By Allison Werbowetsky
Swift Current
The tragic true story of a man struggling to return home to Finland after an attempt at building a life on the desolate loneliness of the Saskatchewan prairies tugged at the heartstrings of Californian actress and theatre director Chrystene Ells.

It wasn’t long after the second and third times that same story was recited to her that Ells decided she was destined to make a film about it.

“As soon as I heard the story of a guy who built a ship on the Prairies and his neighbours didn’t understand him and they vandalized his ship ... it was just like yeah, that story sounds familiar. That’s the life path of so many artists, scientists and people who are thinking in new ways and trying new things,” she said.

Ells uprooted her life and moved to Regina to begin her adventure, and although moving to the Prairies from big-time San Francisco seemed daunting at first, she soon realized that’s where she belonged.

“It was harder, I think, to imagine than it was to actually do it. I realized I was in a place that was really condusive, actually, to creating. It’s laid back, and people are friendly and very supportive. There’s just not all this sort of angst around that there was in San Francisco,” Ells commented.

Nearly 15 years and two other independent feature-length films later, in 2006, Ells began filming Sisu: the Death of Tom Sukanen.

Casting was fairly simple, although a limited budget left her hiring people who had never before acted. Fortunately, veteran actor and long-time friend, Don Wood enthusiastically agreed to play the lead role.

A trip to Finland with Ells allowed him to perfect his Finnish accent and develop the character of Tom Sukanen.

“In addition to his incredible performance, I couldn’t find anyone better to do this film for free,” Ells admitted.

After all, the majority of the actors, musicians and voice-over artist worked for deferral — meaning they only get paid if and when the film makes any money.

When Ells auditioned Swift Current theatre actor, Brian Dueck to play the supporting role of Vic Markkula, a well-liked store owner of Finnish decent, she knew all the hard work and struggles financially would pay off.

“He just blew everybody out of the water. He’s a local actor who really just loves acting, he’s not somebody who thinks he just wants to be in the movies,” she said.

Dueck and Wood clicked almost instantly, and their natural bond seemed seamless on set.

“From the first time we met we just really hit it off like old friends or buddies who have known each other forever, and that really came across in the film,” Dueck said.

So far, the film has been shown at a handful of film festivals, the most notable being the World Film Festival in Montreal.

Shortly after Ells completed and began showing the film, she received a phone call from Sukanen’s biological granddaughter as well as other family members living in Finland — all of whom had caught word of Ells’ film.

Following back-and-forth emails and a few international phone calls, Ells managed to bring the long-lost family members back together.

“I got tearful emails from both sides of the family thanking me for making the movie that brought their family back together. I always feel like in some weird way I didn’t choose to tell Tom’s story, Tom chose me ... By bringing his family back together across the ocean it was like Tom went home,” she said.

Ells and her husband have decided to stay in Regina and are currently in the process of officially immigrating.

“We’re not going back to California. We want to stay here and continue working with all the incredible people we’ve met. It’s a unique place and kind of a hidden gem, surprisingly. It’s been a pleasure to get to know Saskatchewan and we look forward to working here,” she said.

Ells estimated a budget based on all 200 cast members, rentals, more than 500 period costume pieces, antique cars and a fully functional old threshing machine. The film should have cost more than $2 million, however the entire process cost Ells an impressive $23,000.

Although Ells employed more than 200 Canadians, as an American director, she was not eligible to receive any funding.

Ells had to rely on $7,500 given to her by the Saskatchewan Communications Network (SCN), $10,000 from a Calgary man who simply believed in her dream and her father’s life insurance money to make it all happen.

“It was the death of my father and this little chunk of money that inspired me to just go for it and take a flying leap at this dream. It wasn’t like I had a bunch of backing from Hollywood or something, so I had to go with actors who had no experience for the most part,” she said.

The bulk of the shooting took place in 11 days at the Tom Sukanen Museum located just outside of Moose Jaw.

“Without their help I never would have been able to make the film,” Ells said.

A special screening of Sisu: the Death of Tom Sukanen will take place at the Lyric Theatre June 12 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at the door or in advance at Cypress Ford or Creative Video.

An intimate question and answer period with Ells, Dueck and assistant director Raul Viceral will immediately follow the screening.