Former owner of downtown cafe studying film in Toronto

When SooToday first spoke with Nathan Wilding in 2020, he was the 18-year-old operator of his own business called Void Vinyl in the Sault’s downtown core.

The business was a spot where customers could shop for vinyl LPs, casual and vintage clothing and enjoy a cup of coffee.

After deciding to close the business in August 2023, Wilding, now 22, is a student at Toronto Film School.   

“It was a pretty cool time,” Wilding said of his days as a business owner in a recent interview.

“My friends who helped me out there and myself decided to head away from the Sault for the time being. We did as much as we could with the cafe and had a great experience doing it.”  

For Wilding, heading away from the Sault involved studying his new passion for screenwriting and filmmaking.

He began studying at Toronto Film School in Oct. 2022 and anticipates graduating in March.

“I’ve always liked watching movies with my friends and I always wanted to write so I put the pieces together and started to write movies. It was a gradual realization. One day I realized making films is what I want to do.”

Wilding said he enjoys comedies starring Will Ferrell and Adam Sandler, naming Wes Anderson and Richard Linklater as two of his favourite filmmakers.

“It’s comedic dramas that I’ve always gravitated towards.”

“It’s been great,” Wilding said of his experience at Toronto Film School.

He has written and filmed short subject films.

“I’m writing a full-length film about a guy in his late 20s who feels very lost and dissatisfied with his high-paying marketing job and he realizes he’s not feeling passionate about his job,” Wilding said.

A Grown Kid is the working title of the film.

“He decides to go back to his small hometown and that’s where he’s reunited with friends he hasn’t seen in a while and he relives his high school days,” Wilding said of the film’s main character.

Wilding said he is currently writing a sitcom pilot and a one-hour drama pilot.

He is also hoping to secure funding to film another of his creations, a short film entitled A Sleepless Day's Night.

The story includes psychological aspects such as feeling distanced from the world, Wilding said.

“Our projects get marked at school and the feedback is important. For the teachers to get a teaching position at the school they need to be actively working in the industry. When you hand something in they give you more than a grade. They give you the feedback on what you’re doing right and what you're doing wrong and also how people perceive what you're trying to create.”

Of his goals after graduation, Wilding said “I want to get any writing job I can that would get me near a writing room for a sitcom. I would stay in Toronto if there’s an opportunity to but I’d be open to moving to Los Angeles if there’s an opportunity there as well.”

“I’ve always wanted to create. I’ve always had that desire to do so and when I discovered this medium it felt natural to create videos and tell stories that can make someone think about their life differently or just make them laugh.”

“I think there’s a magic to that. It’s one of the great experiences in life.”