The Trade

Production Company
Vancouver Film School
Producer(s)
Joshua Lui
Director(s)
Katrina Karlovich
Casting Director(s): 
Katrina Karlovich & Joshua Lui
Union Status
Non-Union
Project Type
Film
Student Production
Yes
Compensation Details

Unpaid. Catering and craft service provided.

Audition Location
Self-tapes only
Shoot / Performance Date(s)
July 22 - July 24
Shoot / Performance Location(s)
Greater Vancouver Area
Submission Deadline
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Submission Instructions

Please submit resume, headshot, and demo reel (if applicable) to lokproductionscasting@gmail.com and indicate which role you’d like to be considered for. Self-tapes due by June 11.

Project Synopsis
Alice, a struggling young photographer drowning in debt and days away from eviction is offered a way out when Raymond - her landlord - leads her to a strange consultation room underground an antique store that secretly allows certain individuals to trade cherished memories for money to clear their debts. Alice loses a valuable memory of her parents and her emotional connection to it. Alice returns the next day to reclaim what was taken, only to face an even more devastating choice: recover her memory and resume a life of suffering or be completely financially free but lose all capacity of emotional connection. She makes her decision and becomes an emotionless receptionist enslaved to the antique store.
Character 1
Alice
Age
19-24
Gender
Female
Description
Alice is a struggling photographer in her mid-20s who has been emotionally exhausted by grief and financial instability after losing her parents. Lonely and overwhelmed, she spends most of her time just trying to survive day-to-day. Out of desperation, she makes the choice to trade away one of her most meaningful memories of her parents in exchange for financial security. But once the memory is gone, so is the emotional connection attached to it. Realizing the weight of what she sacrificed, Alice becomes desperate to get it back. She is ultimately forced to choose between recovering her memory and resume a life of suffering or be completely financially free but lose all capacity of emotional connection. A decision that will last forever.
Character 2
Raymond
Age
25 - 40
Gender
Male
Description
Raymond is manipulative and persuasive. As both Alice’s landlord and the manager of the memory trading company, he understands exactly how to take advantage and manipulate vulnerable people without ever seeming openly cruel. Raymond views the memory trade as a business, treating human emotions and memories like products to be bought and sold. He makes Alice feel like she has a choice when really, he is backing her into a corner.
Character 3
Receptionist 074
Age
20-25
Gender
Female
Description
Receptionist 074 is quiet, polite, and emotionally detached. She greets customers with an emotionless friendliness that feels almost automatic. While she seems harmless on the surface, there’s something unsettling about how disconnected she is from the people around her.
Character 4
Suited Man
Age
20-30
Gender
Male
Description
The Suited Man is a wealthy customer addicted to reliving other people’s memories. He treats emotions like entertainment, representing the darker side of the memory trading business where human experiences have become products to consume.
Additional Characters

Young Alice
Female | Age 18-19 | Day Character
Young Alice appears in the memories Alice holds onto most closely.
This character should look younger than the age description.

Rose
Female | Age 30+ | Day Character
Alice’s mother is warm, comforting, and emotionally grounding. Through Alice’s memories, she represents love, safety, and the feeling of home. Rose passed away in a car accident with Jack a few weeks after Alice's 16th birthday.

Jack
Male | Age 30+ | Day Character
Alice’s father is gentle, caring, and playful, bringing warmth and life into Alice’s memories. Through Alice’s memories, he represents love and safety and the feeling of home. Jack passed away in a car accident with Rose a few weeks after Alice's 16th birthday.

Young Customer
Female | Age 19-25 | Day Character
This customer is overwhelmed, vulnerable, and desperate for a way out of her situation, similar to Alice in the beginning of the story. She represents the endless cycle of desperation and emotional sacrifice that the company continues to profit from.