Bainbridge Island Filmmaker Makes the Island a Character in Her New Coming-of-Age Film

If you ask Emma Cameron what motivated her to write and direct her recently released film “Detention,” she would say there wasn’t just one but several inspirations — two being her past work with teen improv students and the Northwest’s picturesque landscape.  

“The Pacific Northwest has an energy and indescribable beauty,” Cameron said in an email.

“Detention” follows four high school students in Saturday detention. The group believes they’re in for a day of boredom but are unpleasantly surprised when they discover group therapy with the school’s psychologist, who is played by Cameron, is on the agenda. Think John Hughes’ “The Breakfast Club” with a contemporary twist. 

The indie film was shot entirely on Bainbridge Island, where the New York-born and England-raised Cameron has been a resident for the last seven years. A handful of  small-town locales like Blackbird Bakery, Bainbridge High School, and island residents’ homes serve as sets. 

Among Cameron’s key collaborators on the film was her husband, Mark, who served as a producer and co-director and is also a creative director at the duo’s film-production company, Illuminare Productions.

“Working with my husband, we discussed how exactly we were going to capture the sparkling light on the water, or the bay at golden hour, sunlight through trees,” Cameron said. 

Peter Soto, “Detention”’s cinematographer, was also instrumental in capturing the island’s aesthetic. 

“(Soto) worked with us to make sure that the Pacific Northwest, but specifically Bainbridge Island, played a character in this film,” she said. 

Cameron also sought inspiration from her previous educational work, scene study, and dialect coaching at acting schools in Los Angeles, as well as coaching a few Bainbridge Island students during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Working with teenagers over the last 20 years definitely helped to inform the script,” she said. “… I’m drawn to movies where the characters are based in reality, have a backstory, and psychology that is nuanced. I wanted to make sure the film had characters that you could relate to in some way.” 

The film features Emmy-nominated (and fellow Bainbridge resident) Elizabeth Mitchell, best known for her roles in shows like “Lost” and “ER.” The rest of the supporting cast includes Anna Mulia, Ian Peterson, Ricky Spaulding, and Bianca Mariani. 

So far, the film has been shown to audiences on Bainbridge Island, in Seattle, Los Angeles, and even across the pond in Cameron’s hometown of Bath, England. 

“Reactions have been pretty universal in that the audiences seemed emotionally invested in the characters, which was displayed through a lot of laughter,” Cameron said, “and sometimes a few tears.”