Yorkville mother-daughter film to show at TIFF

Yorkville mother-daughter film to show at TIFF. Daughter Hallie Switzer, left, and mother Ingrid Veninger are the star and writer-director, respectively, of Modra. The Yorkville-area residents' film will be screening at the Toronto International Film Festival later this month. Photo/COURTESY

The Yorkville-area filmmaker's newest film, Modra, is set to screen at the Toronto International Film Festival and while she has had entries in the festival in the past, this one holds a special significance.

Modra is set in a town of the same name in Slovakia and stars Veninger's daughter, Hallie Switzer, as one of two 17-year-old leads. Veninger's husband, John Switzer, did the sound work while extended family living in Slovakia helped round out the cast.

The coming-of-age story follows Switzer as she reconnects with her roots in Slovakia, mirroring Veninger's own life experience in many ways.

"Having a 17-year-old daughter made me think back to when I was 17 and took my first trip back to Slovakia," Veninger said. "I had always wanted to go back there, so Modra started out with me wanting to tell a story about being 17 and reconnect with and involve my family back in Slovakia."

While the lead character is riddled with the usual insecurities and doubts felt by teens as they transition into adulthood. Veninger walked a fine line, keeping the film personal while consulting with Switzer to ensure it rang true.

"I really wanted the film to almost feel like it was shot by a 17-year-old," she said. "It's a bit naive, almost like Modra's a little fairy tale village and I didn't want to impose my 44-year-old self into it."

Having Switzer play the lead (and given the near-autobiographical nature of some of the film, at times she was virtually playing Veninger herself) was unusual for both mother and daughter, but Veninger said it was important to get the film done with Hallie as the lead.

"I wanted it done for this year, the 35th anniversary of TIFF and the opening of the Bell Lightbox, and I wanted Hallie to be in it," she said. "It was important that the actors were actually 17 instead of 19 year olds playing 17, because at 19 you're at a very different place in your life."

While the script delves intimately into the lives and mindset of teens, that intimacy was never a source of awkwardness between mother and daughter.

"It was sort of weirder thinking about doing the movie with my mom there the whole time than it was actually filming it," Switzer said. "It's a personal script, but (she and Veninger) are pretty close so it wasn't uncomfortable or anything."

If anything, Modra helped bring mother and daughter closer together, and their relationship similarly helped fuel the film. Veninger said everything from arguments between she and Switzer to lengthy discussions wound up shaping and reshaping scenes as they spent three weeks in Slovakia together.

Switzer agreed the filming process bolstered their relationship.

"I definitely have more respect for what mom does," she said. "She's been a filmmaker my entire life, so I thought I had a sense of what she does and how hard she works, but now I have some experience and see how hard it is."

Modra was shot on a shoestring budget with a three-person crew. Most of the cast members were first-time actors and many of them spoke little or no English, adding yet another wrinkle to the filming.

"I think they came into it knowing their lines, but they weren't prepared to do take after take after take," Veninger said. "They probably weren't sure what they were getting into, but they come off really great."

Veninger, who also has an extensive resume as an actor and producer, has had previous entries in TIFF. Two years ago, her son Jacob starred in Only, a film that examines the life through the lens of a 12-year-old's eyes.

Having her children star in her films gives Veninger both trusted leads and a fountain of memories for the future.

"Only captured a very specific time in my son's life, and he changed so quickly after that going from childhood to adolescence," she said. "Similarly, Modra does this with a moment in Hallie's life as she becomes an adult and becomes more independent from me."

Because Modra was shot on a low budget, Veninger was able to hone the script as shooting proceeded. If a scene wasn't working, she said, she could simply call for a short break and rework the material to ensure it rang true.

"That's an incredible luxury you only get if your budget's really low and the crew is really small, or if you're a huge star," she said. "That's the attraction of being low-budget."

Modra will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival at the Yonge-Dundas AMC at 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 15; 2:15 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17; and 5:15 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18.