A unit at Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre was abuzz with activity Thursday but the crisis was being acted from a movie script.
RVH emergency room physician Dr. George Karasmanis and several hospital staff were playing roles for a scene in the film Porcupine Lake.
Award-winning film-maker Ingrid Veninger chose Port Severn and the Barrie area as the film's locations after spending many summers here during her childhood and adolescence.
Porcupine Lake was born out of a return trip to the area last year.
"It brought up a whole bunch of amazing memories and that inspired the script. I started to write scenes specifically around Port Severn and Barrie and up in Parry Sound," said Veninger. "I love this part of Ontario and I think its one of the most beautiful places in all of Canada."
The movie is about two young teens played by actresses Lucinda Armstrong Hall, 13, and Charlotte Salisbury, 15.
"It's really a story about bravery and courage and the secret life of girls," explains Veninger.
"There's a lot of stories about boys coming of age but especially in Canada there's very few stories about girls coming of age. Your life begins when you meet that first best friend."
Dr. Karasmanis was originally approached to consult on the script to ensure authenticity but after he was asked to read the scene, he won the part of Dr. Row.
Veninger is known for enlisting locals.
RVH staff Mandy Belinger, Josee Dixon and Christan Edwards also appear in the hospital scene.
"I love the hybrid of the real and the fictional in my film making," said Veninger. "Actors and non-actors in the same scene. It provides a real interesting on-screen chemistry."
The film's title originates from a lake Veninger and crew spotted while scouting locations that had a calm surface with dead trees growing out of the water.
It reminded her of porcupine quills which provide cinematic symbolism.
"Porcupines are fairly gentle animals but if threatened they can lash out and there's a consequence to lashing out," said Veninger. "I feel like those are all kind of elements of being a young person in the world right now. There could be a calm on the surface but a lot of turmoil and rumbling underneath. I think it's for all of its to pay attention to our youth a little bit more than we are. With social media there's a lot of distraction and we sometimes overlook how alienating, isolating and how lonely and how hard it is to growing up right now in 2016."
Although the film features two teenage girls, Veninger is confident it has universal appeal.
"It's absolutely a film that I think everybody at any age will identify with because we all grow up. We've all been twelve and thirteen and we've all struggled with being in the world."
The movie will be finished early next year with screenings planned in Barrie, Collingwood and Port Severn.
