Wake

Wake is a short, fictional drama detailing a man’s experience of the aftermath of losing his wife and soon-to-be daughter.

The film was completed in collaboration with Last Frame Pictures and ambient artist Alaskan Tapes.

CREDITS

MAN: Michael Wamara @michaelwamara
WOMEN: Brittany Miller @imabadbee
LITTLE GIRL: Lauren Brady

WRITER / CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Liam Higgins @liamhiggins
DIRECTOR: Martin Klapperbein @martinklapperbein
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Last Frame Pictures @lastframe

PRODUCER / 1ST AD: Mike Gillespie @mikegillespie
PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: Julia Batista @juleeagh
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: Liam Higgins @liamhiggins
1ST AC: Oleksii Furdiiak @oleksii.furdiiak
2ND AC: Abraham Athodakee @a.thodakee
LOCATION SOUND RECORDIST: Daniel Brackenbury @grand_moule
HAIR & MAKEUP: Irene Brotto @irenebrotto.mua
PA: Chris Lawrence @clawrence.exe
PA: Japi Sandhu @japi.ca
PA: Harmen Baidwan @harmenbaidwan
BTS VIDEOGRAPHER: Mauri DeHaro @mauricideharo
STILLS PHOTOGRAPHER: Kirk Lisaj @largecrewneck
GAFFER: Ivan Karaulov @karaulov_ivan
SWING: Eamon Hillis @eamonhillis
KEY GRIP: Will Minh Le @will.minhle
PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Frances Santiago @francesantiago
SET DRESSER: Leala Chi @leala.chi
ART PA: Kennedy Robinson @kennedy.r.creative
ART PA: Ciara Andruski @candruski
ART PA: Michael Le @mi.joh
ART PA: Adrienne McClaren Devenyi

EDITING HOUSE: Outsider Editorial @outsidereditorial
EDITOR: Michael Barker @michaelbbarker
OFFLINE PRODUCER: Kayan Choi @kayanch01
COLOUR HOUSE: Artjail @artjail
COLOURIST: Clinton Homuth @clintonhomuth
COLOUR ASSISTANT: Shay Koshy @theshadykoshy
COLOUR PRODUCER: Alison Maxwell @alsnmxwll
VFX: Vitaliy Havrylyuk @vitaliyhavrylyuk
GRAPHICS STUDIO: Dansch @dansch.ca
TITLE DESIGNER: Daniel Schrempf @_dansch
SOUND DESIGN: Alex Gluch @_gluch
COMPOSER: Brady Kendall (Alaskan Tapes) @alaskantapes

ART DEPARTMENT RENTALS: Josh Turpin @jdwgturps
TALENT MANAGEMENT: The Agency Talent Management @theagencytalentmgmt
TALENT MANAGEMENT: Miracle Management @miraclemgmt
CAMERA RENTALS: Keslow Camera @keslowcamera
CAMERA RENTALS: Ontario Camera @ontariocamera
LIGHTING & GRIP: Doug Cunningham @douglas.cunningham
FILM PROCESSING: Colorlab @colorlabmd
PROCESS POST SUPERVISION: Scott Mueller @scottmueller
FILM PROVIDED BY: Kodak New York @kodak

Wake, written by Liam Higgins, is a short, fictional drama detailing a man’s experience of the aftermath of losing his wife and soon-to-be daughter.
The film was completed in collaboration with Last Frame Pictures and ambient artist Alaskan Tapes. “My hope with writing this piece was pay an homage to my dad,” Writer Liam said. “I lost him a few years back and never really mourned his loss openly. It was something that I kept to myself and struggled with understanding deeply. I really wanted to create a reality where, if I was a father, I would properly go through the feelings and emotions, and openly express them to showcase it as a strength. I wanted people to feel strength through actor Michael Wamara, whom showcased the most honest form of sadness and acceptance we saw in the story.”
The film was shot on the ARRI 235 3-Perf with Leica Summilux C’s & Kodak 35mm 500T and 250D. We felt the choice of shooting 35mm came from the idea of wanting to create images that were both true to life and further informed the process of decision making. We didn’t want to feel like we were at the liberty of takes and time. Film allowed us to focus on capturing on a certain amount of takes, and without the stress of the camera, practice performances that helped us dissect the best performance with less pressure during rehearsals.
This film is directly in support of mental health. For more information and continuing support, please visit the Canadian Centre of Addiction & Mental Health and the Discovery Fund here: camh.ca/en/science-and-research/discovery-fund