RED RIVER – FEATURE FILM – ACTRA
Shooting in Calgary/South of Calgary: July 29 – Aug 23 (Tentative)
FOR SUBMISSIONS: opencall@jessegriffithscasting.com with the SUBJECT LINE - RED RIVER - NAME - ROLE
SYNOPSIS
A recently widowed western rancher takes in a Syrian refugee family in the small conservative town of Red River.
In the small rural community of Red River, Mac Bagley (a recently widowed conservative rancher in his sixties) opens up his home to a Syrian refugee family (Amena, her daughter, Aischa and her adult gay brother). Withstanding some initial racist opposition in the town, the Syrian family struggles to find new footing in a new land. Mac finds himself in similar circumstances as his new house-members: the need to find new hope after the loss of his wife, and seeking a renewed faith in life. While awaiting news of her missing husband, Amena (a chocolate maker from Aleppo) introduces Mac to their Muslim culture. She proposes to open a chocolate shop to help them both financially. With no work himself, Mac reluctantly agrees to the idea. Amena’s chocolates hold a powerful elixir that may just start a new future for her and family in Red River.
CHARACTER BREAKDOWN:
[MAC BAGLEY] In his 60s, a true cowboy, first seen in hat, boots, and old Levis, Mac owns a horse ranch in the Red River section of Calgary; he dotes on his wife and daughter, and knows that immigration patterns are changing the world he grew up with and has known and loved. After his wife dies, Mac pulls back hard into himself; he's ready to become a terse and reclusive widower who cusses out every change in society. After his daughter Loretta "adopts" a Syrian family of three and houses them in Mac's home, he's not happy -- but he's got a moral compass that virtually orders him to do the right thing. He gradually warms to Amena and her daughter and brother, and sees his bigoted "diner buddies" as the scowling, xenophobic trash they are. Forced to take a hard look at his own preconceptions, Mac digs deep inside himself, finds the "cowboy pride" that was always there, and adjusts to a new way of life...LEAD (3)
[AMENA] In her late 30s, Syrian, smart but almost broken by life, Amena lives in a refugee camp with her daughter and her younger brother. Her husband Qasim is missing, a probable victim of the ongoing war. Amena is a former journalist, and her English is excellent, but after she emigrates to Canada with her daughter and brother, she is unemployable; no newspaper in Calgary needs a Syrian staff writer. After Loretta offers her a home on her father's ranch, Amena has to adjust to life with Mac, a terse, withdrawn, grieving old horse rancher who shows little interest in Syrian culture. Gradually, tendrils of affection and bonding grow between the grieving spirits of Amena and Mac, and she comes up with a plan for living that involves using her family's surviving chocolate recipes to start a candy business, out of Mac's kitchen and barn...LEAD (1) SPEAKS ARABIC
[AISCHA] 8 to 10 years old, Syrian, she is the daughter of Amena and the missing Qasim. She emigrates from a Syrian refugee camp to Calgary, along with her mother and her uncle. Aischa is fascinated with magic, but it's trauma-related -- she hopes that if she learns how to make cards and coins disappear, maybe she can find a way to make her lost father reappear. A sweet-hearted little girl who has already seen far too much of life, Aischa comes to love the horses on Mac's ranch...LEAD (1)
[JORAN] In his early 30s, Syrian, Amena's adult brother, he emigrates from Syria to Canada, along with Amena and Aischa. Joran is gay; even Mac's weak gaydar spots him as a homosexual. Although Joran is able to split off from his family and seek love in the gay part of Calgary, his romantic options grow limited when he moves with Amena to Mac's ranch. After getting profiled and hassled and arrested (for nothing) by a local police officer, Joran has had just about enough of rural Red River...LEAD (1) SPEAKS ARABIC
[SETH] He is another of the guys in the diner, a crankily provincial racist who doesn't like the idea of Syrians moving in to his homeland. He is also Loretta's ex-husband, and he's gotten much worse since the divorce. An unemployable real estate salesman, Seth has allowed bitterness and xenophobia to corrode his charm, and his deterioration into malicious hatred becomes obvious to both Loretta and Mac...SUPPORTING LEAD (9)
