Melanie Wood, Claire Leona Apps, and Martina Silcock are thrilled to have won the Atlantic International Film Festival pitch competition and hope to begin filming in Inverness next year.
-By Beverley Phillips
Inverness is getting a new name.
If all goes according to plan, Inverness will be transformed into Glenbray as filming of a feature-length film gets underway, perhaps as early as fall 2027.
At the Unama’ki / Cape Breton Film Festival, it was announced that producers Martina Silcock and Claire Leona Apps were in the audience, and they had just won the pitch competition at the Atlantic International Film Festival in Halifax.
While they both now live and work in Los Angeles, they are from the United Kingdom. Apps has a French-Canadian mother, giving her a Canadian connection, and she has been coming to Inverness in the summer for most of her life. “I really felt a calling to write something set in Inverness,” she said.
When she finally came up with the idea for the script, she shared it with Silcock, who immediately said, “I want to produce that.”
Halifax-based producer Melanie Wood is also involved in a project but was unable to be there.
The film is called Grip of the Kelpie Mother, and Apps said it is a “very Cape Breton story.”
Silcock added, “It’s very much rooted in Inverness, but we created this fake town called Glenbray, and it delves into the mining history, Celtic folklore and traditions, and the history and people here.”
“We dig into a lot of the things that, I think, make this place special,” said Apps. “I would describe it as a place-based mystery with a supernatural overtone. My fast way of describing the film is that it’s mothers versus manosphere versus sea creatures.”
While in town for the film festival, they were scouting locations and looking for just the right company house to set the scene for the film. They are also starting to put together heads of departments and select the main cast.
There is also room for community members to be part of the project, both behind the scenes and on screen. There will be a need for accommodations, catering, behind-the-scenes work, and music for the soundtrack. They will be looking for extras, and there is one important character for which they want to cast a Cape Bretoner.
As mentioned, Grip of the Kelpie won the AIFF pitch competition. Four projects were chosen to present their idea for a film before a panel of four judges that included Natalie Iglefeld of Bell Media, Zach Marcovici with the CBC, Claire Peace-McConnell with VVS Films, and Kerry Swanson of Indigenous Screen Office. In choosing Grip of the Kelpie, they said the film had “a clear, compelling vision with broad appeal that will resonate locally with high potential for international audiences. Rooted in place and universal themes, it will offer dynamic roles for women, darkly beautiful cinematography, and contemporary social issues.” Apps and Silcock received an in-kind prize package from Sunbelt Rentals to help them make the project a reality.
They have appreciated the support they have received from the Cape Breton Partnership. “Bill [Culp, film industry liaison with the Cape Breton Partnership] has been incredibly helpful to us,” said Apps, “and introduced us to a bunch of crew and different places.”
“It means a lot,” added Silcock, “and it feels the people are really fired up to help us get this made and want this.”
“It’s very clear that there’s a budding desire for this industry here,” said Apps.
Along with getting their team together, they are securing financing, so stay tuned for future announcements and how local talent may be able to be part of the project.