A film that shows off Waterloo Region is getting attention far beyond the area. Extraction Day, a movie more than two years in the making, has two public screenings in Waterloo later this month. It’s also been picked up for distribution in the United States and Asia. “It’s one thing when … your hometown is cheering you on and you can fill a theater (there), but when you have China, America, Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan – when you have all these places buying your movie … for me, that would be my level of saying this is successful,” says Jeremy Ninaber, who plays lead character Jacob Bradley. At the beginning of the movie, Bradley wakes up with no memory of where he is or why he’s there, only to be told the future of the world depends on him leaving with a mysterious woman. “It explodes from there,” Ninaber says. Matthew Ninaber – Jeremy’s brother – is the film’s director and producer. He says he grew up watching action films, and always wanted to try his hand at making the same sort of movie – and with his second picture, is able to do just that. “I’m nervous, but I’m so excited to finally show it to people,” he says. All but two of Extraction Day’s 50 or so actors are from Waterloo Region, the Ninabers say – and landmarks like the Kaufman Lofts and Walper Terrace Hotel are visible throughout the film.
