Canadian short-story sensation David Bezmozgis is gearing up to shoot his debut feature Victoria Day. Judy Holm and Michael McNamara of Toronto production house Markham Street Films will produce alongside Bezmozgis under his Nada Films shingle. Bezmozgis honed the screenplay for the coming-of-age drama at the 2006 Sundance Screenwriters Lab.

Robin Cass and Anna Stratton of Toronto’s Triptych Media will executive produce with Holm. Releasing is through Maximum Films Distribution, with Maximum Films International selling abroad. David Franco is DOP, while Peter Cosco handles production design and Rod Deogrades edits.

Inspired by Bezmozgis’ own experiences, the story follows Ben Spektor (newcomer William Moore), the 16-year-old son of Russian immigrants navigating the social world of hockey playoffs, pop concerts and recreational drugs until the disappearance of a neighborhood boy sets him on a path to adulthood. Residents of English Canada require no explanation of the title or the importance of the ‘May Two-Four’ in the teenage imagination.

Widely praised for his debut short-story collection, Natasha and Other Stories, Bezmozgis says he wrote the script before he wrote any of the Natasha stories. ‘Victoria Day has been eight years in the making,’ he said in a statement. ‘For people who know my work [the film] will seem familiar. For others, it will be familiar in the way that teenage experience is familiar to us all.’

For Holm and McNamara, who have been packaging the project for nearly as many years, the green light was particularly welcome. ‘We have been longtime fans of David’s work, and this unique look at such a distinct world will make a film that we will all be proud of,’ says Holm.

Principal photography runs from Sept. 5 to Oct. 1 in Toronto. Delivery is scheduled for 2009.