Wiebke von Carolsfeld pairs up with Imajyn Cardinal for The Saver film

Montreal director Wiebke von Carolsfeld is shooting her third feature film this month, in NDG.

The Saver is based on a novel by Montreal-born Edeet Ravel.

It tells the story of Fern, an aboriginal teenage girl who finds herself orphaned in the middle of a harsh Montreal winter.

Fern sets out to build a new life for herself inspired by a book she finds at one of her mother's cleaning jobs, 50 Ways to become a Millionaire. Fern replaces her grief with the quest to become rich.

Von Carolsfeld says The Saver is a movie she just had to make.

"I love that character so much. She's audacious, smart. I'm an immigrant to this country — I came here with one bag, and I could barely speak English. This is something I can relate to, a girl who succeeds on her smarts," she said.

Von Carolsfeld set out to find a so-far undiscovered aboriginal teen to play the lead.

Daybreak Montreal7:52Imajyn Cardinal talks about playing the lead in her first feature movie, The Saver

Cardinal is cast as the lead in a new English-language movie shooting now in NDG. It's directed by Montreal director, Wiebke von Carolsfeld based on the novel by Edeet Ravel.

Discovering Imajyn Cardinal

She found Imajyn Cardinal in Calgary after a cross-country search and after putting her through a screen test, she knew she'd found her lead.

"She has a real natural ability, she's very smart," von Carolsfeld said of the actor she chose, Cardinal.

"She has an intuitiveness with the camera. Put the camera on her and, whoa it's alive."

Cardinal comes from an acting family. Her mother, Michele Thrush, is a Gemini-award winning Cree actor who plays the lead in APTN series Blackstone.  

Thrush also co-starred with Benicio del Toro in the 2013 movie Jimmy P.  

What makes the casting of Cardinal exciting though is von Carolsfeld's track record in discovering promising young actors.

She gave Ellen Page her first film role in Marion Bridge, the Best First Canadian Feature at TIFF in 2002.  

And von Carolsfeld's second feature film starred Taylor Schilling before her breakout role in Orange is the New Black.

So there are high hopes for Cardinal.  

"She's become a great actor on the set. Most stories are about men told by men. Will there be roles for her? I definitely think she has the potential," von Carolsfeld said.

For Cardinal's part, she's just enjoying learning to be an actor.

"The lines were easy," she said. "But just figuring out the layers of emotion in each scene was hard. Switching emotions is not easy either but when you get it, it feels awesome."

Daybreak Montreal7:49New Quebec film shoots in NDG with as yet undiscovered 15 yr old actor in lead

The Saver is directed by Montrealer Wiebke von Carolsfeld. She's cast 15-year old Imajyn Cardinal in the lead. Imajyn is a star in the making according to the director who also gave Ellen Page her first role.

The Saver cast includes several well-known Quebec actors including Pascal Bussières (Love Project, La peur de l'eau), Alexandre Landry (Gabrielle), Monia Chokri (Laurence Anyways) and Brandon Oakes (Rhymes for Young Ghouls, Arctic Air).

The film shoot is scheduled to wind up April 23 and producers Prospector Films hope to have the movie ready for the festival circuit this fall.