Production is underway in North Bay on Derek Diorio’s teen drama Cold Strings.

The film is produced by Ryan Keller, under his production banner Other Animal Entertainment, which Keller co-founded with executive producer Jonathan Hlibka and Geoff Raffan. Diorio directs the film, which is co-written by Keller and James Gordon Ross. Raffan will head up post-production.

Cold Strings tells the story of five teens who try to use the growing internet fame of their band to escape their hometown. It stars Matt Close, Mattea Brotherton, Dana Hodgson, Connor Reuter and Maxine Lauzon and is expected to release in fall 2020.

The film’s budget is approximately $1 million and was financed in part by the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation. The producers have also partnered with Canadore College to run a mentorship program for its film students. Professors will teach lessons on location to give students an immersive experience in production and post-production work.

Other Animal previously produced Poor Agnes, which won the Fantasia Film Festival‘s Barry Convex Award for Best Canadian Feature in 2017.

Photo by Lindsay Sarazin