What is Afterglow?

Afterglow is an independent Canadian feature film. It tells the story of a man and a woman - Josey and Miranda - who unknowingly cross each others' paths, but meet by chance in the backseat of a ride share. Afterglow is a romantic drama that explores topics of modern romance, loss, mental heath, and the anxieties of communication in a post-pandemic world, all set against the neon-lit backdrops of Toronto at night. 

Director's Statement

The inspiration for this story came upon noticing the way communication changed during and since the COVID-19 pandemic; it's something we've all noticed and can attest to. In the span of three years, introverts became extroverts. Extroverts became conscious of their social batteries. Person-to-person interaction became both nostalgic and foreign to all of us. This is the world Afterglow is set in: a world where people have something they need to say, but aren't sure when, how, or even if, they should say it. This is only exacerbated by each characters' exploration of loss and the ways they find to avoid dealing with their pain; they can't communicate with themselves, much less each other. And when you throw romance and unrequited love in to the mix, communication is only that much harder. 

I wrote the screenplay for Afterglow in February 2021, intending for it to be little more than a small creative outlet in the wake of completing a bigger project which occupied most of my time the previous year, my award-winning short documentary, After the Wall. However, over the course of 2021 and 2022, Afterglow stayed in my head. I couldn't shake how much I enjoyed putting this story to paper; as if that was the first step in exorcising something I never knew was inside me and I couldn't stop there. Since completing the first draft, I have been obsessed with rewriting and ensuring the story is as good as it can be. 

Since the tail end of 2022, I have been steadily recruiting collaborators, new and familiar, to help me bring Afterglow to life; to complete this process I started two years ago. The film is currently in the pre-production phase and we are raising production funds. 

We are a group of young independent Canadian artists who are determined to make films in a modern digital-driven production style and that tell personal youthful stories with an emphasis on individual artistic expression. Afterglow is a passion project for all of us and with your contributions we can bring this film to your screens. 

Thank you for supporting our passion project!

Cast & Crew

Darcy Tithecott - Writer, Director, Editor

Darcy Tithecott is a Canadian filmmaker who specializes in independent short, feature, and documentary films as a writer, director, and editor. He is a graduate of Humber College's B.A. of Film and Media Production program and has been active in the Canadian film world since 2017. His documentary short film, After the Wall (2021), earned him awards from various film festivals around the world. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the independent feature film, The Pines Still Whisper (2023). Afterglow will be his directorial debut.

Al Braatz - "Josey"

Al Braatz is an actor, singer, dancer, musician, writer, director,and producer; a whatever-you-need-him-to-be kind of human. His passion for the arts has fueled his professional career. He has worked internationally as an artist on stages and screens across Europe and North America crafting moments of humanity. Al Braatz is unfolding his plan to dream big with an attitude of gratitude. 

Kira Paul - "Miranda"

Kira Paul is a British-Canadian actress and writer. She grew up in Canada and now lives in London, England, having also lived in Paris for two years where she studied acting at Cours Florent before attending drama school in London's East 15 Acting School in the BA Acting course. Her credits include W. in the short film, To Be Marilyn and Cleopatra in the short film, While We Wait. She has written and co-written feature film scripts including The Pines Still Whisper (2023), Come Sunday, The Idylls of Byrwood and many more. Kira is very excited to start work on Afterglow as Miranda, her debut as a lead character in a Canadian feature film.

Nikita Brusnitsyn - Cinematographer

Nikita Brusnitsyn is a Russian/Canadian cinematographer who focuses on narrative, commercial, and documentary filmmaking. Having gained an interest in cinema during his early years, he attended the film program at Centennial College where he because infatuated with the world of lighting and cinematography. His main inspirations are renowned cinematographers Nestor Almedros, Darius Khondji, and Charlotte Bruus Christensen. Since graduating, Nikita has worked as a director of photography on three independent feature films, multiple short films, and commercials. He prides himself on his extensive research, testing, and resourcefulness, often building his own lighting fixtures to achieve a desired look for a film.

Chase Jeffels - Neil

Chase Jeffels is an actor and comedian in Toronto. He is a graduate of George Brown Theatre School. In 2019 Chase returned from France after his studies at Ecole Jacque Lecoq, a prestigious school teaching creative theatre, as well as training with the clown master himself Phillip Gaulier (teacher of Sacha Baron Cohen and Helena Bonham Carter) Chase’s work has appeared in the Toronto Sketch Fest and The Great Canadian Comedy Film Festival. He received the "Audience Choice" award in 2020 and "Best Actor" in 2021 at the Great Canadian Comedy Film Festival.

Leanne Comrie - Arielle

Leanne Comrie is a Toronto-based actress who studied at Armstrong Acting Studio and Toronto Metropolitan University. She immediately fell in love with the script and its honest portrayal of mental health in a post-pandemic world. As a passionate advocate for mental health treatment, Leanne is excited to bring awareness to these issues through her work in, Afterglow.

Ryan Abd'u'llah Hooper - "Gissey"

Ryan (He/Him), is a mixed race multidiciplinary artist based out of Toronto. As a recent graduate of Sheridan’s Music Theatre Performance program, his artistic expression has grown into a multitude of facets including actor, singer, and composer. He has recently been seen in newer Canadian works; The Green Line (Chromatic/Downstage), Brown Eyes: A New Musical (TIFT), and To Ronnie With Love (Theatre Sheridan). He is pumped to bring Gissey to life and to be joining this team! 

Psiren - Composer

Psiren is an independent post-genre musician from Nova Scotia, Canada, who has released four EPs, produced two songs for the Buffy-nominated Caius Hubris, and has collaborated with well over a dozen other musicians on various projects. He is a graduate of the Music Production & Engineering program at NSCC Ivany Campus, and is currently enrolled in their Music Arts program. Most recently, he composed the theme song for Come Rain Come Shine, a Tabletop RPG by Penflower Ink, which featured in the game's release trailer and as a bumper for the play sessions uploaded to YouTube. This is his first film score.

Josette Joseph - Production Designer

Josette Joseph is a production designer, art director, and visual artist with a passion for detail. She believes that "background noise", or all the details in a background, can play a critical role in storytelling. She graduated with honours from Western University with a triple major in Media, Fine Arts, and Art History. At Western, she completed a thesis on set design in the context of the fine arts, where she explored the use of set design and inspiration from the Baroque fine art era to tell a story. She is currently back in school at Sheridan College to expand her range of skills and gain proficiency in special effects makeup, prosthetics, and props. Josette has designed for a wide range of companies, such as Sephora, OLG Slots, and Team Canada Basketball. In narrative work, Josette has worked closely with many well-accomplished individuals such as Marvel’s Jett Klyne and The Hobbit’s Richard Armitage. Josette hopes to continue developing and growing as a young designer and visual artist.

Why Should You Contribute?

We believe in making films that matter and can survive the test of time, not just to be played in a theatre only to be forgotten about. Canadian artists are in a unique position to take advantage of a growing digital landscape and the public's growing shift towards niche tastes rather than crowd-pleasing content to tell stories that matter.