A Midwinter Nightmare

A server is assigned a party at work one night: her high school reunion she wasn’t invited to. A romantic, Shakespearean-inspired comedy. 

Written by Keara Barnes | Directed by Kristina Hampton

The Story

A server is assigned a party at work one night: her high school reunion she wasn’t invited to. Throughout the evening she must face and stand up to her old nemesis amidst the backdrop of a fairy tale ball. Inspired by Shakespeare and the real life experience of working in a restaurant. 

The Filmmaking Team

Kristina Hampton ~ Director

Kristina adores many forms of storytelling alongside acting, including screenplay, play and poetry writing, directing, and joke-telling. She’s still perfecting the art of the punch line.

This film is her 3rd directed film. Kristina ADORES bringing a film together from the director’s chair. She loves immersing herself in every department of productions, and was so lucky to have the inclusion provided by Keara on this beautiful project. Kristina has spent the last year learning all realms of film-making, from the hiring of the crew (she aims to see more and more women behind and in front of the camera as long as she has the pleasure of hiring people on her sets), down to the shot list, Kristina’s vocation is without a doubt in the filmmaking industry.

Keara Barnes ~ Writer / Producer / Charlie

Throughout the past seven years as a professional performer, Keara has amassed 50+ credits in film, theatre and voice over. She is the creator/performer behind two acclaimed one woman shows (Almost a Stepmom & TravelTheatrics) which have toured across Western Canada and is the writer/producer of four short films: A Midwinter Nightmare, Livefeed, Labour Day, and, most recently, The Stepmom, in which she also made her directorial debut. Keara is also a published writer, with her recent articles appearing in SAD Mag, Understorey Magazine and Intermission Magazine. She is the Director of Sponsorship & Development at the Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival and the Artistic Director of Standing Room Only Theatre.

Veenu Sandhu ~ Sara

Veenu is a Vancouver-based actor (not an actress because there’s no such thing as a doctress amIright?). Veenu had a lot of fun playing the villainous Sarah in A Midwinter’s Nightmare because she doesn’t get the opportunity to explore her dark-side in most of her roles. She  primarily works in film and TV, but has worked in theatre as well. You may have seen her on Lost In Space (Netflix) as Prisha Dhar, as Sheri on the final season of Supernatural (CW), or as Officer Reece on the feature film A Dog’s Way Home (Amblin).

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Adam Parsons ~ Ryan

Adam is a Vancouver based actor. Studied at Vancouver Film School. Previous work has been, being a part of the theatre production of Rebel Women and for the short film Small Fish. This marks his second short film. 

James Challis ~ Mike

James has performed in such as plays as The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters, Macbeth, Emma by Jane Austin and Alan Ayckbourn’s Relatively Speaking. He has also had the privilege of performing at the Havana theatre in the independent success “Don’t Forget Your Pant’s” and “Feelings In the Window” written by local playwright and debut director Christiaan Westerveld. James won the Audience Vote at the About Love festival (Tomo Suru Players) for his role in “Carrots Baby”. He also played Joey in “A Steady Rain” by Keith Huff. On screen he played Owen in “Owen and Drew”. James wrote and starred in a paranormal murder mystery “Garden Grove” and played Mike in the indie horror masterpiece “Peelers”. He has also appeared in ABC’s “When We Rise”, CBS’ “Salvation”,  Hallmark’s “Wedding Bells”. James also worked on CW’s Riverdale as a stunt actor as the Gargoyle King.

Meghan Hemingway ~ Jesse

Meghan is a Vancouver-based actor and writer. With writing partner Stephen Sheffer, Hemingway is currently in development on their original series Archipelago and working with Project 10 Productions (Schitt’s Creek) for the duo’s original series Salmon Elbow. Meghan is working alongside Fiona Vroom on their original feature film: The Night My Mother Slapped Me. Hemingway studied at Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City. New York credits: Welcome to Paradise at The Actors Studio; playing Desdemona opposite Anna Deavere Smith in Othello; Chekhov’s Three Sisters, at Players Club; As You Like It, under the direction of Eve Best. Onscreen credits: (TV/Web) Heirloom, Gay’s Anatomy & an upcoming HULU series;(Film) Battle Scars, The Visit, Gruesome, The United Guys Network, Supreme; (Commercial) Vraylar, Cobs Bread, Skippy, Mastercard. Hemingway is co-founder and Artistic Director of the Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival.

Christine Reinfort – Kelly

Christine is grateful to live, work and play on the unceded, ancestral and traditional territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. A Winnipegger at heart, she feels at home when she’s outside in the snow! Christine can’t wait to be touring around again playing with puppets (Axis Theatre; Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch), and loves working alongside her dearest friends & loved ones (A Few Good Men, In the Next Room, Dark Road, The Country Wife (ETC), A Prayer for Owen Meany (ETC & Pacific Remount), 12 Angry Jurors, Macbeth (SRO) and Parade (FCP)). A heartfelt thanks to Keara and the delightful cast & crew of this wonderful film!

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Sean Anthony ~ Rob

Sean is an award-winning actor, director, and sound designer and is so excited to have contributed to A Midwinter Nightmare! Behind the scenes, Sean works as a post-production audio engineer. Thanks go out to Keara, Kris and all the cast and crew for an amazing production experience!