Netflix thriller Awake films in Ontario with Gina Rodriguez

Director Mark Raso is at the helm of Awake, a thriller for Netflix starring Gina Rodriguez that is currently filming in Toronto. Raso is calling the shots from a screenplay he wrote with Joseph Raso and Gregory Poirer.

The feature is shooting until late September across various locations in southern Ontario and a little beyond, and is currently locking down a studio space in the increasingly busy production hub of Toronto.

The film is set in a world where a global incident has wiped out people’s electronics and taken away their ability to sleep. Rodriguez plays a former soldier tasked with saving the world from the ensuing chaos.

Paul Schiff produces for Entertainment One. Frances Fisher, Shamier Anderson, Finn Jones, Lucius Hoyos, Gil Bellows with Barry Pepper and Jennifer Jason Leigh are among the cast.

Canada is a high-profile filming destination, with Vancouver and Toronto in particular among only a handful of world cities able to offer the infrastructure, studios and crew needed to support several big-budget features and high-end TV productions at any one time.

The demand means that studio space is at a premium, and developers are responding with plans for various new facilities and expansions.

Markham Movieland, based in the city of Markham near Toronto, is planned to open in late 2020, offering a new 400,000 sq ft studio that includes a 70,000 sq ft sound stage, making it the largest in North America.