A udience demand for Calgary-based director and producer Aleisha Anderson’s debut feature has prompted a theatrical run with Cineplex following its world premiere.

Father of Nations, directed by Anderson, who co-wrote and produced it with Nathan Horch under Calgary’s Thousand Year Films, will be run in select Cineplex theatres in the Alberta cities of Edmonton, Red Deer, Medicine Hat and Calgary for a week-long run beginning Oct. 7, according to a news release. Additional screenings and locations may be announced at a later date.

The theatrical release will follow Father of Nations‘ world bow at the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF), which has sold out its Oct. 1 screening during the Sept. 22 to Oct. 2 event.

Alberta-based Partner Distribution has organized the theatrical run, with founders Michael Glossop and Kevin Norman serving as executive producers on the film. Additional executive producers are Gianni Altobelli, Andy Kirschenman, Sarah Kirschenman, Art Robinson, Ron Schmeichel and Blair Ward. Griffin Cork and Colin Sheldon are associate producers.

Father of Nations includes an all-Canadian cast, including Horch and Cork, as well as Kyra Macpherson and Reamonn Joshee (Abracadavers), and was shot in multiple locations in Alberta on a $500,000 budget. It follows a group of survivors navigating a post-apocalyptic world while humanity is on the brink of extinction. Horch also composed the soundtrack for the film.

Financing for the film was partially provided by War Chest Productions, Partner Distribution, and the Alberta Media Fund.

Father of Nations is in competition for the Best Alberta Feature Film audience choice award at CIFF, which will be handed out at the conclusion of the festival.

Image courtesy of Thousand Year Films