Art is imitating life for Newmarket sisters Noa and Chiara DiBerto, who star in the latest Brain Power film, Olympians at Heart.
The film follows the heartfelt story of two twin sisters competing in gymnastics, a sport that the sisters are familiar with in real life.
While they aren’t twins — Chiara is 19 and Noa is 16 — they have been gymnasts for more than 12 years and train out of the Shenderey Gymnastics Centre at 17075 Leslie St. in Newmarket.
“We’ve been there since the beginning of our gymnastics career, when we were eight and seven, we’ve been there a long time,” Chiara said.
Noa added, “The gym is our home.”
The film is the teenagers’ big break, though Noa has acted in theatre. She was also the one who got the ball rolling after auditioning for the part.
The producers liked her for the role, but needed to find someone to play her sister, which is where Chiara came in.
“It was a complete fluke, my eyes were never set on acting,” she said, but the filmmakers ended up loving the duo.
For the sisters, they feel the story is the perfect fit for them, too.
“It is our life. The personalities, the gymnastics, the busy life, the conflict, like the arguments, it all happens and it’s actually very realistic,” Noa said.
Even playing twins wasn’t a challenge for the sisters.
“We definitely have that dynamic,” Chiara said.
“I would say I look pretty much like her, too,” Noa agreed. “The whole look-wise, personality-wise like it clicked. It was good and we’re very close.”
Newmarket Mayor John Taylor was in attendance for the film’s premier at SilverCity in East Gwillimbury on Aug. 5.
“To have two highly accomplished young ladies who have represented the town in many ways already through their athletic career, now representing it through their acting career is very exciting for the town of Newmarket,” he said. “It’s an amazing thing to be a part of and as a mayor, we’re very proud.”
Taylor also praised Brain Power Studio and their contributions to Newmarket.
The production company recently moved to 189 Main St., Newmarket after being located on Lundy’s Lane since 2011.
CEO and executive producer Beth Stevenson said finding the DiBerto sisters worked out perfectly.
“Amazing talents, both of them, and local talent, which is phenomenal,” she said. “We’re very much pro-community and we hire a lot locally.”
Brain Power also focused on local locations when making the film, and Newmarket residents may be able to spot some familiar places in Olympians at Heart.
Pulsars Gymnastics at 1206 Ringwell Dr., Tumble Tots at 1166 Gorham St., and Madsen’s Greenhouse at 160 Bayview Parkway are all filming locations.
“Everything was just so close to home, it was really amazing,” Noa said of the sets.
Olympians at Heart will play on Super Channel Heart and Home at 8 p.m. ET on Aug. 8 and has already made its debut in the U.S. with plans in place to air it around the world.
Beth Stevenson said it’s “worldwide domination from Newmarket, Ontario.”
She said Brain Power has a number of other films in the works right now, including a slate of Christmas movies, and that the company is keeping busy.
