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There Are No Squirrels In

Lethbridge

Betrayed by the city he once loved, defamed P.I., Jack Dawson is ready to leave his past behind. But on the night of his fateful departure, he takes a case that unravels his small-town infamy and changes everything.

Teaser Trailer

There Are No Squirrels In Lethbridge was made possible with the help of Telus Storyhive, The Alberta Film Comission, our generous donors/investors/volunteers, and of course our talented and hard working cast and crew. We hope this makes people proud of being from Lethbridge, and gives hope to filmmakers in small cities and towns across Canada and the United States that they don’t have to move across the country for opportunities if they can make their own. Thank you to everyone that continues to support us and indie film. We couldn’t, and wouldn’t want to do it without you.

-Conner Christmas & Nick Bohle

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…But why the title

There are no Squirrels in Lethbridge?

Because it’s true!

Squirrels can’t thrive in a prairie desert like they can in other places in the world. With a high predator count and low habitat options, Squirrels are easy-pickings for rattle snakes, coyotes, owls and other prairie predators.

Learn more about squirrels

The Title

came from the anecdote. This little known, fun-fact about Lethbridge really represents the city. Not many people outside of southern Alberta think or know about Lethbridge, it’s a strange place - almost a landlocked island. We felt that our odd factoid about squirrels summed up our odd little city.

And one more thing…

There Are No Squirrels in Lethbridge reminded us of code from old spy movies, a kin to “the flowers in Venice are beautiful this time of year”. It draws you in, makes you ask questions.

We wanted to draw on a poetic filmmaking language that seems to be lost in modern cinema, perhaps due to studio influence and marketing that replaces nuance with easy to sell ‘buzzwords’ and established IP. We wanted our story to be wrapped in metaphor, an homage to film noir classics while, at the same time, utilizing high-quality & modern filmmaking tactics.

A man in a beige hat, beige coat, and white shirt appears angry or shouting, gesturing with his right hand, while standing near a golf cart labeled 'Club Car' during daytime. Another man, wearing a cap, is seated in the golf cart. The background features colorful pink and purple flowering trees and a wooden fence.

STAY ON OUR CASE.

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Meet the TANSIL Team

A landscape view of a rural area at dusk, featuring old wooden buildings, water towers, green hills, and a bridge in the distance under a cloudy sky.

The 411…

In 1990s Lethbridge, Private Investigator Jack Dawson (Nick Bohle), has been forgotten by the city he once loved. As he packs up his office to leave for good he’s interrupted by Kelsey Johnston (Irene Poole), a young woman whose brother is missing. Against his better judgments, Jack takes the case and unravels a conspiracy that’s intertwined with his past.

Will Jack solve the case?

A glass filled with an amber-colored drink, an amber ashtray, and a pair of eyeglasses on a wooden table; a person is sitting nearby with their hands resting on their knee.

This project began by writing our first draft 3 days before a funding deadline from Telus Storyhive back in June 2024. Since our acceptance letter the following September, we went to work with our 2 person pre-production team (co-creators Nick Bohle & Conner Christmas). There were a few problems we knew that we would face right away. Firstly, we wrote a 47 page script with multiple locations and a relatively large cast; and were somehow supposed to film it all on a micro budget of $20, 000.

But thanks to support from our community, National Screen Institute, ACTRA Alberta, as well as thousands of volunteer hours (yes we counted); we were able to plan, film and edit this 50-minute project in it’s entirety for less than $40,000.

We knew that once TANSIL was made, like any independent film, we would be up against multi-million dollar projects, and with the help of our dedicated team members, we’re ready to put our work side-by-side with big studio projects.

Our Origins

Listen Up

We (Nick Bohle) composed an ORIGINAL SCORE… Coming Soon for purchase

Join our mailing list to be the first to know when the score is available for download. Every purchase goes directly into our marketing, festival submission, and distribution budget.

Score the score

The movie poster for 'Reservoir Dogs' features five men in black suits and black sunglasses, standing side by side against a beige background. The film's title is in large red letters, with the tagline and cast names above and below.

Our Inspiration

Promotional poster for the film 'The Usual Suspects' showing five men standing in front of a height chart with the names Stephen Baldwin, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Kevin Pollak, Pete Postlethwaite, and Kevin Spacey. The men are dressed in various outfits, and their shadows are cast on the wall behind them, creating tall silhouettes.

Close-up of Mia Wallace, a woman with short dark hair, sitting at a table with a rotary phone, a pack of cigarettes, and playing cards, from the movie poster for Pulp Fiction.

Growing up in the 90s bring a lot of nostalgia - especially in our rapidly advancing world.

There are no Squirrels in Lethbridge takes the iconic 90s neo-noir style while using modern filmmaking equipment (such as the Ronin 4-D used to shoot Adolescence) to bring one of the best decades in filmmaking back to the table.

Graphic illustration featuring a silhouette of a person wearing a yellow hat and trench coat against a dark background, with bold red and yellow text reading 'Dick Tracy' at the top.

Poster for the TV series 'Kaleidoscope' with three main characters, a man holding a gun, a woman, and a man, against a fiery background with a car and palm trees.

Close-up of a young boy with serious expression, facing an older man with blurred features, and text promoting the Netflix series 'Adolescence' releasing on March 13.

TANSIL draws on elements of all the classics you see above, through costume, style, imagery and themes. Our goal is to scratch that nostalgic itch while showcasing breathtaking composition, modern colour correcting, and independent filmmaking tactics; ditching the cliche digital film grain and other editing tactics that filmmakers have used to try and recreate the 90s feel. TANSIL makes you feel like you’re in the 90s watching your favourite show, not like you’re watching something from the past.

Black and white promotional poster for The X-Files, featuring a woman and a man dressed as FBI agents, with serious expressions, sitting and looking off into the distance.

Movie poster for Fargo, featuring a man lying face down on the ground with a gun nearby, with red and blue borders, and text that reads "a film by Joel & Ethan Coen, Fargo, a homespun murder sturg."

Bringing 90’s crime to Modern Filmmaking

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If you’re interested in our project as an investor, curious filmmaker, community member or fan, we’d love to hear from you!