By Milla Ewart

For producer and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) alumnus Julian Smither, making Lucky Weekend was successful thanks to three things: good timing, great friendships and figuring things out as they went.

“It was a stars-aligning type of situation,” Smither said in an interview with The Eyeopener.

Directed by Yellowjackets star Kevin Alves, the independent feature follows 18-year-old Gabe who discovers his best friend stole his winning lottery ticket. He scrambles to assemble a crew for a chaotic weekend mission to steal it back. With an all-Canadian filming crew and cast, the film explores friendship and betrayal, while also addressing the uncomfortable uncertainties of life after high school.

The project came together shortly after Smither and his producing partners, Alves and Alexa Brahas, who also stars in Yellowjackets, wrapped up another short film. With a lull in the industry giving the team a window before their next projects, they decided to seize the opportunity.

“We could either do this now when everyone’s available, or we could wait like a year or two,” said Smither.

Principal photography took place in October 2023 and finished in just 15 days, with filming taking place in various locations in Ontario, including Hamilton, St. Catharines and Dundas. However, work on the film continued beyond the initial shoot, with additional filming and editing continuing until a few weeks ago.

“Indie film has changed significantly, especially from a year ago, two years ago, three years ago. So I guess the biggest challenge is just trying to get eyeballs on this project,” said Smither.

For many crew members, it was their first full-length feature film. As the core executives, Smither, Alves and Brahas took on a range of responsibilities that would typically be shared among a team of about 30 people, from writing and building props to handling insurance.

“It was literally just the three of us doing all of the things,” said Smither, adding that creating this film has been one of the biggest undertakings of his career.

Even with the challenges, Smither said the atmosphere on set reflects the film’s central theme of friendship. Although many of the cast and crew members had never met before, the group quickly bonded.

“I think you really can tell how well everyone got along. Not just in front of the camera, behind the camera too,” said Smither.

The film’s story centres on the transition out of high school, when friendships begin to change as people are figuring out their next steps. Smither believes these are themes that can feel relatable beyond adolescence.

“Whether you’re just exiting high school or you’re at another moment in your life and it’s a fork in the road, we all go through those types of things,” said Smither, even thinking the same thing when he was going on to graduate from TMU’s RTA program.

“You know, are these people still gonna be my friends after?” Smither once wondered. “Honestly, like, yes, they still are.”

Smither, who graduated from RTA in 2015, said the most valuable lessons he took from the program were learning to work with different people and to adapt to unfamiliar environments.

“There were moments throughout this that we were like, ‘I don’t know, do we have something?’ You kind of go through that process a bit in any film,” explained Smither. But the resilience he learnt from the RTA program continues to push him past any challenges, adding “truthfully, I still take that to this day all of the time.”

That ability to problem solve was vital while producing Lucky Weekend, which premiered at Raindance Film Festival in London, U.K. in June. Having no idea how the audience would react to this Canadiana feature, Smither was pleasantly surprised.

“They were laughing at moments that I wasn’t sure people were going to laugh at,” said Smither. “Everyone really loved it.”

The team’s goal was to create a film infused with nostalgia, while also giving the typical coming-of-age adventure a new spin. “[Alves] was like, ‘a heist would be an interesting idea. I don’t think we’ve seen a heist coming-of-age movie.’”

The movie revolves around the typical teenager shenanigans of getting back at a friend, but Smither said the heartfelt moments will leave a lasting impression on the audience.

“This world we’re in right now, there’s just so much going on and we wanted to create something that was fun. So I want people, when they leave, to be like I want to be friends with those people.”

Lucky Weekend made its North American debut on Oct. 24 at the Reelworld Film Festival, Toronto, where Alves was awarded the outstanding feature film writer award.