Four Creatives Raving to get a Feature Film Made
Long-time friends, Nathan St. Louis, Julia MacDonald, Mari Teran, and Alex Djordjevic, are proving you don’t have to wait for permission to make a feature film. Fresh graduates of the University of Windsor’s film program, they launched their crowdfunding campaign on July 9, 2026, to bring their first feature YQG HARDSTYLE, to life.
Everyone’s asking, what is YQG HARDSTYLE?
From left: Nate, Mari, Andrew, and Alex. Photo by Justin Han. Graphic by Molly Vaillancourt.
An indie feature film being shot right here in Windsor Essex County this summer. Your quick gateway to the coolest, loudest, punkiest, rebellious, Y2K, film Windsor’s ever seen. These talented filmmakers selected Windsor’s airport code in their title paired with “hardstyle” to mesh that genre of music with elements of Windsor Essex County, just like the film will do to capture the energy, nostalgia, and chaos of growing up in Southwestern Ontario:
“a group of friends from rodwood, ontario decide to throw the greatest rave their small town has ever seen. the plan is set, the music is locked, the word is out. but in the blink of an eye, everything falls apart, sending the crew on a race against time. the creation of local legend is at stake... yqg hardstyle is a coming-of-age crime thriller about friendship, chaos,and the desperate need to make something happen in a place where nothing ever does. shot across windsor-essex county and toronto on the sony fx3.”
Rodwood Ontario? It doesn’t exist. A fictional name for a fictional place, as writer and director Nate St. Louis laughs, “Oh, what is Rodwood Ontario? A mixture of the worst parts and best parts of Windsor Essex County.” Wanting to create a fake town with elements of farmland, factory, and city to create their own world to play in, they hope the audience will be immersed in a homely and mystique feel. A real tribute to Windsor and all the times you’ve been asked, “where is that?” or “what’s there to do there?”.
The idea for the film wasn’t entirely fictional. Alex, Nate, Julia, and Mari were bound and determined to throw an underground rave in their second year of university and actually sought the perfect spot: the inside of the long cement ditch of Grand Marais with the bridge underpass. “We were walking through this really long tunnel and immediately had the idea to throw a rave,” Alex recalls. “We texted a bunch of people, planted a massive speaker in the middle of the tunnel, bought strobe lights from Walmart, advertised it as a secret underground rave, and only 15 people showed up, and they were all our friends. It was freezing…it was November.”
Nate adds, “Picture us just standing in a tunnel playing music off Spotify, it sounds so lame, but it was so much fun, and we even questioned if the cops would show up, they didn’t.” This hilarious memory was capture by Mari, who turned it into a mini- documentary called “data mosh”, and it became a part of the rave inspiration for their feature.
More inspiration drew from various other films that were collectively enjoyed together by this friend group. “GO! was one of the first movies we all sat down to watch together,” adds Alex. It’s truly centered to their aesthetic and vibe.
A real love letter to the city they all have connections to, they are grateful to have been bonded over this place. “It is a realistic outlook about our feelings about Windsor; we don’t love the city, but we need to capture our memories. The script touches on those ideas, growing up and wanting to do something more,” mentions Nate. This friend group is growing up and out of where they’ve been born into. A place is only formed by the people who exist in it, that’s what makes it special.
From left: Mari, Alex, Andrew, and Nate. Photo by Justin Han.
With fresh skills, the trust and friendship with other filmmakers, and the resources, they are determined to create on a larger scale. After all, the next step after short films is features. Getting the experience of working with all their collaborators while in university, the trust runs deep. They’ve chosen a crew that they know will bring this story to life.
Alex shares, “We had people pushing back, hesitating on the idea of a feature right after university. But we wanted to make a feature film right after university, so we are. Everyone was just looking out for us, but we are in a state where we are fired up and ready to do something big. It was really Nate who kept harping on us to do this and inspired us all to act.”
Going full force ahead on a feature isn’t easy. Wanting to create a film that feels bigger than its budget, the stunts, yet to be revealed, will need rehearsal days. Leaving their comfort zone, there is a high confidence and excitement in their voices that will shine through in this film. The massive underground rave stunt itself will be on a super insane scale. As of right now, 90 people signed up as extras for this scene, and they are hoping to surpass their goal of 150. “High risk potential high reward,” Alex says. Sign up to be a part of the party here: https://yqghardstylemovie.netlify.app/.
