“We Are Just Soldiers” is my first professional short film which I wrote and directed. Shot this past summer alongside my amazing cast and crew, the story takes place during the Second World War in Normandy, France, one month after D-Day. The film conveys the message that no matter what side of an argument we are on, we are all just human beings looking for human connection and acceptance.
The film stars Copper Hills (Vancouver Island) and Deniz Somuncuoglu (Vancouver), and the supporting characters are played by Jason Haney (Vancouver Island), Marcel Heim (Vancouver), Eddy Green (Vancouver Island), and Bryn Evans (Vancouver).
My crew consists mainly of former/current KSS and CEAP students, including camera operator Dekaiah Haupt and boom operator Avery Frew. On props are fellow students Sam Lecavalier and Gordon. C, and also KSS graduate Wyatt Sweeney. In addition to props, Wyatt played a major role in costuming for the German soldiers. I was also lucky to have worked with three out-of-district people, make-up artist Nicole Clint, props and costume consultant Kevin Hills, and casting director Jacqui Kaese of Spotlight Academy based on Vancouver Island. Lastly, my Executive Producer and Set Supervisor was my lovely mother, Merideth Bisiker.
I wrote the script for the film back in March of 2020 at the start of quarantine and began pre-production soon after. I had finished casting the film by August of that same year; however, I needed some time to save money for the movie. The War genre can make a film more costly due to the cost of costuming and props. We moved the filming date two times as I monitored BC’s public health orders, finally agreeing upon a weekend in August 2021. On August 28 and 29, 2021 we shot the entire film. Save for a few hiccups, both days went by smoothly thanks to my cast and crew. It was an honour to work with such an extraordinary group of people who were as passionate about bringing this film to life as I was. In total, this film took 17 months after it’s inception to complete.
The film is now in post-production. Once it is completed, I will submit it to film festivals around the world in hopes of winning some awards and introducing myself to a wider film audience. Even if no awards are won, it was still a fantastic experience and I am looking forward to being able to share the film after it has made its way through the film fests.
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