The casting of the kids -

Ciel is a lovely actor - what was the process of finding Daniel J. Gordon?

Also, Hannah is wonderful - where did you find Samantha Somer Wilson?

And working with young actors -- what did you learn from them and that process? I love the scene where they slow dance and he's so much taller -- it's sweet! It must be a delicate process to work on tough material with them.

The films has a very distinct look. Was it something you intended from the start or did it form in the process of filming?

Charles Officer’s directorial debut, When Morning Comes, premiered at TIFF in 2000. His other work includes the short films Short Hymn Silent War (2001), Pop Song and Urda/Bone (2003), a music video for K’naan’s “Strugglin’” (2005) and the television pilot Hotel Babylon (2005).

Inspired by Officer's sister's battle with sickle cell anemia, Nurse.Fighter.Boy. was produced while he was a student at the Canadian Film Centre. The film was shot over 23 days with a hand-held camera on location in Toronto, in areas where Officer grew up.

Nurse.Fighter.Boy premiered at TIFF 2008 and won the audience award for Best in World Cinema and a jury prize for Best Cinematography at the Sarasota Film Festival. It was also released theatrically in Canada on February 2009.

In April 2009, production began on Officer's feature documentary on Harry Jerome, with the National Film Board of Canada.

As an actor, Officer has appeared in stage, film and television productions, recently starring in the Theatre Calgary/Soulpepper Theatre Company co-production of A Raisin in the Sun.