Sudbury native Sylvain Lavigne is hoping his hometown will help him by providing funds to support the production of his first independent feature film, "Salt Bullets."
The co-founder of Reprobate Pictures has launched an Indiegogo campaign in which he's trying to raise $40,000 of roughly $139,000 it will cost to make the film.
“Imagine if 10,000 people give me $10 — I'm sleeping better,” said Lavigne, the film's producer and one of its actors.
In Sudbury, “when you mention we're looking for investors, they automatically say 'Just apply to the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund,'” but that's not possible for "Salt Bullets," he said.
To apply for an NOHFC grant, films have to have a minimum budget of $1 million, and there's a lot of competition for the grants, he said.
“David Cronenburg can apply, James Cameron can apply, people from New York, L.A., Paris can apply,” said Lavigne, who grew up in Sudbury, but now resides in Montreal.
By making a donation to the Indiegogo campaign, people are not only stimulating the local film industry, they're supporting the creation of films, which in turn feeds popular websites such as Netflix, he said.
"Salt Bullets," which is being shot in the city July 21 to Aug. 6, is hiring cast and crew members from Sudbury, Toronto and Montreal, Lavigne said.
He's brought on Sudburian Pandora Topp as the film's executive producer, as she came highly recommended. The film's director and writer is Ianic Mathieu, who, along with Lavigne, founded Reprobate Pictures.
The film is an “R-rated dramatic psychological thriller” set at a cottage, Lavigne said. It features a man who had been ill-treated by his own father becoming a father figure to a 10-year-old boy.
“Because he doesn't have any tools to be a good parent, he kind of messes everything up,” he said.
Lavigne said he expects the film to be released in the late fall or early winter.
Those interested in contributing to the film are asked to visit www.indiegogo.com, and type “Salt Bullets” into the search bar.
