Please note that we are seeking performers that currently have availability for prep (this includes meeting and becoming comfortable with the bear or bears) and using filming scenario 1 or 2 - which we will only know in January 2025 (please see details below):
FILMING SCENARIO 1:
Characteristics: We have two bears - one young and one older. All sets with the bear present will be closed sets.
February & March 2025 - Performer gets to know the bear(s)
Late April thru June 2025 - 8 weeks of filming.
FILMING SCENARIO 2:
Characteristics: One bear - we film when they are young, and the again when they are one year older. All sets with the bear present will be closed sets.
March & April 2025 - Performer gets to know the bear(s)
May & June 2025 - 5 weeks of filming. We stop for one year...
And the film again in May 2026 for 3 weeks.
This film involves the strong presence of a LIVE BABY BEAR (or two - one would be one year older) and the developing relationship / kinship with MELODY.
***VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: Performers MUST be COMFORTABLE AROUND THE ABOVE-NOTED ANIMAL (through introduction and guided by the animal wrangler) AND must NOT have any ALLERGIES to the animal.***
A family film. MELODY, a California teenager whose mother has recently passed away, suddenly discovers at the age of 13 the existence of her father, MICKAEL, who had been entirely unaware that he had a daughter. This delicate situation is further complicated by the fact that Mickael lives a Robinson-Crusoe-like existence deep in the Canadian forest. A fiercely devoted anti-bear hunting activist, he runs a rehabilitation center for orphaned cubs. Needless to say their encounter is anything but smooth.
However, everything quickly changes for Melody when she falls head-over-heels for a recently orphaned bear cub that she names “Heaven.” And this cub is truly a special and rare one – for Heaven is a Kermode, or Spirit Bear, of which there are only 400 left in the world, and considered to be magical creatures by the Kitasoo First Nation peoples. The two motherless beings share with one another a mutual pain of loss and mourning. As a result, they become inseparable. And so despite Melody’s conflictual relationship with her father, she decides to stay in the forest for the summer break with him and his fiancée AAYLA who belongs to the Kitasoo First Nation and becomes a precious mentor and guide for Melody. Melody joins her father’s battle to prohibit bear hunting and the two clumsily try to learn how to get along. A trying task for Mickael, who communicates better with bear cubs than with his daughter. But when the life of his daughter and the bear are threatened, Mickael will do everything it takes to save his daughter.
| Role type | Role | Gender & Age range |
| Lead | MELODY | Female 12 - 14 Years old |
Description The character is female, 13 years old. PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT ANYONE YOUNGER THAN 12 YEARS OLD AS OF JANUARY 2025! Melody is 13-years old. She is a real big-city girl from California. A young teenager with an extraordinary strength of character. After the recent death of her mother, she doesn’t like to show her vulnerability. She stands firmly on her own two feet, a foundation which, through sheer will, is as solid as possible. Melody is a very pretty girl, sophisticated for her age, without being superficial. She is a natural caretaker whether it be herself, her loved ones, or her surroundings: she innately knows how to make a house into a home. She has always carried the weight of the world on her shoulders, without showing how it has affected her. She strives to be as perfect as possible. Growing up fatherless doesn’t appear to bother her. Now she is mourning her mother. Once again, she remains strong. But when her aunt sends her away to live with her father whom she doesn’t know (and had never heard of), for the first time in her life it is too much. Her shell starts to crack. But this is what is going to allow her to “shed her skin” and grow.
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