Jackie Torrens' 'BABY' rolls in Nova Scotia

 Lucy Spence Pinks as Baby Bagnell on the set of Jackie Torrens’ Baby. Image by Jessie Redmond.

JACKIE TORRENS’ NARRATIVE DIRECTORIAL DEBUT LAUNCHES PRODUCTION IN CANADA

‘Baby’ marks the award-winning director-writer’s first narrative feature-length, cast with a blend of emerging and veteran talent.

July 29, 2025 (Halifax, NS) – She rolls by on a sweet set of skates into her last year of junior high school and through a tumultuous adolescence. On the cusp of adulthood, Baby Bagnell finds herself at a cross-roads in a coming-of-age story that uses dark comedy to poke at the very-real complexities of growing up girl. Peep Media, a non-binary and woman owned production company led by Jackie Torrens and Jessica Brown, teams up with Executive Producer Terry Greenlaw of Picture Plant to bring Baby to life–despite her growing pains. Rounded out by a blended Canadian cast, the filming of Baby will take place through July and August 2025 in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Following the untimely death of her parents, Baby Bagnell struggles to find her place in the world–that is, aside from the local roller rink, hell on wheels. Baby is a frequent visitor to a quiet bucolic graveyard where her parents rest, while unrequitedly hungry for love and guidance. Finding herself in a potentially disastrous relationship with an older man, the teenage Baby dreams of finding her way out of her circumstances by any means necessary. After all, living with a drunk step-mom, being bullied at school, and failing all her classes isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Inspired by Torrens’ own grade nine year, Baby is as endearing as she is troubled, and as plucky as she is fierce. 

Writer-director Jackie Torrens on the set of Baby with DOP Kevin Fraser (R) and Boom Operator Olivia King. Image by Jessie Redmond.

“The experience of being groomed by adult men is a common occurrence in the lives of teenage girls, it's just one that's not often talked about or seen from the vantage point of the adolescent themselves,” says writer-director-producer Jackie Torrens. “There are a lot of Baby’s out there. I wanted to showcase this experience and examine the circumstances that make a young person vulnerable to these kinds of situations. Ultimately, Baby is a story about grief, the will to keep going, and resilience on roller skates.”

“Building a crew that represented the story being told has been of the utmost importance to us,” says producer Jessica Brown of Peep Media. “Our crew is majority women-identified and gender diverse who all share a passion for telling often unseen stories.”

Baby brings together a blended ensemble cast including Lauren Hammersley (Virgin River, Sullivan’s Crossing); Allister MacDonald (Monica’s News); Andrew Shaver (Sharp Corner); Billy MacLellan (Diggstown); and first-timer  Lucy Spence Pinks as Baby Bagnell.

Baby is produced with the participation of Telefilm Canada, with the assistance of the Government of Nova Scotia Film Incentive Fund, the Screen Nova Scotia Content Creator Fund, and the Canadian Film Tax Credit Program.

“What struck me about Baby was the authenticity of the script, the heart of its characters, and its very real implications. Baby is an important story, now more than ever, as women and non-binary filmmakers and story-tellers carve out more and more space to tell their stories to the world.”

- Executive Producer, Terry Greenlaw, Picture Plant 

About Jackie Torrens

Jackie Torrens is an award-winning Halifax-based actor, writer, and film director. They and producer Jessica Brown own and operate Peep Media, a female and non-binary owned production company. Their films for CBC, the Documentary channel, and Bravefactual include Edge of East, My Week on Welfare, Small Town Show Biz and the award-winning documentary Bernie Langille Wants to Know Who Killed Bernie Langille. Torrens has also been a regular contributor and guest host for CBC RadioNotable accolades include Best Documentary (FIN Atlantic Film Festival), Best Editing (Canadian Cinema of Editors), Best Atlantic Filmmaker (Lunenburg Documentary Festival), Best Director (WIFT-AT); and an Atlantic Journalism Award (CBC) and the CBC Award of Excellence.

About Peep Media

Peep Media is the female and non-binary owned production company in Halifax led by Jackie Torrens and Jessica Brown. Their projects include Bernie Langille Wants to Know Who Killed Bernie Langille (2022), Small Town Show Biz (2017), Edge of East (2014), My Week on Welfare (2015). Their debut narrative feature-length Baby is currently in production in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Follow PeepMedia: peepmedia.tv

instagram.com/peepmediainc

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About Picture Plant

Established in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1981, Picture Plant is a small but dynamic production house that continues to leave its mark with award-winning character-driven feature films, long-form documentaries, and nationally broadcast dramatic/comedic series.  The company's many award-winning films have been invited to festivals around the world, including Berlin and TIFF, and have been celebrated in retrospectives in Melbourne, Paris and Canada. Longtime company partner Terry Greenlaw is executive producing Baby.

Follow Picture Plant: https://pictureplant.com/