Other key local and established creatives helped blast this project off the ground. Gavin Michael Booth secured Scarehouse for one of their shooting locations, gave advice on how to shoot the rave scene, and always answered their questions. Ken Amlin is providing the team with equipment, and different types of lenses for the shots. Dan Murphy has also guided them in how to execute a project of this scale using their resources and in a logical time. Their university professor Tony Lau has never hesitated in talking with their producer about logistics and continues to encourage his past students to pursue this project and take in the journey. Professionals recognize other professionals and Windsor artists continue their reputation of being the most helpful and collaborative.
Adding another personal layer to the project, all four filmmakers will portray fictionalized versions of themselves. Nate commented, “They’re dramatized versions of our real-life selves. I felt like for this movie particularly, it really fit.”
“We wanted to make this film and not worry about calling actors up, and it works best for the sake of time, flow, and budget,” explains Alex.
All keeping their same names for screen names, it will be interesting to see their exaggerated version being parodied of themselves especially if you know them from campus personally. It also allows for the characters to blur the line between fiction and reality while preserving the chemistry that already exists between the friends. “Nate’s passion and obsession for getting this film made unconsciously translated into his character making the rave a success,” adds Alex. A real natural development into the film it seems. Acting in a movie with your friends is a dream and allows for a real time-capsule for life.
Applause and emphasize should be given to the group for not waiting for opportunities but rather, seeking them themselves.
“Once it comes out, we hope people will enjoy it and other filmmakers in our same position stop talking about making something and actually get out there and make things,” Alex dreams.
For them, this is one last film to celebrate being all in the same city, last hurrah for Windsor. “We’re all going to different places soon enough, we need to make it now before the future takes a hold of us,” says Nate.
Their friendship stretches back to their time at the University of Windsor.
Speaking to Nate and Alex, both remember their friendship starting in the CMAF lounge located in Lambton Tower when Nate mentioned liking “Neon Genesis Evangelion”, and that caught Alex’s attention. Nate adds, “We had film classes together, a similar upbringing making Lego stop-motion videos as kids and making short films in school really bonds you as friends.”
One defining moment came while making Nate’s second-year short film, Aria.
“It was an ambitious film about a girl who is an AI cyber space robot, and this was before AI was a big thing. Alex acted in it. We filmed it in a dark basement, it was a long day of shooting, all of us were delirious and delusional. It was a tiring process full of inhaling carpet fumes, going stir crazy. An absurd experience but so worth it because the fun is the process. I knew then we worked really well together while keeping each other in line,” says Nate. This solidifying moment led to more work together and the trust in each other to film each other’s fourth-year capstone films. A strange coincidence occurred in both their final shots; the last composition is almost exactly the same. They really are on the same wavelength.
Another U Windsor student, Evan Johnson, joins the project as the director of photography. This relationship was constructed when Nate and Evan worked together last year on all the Lancer Sports media. The University of Windsor holds a place to establish these strong friendships that last even after graduation.
For the filmmakers, YQG HARDSTYLE represents more than a first feature film.
It also serves as tribute to their friend Jaxon Moore.
Jaxon Moore, February 2025, captured by Jett Shields.
The friend group had a devastating loss June of 2025, when their best friend Jaxon Moore passed away.
“That lit a fire under all of us,” Alex says. “The fragility of life kicked us into gear, and we realized anything could happen tomorrow, today, or right now. We urge ourselves and everyone else to seize the moment now.”
“We were planning this movie for him to be in it, and he unfortunately left us and we’re her now, so we have to do this. It is a love letter to Windsor and our friendship but mostly to Jaxon and his ambition. He would be just as excited as we are now if he was here.”
Soon these friends will scatter to different cities, different jobs, and different chapters of their lives. Before that happens, they’re choosing to leave behind something permanent—a film rooted in Windsor, built by their friendships they found here, and dedicated to their friend Jaxon who inspired them to stop waiting for tomorrow.
From left: Nate, Jaxon, and Alex, captured by Jett Shields, November 2024.