Yellowknife (July 23/04) - For the cast and crew of Versus Ivan, life was imitating art during the film shoot.

Director Chris Gamble described the character of Ivan as a normal guy who gets pushed to the edge after his routine is disrupted, and he suffers from lack of sleep and food.

Chris Gamble takes a break from directing his first feature length film, Versus Ivan.

"Ivan's a good-natured guy, but you're seeing him in the worst possible circumstances," he said.

"All these things keep pushing him. That's why it's called Versus Ivan. Everything's against this poor guy."

By the second-last day of shooting, two weeks of 16 hour days, 6 a.m. calls, and all night shoots were taking their toll on the cast and crew of the film.

Gamble joked that star Liam Karry would be method acting by now.

"Sleep deprivation is definitely getting to us," said Gamble.

"I'm not making much sense," he said later.

But aside from apologizing for rambling trains of thought, no one complained about the long hours and, for that, cast and crew deserved kudos, said Gamble.

"You always notice the person who's whining, but you don't always notice the person who just does their work," he said.

Filming the feature-length dark comedy in his hometown was an educational experience. Many interesting characters stopped by to watch them during outdoor location shoots.

"If you ever want to get the whole taste of Yellowknife and all its people, shoot a film here," said Gamble.

The film also provided a showcase for Yellowknife actors, some of whom blew the young director away.

Principal filming wrapped up Monday. Gamble expects the movie will have its premiere here over two weeks in December.

He thinks its main draw will be the chance to see friends and neighbours onscreen, though seeing movie characters hang out in familiar Yellowknife locations like Javaroma, the Black Knight and the Co-op, will run a close second.

Though Yellowknife is never actually mentioned in the script, Gamble said he'd like to work in a shot or two in the film where a Yellowknife sign is visible in the background.