Casting Call: Cold Blows the Wind — Independent feature film

Casting calls list

Feature Film

Cold Blows the Wind — Independent feature film

Details

Union:

Non union

Area of media:

Feature Film

Network:

Paid?:

Yes

Rates:

$200 CAD/day, non-union, ten-hour days, paid weekly. Plus milestone bonuses on distribution revenue and recoupment (1x and 2x engagement fee).

Deadline:

Aug 7, 2026

Auditions:

Please submit a self-tape with your audition sides

Callbacks:

Aug 9, 2026 In-person or Zoom callbacks for shortlisted actors

Shooting starts:

Aug 15, 2026 Ocean/vessel dependent — subject to shift for weat

Shooting finishes:

Oct 31, 2026 Covers principal photography for the Esperanto/oce

Shooting locations:

Vancouver, BC (Locarno Beach, False Creek, Vancouver Harbour) — Georgia Strait — Gibsons/Desolation Sound area, BC — BC Ferry (Langdale route)

Cities for response:

Vancouver

Storyline

COLD BLOWS THE WIND — Independent Feature Film — Drama with elements of magical realism.
Set on the coast of British Columbia, largely aboard a sailboat called Esperanto. Salt water, weather, memory, and a mermaid.
Told in fragments, by people who were there and who disagree with one another about all of it.
Patient, funny, unsentimental. Ensemble-driven and character-first. Long scenes, real silence, very little explaining.

Roles

Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Lead	Mira	Female 25 - 38 Years old
Description Several hundred years old — and mentions it about as often as anyone else mentions their own age. Asked directly, she lies, smoothly and immediately. She has outlived a great deal and does not discuss it. She is not tragic and must not be played tragic: she is funny, impatient, jealous, entirely without self-consciousness — she dances when she wants to dance, wears whatever's nearest to hand, cooks, picks fights, and is not impressed by anybody. The oldest thing in the film. "I'm not a woman" is a correction, not a confession. Water: strong, confident open-water swimmer. Extensive surf, underwater and cold-water work in the Pacific Northwest. Breath-hold comfort essential. Prosthetic tail and performance work. Freediving, monofin or professional mermaid-performance experience is a substantial asset — but genuine ease in cold open ocean is the non-negotiable and is verified before callbacks. Please do not overstate it; we would far rather know now. Non-union, independent feature. Vancouver/Gibsons area shoot. Nudity and intimacy: there is no onscreen nudity. A small number of mermaid sequences are written to imply it and are achieved entirely through framing, water and camera angle — closed set, discussed in full in advance, covered at contract. Physical intimacy in the film is limited and tender rather than explicit, and is staged with an intimacy coordinator. Not to be confused with LITTLE MIRA. Separate characters. No relation.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Lead	(Little) Mira	Female 7 - 9 Years old
Description A serious, watchful, self-possessed child. She corrects adults quietly and without heat. She rations her food. She holds a conversation with a stray dog and takes it seriously. She notices everything and reports none of it. She is not precocious and she is not plucky — she is a small person with adult composure. Much of the part is silent: there are long passages with no dialogue and no scene partner, where the whole of the scene is a child thinking. That is the job. A demanding lead with extensive solo screen time and physically active sequences — running, travel, outdoor and wilderness work. No swimming and no water work of any kind. She should be comfortable outdoors: gravel, forest, weather, and walking real distances. Parents and guardians: she does not need experience. No class, no headshot, no set. If she has never once considered acting and you are reading this because something in it made you think of her, that is the submission we want most. This is a drama and loss is part of the story. The part asks for real feeling, and there is nothing frightening or graphic in it. A guardian is with her throughout, every requirement for working with a minor is provided for, and we will go through all of it with you properly before any of it reaches her. Not a younger version of MIRA. Separate characters who happen to share a name. No resemblance required. Non-union, independent feature. Vancouver area shoot. 26–30 shooting days..
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Lead	Thomas	Male 70 - 80 Years old
Description 70s. British — authentic or exceptional British accent required. A prospector, a raconteur, and a magnificent bullshitter. Much of this role is direct storytelling, spoken aloud to a listener at length, and interrupted at every turn by his partner of forty-odd years. He performs. He preaches, he spits, he does voices, he swears in front of children and gets told off for it, and he is having the time of his life. Then something crosses his face, the performance drops for half a second, and he picks it back up and carries on. The problem to solve: holding a room with nothing but a voice, and letting us see — in one unguarded beat between sentences — what it costs him to keep talking. This is a stage actor's part. It wants somebody who has done it in front of people. Extensive V.O. work as well as on-camera scenes, including some boat and water work. Will be read in pairs with WALTER at callbacks. Non-union, independent feature. Vancouver/Gibsons area shoot. 5 days this summer, 4 days in the fall.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Lead	Walter	Male 70 - 80 Years old
Description 70s. British — authentic or exceptional British accent required. Genuinely large build. An enormous man with hands like catcher's mitts and the gentlest disposition in the film. A former fighter who spent his career ending other men's brawls rather than starting them — most of them started by Thomas. His job is to interrupt, correct and soften. Not for accuracy — for fairness. He loses most of these arguments and goes on making them anyway. Forty years of partnership sit underneath every line and are never once explained. Physically large, tall and broad, is written into the character and remarked on by others. Warmth is the essential quality; the size is only interesting because of the care with which he uses it. If you have spent a career being cast for your size, this is the part where it finally means something else. Some physically demanding sequences and boat work. Will be read in pairs with THOMAS at callbacks. Non-union, independent feature. Vancouver/Gibsons area shoot.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Lead	Isaak	Male 38 - 48 Years old
Description Late 30s to 40s, playing a span of roughly ten years. A marine biologist. Sometimes. The rest of the time he disappears into the woods for a few months and comes back broke — his own line, told as a joke, to strangers, at a dinner table. Charming, self-deprecating, allergic to his own potential. The kind of man who is right about everything except himself and would rather be liked than believed. He loves the water in a way he cannot make sound reasonable to anyone. Both versions of Isaak need to exist in the same actor already: sharp, well-dressed and sure of himself in one timeline, holes in his shoes in the other. The problem to solve: playing failure without apologising for it and without winking at us. He knows precisely what he is. He simply cannot do anything about it. Strong emotional range and comfort with physical and outdoor work — boat, dig site, wilderness. A distinctive, characterful profile is an asset. A subtle prosthetic is used in one timeline; a broken nose is not a requirement. Non-union, independent feature. Vancouver/Gibsons area shoot. 6 days this summer, 5 days in the fall.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Lead	Deborah	Female 42 - 56 Years old
Description 40s–50s, playing a span of roughly ten years. A woman who confuses cynicism with wisdom. Quick, funny, socially fearless, and just cruel enough that you flinch about half a second after you've laughed — excellent company with a glass of white wine in her hand and considerably harder to be around at home. She's not a monster and can't be played as one: she decided long ago that expecting
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Supporting	Helen	Female 42 - 56 Years old
Description 40s-50s, playing a span of roughly ten years. Deborah's partner. Gentle, watchful, nurturing, and considerably tougher than she first appears — she's the one who laughs a thing away, and also the one who knows exactly what she's laughing away. The part is small and load-bearing: in a house with very little kindness in it, she is the kindness, and never once makes a speech about it. Looking for a great listening face — an actress visibly doing something specific while other people talk. Partnered with Deborah. Read in pairs at callbacks. Established pairs are welcome to submit together. Non-union, independent feature. Vancouver/Gibsons area shoot.

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