Old Boys' movie with Indigenous theme wins 7 awards

Described by one reviewer as, “The zombie movie we need right now,” Blood Quantum, co-produced by Selwyn House Old Boys Rob Vroom ’97 and John Christou ’95 won seven awards out of 10 nominations in the Canadian Screen Awards on May 20.

A zombie horror movie set on a First Nations reserve, Blood Quantum won the awards for Best Production Design/Art Direction, Make-up, Costume Design, Editing, Lead Actor, Visual Effects and Stunt Coordination, garnering the highest number of nominations and awards of any film nominated at the Canadian Screen Awards this year.

Rob says he is thrilled at the success of the movie. “It was quite the undertaking, and am proud of what we accomplished. The visionary behind the project is Jeff Barnaby, a Mi’gmaq filmmaker from the Listuguj First Nation. Jeff wrote, directed, edited and composed the music for BQ.

“His first feature film was Rhymes for Young Ghouls, which addressed the issues of residential schools. Blood Quantum was in development for over 12 years before it went into production. I joined the project in late 2017 as we headed into pre-production to produce alongside John Christou.”

The movie was shot on the Kahnawake First Nation reserve and in Jeff’s home town of Listuguj, as well as in some parts of Montreal.

It was a good year for Indigenous movies at the Canadian Screen Awards. The prize for best picture went to Beans, a coming-of-age story that takes place during the Oka crisis.

“John and I are extremely happy with the recognition the film has received,” says Rob. “It is one of the more relevant and important films around today — a story about an Indigenous community dealing with a viral outbreak. I’m thrilled to have had the opportunity to help Jeff Barnaby bring his vision to the screen. I believe Blood Quantum is a perfect example of why our industry needs to elevate indigenous storytellers and allow their voices to be heard.”

“After attending the American Film Institute and getting my MFA in cinematography in 2007, I stayed in Los Angeles and shot a fair amount in the comedy world,” Rob says. “I founded my own production company, Vroom Productions, in 2012 to begin producing independent film. My first feature was Three Night Stand, directed by Pat Kiely and starring Emmanuelle Chriqui, Megan Rath and Sam Huntington. Our sophomore feature was Another Kind of Wedding, again directed by Pat Kiely and starring Kathleen Turner, Wallace Shawn, Jessica Paré, Kevin Zegers and Luke Kirby.

“Since the release of Blood Quantum, I have taken over running Prospector Films, the production company founded by John Christou. John has taken a full-time position at the National Film Board. I have several projects in development, including a fully financed feature film about a lesbian teen love story that takes place in a Jehovah’s Witness community in the Gaspé. We go to camera in the fall. Other projects include a coming-of-age comedy about a recent undergrad trying to find her place in life and writing jokes for an up-and-coming comedian; a surf noir TV series set in Tofino that follows a cop investigating the disappearance of her sister; an adaptation of my wife’s book, Prude, that follows the story of a middle-aged couple and their teenage kids navigating the tricky subject of porn; and a few others.

“When not pursuing the more auteur, independent driven projects, I also produce television movies for networks such as Lifetime and Hallmark. The current project is a Hallmark Christmas movie that we are shooting in May.”