A cadian filmmaker Pamela Gallant has begun production on her debut feature film, Monica’s News, in Nova Scotia.

Gallant serves as writer and director of the film, with Terry Greenlaw (Bystanders) of Halifax banner Picture Plant producing. Principal photography is set to wrap on July 27, with a release in early 2024 planned, according to a news release.

The film is set in 1974 in the fictional village of Millman, and follows a nine-year-old girl, played by Polly Gallant-McLean, who finds independence in her paper route, but ends up witnessing a tragic event.

Production on Monica’s News takes place in and around Halifax and the Hants West regional municipality. Among the filming locations is in Ellerhouse, N.S., where the local community hall will serve as a stand-in for a general store, said a spokesperson for the film.

Gallant is a recipient of the Women In the Director’s Chair (WIDC) Feature Film Award, which includes a $200,000 prize toward financing the film’s production. The annual award aims to encourage more feature films from Canadian women and gender minorities. WIDC co-creator Carol Whiteman (With Love and a Major Organ) is an executive producer on the film.

Monica’s News is also being produced with the support of Telefilm Canada, the Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund, the Screen Nova Scotia Content Creator Fund, and the Canadian Film Tax Credit, with script development support from Nova Scotia Screenwriters Development Fund, the Harold Greenberg Fund and the WIDC Story & Leadership program. The film’s budget was not disclosed.

“As a young paper-carrier myself in 1974, I witnessed women courageously facing challenges in their own homes, and those who dared fight for change often did so at great cost,” said Gallant in a statement. “My motivation for telling this story is to give voice to the maverick women of that time and place, and I am incredibly grateful to Telefilm Canada, WIDC and the Feature Film Award sponsors for trusting my vision and sharing the resources needed to make Monica’s News come to life.”

Image courtesy of Picture Plant