Jason Buxton makes his directorial debut with the story of troubled teenager.

Bye Bye Blackbird has started its 20-day shoot in Halifax.

“Our shoot is partly timed to accommodate the press schedule of our star Connor Jessup who has to be back in Hollywood on June 13 for the premiere of Steven Spielberg’s upcoming Falling Skies TV series,” explains producer David Miller. Jessup stars in eight of the nine Skies episodes.

Bye Bye Blackbird marks the directorial debut of Jason Buxton, who also wrote the script in which Connors stars as a troubled teen who is falsely accused of planning a high school shooting. Miller adds that the film explores the power and potential danger of social media and cyber-bullying, and aims to demonstrate that “the worst prisons are often the ones we create for ourselves.”

Buxton added that: “After four years of writing, creating the characters and their world, it’s an amazing feeling to see the story come alive in front of you.”

Miller is heading from set to Cannes Market to sell Bye Bye Blackbird internationally via the Telefilm Canada festival headquarters there (TFC is also an investor).

Bye Bye Blackbird is also produced by Canadians Marc Almon (Opolo Pictures) and  Buxton (Festina Lente Productions). The executive producer is by Thom Fitzgerald, best known for directing The Hanging Garden.