This past September was super busy as I was developing a new scripted webseries called The Last Avenue. The series follows characters that live on 8th Avenue, which is the last unpaved road in downtown Whitehorse. The street is nestled against the clay cliffs that loom over the city and is often viewed as the forgotten street . It’s home to a diverse range of the Yukon population and my co-creator, Peter Jickling, and I see it as a metaphor for the Yukon in general - rugged, stubborn, isolated, forgotten, and beautiful.
Presented as an anthology over ten eight-minute episodes, The Last Avenue web series explores a range of themes and common experiences. An eclectic cast of characters confronts family, careers, birth and death, survival, sexuality, misconceptions and social change as they navigate along the bumpy road in life.
A big shout out to our main funder, Independent Production Fund, who believed in this project from the start. Of 160 applications across Canada, The Last Avenue, was one of 15 chosen for development! We used this funding to create 3 scripts, 10 episode synopses, character breakdowns, and a Proof-of-Concept Trailer.
On a personal level, it was super cool to see the local filmmaking community, and community in general come together to bring this project to life - we had 26 actors and 16 crew! It was also great to direct scripted content again and collaborate with so many talented yukoners.
So the next step is to try to get funding for the actual making of the series. We will keep you posted!
You can check out the trailer here:
CAST:
Patrick Keenan (Voiceover)
Lahcen Amzoug
Melaina Sheldon
Stephen McGovern
Ingrid Janzen
Gabe Stetkiewicz
Mo Whibley
Jenny Hamilton
Ken Green
Chris Mcnutt
Jen Massie
Walking Wolf Soady
Leanne Cranfield
Carey Mitchell
Ben Wondga
MJ Cranfield
James Cleary
Patrick Royale
Cindy Klippenstein
Fiona Salone
Hector Lang
Mary Sloan
Austin Davignon
Ocean Stimson
Ben Lorenz
Lochlann Fraser
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Co-Producer: Kelly Milner
Co-Producer: Brendan Preston
Lead Writer: Peter Jickling
Writer: Graham Kay
Director: Brendan Preston
Director of Photography: Marty O'Brian
Additional Cinematography: Brendan Preston
Art Director: Fiona McTaggart
First Assistant Camera: Alex Chan
Sound: Patrick Hamilton
Sound: Mike Code
Editor: Brendan Preston
Camera/Production Assistant: Lia Fabre-Dimsdale
Behind The Scenes: Shawn Jo
Water Safety Crew: Dawson Bealieu & Alex Johnston
Score: Patrick Keenan
Soundtrack: Groan Boy (bigboatrecords.com)