When asked why people should go see his film at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival, Alexander Lasheras smiles and says: “If you love films with good twists, come see this movie. It will keep you guessing to the very end.”
Cadence, a B.C. made psychological horror feature film, is premiering at the 2016 Vancouver International Film Festival on Oct. 3 at 9 p.m. at the Rio Theatre.
Written and directed by Langley filmmaker Alex Lasheras, the film includes a cast of established and up-and-coming B.C. actors, as well as an all-Canadian crew, who are proud to see the film on the big screen for the first time.
“It’s an unbelievable honour to be included (at VIFF),” said Lasheras, 33, a former Brookswood Secondary student and graduate of the UBC film program and Vancouver Film School.
“One of the first things I did when I got my license was me and a friend drove an hour to the ‘big city’ to see a foreign film at VIFF. I grew up on a farm and no cable tv, so watching foreign movies became an introduction to world culture.”
Cadence, along with nine other features made in B.C., are a part of this year’s “B.C. Ignite” film series, a collaboration between Telus and VIFF to showcase local talent at the film festival.
The plot follows the main character, Cadence, as her romantic weekend on her family farm with her pop star boyfriend, Taylor Lake, is interrupted by the arrival of Lake’s rowdy friends, KC and JJ. This leads Cadence to suffer from a series of hallucinations, causing her to put the boys’ lives in danger, and she is tied up for fear she could do more harm. But once a fight breaks out between KC and Taylor, Cadence realizes she must do everything in her power to survive.
“I wanted to make something that both entertains and challenges the audience,” Lasheras said.
“I’m drawn to films with original stories that try something new, I hope it delivers in that aspect.”
In 2013, the team shot and edited 20 minutes of the film, and released it to viewers online. They followed up with a crowdfunding campaign that raised money to complete the feature’s production in the fall of 2014 on Lasheras’ family farm in Langley.
“The script felt fresh. After reading the first few pages, I thought the lead female character was complex and interesting, something few independent films achieve,” said actress Maxine Chadburn, who plays Cadence.
“The support and love given to this film, I’ve never experienced anything like it before,” added producer Arun Fryer.
“We produced 20 minutes and crowdfunded to make the feature a year later. It was inspiring to watch Alex’s vision come to life.”
To purchase tickets for the premiere, visit https://www.viff.org/Online/default.asp.
For more info on the film, go to www.cadencethefilm.com.
