Falling Angels (2003)

Interesting facts

Falling Angels is a 2003 independent film by Scott Smith, based on the novel of the same name by Barbara Gowdy and adapted for the screen by poet and author Esta Spalding. It is the second feature film by Scott Smith, writer, producer and director of Rollercoaster (1999). Set in the late 1960s, the film is a dark comedy focusing on the coming of age of three sisters and their struggle for independence in a dysfunctional family. It is also a story about the destructive effects of secrecy between parents and children.

Production

Falling Angels was in development for seven years. Since reading Barbara Gowdy's novel in 1991, producer Robin Cass meant to put it to film but the rights to a film adaptation were already tied up and it took five years to acquire them.

Hiring two-time Golden Globe winner Miranda Richardson for the role of the mother was crucial to secure the involvement of production companies. More than 1,000 women were auditioned for the key roles of the sisters before settling on Katharine Isabelle, Kristin Adams and Monté Gagné. Callum Keith Rennie signed on to play the father in October 2002, one month before filming started.

While the story takes place in Ontario, Falling Angels was shot on location mostly in Saskatchewan. Principal filming lasted from 19 November 2002 to 17 December 2002, with the final scene shot at the edge of Niagara Falls in February 2003.

Falling Angels was the first feature film to utilize the Canada Saskatchewan Production Studios in Regina.

Director of photography Gregory Middleton reported that the short shooting schedule was challenging, as was the one-day shooting in Niagara Falls in winter weather and filming in Moose Jaw with the Canadian Forces Snowbirds practising overhead.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.