Movie full of Sault connections cracks Netflix Canada's Top 10

In what may be a first, a movie directed by a Sault native, co-produced by a Saultite for a locally owned company, and filmed in the Sault and area has made it to Netflix Canada’s Top 10.

Cascade was filmed in July 2021 and, after promotional screenings in Toronto and the Sault earlier this month, was released on Netflix July 6.

As of July 17, the movie had nudged out Titanic for ninth place on Netflix Canada’s Top 10 list.

“I don’t believe this has ever been done before," said Cascade director Egidio Coccimiglio, speaking to SooToday. "It's just incredible.”

Coccimiglio, a Sault native, is based in Los Angeles.

Cascade was produced by local company Edge Entertainment and co-produced by the Sault’s Rosalie Chilelli. Her co-producer is Toronto’s Jennifer Pun.

Cascade, an edgy thriller, tells the story of a teenage girl's wilderness hike with friends in which a downed plane and its cargo of drugs is found.

The girl is subsequently chased by a vicious gang.

The movie was filmed in the Sault, Garden River First Nation and Aubrey Falls, 85 kilometres north of Thessalon.

Scenes were shot in the Sault’s west end near Algoma Steel, on Highway 17, Gore Street and the Hiawatha Highlands.

Coccimiglio, who previously directed the 2013 film Compulsion in the Sault, said the wilderness areas surrounding the city and Cascade’s outdoor scenes combined to make an extra special natural fit.  

“When I read the script I immediately thought if there’s a movie that I can take to my home and really do justice to the story, it’s Cascade.”

“We have the most pristine, amazing locations. We have in the script places that we needed as real touchstones in the story, places that I knew from being a kid, and to bring this project here was relatively easy. Sometimes with locations it gets tricky. You try to shoehorn a project into a place just because you need to make it fit but this was just such a luxury. We had a bevy of great locations to choose from,” Coccimiglio said.

“I think showcasing the Sault in the way that we’ve done is great,” said Saultite and Cascade co-producer Chilelli.

“It’s a Canadian film shot in northern Ontario that made it to being one of the Top 10 films on Netflix Canada for five days straight. That’s pretty impressive. That’s not a small feat.”

Cascade includes Sault actors Matt Connors, Mark Brombacher, Joanna Douglas and a group of local motorbike enthusiasts.

“I think we’ve got a piece of work that we can be proud of. We’re proud of our team and we’re thankful to the Sault and Garden River and everybody that helped along the way.” 

Chilelli had words of praise for Coccimiglio and the cast.   

“It's a great film and I think there are many reasons for that," she said. "I think if you look at the acting and how Egidio pulled out the best from these actors, especially because they’re so young, I think you’re going to see a lot of greatness in there.”

Cascade is currently streaming on Netflix Canada and is also available on demand in Canada at Microsoft Store/Xbox, Google Play/YouTube Movies, Apple/iTunes, Prime Video VOD, Shaw, Rogers, and Telus.