A first look at the seven sins personified in Daimons.

Gray Myrfield and Erich Jurgens have spent much time working together on theatre production but have now moved on to the world of filmmaking in a province that offers very little support for the industry.

Their film, Daimons, follows seven characters that each embody one of the deadly sins. Each character is meant to show these sins in a light that isn’t necessarily easy to see as bad, it may be even easier to show how a particular one is good.

With the movie in production until the start of November, both Myrfield and Jurgens were a bit shy on letting out too many details before they know exactly how everything has actually turned out. However, it will be aired as a serialized YouTube series with an episode on each character. The final eighth episode will be aired alongside all prior installments compiled into one stretch at the Broadway Theatre before hitting the web.

Daimons stems from some research that came Myrfield being lead down in a familiar Wikipedia research hole.

“You know how it is,” Myrfield said. “You’re cruising Wikipedia and you end up at [these different] places. I was looking at the sins and what they all kind of mean and what they all kind of symbolize.”

Myrfield hit his creative gold with the character of Asmodeus.

“He could personify any sin, specifically the one of lust, and he was such a bizarre character that he got me interested in creating the other sins into likeable characters.”

The spelling of Daimons was a deliberate choice as well. By defintion, the word deson’t hold the typical connotations. Instead, it means to be motivated by spiritual forces or genius originating from a guidng spirit. It’s to keep with the tone that these sinful characters may not be that hard to relate to.

There was also a considered effort from Myrfield while writing the script to have many aspects featured in the film to be something a person would be intrigued by and research themselves.

Jurgens and Myrfiel learned early on that Daimons had grown into something beyond their normal theatre fair. With that decision they knew it was going to be a work of passion, considering the province’s choice of not supporting local filmmaking.

The tremendous outreach and support fromlocal business and those interested in filmmaking continues to surprise Jurgens and Myrfield.

As Jurgen scouted for locations, one of his primary roles during production, he found that almost no place would turn him down and were often even more accommodating than he could have hoped.

“We needed to film a dance club scene and we thought we’d just have to use a friends place accepting that the footage doesn’t look great. But we approached the operator of 302 and he was pretty much like, ‘sure, just have the bar,'” Jurgen said.

Once the ball got rolling Kickstarter was always an option the two considered, though less for funding the film and more to gauge interest in a potential opening at the Broadway Theater.

After they started the campaign on Sept. 16, they were met with a stunning amount of support without having much information to give on the film. With an average donation of $100, the project has already hit its $2,000 goal a full month before its intended end.

This already marks a success for both Myrfield and Jurgen, as they can step up their post-production speed and quality while offering the hard working cast and crew some extra pay. It was also a very humbling experience to have the support for their film without having anything to show.

Those interested in Daimons should continue to follow the Kickstarter page, as both teased something special that should be posted to the page in mid-October.

The project already proves there is tremendous support for a film industry in Saskatoon and, with the way things are going and the incredible amount of outreach they’ve received, Jurgen and Myrfield are looking to be one of the few people left in Saskatoon looking to create films on a consistent basis.

These two aspiring filmmakers are practicing their craft not for the money but for the thrill and fun of creating something and showing the world. For Jurgen and Myfield, success is what they make of it­­— any financial gains is icing on the cake.

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Photo: Supplied