SO DARK THE SKY

A climate-fiction thriller created by Eric Rose & jason rothery

Official premiere as part of SeriesFest: Season 11 film festival
April 29-May 4, 2025 – Denver, CO, USA

ABOUT

So Dark The Sky is a gripping episodic series developed for CBC Gem and premiering at the 2025 SeriesFest: Season 11 film festival.

Set in Canada’s far North, it follows Cass, a lone scientist-engineer tasked with protecting one of humanity’s last seed vaults—a lifeline for a planet ravaged by climate catastrophe. Locked in a desperate fight to save humanity from extinction, Cass must navigate the perils of survival, nostalgia, and technological over dependence in a post-apocalyptic world.

Three years into her mission, a mysterious laptop arrives, delivered by her contact, Taj. Inside are clues linking the climate disaster to a long-missing activist and secrets that could unravel the true cause of the collapse. As external threats close in on the vault, Cass faces impossible choices: protect humanity’s future or uncover a truth that might reshape it forever.

Drawing inspiration from post-apocalyptic thrillers like The Road and 12 Monkeys. So Dark The Sky is an intimate and provocative exploration of our species’ fragility and resilience.

Setting and Background

So Dark the Sky unfolds in and around a subterranean vault situated in a shrinking strip of habitable territory known as the Band. A string of climate-related disasters has reduced the human population to a fraction of its seven billion peak, a sequence of events now referred to as “The Great Contraction.” The Vault, a storehouse of seeds and animal DNA, holds the promise of replenishing and repopulating an infertile planet and restoring us to a lost Golden Age.

NEWS & MEDIA

A Change-Making Collaboration

So Dark the Sky is an interdisciplinary, change-making collaboration, bringing theatre and film makers together in its creation. This collaboration between artistic practices has resulted in a unique production and provided opportunities for theatre artists in particular, to explore and expand into the digital medium. Ghost River Theatre’s Artistic Director and Co-Director of this series Eric Rose speaks to the impact of this interdisciplinary approach: "the filming of So Dark the Sky stands as a pivotal moment in my career. Leveraging my extensive background in theatre direction and writing, SDTS provided a remarkable opportunity to seamlessly transition my skill set into the dynamic realm of filmmaking.”

So Dark the Sky is the largest undertaking in Ghost River Theatre’s history.

Check out some behind-the-scenes photos (below) taken during the filming at our home location, West Village Theatre.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Feb. 2017: Workshop, West Village Theatre, Calgary, AB.
May - Aug. 2020: Development through the Canada Council for the Arts’ Creation Accelerator.
Aug. 2023 - Apr. 2024: Pre-production & Film production (i.e. – location scouting, casting, filming, etc.)
Oct. 2024: Post Production (i.e. – editing, sound mixing, VFX editing, etc.)
Apr. - May 2025: World Premiere at SeriesFest Film Festival, Denver, CO, USA.

SO DARK THE SKY

Produced with the support of the Government of Alberta and the Canada Council for the Arts

