Canadian funders wavered on another Scarborough film. But ‘Morningside’ had local support

Fefe Dobson has toured the world, achieved pop-punk stardom and found a new home in Nashville, but she’s never truly left Scarborough behind.

Fefe Dobson has toured the world, achieved pop-punk stardom and found a new home in Nashville, but she’s never truly left Scarborough behind.

“I’ve seen the good and the bad of that part of the city,” the singer says of the east-end Toronto district where she grew up.

“Scarborough has always had its own energy. Its own community. I appreciate where I come from. I don’t think I’d be who I am if I didn’t grow up there. There’s a lot of stories and a lot of strength that comes out of Scarborough.”

When her friend Ron Dias reached out to her six years ago asking for help bringing those Scarborough stories to life via a film called “Morningside,” it was a no-brainer.

Opening in select theatres Friday, the film follows seven people whose lives converge at a community centre in Morningside Heights, Dobson’s childhood neighbourhood.

Dobson plays a nurse in the drama, joining Toronto actors Kiana Madeira and Lovell Adams-Gray as Scarborough residents navigating relationship turmoil, systemic barriers and the creeping effects of gentrification. The film also explores the ripple effects gun violence can have on communities.

Dias says he always wanted to make a movie about the diverse suburb he grew up in, but securing financing as a debut filmmaker proved challenging.

“We kept running into roadblocks, which helped us in a way, because the community came together to help us make this,” he says.