Caitlin Cronenberg’s has wrapped the four-week shoot in Hamilton, Ontario of her directorial debut, the environment-themed thriller Humane.
The production has also unveiled the cast featuring Jay Baruchel (This Is The End), Emily Hampshire (Schitt’s Creek), Peter Gallagher (Grace and Frankie), Sebastian Chacon (Emergency), Alanna Bale (Sort Of, Cardinal) and Sirena Gulamgaus (Transplant).
Humane takes place over a single day months after a global environmental collapse has forced world leaders to take extreme measures to reduce the earth’s population.
In a wealthy enclave, a recently retired newsman invites his four grown children to dinner to announce his intentions to enlist in the nation’s new euthanasia program. But when the father’s plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare and chaos erupts among his children.
The picture is written and produced by Victory Man Productions’ Michael Sparaga.
“From my very first read, the all-too-possible dystopian world of Michael’s script left me breathless, and I immediately knew I had to be the one to make this movie,” said Cronenberg.
“Each and every day on set felt like a gift and I feel truly blessed to have worked with such remarkable talents, both in front of and behind the camera. I cannot wait to share this film with the world.”
Cronenberg, who is the daughter of David Cronenberg and Brandon Cronenberg’s sister, has focused mainly on photography and artwork until now but has made music videos and shorts including the 2021 work The Death of David Cronenberg.
Sparaga said he had first come across Cronenberg through her work as a visual artist which he admired and convinced him she was the right person to direct the film.
“Her keen eye to detail, her rich compositions, and her ability to convey deep emotion made her my first and only choice to direct Humane,” he said. “That she said yes to making this film her feature directorial debut is nothing less than a dream come true.”
Executive Producers are Martin Katz and Karen Wookey of Prospero Pictures, Todd Brown and Nick Spicer of XYZ Films, and Adrian Love and Laurie May of Elevation Pictures.
“In Humane, screenwriter and producer Michael Sparaga has crafted an original story that is both tragically dark and horrifically funny,” said Prospero Pictures’ Martin Katz, “Caitlin’s masterful eye turns this family drawn asunder into a violent wreck you can’t look away from for an instant.”
Doug Koch (Crimes of the Future) is the Director of Photography, Brian Garvey (Slasher) is the Production Designer, Hanna Puley (BlackBerry) is the Costume Designer, Dierdre Bowen (Crimes of the Future) is Casting Director, and Noah Segal (Alice, Darling) is Production Supervisor.
