Tegan and Sara bring 'love letter to the '90s' to Calgary with High School première
Calgary's own Tegan and Sara call their upcoming Amazon series a "love letter to the '90s."
Both the Quin sisters were in town Thursday for the Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) première of High School at the Eau Claire theatre.
Debuting the show in the city they grew up in made sense, Tegan said.
Tegan pointed out the show was shot here and is about the time of their lives when they resided here.
Sara said the show is about Calgary as much as it's about them.
"We actually shot at our high school, Crescent Heights. We're very proud of Crescent Heights. It's a super beautiful school and we had a great time going there," Sara said.
"You'll see a North Hill Mall shout-out. Sears," Tegan said.
"Oh my god, Sears," Sara said.
"It's a real love letter to the '90s. I think Calgarians will love the show. I think Albertans will love it ... Canadians and anyone who loved the '90s will love the show," Tegan said.
High School is based on the memoir of the same name the Quin sisters penned a few years back.
Tegan said it was important for the young musicians to tell their story "about coming out, the origin story not only of our band but of us figuring out who we are."
And Tegan said creating the show was equally important.
"I don't know that there are very many shows that give a very unvarnished look at what it's like just to be a teenager and be queer and be figuring out who you are," Tegan said.
"We're very proud of the end result."
High School will be released through Amazon in October and stars Railey Gilliland and Seazynn Gilliland, who came into the roles without much in the way of experience.
Sara said they were exactly the pair that needed to be cast.
"We found them on TikTok," Sara said.
"They were working at a pizza joint in Fresno, Calif., and Tegan and I felt they were compelling, watchable, charismatic and super cool, and we fought to have them play us even though they are not actors and they are not musicians.
"I think they absolutely kill it."
For the CIFF audience on Thursday, the first three episodes of High School were shown.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.