Musivision Films

Logline

Sophie is anorexic, on the brink of womanhood...and every time she goes to sleep, she's attacked by a ghostly hag.

Synopsis

Sophie's had a sheltered upbringing in her multi-ethnic, traditional family.  Now she's growing more independent, and her once moderate father is cracking down and growing ever more hardline in his fear of losing her. Sophie fights for control of her life with the only weapon she has - she stops eating. But as her relationship with her father fractures, and her body deteriorates, she is attacked night after night by the horrifying wraith of an old hag. Everyone dismisses the hauntings as the hallucinations of malnutrition, or the nightmares of a sleep disorder. Nobody believes her...would you believe a girl who was starving herself?

Cast

Alexz Johnson:  Gemini Award winning actress with a huge cult following from her days as the lead in Instant Star, and her successful career as an indie singer/songwriter. Other credits include Final Destination 3; House of Bodies (with Queen Latifah and Terence Howeard) and the Wigs/Hulu series Blue (with Julia Stiles and Eric Stoltz).  Alexz is also providing songs for the soundtrack, including writing an original piece for The Wasting.

Raven Adamson: Got rave reviews when she played the lead in Laurent Cantet’s Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang. Young and wildly talented.

Also with Sean Stevenson and Brendan Flynn, two up-and-coming Toronto actor/brothers.

More casting announcements imminent.

Production Status:

Shooting in June.

What makes this film unique?

Anorexia + terrifying ghosts = an innovative movie that breaks new ground.  

The Wasting goes where no psychological horror film has gone before - it uses the horrific effects of anorexia to play with the ambiguity of supernatural experiences. Hallucinations can be an aspect of anorexia, and a girl with an eating disorder clearly has other problems. So it's no wonder nobody believes Sophie. But does that make her wrong?

Why are we working so hard to get this made?

•    We believe in it. It's a compelling coming of age story that we're telling in a genre that makes it a lot of fun to watch. We've got a ton of respect for the horror genre, and for films that use it to tell cool, intriguing stories, rather than just splatter gore all over your screen. (Films like Let the Right One In, The Sixth Sense and The Others)

Female-driven. Passes the Bechdel Test!

The main character is a strong, if troubled, young woman. The writer/director is a woman. The producers are women. The editor is a woman. The male side is well represented too, both on and offscreen - our writer/director didn't raise three boys for nothing! But in an industry in which only 5% of directors are female, it's time to stop talking about change and just do it. Women are great storytellers and filmmakers, and we're putting our money where our mouth is when we say that. 

Anorexia!

This film depicts anorexia authentically and non-exploitatively. We'd love to get people talking about its roots, that go deeper than skinny magazine models. And a portion of what we raise on indiegogo will go directly to Hopewell Eating Disorder Support Centre. 

Writer/Director

Carolyn Saunders: Has years of experience putting paranormal stories on the screen with series such as Ghostly Encounters, In Dreams, Paranormal Home Inspectors and Ghosts in my House. She also wrote successful series like Mighty Ships, Forensic Factor and Yukon Gold, and is a senior script reader with the Harold Greenberg Fund. Her comedy feature Drilled is shooting later this year with Jason Priestley directing.

Also DOP Carl Elster (Moon Point, 30 Ghosts) and editor Diane Brunjes (Booky movies, and lots more). Producers Jeanne Stromberg (Marine Life) and Jenny Walker (Delilah)