Regina man's first feature film set to hit theatres across Saskatchewan

'The Wild' will be playing in theatres across Saskatchewan beginning on Oct. 27. (Photo courtesy of Mika Abott)

A Regina man’s first feature film is set to play in theatres across Saskatchewan.

Aaron Sinclair, the writer and director for ‘The Wild,’ said he wrote the script over a week in 2019 and is happy to see everything coming together.

“It's really rewarding … The movie has been basically done and the trailer has been done and the posters have been done for a long time,” he said. “I didn't want to put too much out before people could go see it because then they would just kind of forget about it or just wouldn't have the same impact. So I'm kind of doing it all at once."

“It's exciting because I've been waiting a long time to release all of this.”

‘The Wild,’ which was filmed in 2020 over 15 days, focuses on one character’s story who mysteriously gets dropped off in the middle of nowhere and spends three days ‘going wild.’

Sinclair, who has been a filmmaker for 12 years, grew up in Limerick, Sask. He said the small town feel plays a big part in the film.

“Moonlit nights where the moon is your only source of light, to walking into the rival town’s bar, and everybody turns around and looks at you because they don’t know who you are. Just the way that rumours and reputation can really kind of follow you around in a small town.”

The film also features music and performances from local musicians, which Sinclair said was a natural process.

“I shoot a lot of music videos as my part of my career so I'm kind of connected to that world, and I grew up in music as well. So music has always been a big part of my writing and everything like that,” he explained. “So I had a musician character and I wanted to have songs that were affecting the characters in certain ways.”

Aaron Sinclair, left, is the writer and director of 'The Wild.' (Photo courtesy of Mika Abott)

Megan Nash and Ava Wild each wrote an original song for the film. Wild was also cast to play a character named Cassie Jones, the wandering musician.

“[Wild] actually wrote [the song] the night before we shot it,” Sinclair said. “So she was on set and she had the guitar, which was actually my dad’s old guitar that she uses in the film … she ended up writing the song that we ended up shooting the next night.”

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Sinclair said doing a feature film has always been on his mind, and said being able to do it in Saskatchewan means a lot to him. The film was funded in part by a grant from Creative Saskatchewan.

The film will make its Saskatchewan premiere at the Roxy Theatre in Saskatoon on Oct. 27 for one night only.

It will hit the Moonlight Movies theatre in Regina from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2. There will be a special Q&A event on Oct. 28.

Some of the crew of 'The Wild' during filming. (Photo courtesy of Mika Abott)

The film will be playing in Estevan, Carnduff, Assiniboia, Gravelbourg, Shaunavon, Gull Lake, Outlook, and Yorkton, and more locations may be added.

“I just want people to have an enjoyable experience,” Sinclair said. “It’s just like going to any other movie that’s made in Hollywood or wherever. Go buy a ticket, get some popcorn and enjoy the show.”