Actors Tamara Podemski (Reservation Dogs) and Jamie Thomas King (Mad Men) have launched Rama, Ont.-based Blackbird Productions with a Michael Greyeyes-directed mid-length film leading its slate.

The Light Before the Sun is a 33-minute film was written by three-time Canadian Comedy Award-winning Rob Baker (Baroness Von Sketch Show), based on a story created by King (pictured, right), Podemski (pictured, left) and Baker. The film will have its world premiere at the Hamilton International Film Festival on Oct. 26.

The film stars King and Baker as well as Tony Nappo (Star Trek: Discovery), Jennifer Podemski (Reservation Dogs), Rose Napoli (Titans), Rick Roberts (Transplant) and Karen LeBlanc (Fire Country). It focuses on a self-help guru returning to an empty house after an international book tour, only to meet his estranged friend.

The Light Before the Sun is produced by Podemski and executive produced by King.

Blackbird has several series and feature films on its development slate, starting with Happily Ever After, a 10 x 30-minute dramedy created by Podemski and Noelle Carbone (Rookie Blue), with Podemski and King also attached to star.

Next is The Sellouts, a 10 x 30-minute comedy series created by Podemski, slated to star alongside her sisters Jennifer and Sarah. The series has already received funding from the Indigenous Screen Office (ISO).

The feature films on Blackbird’s slate are Little Rock Talent Show, written by Podemski with funding from the Canada Council for the Arts and the ISO; and Trust, an adaptation of the non-fiction book Joshua’s Story: Uncovering the Morecambe Bay Maternity Scandal by James Titcombe, written by King.

King said in a statement Blackbird is meant to create “boundary-pushing storytelling centred around the human condition, specifically in regards to trauma, recovery, mental health and addiction.”

Image courtesy of Lori Dorn