Of the many Canadian films at this year’s WFF, one of the most noteworthy was That Beautiful Somewhere, a neo-noir thriller starring Quebec bright light Roy Dupuis that made its debut on Aug. 26.

The first effort by Toronto director Robert Budreau stars Dupuis (Maurice Richard) as a detective and Janet McGregor (Citizen Duane) as a forensic archaeologist who meet in remote Northern Ontario to solve the mystery of a body found in a bog.

The film’s images are exquisite and the script sparse.

‘I’ve always been a fan of hardboiled film noir, with little dialogue,’ says Budreau. ‘Both characters are very secretive and private. They are isolated and lonely, and that’s why they end up finding each other.’

The $1.5-million English-language picture made it to the big screen without any help from government cultural agencies.

‘We didn’t go through the typical routes. We made it outside the box,’ says Budreau, 32, who also wrote the script and coproduced with Ian Murray (Cream of Comedy). The film is loosely based on the novel Loon, written by executive producer Bill Plumstead. ‘We weren’t going to wait around. We were determined to make it.’

They made the film with tax credits, private investment and loans from the North Bay Community Futures Development Corporation and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, plus presales to The Movie Network and Movie Central.

Talks are underway for distribution, with plans to capitalize on Dupuis’ popularity in Quebec with a dubbed or subtitled version, perhaps out by spring.

‘We are focusing on the Quebec market because that’s where we can make money,’ says Budreau.

www.thatbeautifulsomewhere.com