[BELLE BAGLEY] In her early 60s, Mac's wife and Loretta's mother, she wears a head scarf to disguise the effects of chemotherapy. In fact, she is dying of cancer, and isn't ready to take a last long RV trip with Mac -- she doesn't have the energy left in her system. Belle commits suicide by drowning while Mac and Loretta are both away, but afterwards she appears regularly to Mac -- not so much a ghost as a figment of his lonely imagination...SUPPORTING LEAD (2)
[BARRY] He is another of the guys in the diner, a crankily provincial racist who doesn't like the idea of Syrians moving in to his homeland...1 speech & 6 lines, 2 scenes (9)
[BYRON] One of Mac's friends from the cafe, Byron talks to the sergeant at the police station, and gets both Mac and Joran released from jail. Considerably more polite and courteous that most of Mac's other friends, he shakes hands with Joran, and gives them both a ride home...6 lines, 3 scenes (86)
[CHARLIE] He is another of the guys in the diner, a crankily provincial racist who doesn't like the idea of Syrians moving in to his homeland...5 lines, 2 scenes (9)
[QASIM] Amena's husband and Aischa's father, he is separated from his family; he went missing during the vicious Civil War in Syria and has not resurfaced. He appears to Amena in dreams and in her memories, and after his death, he pays Aischa a spectral farewell visit...1 speech & 3 lines, 4 scenes (15)
[MERLIN] A larger-than-life character, theatrical, dripping with eccentricity, he runs a local Magic Shoppe, and sports a heavy mock-British Vincent Price accent -- to go along with his red velour suit and his "histrionic thespian" manner. He is delighted to charm Aischa, whom he instantly recognizes as a possible new customer -- but he stiffens up a bit when he realizes her interest in prestidigitation stems from the loss of her father...5 speeches & 8 lines, 1 scene (76)
[AGENCY WORKER] A worker with the Syrian Refugee Settlement Agency, he/she talks with Amena and her family, and discusses their options for schooling and housing and employment in Canada. He/She is helpful and informative -- but maybe just a bit condescending, especially when talking about Amena's mastery of English...4 speeches & 9 lines, 1 scene (5)
[FOOD BANK MAN] A man with the refugee agency and food bank, he talks angrily with Loretta about the rampant Islamophobia in Western society, and cools down enough to discuss the plight of the Syrian refugees in Canada -- a discussion that drives Loretta to adopt Amena and her family...5 speeches & 4 lines, 1 scene (11)
[COUNSELLOR] A counsellor at a Syrian refugee camp, he/she tells Amena that there is no news about her husband -- she will have to leave the country and move to Canada without him...1 speech & 3 lines, 1 scene (1) SPEAKS SYRIAN
[CHUCK] He is another of the guys in the diner, a crankily provincial racist who doesn't like the idea of Syrians moving in to his homeland...1 speech & 3 lines, 1 scene (9)
[JEREMY] He is one of the bored, uninterested students in Loretta's class, and he's not all that interested in reading aloud...1 line, 1 scene (20)
[WAITRESS] A waitress at the Red River Cafe, she is baffled when Amena asks her if they have halal...4 lines, 1 scene (43)
[BARTENDER] A bartender at the Red River Tavern, he's not happy when Joran (who doesn't drink) orders a Coke without ice...5 lines, 1 scene (56)
[MANAGER] A young female bank manager, about 24 years old, she has a meeting with Mac to discuss the fact that he hasn't made his mortgage payments for a couple months, but she's not particularly helpful (just threatening) and she doesn't do a very good job of hiding her disdain for him...1 speech & 6 lines, 1 scene (63)
[WOMAN 1] One of a trio of Syrian women who all cook at the communal kitchen, she chats and lightly flirts with Mac, who is slow to learn the art of cooking traditional Syrian dishes...3 lines, 1 scene (71)
[WOMAN 2] One of a trio of Syrian women who all cook at the communal kitchen, she chats and lightly flirts with Mac, who is slow to learn the art of cooking traditional Syrian dishes...1 line, 1 scene (71)
[WOMAN 3] One of a trio of Syrian women who all cook at the communal kitchen, she chats and lightly flirts with Mac, who is slow to learn the art of cooking traditional Syrian dishes...2 speeches & 2 lines, 1 scene (71)
[OFFICER] This grimly suspicious local police officer profiles (and aggressively questions) Joran when he's just headed home after a walk, and winds up arresting Mac as well when he attempts to verbally defend Joran...10 lines, 1 scene (82)
