Chatham-filmed movie a hometown sisters act with a twist

Chatham twin sisters Karissa and Kat Strain have unveiled their first feature film, which they hope will be the start of more to come.

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More than 350 tickets were sold for Friday’s hometown premiere of Call of the Blackbird, a drama that follows the real-life journey of the two women back to Chatham from California to re-establish their movie careers. The film played to a rolling ovation at the Chatham Capitol Theatre.

The Strain sisters posed for photos on a red carpet set up in front of the theater in downtown Chatham and the fun continued at an after-party at the River Rock Social House.

The sisters have had previous success in Hollywood playing mean girl twins in the 2013 remake of the horror classic Carrie. They also starred in the 2018 horror movie Twinsanity, about the betrayal between twin sisters.

After moving back to Chatham in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Strain sisters set out to write, direct, produce and star in the Call of the Blackbird, shot entirely in Chatham, to be their calling card to the film industry.

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Before screening the film, they showed a trailer of a comedy mockumentary about poorly behaved band members they have in the works.

“It’s very difficult to get a film made, not just in the labor that goes into it but finding the funding,” Karissa Strain told those in attendance Friday.

She said the trailer is a means to be able to pitch other feature films with the goal of bringing films with bigger budgets back to Chatham to shoot.

She added such projects would not happen without the support of the community and local talented artists, musicians, producers and their family.

“We truly are so grateful for all of you for helping us follow our dreams,” Karissa said.

The sisters were told by some people that making a feature film in Chatham-Kent was impossible.

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“We said, ‘No, you can’t do it, but we can,’” said Kat Strain.

“Where you are doesn’t matter — whatever you want to do, there is always a way to find it. We only have the limitations we set on ourselves,” she added.

The red carpet event was an inspiration to other locals in the film business, including classic country duo Pat and Megan Whalen, who are in the process of filming the TV comedy series Due Southwest, at locations in Chatham-Kent, that will be streamed on Bell Fibe TV 1.

Pat Whalen, who played Karissa’s boyfriend in Call of the Blackbird, said, “It’s just so nice to see the arts community and the film community buzzing.

“To have all these projects happening at the same time and to be fortunate enough to be involved in multiple ones is just awesome,” he added.

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Megan Whalen, who along with her husband, has a role in the Strain sisters mockumentary, said, “We have the talent, we have the resources, we have the creativity here to make something that could be seen in a national and international level.

“You do not have to sacrifice your lifestyle to create great art,” she added.

Independent film producer Daniel Turres, who led the production of the comedy-horror film Fresh Meat, filmed at the former Chatham Jail in 2023, also attended the premiere.

“It’s exciting and it’s an important moment in this town to actually see people taking their own charge and making productions in this area. That’s incredible,” Turres said.

He added to do it from beginning to end is not easy.

“It takes a lot of talent, a lot of guts and a lot of perseverance and the Strain sisters are proving they are completely capable of doing that in this city,” Turres said.

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Mayor Darrin Canniff, who cameo in Call of the Blackbird, said he is “super-proud” of the twins, whom he introduced at the premiere.

“There is something about them, you can tell the determination (they have),” the mayor said of the first time he met the Strain sisters.

Noting Call of the Blackbird is one of 30 films from among thousands of entries to be selected for this month’s LA Femme International Film Festival in Los Angeles, Canniff said, “I am confident we are in the midst of future superstars.”

The twins’ parents, Rick and Malinda, who played major roles in the film as themselves, are proud of their daughters.

“They did it all themselves out of their pocket, they did a good job,” Rick Strain said of his daughters’ drive to make the film.

“I never doubt that when they decide to do something they’re not going to accomplish it,” Malinda Strain said.

“I’m in awe and incredibly proud, because they don’t want to make this world a better place for them — they want to make things better place for everyone.”

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