EVEL
Followed by a Q&A with Director Derek Diorio and Cast
Friday, November 14th at 8:30pm
85 mins | 2025 | Canada
Dir: Derek Diorio
Language: English
EVEL
The newest feature from acclaimed Northern Ontario director, Derek Diorio , EVEL follows a young woman who is held hostage inside a self-driving electric vehicle on an isolated northern highway. Controlled by a malevolent force, the car begins erasing her digital footprint and her very existence as it carries her toward a billionaire predator. Featuring a stacked ensemble of Northern Ontario talent, EVEL blends high-stakes tension with a strong showcase of local performers on the rise.
This film is part of 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝: 𝘼 𝘾𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨, celebrating the rich legacy of filmmaking in and around North Bay on Friday, November 14th, featuring EVEL along with four other films shot locally over the past decades. Learn more about the full lineup →
Q&A with Director Derek Diorio and Cast
Derek Diorio is a North Bay, Ontario-based writer, director, and producer. Beginning his career as an award-winning radio advertising copywriter, Derek co-founded several influential production companies and comedy troupes between 1979 and 1999, including Sound Venture Productions and Skit Row. His early work included co-writing for Ottawa-based television series such as You Can’t Do That on Television and The Raccoons. He went on to direct Ottawa’s first feature film, Two’s a Mob (1997), and co-produced House of Luk (1999) with Pat Morita and Michael Moriarty. In the early 2000s, he created a micro-studio that produced three indie films featuring actors like Patrick McKenna, Graham Greene, and Ernest Borgnine. Derek has also directed over 120 half-hour episodes for French-language series, and co-created and produced TVO’s flagship series Hard Rock Medical (2013-2018), filmed in partnership with Nipissing First Nation. He has worked extensively with Indigenous filmmakers, and his documentary The Quantum Tamers won the Prix Audace at the Pariscience International Science Film Festival in 2009. Derek continues to contribute to the Northern Ontario film industry through his mentorship of Digital Cinema and Broadcast students at Canadore College, and his work has earned numerous awards, including a Cable Ace Award and two Gemini nominations.
Screening With:
The Call
Student Showcase
Iris, a lonely and depressed young adult, just trying to make it through each monotonous day, gets their life upended by a mysterious being. They speak with the wisdom of someone who’s walked their path before. Iris is taunted by this ‘Other Self’, so when the work day ends and Other Self beckons for them to follow, they do, trying to figure out who they are and why they won’t leave them alone. When Iris confronts Other Self once more, they begin interrogating Iris – attacking their life, their job, their gender. Iris’ anger builds, and when they explode, Other Self disappears. Angry, curious, and desperate for the truth, Iris is led down two paths in an attempt to find Other Self, where they find – and finally accept – who they truly are.
11 Mins 30s
Canada, 2024
Dir. Silas Howse
Language: English