Production is underway in Calgary on the feature directorial debut of Sam Fichtner.

Principal photography on the psychological thriller Brother began on March 11 and wraps on March 29.

Brother is produced by Calgary-based ReadyMade Productions and After5 Productions, with Jordan Ashlee Uhl serving as producer. ReadyMade’s Rebecca Roberts is the screenwriter and also serves as executive producer alongside ReadyMade business director Kurt Szarka.

The film centres on the story of three siblings who reunite at their family home following the death of their brother, and are forced to confront old family traumas. The cast includes Roberts, Szarka, Chad Rook, Tanya Jade, Julian Black Antelope and Ennis Esmer. Distribution is handled by Scott Jones at L.A.-based distributor Artist View Entertainment.

Post-production for the film will be handled by Alberta’s PolyPost Studios.

Fichtner’s past credits include the short Thick as Thieves and Lifetime’s Framed by My Husband (2021) and Sins of the Suburbs (2022). He is represented by Innovative Artists.

Brother marks the first project in a slate of eight films being produced in partnership between ReadyMade and After5’s Uhl, according to a news release.

“ReadyMade Productions has spent the last two years developing a slate of eight feature films and utilizing their business and finance knowledge to start raising private equity to create a truly independent feature film company. By raising the financing in-house, they [the company] can allow their creative teams to produce content that is unique and blends commerciality with creativity,” Roberts and Szarka told Playback Daily, adding that Uhl brings years of on set experience and “an incredible reputation with crews in Calgary” to the partnership.

Rook is represented by Webster Talent Management and Vault Entertainment; Esmer is repped by The Characters Talent Agency and Berwick and Kovacik; Szarka and Roberts are repped by Webster Talent and The Partnership; Jade is repped by Trisko Talent; and Julian Black Antelope is repped by The Characters and Lisa Richards Agency.

Photos courtesy of ReadyMade Productions; pictured (L-R, top) Chad Rook, Rebecca Roberts, Kurt Szarka; (L-R, bottom) Tanya Jade, Julian Black Antelope, Ennis Esmer