Director Sofia Bohdanowicz has set the stage for the grand finale of her latest feature, Opus 28, at the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montreal.

The project began filming in Toronto in February, before heading overseas to shoot in Meldreth, a small village west of Cambridge in the U.K., as well as Oslo in Norway.

The film’s 28th and final day of shooting will take place at the Orchestre Métropolitain on Saturday (Nov. 18), where Spanish violinist María Dueñas will perform a once-lost composition in front of a live audience, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, artistic director and principal conductor of Orchestre Métropolitain.

Opus 28 is directed by Bohdanowicz (pictured), who also co-wrote the script with star Deragh Campbell, and is produced by Aonan Yang of Montreal-based GreenGround Productions, alongside producing partner Andreas Mendritzki. The film is an Ontario-Quebec copro between GreenGround and Bohdanowicz’s Toronto-based prodco Maison du Bonheur Films.

The film is inspired by the true-to-life story of the discovery of the long-lost “Opus 28” manuscript from Norwegian composer Johan Halvorsen, originally performed in 1909 by Canadian violinist Kathleen Parlow, to whom the piece was dedicated.

Campbell portrays a student who seeks to complete her thesis on Parlow by organizing a public performance of “Opus 28” from Toronto to Oslo. The cast includes Dueñas, Melanie Scheiner, Eve Duranceau, Maxim Gaudette, Rosa-Johan Uddoh, and Eileen Davies.

The story is a continuation of a number of collaborations between Campbell and Bohdanowicz, with Campbell’s role reprised from previous films such as MS Slavic 7 (2019), Veslemøy’s Song (2018) and Never Eat Alone (2016).

The concert scene is the most crucial element of the entire production, Bohdanowicz tells Playback Daily, noting that Orchestre Métropolitain has been a steadfast partner in the lead-up to filming. “There is an incredible artistic sensibility but also, a certain way in making things work where they see the value in being open and not putting red tape,” she says.

Yang says the team contemplated using other locations for the pivotal scene, but locked the Orchestre Métropolitain because they “understood the concept and were culturally supportive.”

The production would not have been possible without the support of Telefilm Canada, Ontario Creates and SODEC, according to Yang, noting that producers asked for additional funding in order to finalize the budget. “They understood the scope of this concert, and they gave us their support without hesitation,” says Yang. The film was also supported through federal and provincial tax credits.

Opus 28 has a budget of $1.3 million, according to Yang, who says maintaining the film’s budget was one of the most significant challenges, since they raised financing for the film during the pandemic, before economic factors like inflation raised production costs.

“Most of the time, a Canadian independent film manages to shoot 20 to 23 days on this budget,” he says of the 28-day timeline. “We had to be more creative in terms of assembling our crews and picking the locations.”

Bohdanowicz says that, on many occasions, people around the shooting locations offered resources that helped the team to maintain their budget. “Wherever we traveled, Kathleen’s story captured everyone’s curiosity,” she says. “We found a lot of people that wanted to donate locations or be an extra for free or work at a lower rate of pay.”

The team was unable to secure pre-licenses for the film, as it was deemed too risky, says Yang. ” I’m sure that [buyers] will come on board once they see it, but we wish that money would be there from the beginning,” he adds.