A film depicting the tragic death of artist Tom Thomson will be shot in the North Bay-Parry Sound area as early as this November, BayToday.ca has learned.
Canadian Actor and writer Steve Belford is in the process of scouting out locations for his project.
“It is loosely based on Tom Thomson, who was one of the founding members of the group of seven painters,” said Belford.
“So it’s kind of loosely based on him and we switched the time period to the 1950’s but the basic pitch is it’s about an artist who disappears while on a canoe trip and his body is found two weeks later. It has always been a mystery about what happened and did he actually drown, or was there actually foul play? That is kind of where we are going with it. That genre of a murder mystery in the wilderness in the north that is kind of what we are going for.”
The Stratford, Ontario native got his passion for Northern Ontario visiting the cottage as a kid and was intrigued by the stories he heard from his uncle who was an outdoorsman.
“So naturally when it came to me writing stories it just took on the location of the north,” he said.
“I think that along with the amazing landscapes and working with the people up here is amazing too. The experience I have had working in North Bay and Parry Sound, they are just really nice and everyone helps out.“
Belford, who played a part in the local Carter TV series which is currently still being shot in North Bay, has played roles in TV series’ such as Supernatural, Vampire Diaries and Murdoch Mysteries.
He also wrote and starred in The Wolf of Waubamik Woods, which received selections into several international film festivals and is currently streaming to over 21 million subscribers on Comcast.
Belford believes most of the fall shoot will be done in the Parry Sound area but he expects some of the flashback scenes to be shot in a second part in the North Bay area in the spring.
“We have a few major locations in and around Parry Sound and we are going to be looking for a lot of lakes or going out on canoe trips deep into the wilderness, that’s what we are going to be doing too. There are a couple spots we may be looking at in North Bay,” Belford explained.
“Once we find the locations and see if we can get them, then we can start making the final plans.”
Belford says the idea came to him when he saw some of Tom Thomson’s amazing artwork.
“Every story started as something else, as stories normally do, and it sort of evolved into this,” Belford stated about his idea for the film which does not have a name yet.
“It gets people talking and wondering, this is actually the 100th year, I think in 1917 is when he actually went missing and when he was found but it’s around the 100 year anniversary of his death.”
