Now, I Am A Bear
Amy Darling, MEDIA DARLING
Language: English
Based On: Original Screenplay
Project Type: Feature Film (Scripted)
Genre: Comedy
Stage of Development: Advanced Development
Estimated Length (minutes): 90
Director: Jason Filiatrault
Director Bio:
An occasionally award-winning filmmaker, Jason Filiatrault's credits include writing and producing on the Vancouver-shot Netflix series THE ORDER; the existential dark comedy ENTANGLEMENT, named Best Feature Screenplay by the Writers Guild of Canada in 2018; and the just-released screwball-noir ALL NIGHT WRONG, starring Zach Cherry from Severance and Academy Award nominee Maria Bakalova. In 2025, Jason was nominated for Best Director and Best Screenwriter at the Alberta Media Production Industry Awards, won Best Short Film at the Chatham-Kent Film Festival, received the Robert Bertrand Award for Comedic Genius, and was awarded the WGC Award for Best Short Film. Jason is an alumnus of the TIFF Writers Studio, Torino Film Lab, the Canadian Film Centre, NFTS (UK), and the Sundance Institute.
Proposed or Confirmed Talent:
Writer/Director: Jason Filiatrault. Producer: Amy Darling. Co-Producer: Kevin Dong. Actor: Jay Baruchel.
Total Budget: 3M
Percent Confirmed: 70%
Currency: $ CAD
List names of confirmed partners:
Financiers: Telefilm, MEDIA DARLING, Feel Canadian. Broadcaster: CBC Films. Tax Credits: Alberta FTTC, CAVCO CPTC.
What is this project seeking?
Financing, Distribution, Sales Agent, Co-production Partner
Logline:
In an alternative Canada where disillusioned citizens can legally renounce civilization and “retrain” as animals, a weary young man named Ronald signs up to become a bear. Dressed in a homemade costume and full of misguided hope, he heads into the wilderness — where he will be forced to overcome nature, hunger, and the stubborn stupid beauty of being human.
Synopsis:
After years of disappointment, Ronald Mann is done with humanity. He decides to quit civilization and enroll in the Canadian Species Retraining Program – a bureaucratic service that allows citizens to legally “become animals” and leave society behind. Ronald decides to be a bear. It seems simple enough. Strength, solitude, honey. Ronald signs the contract, takes a one day seminar, and walks into the forest wearing a homemade costume and feeling cautiously optimistic.
But in the woods, nothing works the way it should. Ronald can’t find food, can’t sleep, can’t navigate, can’t swim, and he can’t shake the human need to connect. He meets other “animals” (a cynical wolf named Linda and a trash-eating raccoon named Gary) each of them trying to make peace with the world they abandoned. Soon enough Ronald and his new friends are raiding campsites, stealing food, and terrorizing hikers. What began as a return to nature becomes a wild rebellion. What started as a rejection of society becomes a celebration of community.
Meanwhile, Amy Dunn, a wounded and grieving wildlife control officer, starts investigating the “rogue bear” haunting the woods. As her search leads her closer to Ronald, she begins to see the cracks in society reflected back at her. Their inevitable collision is funny, awkward, and quietly devastating. It is a reminder that even in a world that’s fallen apart, people still search for empathy, they still want to feel something, and that humanity – in spite of everything – will persist.
Contact Information: contactamydarling@gmail.com
