By the fall of 2021, the local film biz was roaring back to life after a series of COVID-related shutdowns: Things we moving, sets were cropping up all over, and Screen Nova Scotia was announcing an industry-wide boom.
Local filmmaker Leah Johnston was both an example of the buzz and completely outside of it, filming a 1970s-set short on 16mm film in Sambro, NS. An NYU Tisch School alum, Johnston's shorts are no strangers to sweeping the fest circuit: Her 2016 flick Ingrid and the Black Hole won Best Canadian Short at the Edmonton Film Festival and screened as part of the Telefilm: Not Short on Talent program at the Cannes Film Festival.
The project she spent fall 2021 shooting is called Mother's Skin and it follows a neglected six-year-old's attempt to cope with her mother's depression and her father's alcoholism. When the child discovers a secret hidden within their home, her world shifts completely.
Mother's Skin stars actual six-year-old Briar Mosher in her first acting role. The film will be making its international debut early next month at the Vancouver International Film Festival before showing at Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinema and New Brunswick's Silver Wave Film Festival this fall.
Peep the official film trailer below:
Halifax filmmaker Leah Johnston screens Mother's Skin at Vancouver International Film Festival
The short will also show at Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinema this fall.
[
{
"name": "Air - Inline Content - Upper",
"component": "26908817",
"insertPoint": "1/4",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "8"
},{
"name": "Air - Inline Content - Middle",
"component": "26908818",
"insertPoint": "1/2",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "8"
},{
"name": "Air - Inline Content - Lower",
"component": "26908819",
"insertPoint": "100",
"requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
}
]
About The Author
Morgan Mullin
Morgan was the Arts & Entertainment Editor at The Coast, where she wrote about everything from what to see and do around Halifax to profiles of the city’s creative class to larger cultural pieces. She started with The Coast in 2016.
Member Associations
