Frank’s amazing adventure
Back in December 2015, Frank Oulton’s grandmother, Val, noticed that a Halifax casting agency was looking for a child actor.
They were seeking a boy for a feature film who was comfortable handling farm animals, particularly chickens.
Mom Patricia Bishop asked Frank if he wanted to send his picture to the agency and he expressed willingness. Since the Oultons live on a farm, she sent one of him holding a goat kid.
That led to an audition and a couple of Skype interviews, then the two of them were off on a quick trip all the way to Austin, Texas in order to be vetted by the director, Vladimir de Fontenay.
That led to 26 days on a rural set in Ontario making a film called Mobile Homes. It was quite a journey for the eight-year-old Port Williams lad with his shock of blond hair and ready grin.
Frank’s character, a boy named Bone, sounds like a neglected child. He is left to his own devices or allowed to wander off alone.
“He knows how to get home,” his stage mother, Imogen Poots, tells a concerned social worker.
According to the public re- lations hype, the film is set in forgotten towns along the American border. Frank is the son of a young mother, played by Poots, who drifts from one motel to the next involved in petty crime. It got two stars on Rotten Tomatoes, but did capture the audience award at the Athens Film Festival.
An official Canada-France coproduction, the film was released about a year ago. Last May, Mobile Homes landed in the south of France for the renowned Cannes Film Festival. Frank got to find out what walking the red carpet was all about.
Last fall, Mobile Homes was screened at the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax and recently, Frank and his father, Josh, travelled to Palm Springs, California for another film festival. He got to pick oranges off a tree.
Patricia says that sending that photo along was a whim, which resulted in an amazing adventure for her family. Frank, the child actor, still hasn’t been able to watch the movie.
He told me last week he’s viewed selected parts because there are segments that “are not appropriate for me.”
I asked Frank what it was like seeing himself on the big screen. He replied, “It was sort of odd. I didn’t recognize myself. It was a weird feeling.”
Despite not understanding the meaning of the drama he took part in, Frank doesn’t really care at this point in his life. He is well aware that the film allowed for an awesome experience, especially the cool trips.
As a result, it is no wonder he’s hoping to get some more acting opportunities beyond taking part in the annual Nutcracker dance production.
Frank has taken one of the weeklong summer theatre camps offered by CentreStage Theatre and he told me he enjoyed helping to make up a play.
Mobile Homes will get its first Valley screening on Jan. 31 when Fundy Cinema shows it at 7 p.m. at the Al Whittle Theatre in Wolfville.
I bet the place will be packed.