''The Disappeared'' is a Canadian

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written and directed by author and filmmaker

Shandi Mitchell Shandi Mitchell is a Canadian novelist and filmmaker. Her first novel ''Under This Unbroken Sky'' won a 2010 Commonwealth Writers' Prize and other awards. She graduated from Dalhousie University. Her newest novel, ''The Waiting Hours'', is slate ...

. A story of survival and self-discovery for six men lost at sea in the

North Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe and ...

, it stars

Billy Campbell William Oliver Campbell (born July 7, 1959) is an American film and television actor. He first gained recognition for his recurring role as Luke Fuller in the TV series ''Dynasty''. Then he became known for playing Rick Sammler on '' Once and A ...

Shawn Doyle Shawn Doyle (born September 19, 1968) is a Canadian actor known for his roles in ''The Expanse'', '' The Eleventh Hour'', ''Big Love'', '' 24'', ''Desperate Housewives'', and '' Star Trek: Discovery''. Early life and education Doyle was born an ...

, Brian Downey, Gary Levert,

Ryan Doucette Ryan Doucette (born Ryan Vernon Doucette; 23 July 1983) is a Canadian actor, comedian, scriptwriter and director of Acadian descent. He is best known for his roles in the films ''Cloudburst'' and '' The Disappeared'', and the television series ...

, and Neil Matheson. The film premiered at the

Atlantic Film Festival FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival (known as The Atlantic International Film Festival until 2017) is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. FIN is the largest Canadian film festival ...

September 14, 2012.

Plot

After their fishing boat sinks, six men in two small dories find themselves stranded in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. They have little food and fresh water. The film follows their physical and mental fatigue as the days pass and they try to get home again.

Cast

Production

Writer and director

got the idea for the script after speaking with a 92-year-old former

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

who had once been lost at sea after his ship went down. Her resulting original script explores both physical and mental struggles of being lost at sea. The film received support from

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in V ...

, Film Nova Scotia, the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (french: Conseil des arts du Canada), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It acts as the federal government's principal i ...

, and the

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage. The film was acquired by

The Movie Network Crave (formerly The Movie Network or TMN) is a Canadian premium television network and streaming service owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. Launched in 1983 as the national service First Choice, early difficulties and a subsequent ...

and

Movie Central Movie Central (occasionally abbreviated as "MC", mostly in program guides) was a Canadian English language Category A premium cable and satellite television channel that was owned by Corus Entertainment. Movie Central was designated to operat ...

. Filming of the movie took place in

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia Lunenburg is a port town on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1753, the town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia. The economy was traditionally based on the offshore fishery and today L ...

over a span of 15 days, beginning its shoot on September 12, 2011. As a film set at sea, the crew faced the challenge of how to film on water. To overcome this obstacle, a special 5 metre by 7 metre floating

barge Barge nowadays generally refers to a flat-bottomed inland waterway vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs, but nowadays most are pushed by pusher boats, or other vessels ...

was built to house the film equipment and crew. Actors were ferried back and forth on

zodiacs The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north or south (as measured in celestial latitude) of the ecliptic, the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. The pat ...

to hair and makeup artists as needed. Actor

told media he found the shoot wasn't too taxing despite being in a row-boat for 15 days.

Awards

On February 23, 2013, Shawn Doyle won Outstanding Performance–male for his performance in The Disappeared. at the 11th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto, February 23, 2013. The Disappeared was also nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards. Zander Rosborough and Allan Scarth were nominated for achievement in overall sound and Scarth, Bob Melanson, Rosborough and Cory Tetford were nominated for achievement in sound editing.

Release

Acquired by Astral's

and Corus Entertainment’s

, The Disappeared received financial support from

, Film Nova Scotia and the Canadian and Nova Scotia tax credit programs, and was developed with added support from the

and the Nova Scotia Department of Communities, Culture and Heritage. The film premiered at the

to sold out audiences as the Atlantic Gala on September 14, 2012 at the Oxford Theatre in Halifax. The entire cast was reunited for the premiere. ''The Disappeared'' is available to rent or buy on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

Vimeo Vimeo, Inc. () is an American video hosting, sharing, and services platform provider headquartered in New York City. Vimeo focuses on the delivery of high-definition video across a range of devices. Vimeo's business model is through software as ...

On Demand, and

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

References

External links

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Official Facebook Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Disappeared 2012 films Films shot in Nova Scotia English-language Canadian films Canadian drama films Films set in Canada Films about survivors of seafaring accidents or incidents 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films