PRODUCTION NOTES

Little Brother of War · A young boy’s heroic journey in search of his deceased parents sets forth a series of life affirming events, changing not only his life but also the lives of others.

It seems as though from day one the filmmakers had their work cut out for them. “It felt like a bit of a mountain at first”, says producer Andrew Hamilton. “When I first read Damon’s script, I immediately committed to the project. However, I knew we would have to break just about every rule to obtain the production value that was necessary to tell this story. From a field full of Natives, to packed arenas, children, animals and a 2nd unit shoot in Chicago, we both knew it was very ambitious. The biggest challenge with indie filmmaking is, of course, financial. We were very fortunate to be able to put together a group of people that felt as passionate about the film as we did.”

Essential to the production’s success was the attachment of executive producer Derrick Garland. “I had worked with Derrick in a producing capacity on a previous project”, comments Vignale, “and knew the scope of his capabilities.” Garland helped round out the financing and immediately sanctioned the show with IATSE, the film technician’s union. “It’s always a dilemma with an indie picture on whether to go union or non-union, however, having the support of IATSE opened the show up to an enormous pool of talent which became crucial after listening to Damon and Andrew’s goals”, says Garland. “They were to some degree making a period piece and we all wanted to push the envelope of what an independent film can achieve.”

Casting of the picture would prove to be a daunting task. The producers drew on support from the local Native bands for the historic sequences, the British Columbia Lacrosse Association for the World Cup sequences and casting directors Corinne Clark and Jennifer Page for the numerous roles. As with most productions requiring a child actor in the lead, casting of the young part would be a challenge unto itself. “We saw a lot of kids and still had not found our Jay with only a few weeks left before shooting”, remarks Vignale. “We were getting quite nervous. Then, out of the blue, Brett (Sherwood) walked in and everything changed.”

Shooting days ranged on average from seventy people on set to bigger days requiring over five hundred extras. In preparation, the filmmakers initiated pre-production six months in advance. “We were determined to be overly prepared”, reflects Hamilton. The producers scouted their “Chicago” arena for the climax of the film a year earlier, aware that their schedule had to co-ordinate with the building’s events. With the local hockey season approaching, the building’s management would ultimately push their programs later to allow for the film’s scheduling. “The shoot was location heavy”, continues Hamilton. “Damon felt strongly about the film traveling visually. This meant that every day we were pretty much somewhere new.”

Shot over the course of two months, the main unit photography took place in Vancouver, British Columbia, with a 2nd unit shoot throughout the interior of B.C., and Chicago, Illinois.