For one week in October, something sinister will be coming to life amongst pine trees in Fenelon Falls when a group of film students from Toronto shoot a thesis short film.
Titled The Pines, the film is the latest project from Tight Space Productions, a collective of independent filmmakers in their final year of film school at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Led by Alireza Jhomson, Angelo Agostino, Ethan Karmoil, and Alex Davidson, the film — labelled their most ambitious project to date — is an atmospheric horror short that follows two ecologists who go to a cabin in a remote forest to study a mysterious fungus that’s been growing on pine trees. When one of them develops a horrifying infection, the other works to unravel the true nature of the forest and uncovers something ancient buried beneath it.
“They find these buried secrets and these buried evil things that have happened on that plot of land,” says Jhomson, who is the director and co-writer of the film. “At its core, it’s a story of nature and how nature always remembers, and the memory and danger of ignoring what came before.”
Given that Jhomson believes “metaphors are what separates a good film from a really good film,” there is also a deeper meaning about the silencing of voices. As an Iranian immigrant who came to Canada in 2014, Jhomson says this silencing is something he likes to “shine a light on” and incorporate throughout his projects.
“I come from a country where if you spoke out, it was dangerous,” he says. “If you criticized the government, it was dangerous. If you walked into the street and a little piece of your hair was sticking out of your hijab, it was dangerous. I’m so grateful to be here (in Canada) because I see kids my age back home and their lifestyle is just so different.”
Jhomson recalls the 2022 wrongful arrest and killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by the Iran morality police for not wearing her hijab properly and how it sparked the Women, Life, Freedom movement in Iran — a movement that remains active despite brutal repression by the Iranian authorities, who have killed hundreds of protesters and arrested thousands more.
“I was looking at my life and people my age protesting, fighting for their voices to be heard, fighting for that freedom,” Jhomson says. “They were getting abused and beat up and I was here (thinking) this is my chance to incorporate those voices into my stories.”
“The Pines is about a land that hasn’t forgotten what happened to it,” he adds. “It’s about those souls underneath that forest that are still grieving, and still remembering that they were wrongly displaced.”
Though it’s certainly a horror film, Jhomson assures that The Pines will not be relying on “cheap jump scares.”
“(Our characters) go on their hero’s journey but some movies don’t do that, especially horror films, because they’re just trying to scare you. There are a lot of films where that’s their only goal and the story is out the window, but a horror story is just a good story.”
As an eco-horror film, which Jhomson calls an “underexplored” sub-genre, the use of the creepy and dark forest is an expected element of The Pines. But while surely any wooded area could be transformed into a threatening and ominous setting, when Jhomson visited his friend’s grandmother’s cabin in Fenelon Falls for the first time, he was instantly “drawn” to the forest out front, noting it was “love at first sight.”
“It clicked to me because in front of the plot of this cottage are these massive pines, and it’s a field of human-planted pine trees,” he says. “You know they didn’t just grow there because it’s so structural. It’s just rows and rows and rows of pine trees. I was blown away by the beauty of it — I knew filming had to be done here.”
VIDEO: “The Pines” fundraising appeal
Given that the Tight Space Productions is shooting on location, the students are aiming to raise $12,000 before they begin filming to cover the cost of transportation to and from Fenelon Falls for all cast and crew, accommodation and food, set construction, and gear rental. One of the costliest expenses is the makeup and special effects to bring the forest and fungal infections to life.
“We’re not doing any visual effects,” Jhomson says, referring to post-production effects such as computer-generated imagery. “We could have done the visual effects route, but it’s not authentic to the story we’re trying to tell and it’s not authentic to us.”
Tight Space Productions is encouraging donations by offering tiered sponsorship opportunities beginning as low as $25.From behind-the-scenes exclusives to being named an executive producer, there are some major perks for donating — whatever it takes to get the film made, according to Jhomson.
“If I don’t raise enough money for this film, it’s not getting made. Even the smallest amount … will help us get this film made. We’re not selling you a product — we’re inviting you to be a part of something. We’re inviting you to be a part of this massive, exciting opportunity to help four young filmmakers go out with a bang in their fourth year.”
To learn more and make a donation to The Pines, visit indiegogo.com/projects/the-pines-a-horror-short-film-rooted-in-nature.
For updates on the film and to learn more about Tight Space Productions, and watch previous short films, follow Tight Space Productions on Instagram or YouTube.
