When it comes to picking a first project to executive produce, local filmmaker Myron John Tataryn literally picked a Winner.
Winner is a biopic about Reality Winner, the whistleblower who exposed Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The film, already in production, stars Emilia Jones in the title role, with Connie Britton and Zach Galifianakis as her parents. Directed by Susanna Fogel, it will continue shooting throughout Manitoba until mid-November.
Tataryn, who graduated from the University of Winnipeg with a major in film studies in 2018, is taking the role of executive producer under the shingle of the company Thundersnow Pictures, which he formed with producer partner Terry Dougas.
It’s a very exciting project to be a part of,” he says in a phone interview. “I got incredibly lucky with this.”
The cast is especially exciting, he says, taking on the task of showing how Reality Winner — a former member of the U.S. air force and NSA contractor who was sentenced to more than five years in prison for violating the Espionage Act of 1917 — came to risk everything to expose Russian meddling in American democracy.
“It pretty much starts from around the time when she was young, with her learning about 9/11 and seeing that on TV.”
Winner was influenced by her father to do the right thing, Tataryn explains.
“(It shows) how his teachings and her upbringing changed who she is. It’s less about the leaking of the documents itself and more about her life.
“It’s kind...
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