Lights, camera, action in Jackson Square food court
What do they do in a mall food court at night? Sometimes they make movies.
Jackson Square opened its food court this month to the psychological drama 'Pocket Mirror.' The film follows the story of Maisie, who believes her cat has been replaced with a doppelganger. She hires a detective to determine the truth and finds out more about her life than she bargained for.
Near Burger King in the empty food court at about midnight on April 9, Sofia Banzhaf acts in a scene where she talks to her private investigator, actor Dylan Roberts, who is off camera.
The crew of 'Pocket Mirror' during a night shoot at Jackson Square this month. From left: writer-director Adrian Murray, producers Sennah Yee and Priscilla Galvez and first assistant director Matt Moreland. The film is a psychological drama about a woman who gets more than she bargained for when she hires a detective to investigate whether her cat was replaced with a doppelganger.
Banzhaf was in Nicolas Cage's 2023 film 'Dream Scenario,' which shot in Burlington and was also in the TV show 'Bitten.' Roberts had a role in the Robin Williams' comedy 'Death to Smoochy' (2002), which was shot in Hamilton.
About a dozen crew members mill around under the watchful eyes of two mall security guards. One crew member, first assistant director Matt Moreland, from Hamilton, stands out because he is wearing cow-print pants.
Another scene is shot of Roberts talking to Banzhaf, who is off camera. During filming, producers Priscilla Galvez and Sennah Yee hear a sound that is not supposed to be there. They call one of the guards over and he says it is probably coming from a machine being used by a cleaner in a nearby hallway.
The problem is solved and shooting continues. A break is called for, but all will be back at work at 1 a.m.
Producer Sennah Yee looks through a monitor during the filming of 'Pocket Mirror.' Film scenes were shot in the deserted food court of Jackson Square around midnight on April 9.
'Pocket Mirror' is the brainchild of writer and director Adrian Murray, who won best director for his film 'Retrograde' at the 2023 Canadian Film Festival. That film was about a neurotic woman who persistently fights a traffic ticket she received while helping her new roommate move in. CBC Arts named Murray one of the 17 great Canadian directors to watch in 2017 after his first feature, a crime drama called 'Withdrawn.'
Murray said 'Pocket Mirror' evolved from his thoughts about a man going to the police to tell them his dog wasn't his dog anymore. It morphed into the idea of a cat and he spent about eight months writing it. It is also based on feelings felt during the pandemic, his father losing his hearing and having memories of songs.
'I'm emphasizing what it's like to live in a world that's changing before our eyes and changing faster than we can keep up with,' Murray said. 'What's it like to be afraid of this new artificial world while simultaneously being comforted by it.'
'Pocket Mirror' is produced by Fantom Ogi Films, run by Galvez and Yee. Producers in their own right, their joint company is named for Galvez's pet dog and Yee's cat. The budget is $1.1 million and the production received funding from Telefilm last year. Vortex Media is the Canadian distributor, but the plan is to put the movie in film festivals to find an international distributor. The movie also features Maziyar Khatam as Maisie's boyfriend, Nima.
The production spent two days shooting at Jackson Square during an 18-day shooting schedule and wrapped up April 14. Other locations included the Pearle Hotel and Spa in Burlington.
This is the third feature for Murray and Yee (they are partners in film and life) and the second that involves Galvez. She was a producer on 'Retrograde.'
'That was really a great partnership, so we said 'Let's do it again,'' Galvez said. They were already feeling the pangs of postproduction blues.
This was Moreland's first time working with this production team, though he had worked with Galvez. He has worked on more than 20 holiday movies and the Oscar-winning 'Women Talking.'
Murray has garnered a reputation as a minimalist director — lots of long takes — and Moreland said that has been a first for him in filmmaking. He said the experience was 'really fun' and 'really interesting.'
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