Tanara Oliveira/News Staff
Renowned scriptwriter Michael B. Adams is set to transform his acclaimed work “The Fast Runner” into a poignant short film.
This cinematic journey, inspired by David Bercovici-Artieda’s story from works like “Fishing for Love,” “Pearl in the Mist,” and “Rescued by Ruby,” delves into themes of courage and compassion against the backdrop of the Holocaust.
The movie will be shot this fall in Victoria and it promises to have a deep message that will speak to people all over the world. Dan Angel and Jane Charles are the executive producers, and Ken Shapkin and Leah Warshawski are the co-producers and producers, respectively.
The movie talks about what happens to a young Jewish girl named Frida and the rabbi in her town as they face the horrible truths of the Holocaust.
“The Fast Runner” shows how love, kindness, and humanity can change people even when they are being persecuted and feel hopeless. Frida was at first against the rabbi’s advice to be kind and against both him and the German policeman Herr Muller. Her story shows how important empathy, compassion, and love will always be in the fight for life.
This project is important to Bercovici-Artieda, as his own father lived through the Holocaust, but he lost all of his relatives during that terrible time.
In the face of problems like rising hate crimes and a rise in racism, Bercovici-Artieda’s goal is clear: to restore people’s faith in human values, bring people together and make them more compassionate.
“When we consider the massive social changes we have experienced over the last few decades; the rise of social media, the erosion of investigative journalism and freedom of the press, the spread of nationalism and authoritarianism, and the rise of hate crimes, including the appalling spike in antisemitism over the last year… to make a film and not be empathetic to the audience’s need to embrace human values is a missed opportunity to create a little hope against this tide of fear and uncertainty,” said Bercovici-Artieda. To not judge or generalize and to inspire hope and compassion if I can; this is why I am making The Fast Runner. Our hope is that the audience have new faith in the idea of community, that by drawing closer together as humans we can overcome so much more adversity than we can divided. We hope that people will be inspired and energized to take a stronger role in eliminating hate crime. We hope that people will feel inspired to listen with compassion before they act.”
Alix West Lefler, who is from Vancouver and a rising star, plays the important part of Frida. Lefler has an impressive list of credits, including the highly acclaimed true-crime thriller “The Good Nurse” on Netflix with Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne. She will also be in the upcoming drama series “My Life With The Walter Boys” on Netflix. She is well-known for her recurring parts in “Siren” and “Riverdale.” The first time David and Alix met was on the set of “Fishing for Love,” which was filmed in Brentwood Bay, BC.
The film will be made on South Vancouver Island in the Greater Victoria area over the course of four days. The whole thing will be shot on 35mm film and processed by FotoKem, the same lab that worked on “Oppenheimer.” The places will include neighbourhood parks and places with a lot of history. Even though the main cast and team, which adds up to about 50 people, are already in place, the film is actively looking for local background actors and actresses who want to take part and volunteer.