CREDITS

Directed by Eric Rose, Kyle Thomas

Story by Eric Rose, Jason Rothery

Written by Jason Rothery

Produced by Kyle Thomas, Sara Corry

Executive Producer Eric Rose

Executive Producer Michael Glossop

CASS Karen Gomez

TAJ Elijah Love

Director of Photography Chase Gardiner

Production Designer Patrick Du Wors

Edited by Kyle Thomas

Music

Costume Designer Heather Moore

Key Make Up Artist Katt Panic

Co-Producer Griffin Cork

Associate Producer Andrew G. Cooper

Production Manager Andrew G. Cooper

1st Assistant Director Derek Jones

Production Coordinator Aleisha Anderson

Script Supervisor Christy Marchuk

Sound Recordist Derek Waite

1st Assistant Camera Ian Doyle

Gaffer Dave Stoten

Key Grip Victor Solo

2nd Assistant Camera Kaydn Ross

2nd Assistant Camera Swing Forrester MacPherson

On-Screen Credits

GLX Swing Luke MacPhee

LX Swing Liam Erickson

Second Camera Operator Chris Chow

Safety Supervisor Ron Webber

Data Manager Nathan Horch

Craft Services CJ Wilson

Props & Set Dec Terri Grant

Set Construction Riley Miljan

Scenic Artist Heather Faye

Set & Props Decoration Assistant Stephen Strand

SPFX Consultant Peter Kominek

Set & Props SPFX Assistant Jenna Giacomelli

Art Department Production Assistant Carson Schmidt, Victoria Pilot

Make Up Assistant Kyra McPherson

Make Up Trainee Sevinn Joshee

3rd Assistant Director Ryan Vescarelli

Set Stills and Video Photographer Kristin Breitkreutz

Production Assistant:

Alexis Alvendia

Jocelyn Chugg

Hailey Foss

Jillian Gabel

Erin Godden

Curtis Hauser

Sandra Hurd

Mark Riddle

Curtis Scott

Casey Williams

Administration - Ghost River Theatre Christy Offer

CAST

HANNAH Jillian Hubler-McManus

MOTHER Vanessa Leticia Jette

YOUNG CASS Gisele Ramos

SOLOMON BURKE Kris Demeanor

COMMANDING UNIFORM Griffin Cork

UNIFORM #1 Keith Hammill

UNIFORM #2 Tosin Adetiloye

UNIFORM #3 / HUG MANNEQUIN Christopher Clare

TEACHER Caitlin Gallichan-Lowe

DOCTOR Andrew Cooper

SCHOOL CHILD Estela Dixon

Alyssa Faulkner

Shylah Lieu

Atticus Rose

Beatrice Rose

On-Screen Credits

Jude Thomas

Parker Watson

CARBON COMMERCIAL CHILD James Barton

Aubrey Huisman

Elara Huisman

BOAT CREW Pete deJong

Sean Hubler-McManus

Alexandra Scott

PROTEST CROWD Amara Lieu

Anu Sharma

Riley Gabel

Annalise Gabel

Aiden Gabel

Nathan Smith

Jill Gabel

Jessie Gabel

Judy Jones

Danielle Luggatti

ADDITIONAL VOICE WORK Kate Forsyth

NEWS REPORTER Stephanie Thomas

Sound Supervisor Chris Ferguson

Sound Design & Effects Editor Tyler Rambie

Dialogue & ADR Editor Matt Coffey

Foley Chris Ferguson, Brent Planiden

Background Effects Editor Vienna Kunnas

Re-recording Mixers Chris Ferguson, Brent Planiden

Audio Post Producer Braun Farnon

Audio Post Production Facility Propeller Sound Studios, Calgary Alberta Canada

Visual Effects by Dreadnaught Digital

VFX Supervisor Jeremy Pollock

Houdini Artist Giorgio Zegarra

3D Lead Pedro Zuzunaga

VFX & Compositing Joaquin Escandon, Jack Evage, Taylor Sinn, Jorge Garcia Jaramillo

Rotoscoping Jorge Salazar

Additional VFX & Titles by Morgan Ermter

Colourist Brendon Rathbone

Assistant Editor Nathan Horch

Additional Editing by Nicholas Martin

Original Music composed, arranged and performbed by Eoin Russell

"Locked In The Trunk Of A Car"

Performed by The Tragically Hip

Writers/Composers Gord Downie, Paul Langlois, Rob Baker, Gord Sinclair, Johnny Faye

Publisher MCA Records

Courtesy of Universal Music Canada

SPECIAL THANKS

Olds College of Agriculture and Technology

The City of Calgary

Amanda Thomas

Calgary Economic Development

The Dive Shop

Edmonton Production Rentals

Aspen Properties

Ten 48 Talent

West Village Theatre

Fatti Falconer Agency

Two House Brewery

Faces Of Wendy

Palliser Realty & Management Group

Front Row Insurance

The Old Trout Puppet Workshop

Harder Lee Photography

Glenmore Sailing Club

Jennifer Zantinge

Produced with the support of the Government of Alberta and the Canada Council for the Arts.

Shot on location in Alberta, Canada

All characters and events depicted in this film are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to actual events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.