it was very confusing for people.”
“Having to deal with the idea of what society expected me to be, prior to my transition, as a boy, was honestly the most difficult part for me.”
She recalls walking into a restaurant one day, back when she was a teenager, and someone yelled out “are you a boy or girl?”
“People in small towns, they’re used to what they know; their way of life, and they don’t like it when that’s interrupted,” explained Henry. “So, they’ll scapegoat, and they’ll pick someone who is a minority, for whatever reason.”
And just like her character Dawn, Henry moved to the big city (Toronto) and transitioned. Then she had to go back to her small town and “reintroduce” herself.
But Henry’s story, just like that of Dawn, is one full of hope and positivity. Both ended up finding acceptance with family, friends, and their rural communities.
“Even though sometimes we vilify smaller communities as being closed-minded, sometimes you just need patience. People are often welcoming and they just need time to understand and to grow,” explained Henry. “That’s what happened with my community.”
The film’s producer, Terry Greenlaw, was awestruck by how Henry put so much of herself into the role of Dawn.
“She’s put so much of herself out there, shared so much of herself, not only through her performance in this movie but in her support of the movie and being a spokesperson for transgender individuals.”
As is the case with most indie films, one of the biggest challenges was financing. No major studio backing means no singular pot of money to bank on.
The $1.5-million for Dawn came from a variety of sources: a Canada Council grant, Telefilm, Canada Media funding, and pre-selling the film to Crave.
Some of the money came in 2018 when Thompson won a $200,000 “Women in The Director’s Chair” prize. Thompson recalls that, at one point, the film had a budget of $250,000, which in the film industry doesn’t cut it for a feature-length film.
Even when Greenlaw jumped aboard as producer and helped increase the budget to $1.5-million, the film had to make sacrifices.
“Shelley had a dream to make the entire film in Antigonish,” recalled Greenlaw. “It just turned out that we couldn’t do that because we couldn’t afford to travel cast and crew for the duration.”
Most of the movie was filmed on a dairy farm in Windsor, Nova Scotia. But, thanks to the kindness and hospitality of Antigonish, one week was spent in the region for filming. Antigonish even funded travel and accommodations for the cast and crew.
“All the people in Antigonish and down in Windsor just bent over backwards to accommodate us,” said Wells.
Dawn was one of the first films to enter production in 2020 after the Covid-19 pandemic started. Filming during Covid was tough, but post-production was even worse, due to health measures. Trying to edit while people were in different rooms made post-production a “nightmare,” recalls Thompson.
The film is also self-distributed, which meant Greenlaw had her working boots on to get Dawn shown in Cineplex. She “had a bee in her bonnet,” and chased down Cineplex until she was able to get it shown as an event.
“If you’re not performing (at Cineplex), you’re gone rapidly,” said Greenlaw.
In his closing remarks, Wells summarized why everyone should go out this weekend and see this Nova Scotian film in theatres.
“It’s a beautiful family film, and so few Canadian films actually get to go to theatres for people to see.”
“The backdrop and the scenery, you really have to see it on the big screen to appreciate the beauty of it. The cinematography is amazing.”
Derek Montague is a Huddle reporter in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].