On November 15th, 2007, Red Deer will get a taste of Hollywood with the premiere of Baby Blues, the feature debut of Canadian director and Red Deer College graduate Dylan Pearce. A story of loss, loneliness, hope and ultimately, redemption, Baby Blues is scheduled to open in 11 more cities across Canada on January 18th, 2008.

The premiere will feature a touch of old Hollywood glamour, with a red carpet for the cast and crew followed by an exclusive screening and gala, all to celebrate a film that was conceived in Red Deer. The premiere will take place at Park Plaza Theatre, while the gala takes place at the Capri Hotel and Convention Centre.

Baby Blues tells the story of Josie Patterson (Jenny Levine), a quiet, guarded woman who is attempting to start her life over after a tragic incident. Hiding from her past, Josie forms an unlikely friendship with a kind-hearted co-worker and a romance with a young drifter musician. As Josie begins to realize that she can't hide forever, she dreams of being reunited with her son. Josie, however, must also cope with the prospect that by finding her son, she will reawaken her past.

“The story’s really close to me,” said Pearce. “We all have moments in our past where we’ve harboured regrets. Even though a particular situation may not have been our fault, we place the blame on ourselves and then carry it around.”

“I can appreciate the fragility of the human condition, which is what the movie is about.” added Levine. “I related to Josie’s inability to move forward. We all do from time to time. We fail. We make mistakes. We get stuck and we can’t find our way out right away. It’s only then – when you think you’re in your darkest hour that you find your true character, and somehow, the ability to pull yourself up by the bootstraps and start again!”

Levine has been working in film, television and theatre for over a decade. The Toronto-born actress grew up in South Florida before returning to Canada and making her acting debut on the Global television series Jake and the Kid. Most recently, Levine appeared as Valerie on the fifth season of the hit series 24. She has since worked on such shows as The Ghost Whisperer, Close to Home, Las Vegas and in the MOW The Obsession.

The film was originally conceived as a fourth-year student project to be shot in Red Deer with the help of other students, family and friends. However, when Levine signed on to star as Josie, and the location changed from Red Deer to Windsor, ON, Baby Blues went from a student project to a full-fledged independent feature. This involved cramming the months-long pre-production process of paperwork and unionization into only a few weeks.

Behind-the-scenes, Baby Blues was a collaborative process between a number of Red Deer College alumni. The film was conceived as a thesis project by Pearce and director of photography Andrew Scholotiuk. They commissioned fellow student Lewaa Nasserdeen to write the screenplay.

Baby Blues is a joint production between Rocky Mountain Picture Corporation, Peerless Pictures and North American Film Theatrical Corporation.

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Available for interviews,
Dylan Pearce, director
Andrew Scholotiuk, director of photography
Darren Arsenault, producer
Jenny Levine, actress