Casting Call: CFC - STORY

Casting calls list

Short Film

CFC - STORY - MARROW

Details

Union:

Union or Non union

Area of media:

Short Film

Network:

Paid?:

Yes

Rates:

Unpaid as per agreement between CFC & ACTRA for an 8+1-hour shoot day and 4-hour rehearsal. Overtime paid as CIPIP-35%.

Deadline:

Sept 11, 2026

Shooting starts:

Oct 19, 2026 2 Days and 4hrs of rehearsal on Oct 16th

Shooting finishes:

Oct 20, 2026

Shooting locations:

GTA

Cities for response:

Toronto

Comments

STORY films are 10-15 minute shorts from directors, producers and editors in the Norman Jewison Film Program at the Canadian Film Centre. The films are professionally produced in the fall, edited before the New Year, and submitted to the international festival circuit. Recent STORY films have premiered at TIFF, VIFF, CIFF, Fantasia and many more! This is a chance for actors to connect with Canada’s most exciting emerging talent, both on and off screen, and to collaborate with writer/directors on a piece that supports a feature film in development.

All booked cast will be invited to an Industry Screening in December.

Director's Bio
Nnadozie Ekeocha is a Nigerian-Canadian filmmaker who works across documentary and narrative forms. His work has screened at major festivals, including the Pan-African Film Festival (Los Angeles), Cleveland International Film Festival, African International Film Festival (AFRIFF), Montreal Black Film Festival, and Toronto Black Film Festival.

His filmography includes the Nigerian-set short films Sa’adatu and Our Man from Wall Street, both selected for the 2026 Toronto Nollywood International Film Festival, and the Manitoba-set short drama Quota, currently in post-production. His documentary work includes Afro-diasporic Art in Manitoba, which screened at and received a nomination for Best Short Documentary at the 2024 African International Film Festival, as well as Whatever Happened to Intergenerational Wealth?, produced through the Being Black in Canada mentorship program.

For four years, Nnadozie served as Festival Coordinator and Lead programmer for the African Movie Festival in Manitoba (AM-FM), developed the annual Filmmakers Masterclass, created to mentor emerging Black creatives.

Storyline

When Blessing shows up unannounced at her daughter Adaku’s home looking for money for a root canal, she discovers that Adaku has spent it on a BBL and has turned to online sex work to provide for her daughter. As tensions between them escalate over the right way to parent, Blessing is forced to confront her own failures as a mother and makes a painful choice: to extract her own tooth.

Roles

Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Lead	BLESSING	Female 50 - 60 Years old
Description Woman, late 50’s, Black, Nigerian strongly preferred, open to West African Diaspora. Despite moving to Toronto almost 30 years ago, Blessing still has not fully acclimated to life in Canada after leaving Nigeria. She lives a quiet suburban life that has become quite precarious as she gets older. The separation from her husband, Adaku’s father, left her with a lack of emotional and financial support and has made her over-reliant on her daughter to survive, creating a major strain on their relationship. She is set in her old school ways, and even when she is helpless tries to assert her dominance over Adaku. She loves Uloma, and sees her as a chance to make up for the pain she has caused her daughter. Special requirements: Speaks English with a strong accent. Will be performing an action to imply the character pulls out a tooth
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Supporting	ULOMA	Female 8 - 10 Years old
Description Woman, 8-10 years old, Black, Nigerian-Canadian. Uloma is quiet, observant, and holding in a lot of unprocessed emotions about her parents’ separation and her mother and grandmother's fraught relationship. Special requirements: Open to an older performer who can pass for younger.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Supporting	ADAKU	Female 30 - 40 Years old
Description Woman, 30-40 years old, Black, Nigerian-Canadian strongly preferred, open to West African Diaspora. Adaku is a first-generation immigrant who moved to Canada with Blessing when she was very young, after her parents separated. Now recently single, Adaku has turned to online sex work to provide for her daughter, Uloma, and support her mother. When she uses the money she’d set aside for Blessing’s root canal on a BBL, she reignites an already fraught relationship with her and has to stand her ground. Special requirements: Because the character gets a BBL, a discussion about body type for actors/padding is needed. Comfortable performing in lingerie.
Role type	Role	Gender & Age range
Voice-Over / Voice-Only	ADAKU’S FRIEND	Female 30 - 40 Years old
Description Woman, 30-40 years old, Black. Funny, snappy and here for a good time. Also a good listener and compassionate friend. Adaku’s main support system.

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