Nova Scotia filmmaker on mission to strengthen diversity

‘All of the above’ would best describe Hank White’s experience in Nova Scotia’s film industry, from actor, producer, writer, casting director and director. Hank started acting at age 10 at the Pond Playhouse, then at Neptune Theatre, Pier One Theatre, Seaweed Theatre and Dream Productions. 

As one of the founders of Film Nova Scotia in the 80s, White is known as a champion of diversity in casting and crew. His movie Charlie Zone, written by Joe LeClair, was the first Indigenous produced feature film starring an Indigenous lead (Glen Gould) made in Nova Scotia. 

Hank, of Woodlands-Cree ancestry and a member of the Nova Scotia Native Council Zone 12, feels he needs to provide more opportunities to increase representation for the Aboriginal Nations of Nova Scotia within the film industry. 

As President of Stone Cold Productions, White has created an organization that believes in the strength of diversity, and prides itself in the development of the Aboriginal Shadow Training Program, which has evolved since its creation in 2004. The Program provides an exclusive opportunity for Indigenous peoples to train alongside industry veterans and obtain the skills needed to create a career in the film industry. With many industry accolades, the Shadow Program is near and dear to White’s heart.

“It’s important to have diversity in the film industry, and right now there is a need for experienced people that can work in a film crew. It’s been my calling, if anything, to try and get more Indigenous and visible minorities in the local film industry.  If we do not see ourselves in the cast and crew, then shame on us,” says White.

In the upcoming film 8:37 Rebirth, White is proud to have Juanita Peters in her directorial debut and Thom Fitzgerald as Executive Producer. White expects to have five to eight participants in the Shadow Program, which he is currently recruiting for at: https://www.facebook.com/837Rebirth/. 

“We’re very excited to have Mise'l Abram from Millbrook in Truro as Assistant to the Production Manager on this movie under the tutelage of Doug Pettigrew. We’re working with Abram on another upcoming script for the film Janice and mentoring him for co-writer and producing.” 

8:37 Rebirth, a psychological thriller, is being filmed in January 2020 in Halifax, Dartmouth and possibly Fall River. The screenplay was written by White and his long-time film and writing partner, Joe LeClair. 

Producer's synopsis of 8:37 Rebirth: 
With the four-pound trigger pull of a snub nose 38, Jared Peters and Sergei Radic, two teenagers from vastly different backgrounds, become forever linked. From that split second as the hands of the clock hits 8:37, each of their lives veers onto a path that set the seeds of their mutual destruction. Eighteen years later, Jared Peters is released from prison for the death of Sergei’s father.   

Deeply regretful, Jared tries to forge ahead into a better life as an artist. On the other side of their intertwined fate, Sergei, now a professor of mathematics, descends into a guilt-ridden abyss that erodes a lifetime of achievement into a revenge driven obsession. As the story develops, both men must face their sins and each other; where one man might lose his life while the other his sanity. 

View approved productions through the Nova Scotia Film & Television Production Incentive Fund (NSFPIF)