TFS Grad Heather Hedley Debuts as Head of Wardrobe on Honey Bunch at TIFF

When Honey Bunch marks its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, audiences will marvel at its evocative 1970s world – one painstakingly brought to life in large part thanks to Toronto Film School alumnus Heather Hedley.

A Class of 2020 Acting for Film, TV & the Theatre grad, Hedley served as Head of Wardrobe on the film, which was co-written and co-directed by her former TFS instructor, Madeleine Sims-Fewer alongside Dusty Mancinelli.

For Hedley, the chance to have worked on such a high-profile project screening at TIFF’s 50th edition is more than just a career milestone – it’s a full-circle moment.

“I owe it all to Madeleine…The moment I took her class, I was just so inspired by everything that she does and the way that she approaches acting and writing and character work,” Hedley said.

“Even after graduating, we still kind of stayed in touch. So, when I heard she was working on a new film, I said, ‘Hey, let me know if I can be a part of it in any way,’ because I just wanted to learn from her. We had a couple of meetings and it started as a small wardrobe role…By the time we got to camera, I was head of wardrobe. She really took me on as a mentor, so I owe it all to her.”

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That collaboration that started in the classroom at TFS has continued to blossom after graduation. Hedley recalled with a laugh how nervous she was the first time Sims-Fewer rode in her car to pick up something for set.

“I was so nervous, I cleaned my car so thoroughly because my teacher was going to be in it!” she laughed. “It’s really neat to see how our relationship has evolved, especially when I think back to how 2019 Heather pretty much idolized her. I still look up to her now, but in a different way – she’s not just a mentor, but a colleague and a friend. It’s surreal.”

Building a Career from TFS Connections

For Hedley, those kinds of personal and professional connections have been at the heart of her journey since moving from Ottawa to Toronto at 18 to attend TFS – a daunting move made all the more worthwhile by how quickly she found community among her classmates and instructors.

“TFS was such a great way to build community for me,” she recalled. “Some of my closest friends are still the people I met at school. We still act in each other’s films. We still help each other out. We really motivate each other to keep going.”

Now, with Honey Bunch premiering alongside more than a dozen other TFS alumni projects at TIFF – including Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (which boasts six alumni on the cast and crew) and Class of 2010 Film Production grad Zain Duraie’s debut feature Sink – Hedley is proud to be part of a network of creatives who continue to rise together.

“It was definitely a uniting factor on this film that so many of us went to TFS,” she said of Honey Bunch, whose other TFS collaborators included Film Production grads Becky Yeboah (2017) as a producer and Gianluca Basile (2018) in the camera department. “We all kind of went through the same upbringing together, which is really cool.”

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Dressing the World of Honey Bunch

Set in the 1970s, Honey Bunch is a thriller that follows a woman named Diana, who awakens from a coma with memory loss and is encouraged by her husband to seek experimental treatment at a remote facility. But as the procedures intensify, Diana begins to question her husband’s true motives.

The film, Hedley said, presented her a rewarding challenge: sourcing authentic vintage pieces to help ground the film’s world. She remembers scouring Kensington Market for weeks until she finally tracked down the perfect wax jacket for actress Kate Dickie’s character – a find so good, she kept it for herself after production wrapped.

What she loves most, though, is watching wardrobe help actors fully inhabit their roles.

“A great costume should always empower the actor,” Hedley said. “Sometimes an actor comes out of a fitting and suddenly, they’re the character. You just know.”

Embracing a Non-Linear Path

Though Hedley still acts and directs, she’s now embracing wardrobe as another form of storytelling – proof that careers in film don’t have to follow a straight line.

“I think the greatest reminder is that your journey can be non-linear. Nature doesn’t rush, yet everything blooms. As long as you’re following something that feels good and keeps you connected to the dream, you’ll find your way there,” she said.

Her advice to current students? Don’t overlook wardrobe or production design when making films and never underestimate the power of relationships.

“Every person you meet is a chance for a new opportunity. Keep those connections, and your circle just grows bigger and bigger.”

A “Pinch-Me” TIFF Moment

As she prepares to attend TIFF with an industry pass in hand – aiming to catch four films a day between screenings, events, and parties – Hedley is savouring the moment.

“Sometimes that dream can feel so far away, like a mountain in the distance, but then you realize you just have to start taking that first step and it will eventually come closer to you,” she said.

“To see Honey Bunch play at TIFF Lightbox, where so many of the all-time great filmmakers have had their films screened – it’s really, really a pinch-me feeling.”