‘Hangashore:’ Production Begins On Canadian Thriller Starring ‘Peaky Blinders’ Actor James Frecheville 

EXCLUSIVE: Cameras have started rolling in Newfoundland, Canada, on the indie thriller Hangashore from director Justin Oakey. 

The film stars James Frecheville (Masters of the Air, Peaky Blinders, The Royal Hotel), Hera Hilmar (Driving Mum, See, Mortal Engines), and Stephen Oates (A Small Fortune, A Fire In The Cold Season, Frontier). Producers on the pic are Oakey of Black River Pictures, Tania Sarra of Sauce Studios, and Patrick Condon. 

Written, directed, and co-produced by Oakey, the story follows an artist who, haunted by visions, abandons her life in Iceland to chase the ghost of her disappeared father to the remote island of Newfoundland. After settling in a small fishing village, a curious connection blossoms with Jack, a local facing the pressure of his first season at the helm of his father’s legacy – and a crew eager to get out to the ice floes in search of seals. When Vera sneaks aboard Jack’s boat, mysterious weather hurls the small crew into a fit of survival.

“The story for Hangashore has come together over many years while traveling Iceland and Finland and completing other projects,” said Oakey. “It feels like a wholly organic progression in my career as a filmmaker, as I had been trying to tell atmosphere-heavy stories laced with a lot of cultural cues, with some genre-teasing in there. On this one, I’ve skinned away all that naturalism and dug deeper into the genre side of the film. Trying to build an ominous, almost feverish atmosphere – without losing the idiosyncrasies of this place that I want to shine a light on.”

Sarra added: “Hangashore has everything that audiences are looking for right now – an original concept rooted in a familiar genre, a brilliant director, and our talented cast,” commented producer Tania Sarra. “Justin is one of the most exciting Canadian filmmakers working today. His vision coupled with Hera, James, and Steve is a dream team I couldn’t be more excited for. The way their chemistry has come together is something you could only hope for. Combine that with Justin’s script that has the whole market buzzing, I know Hangashore will deliver.”

The film was made with support from Telefilm Canada and PictureNL.