Local child actor Sydni Fedoruk wrapped up shooting for her newest film Forbidden Playground last Wednesday, and the eight-year-old starlet has been enjoying the high life.
“The first day of shooting, this lady named Diane, she came to ask us if we wanted any snacks. When we went the next day there was this whole big table of snacks,” she said, listing off all the goodies that were provided for the acting talent.
Fedoruk portrays Abigail McAlister in Forbidden Playground alongside Will Brisban, who plays her brother, Don, in what director Kevin Matlo describes as a “psychological thriller” surrounding family issues.
“It’s a great story about family relationships, and how work can interfere with the family unit and what can happen in those cases,” said Matlo, adding Fedoruk and Brisban were a great brother-sister combination. “They both work together as a family unit, and they both support each other character-wise and on the set as actors.”
Matlo, who is directing his first feature film in Forbidden Playground, couldn’t say enough about Fedoruk’s onscreen talent.
“Sydni is a fantastic actress, I’ve got to start by saying that. She is tremendously talented,” he said, adding that she has a great deal of professionalism for such a young actress. “During the audition process she shone, absolutely shone. On the set she always came prepared, she’s a consummate professional. It’s outstanding to see somebody who is as prepared on the set as she is.”
This is the second movie for Fedoruk, as she acted in a film titled, I Think I Do, which released in February. Fedoruk said “it was weird” watching herself act as another person in I Think I Do, and added that the differences between watching a movie and acting in one are vast.
“It’s a lot different, it looks like it’s real, but then when you’re actually doing it, well it’s fake,” she said, adding that even some of the scary scenes were fun to act out on set. “Me and my brother in the movie are running in the backyard because the scary guy in the movie . . . he was chasing us.”
Fedoruk added that while she did watch her first movie, she doesn’t see herself watching Forbidden Playground until she is much older.
“Too scary,” she said with a smile. “I probably will when I’m a whole lot older, but I’m not going to watch it now. It’ll give me nightmares.”
Fedoruk has a lot of speaking lines in the upcoming film, but she said memorizing lines has never been that hard for her. She added that she hopes to continue her acting career into bigger roles, but isn’t so sure about going as far as Hollywood.
“I don’t know about Hollywood, it kind of scares me,” she said, adding that she loves what she’s doing right now. “It’s really fun.”
Forbidden Playground is now entering the post-production stage, and Matlo said that he hopes it will be ready for the screen as early as April 2014 with Paramount Pictures.
“If Paramount picks it up they’re talking about a theatrical release,” said Matlo. “It’s tremendous, even at this point for Paramount to commit to screening it off the script is unheard of . . . It’s a dream come true. That alone can open up a lot of door for everyone involved.”
For more information on Forbidden Playground, visit Stargaze-Ent.com.
