Production is underway in Northern Ontario on Toronto-based Métis director Shane Belcourt’s feature film Warrior Strong.

The basketball drama is produced by Toronto and L.A.-based Darius Films’ Nicholas Tabarrok (Benjamin) and Leah Jaunzems (The Intruders). Berry Meyerowitz (Jungle), Jeff Sackman (Becky) and Larry Greenberg (As Sick As They Made Us) of Quiver Distribution serve as executive producers on the film. The L.A.-based production and distribution company has also acquired the film’s global rights and plans to secure international sales at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Written by Dan Gordon (Wyatt Earp), Warrior Strong centres on a basketball protégé who is asked to be the assistant coach of his former high school basketball team. It stars Toronto-born Jordan Johnson-Hinds (Letterkenny; pictured) and Andrew Dice Clay (Pam and Tommy).

“The film was financed through a combination of Telefilm, Canadian Media Fund, Ontario Creates, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation (NOHFC) — a Canadian television license, and an advance against foreign sales from Quiver,” tells Jaunzems to Playback Daily. 

Belcourt, who is a two-time Canadian Screen Award nominee, has directed films such as Tkaronto; CBC’s documentary Indictment: The Crimes of Shelly Chartier, which won the 17th annual imagineNATIVE festival’s Alanis Obomsawin Award; and the drama feature film Red Rover, among others. He is represented by Toronto’s The Characters Talent Agency.

Johnson-Hinds is represented by Toronto’s Parent Management and L.A.’s LINK Entertainment.