No more gingerbread

Hansel and Gretel get a gritty neorealist makeover in Canadian retelling of the Grimm Brothers classic

Rebecca Sandulak

Mere months after four powerful female voices in film joined forces to create the Red Czarina Productions Inc, their first film is well underway.

According to their website, Red Czarina is a group of experienced, talented women with a mandate to ensure female-driven films have a place in Canada.

Members include writer/director Danishka Esterhazy, known for her award-winning feature Black Field; actor/producer Ashley Hirt, who co-produced Black Field; Rebecca Gibson, an actor, director, producer and writer who has done everything from acting in a leading role in CBS’s Hell on Heels: The Battle for Mary Kay, to puppeteering for the award-winning Tipi Tales; and photographer/cinematographer Rebecca Sandulak, whose work has been showcased around the world.

Their first project, a modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel titled H&G, is Esterhazy’s brainchild.

Set in contemporary Winnipeg, H&G follows siblings Gemma (Breazy Diduk-Wilson) and Harley (Annika Irving), being raised by their impoverished single mother (Ashley Rebecca Moore) in the inner city.

One night, after a series of mistakes and misunderstandings, the children are abandoned in the woods in rural Manitoba. They stumble upon the isolated farm of a strange bachelor, who befriends them. While his ability to care for the neglected children is seductive, they quickly realize they are not as safe as they thought they were.

Esterhazy originally planned H&G as a short film, but the members of Red Czarina realized the story had more potential, and worked to expand it into a feature.

The story of Hansel and Gretel speaks as an unsatisfying and problematic tale of child poverty, neglect and abandonment, says Esterhazy.

“It’s a less romantic fairytale. The children are abandoned by their parents, they have to fend for themselves, and their rewards at the end are not that positive. They are reunited with the same parents that abandoned them.”

This re-writing takes the original story to task, examining the harsh realities of child poverty through a lens of social realism, says Esterhazy.

While H&G explores issues affecting many children today, Esterhazy says it is not a political film.

“I think the issue of the vulnerability of childhood is a universal theme. We live in an age where child abduction and pedophilia are in the news on a regular basis.”

With a budget relying entirely on the $5,000 grant Red Czarina received from the Manitoba Arts Council, the producers, cast and crew have had to make sacrifices to get this film off the ground.

“It has been challenging. We were so passionate about making this film we were absolutely committed to making it work,” Esterhazy says.

And make it work they have, with cast and crew members working on a deferral basis, many of their resources granted as favours, and the bulk of the grant going to equipment and food on set.

Co-producer Sandulak says she was blown away by the commitment her team has made.

“Everyone is putting their time and sweat and tears into this,” she says.

The avid cast includes two fledgling child actors, 6-year-old Irving and 9-year-old Diduck-Wilson, whose fast friendship off-screen has helped to create a vivid depiction of a brother-sister bond on screen.

“After Annika met Breazy, she turned to her mother and said, ‘I’ve met that girl before,’” Sandulak says. “But they had never met! That’s the sort of connection they had.”

Irving was so determined to be involved in the film she volunteered to have her long blonde curls chopped off in order to play the part of a 6-year-old boy, she says.

“It’s incredible, watching Breazy transform into this strong older sister, and watching Annika transform into this adorable, wide-eyed younger brother,” Sandulak says of the pair.

H&G’s cast and crew is made up of a combination of seasoned professionals, students and recent graduates from the University of Winnipeg’s film department.

“Winnipeggers can expect to be very proud of the talent that has been growing in this community.”

Sandulak underlines the significance of shooting the film in Manitoba.

“Even though we live in Canada, there are some very dark corners here. Maybe we can shed a bit of light on them with this story,” she says.

Red Czarina hopes to have H&G finished and ready to enter film festivals in several months’ time.

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