The Light Before the Sun
Dramatic Mid-Length Feature, 33 minutes
Struggling to find his footing after coming off an international book tour, celebrated self-help guru Daniel Wolf returns home to an empty house. With his family snowed in hundreds of miles away and without his support systems in place, he does everything he can to keep himself from calling the one person who could relieve his anxieties, but also lead him down a rabbit hole. When estranged friend Freddie arrives on the scene, Daniel succumbs to the desperate need for reassurance, liberation and intimacy. As the two friends spiral into a drug-induced contemplation of the human condition, Daniel attempts to reconcile his body of work, the demand of his followers, and his unrelenting quest for enlightenment. Set within the world of the human potential movement, Daniel’s descent reveals the intricate web of mental health, addiction and celebrity culture. In this journey of self-discovery, Daniel must decide if he’s willing to lose everything and finally step into his most authentic self.
OFFICIAL SELECTION OF THE HAMILTON FILM FESTIVAL (2024)
Cast: Jamie Thomas King
Rick Roberts
Tony Nappo
Jennifer Podemski
Rose Napoli
Rob Baker
Karen LeBlanc
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Photo Credit: Peter Stranks
DIRECTOR's STATEMENT
"As an artist I am always searching for stories that hold me from the moment they begin and then remain with me long after they’ve ended; “The Light Before the Sun” is exactly that kind of story.
When one of my most cherished friends in the business, Tamara Podemski asked me to read Rob Baker’s screenplay I knew it would be a special kind of project. That it would also feature Jamie Thomas King, her partner and co-producer, attracted me even more deeply, as Jamie is an actor of extraordinary vulnerability and range. With Jamie, I was confident we’d have a fully dimensional character in Daniel to ground the film and balance the explosiveness of Freddie, the other half of the narrative, played brilliantly by Rick Roberts. Both these actors have vast experience and we found a beautiful short hand on set to shape their performances, which are raucous and profane, tender and utterly true. Their chemistry is irresistible and we know that these characters have known lifetimes together.
With Guy Godfree, our cinematographer, the production found one of the most exciting voices on the Canadian scene and his frames captured Jamie and Rick at their most vulnerable and jagged of edges. “The Light Before the Sun” is about masks, both public and private, and our existential terror that they’ll fall away from us when we need them the most. It’s also a film about false idols or whatever terms we use to disguise them – freedom, ambition, addiction and when we are forced to confront them only the essential will remain—our friendships, our love and life itself."
- Michael Greyeyes