Four martial arts instructors who teach in schools in Greater Sudbury moonlighted as commandos for the film Phase One, being shot locally.

The four Sudbury martial arts teachers, Craig Mason and Ryan Labranche from Sudbury School of Martial Arts, and Andrew Quenneville and Christian Fortin from Gymzone's Korean Martial Arts Centre, joined other stunt artists in playing commandos.

The stunt co-ordinator, Christopher McGuire, is also originally from Greater Sudbury. He and the other stunt artists came up from Toronto.

The local instructors were asked to do basic stunt driving, raiding in and out of buildings, clearing rooms, setting and detonating bombs, and shooting machine guns.

"The production crew was very professional and (we) truly loved the experience," said Christian Fortin in an e-mail to Northern Life.

Much of Phase One is being shot in the Greater Sudbury area up until Dec. 5. The Indie flick is being produced by local film maker Brandon Nutt.

The horror-thriller movie  received $1 million in funding from the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund, which helps fund projects throughout northern Ontario that are designed to create jobs and strengthen economies.