From sea 2 sea - Canadian film production

East Coast

As the smoke clears from the busiest year yet on the East Coast film scene, the writers, directors and crews that were tied up on outside productions have finally turned to their own projects. A rush of dramatic shorts and documentaries are now underway in various (mostly interior) locations during the dreaded seasonal lull. Nova Scotia's acclaimed playwright Michael Melski (Hockey Mom, Hockey Dad) is at work on his first film entitled Serenade. The down-and-dirty, half-hour drama is the story of an unlikely duo of ex-cons who fall in with a plucky waitress at a notorious dead-end diner. Melski, a graduate of the Canadian Film Centre, has amassed an enormous amount of good will for Serenade, bagging some of the top crew members in the province, all of whom are anxious to work with one of the East Coast's rising cinema stars.... Meanwhile, Iain MacLeod has finished principal photography on his fourth film, a drama called A Celtic Ghost Story. Having just completed his first season writing for the CBC's flagship kiddie consumer show, Street Sense, MacLeod can put his energies toward postproduction and, ultimately, his dream of completing Nova Scotia's first Gaelic-language feature. His Street Sense writing colleague, Ian Johnston, has just seen local actor Christian Murray wrap photography on his (Johnston's) wacky script Kitty Killer. Murray, a charter member of the popular Jest in Time physical comedy troupe, directed the half-hour comedy, issuing guarantees that no kittens were harmed during the shoot. Johnston has also just received word that the Comedy Network will pick up 13 episodes of his pseudo-biography TV series, Liography. Veteran deadpan artist Leslie Nielson has expressed interest in hosting. For Johnston, all this screen writing sure beats writing TV columns for the Halifax Daily News.... Two other Daily News staffers have also received the much-desired go-ahead for their spiffy satire, The Daily Blade. Brian Flinn and Susan Hiller saw their pilot, produced by David Coole, get a rapturous screening at last year's Atlantic Film Festival. Now it looks like they'll be ransacking their files for story ideas in order to fill up six more episodes.... From the Rock, word comes that one major feature has completed photography while another has lost its third director. Rosemary House (Rain, Drizzle and Fog) has wrapped production on her first feature, Violet; on the other hand, the much-delayed shoot of the film version of Annie Proulx's The Shipping News is off once again with the news that writer/director Billy Bob Thornton has fled for the greener pastures of Hollywood. He joins Fred Schepisi and Lasse Hallstrom in that not-so--exclusive club of directors scared off by the book's growing reputation as unfilmable.

Ron Foley Macdonald

Montreal

Screened at the opening of the 18th Rendez-vous du cinema quebecois (February, 2000), Charles Biname's long-awaited latest opus, La Beaute de Pandore, is a tale about solitude and redemption. Shot in his characteristic hand-held style, it is the director's third and final installment in his urban trilogy, which includes Eldorado and Le Coeur au poing. Pandore stars Biname regular Pascale Bussieres as an emotionally broken woman in search of a man to bring with her in a downward spiral. She crosses paths with Vincent (Jean-Francois Casabonne, one of Quebec's finest stage actors), whose successful but passionless life will be shattered by Bussieres's vengeful Pandore.... Also presented at the Rendez-vous was Le Petit Ciel, the much-anticipated feature film debut of Jean-Sebastien Lord, son of popular Quebec director Jean-Claude Lord. Generally well-received by both the press and public, Le Petit ciel, a quirky comedy about God, Jesus, death and modern-day religion, shows a very personal style and vision, which demonstrates a marked difference between father and the son's approach to filmmaking, while opening up a promising career for the latter.... Lastly, a few words not about a film, but rather about the arrival of an interesting new event on the Canadian film-festival horizon. North America's only exclusively pan-American cinematography and multimedia event, Quebec City's Images du Nouveau Monde wishes to shake up the old capital's movie-going habits for five days in March every year, starting with this year. Headed by respected film critic Yves Rousseau, the Festival's first edition boasts, among others, a tribute to Francois Girard, a selection of new-media works and a competitive section, including 12 films from eight countries. Canada is well-represented with four films in competition: Here Am I, by first-time Montreal filmmakers Joshua Dorsey and Douglas Naimer; documentarian Sylvie Groulx's latest, A l'ombre d'Hollywood; Allan Moyle's Nova Scotia-based coming--of-age tale, New Waterford Girl; and another first film, Un petit vent de panique, by Pierre Greco, the first feature to be shot entirely in Quebec City in 10 years. An impressive jury composed of author Neil Bissoondath, filmmaker/actress Micheline Lanctot and critic Andre Roy takes on the difficult task of choosing the most deserving films. Overall, a modest, realistic first year but one that shows a great deal of promise and a breath of fresh air for Quebec City's cinematic life.

Claire Valade

Toronto

During the 1990s, Telefilm Canada began to cutback its presence at major international film festivals such as Cannes and Berlin. Budgetary restraints made it impossible to keep up the wining and dining and festival schoomzing that typified the go-go 1980s. When aspiring Canadian actor/filmmaker Paris Roger attended Cannes in 1997 with his short Joseph the Elephant Man, essentially an extended promo for a proposed feature, he found no support whatsoever from the government agency. Discovering that he was not the only Canadian left stranded, he decided to do something about it. Returning home, he set up Film Canada, a nonprofit organization mandated to promote Canadian filmmakers and producers at Cannes. In 1998, he returned, this time with 14 films under his arm and his very own Canadian Pavilion located in International Village on the Croisette. Last year he went again, only this time with Kodak Canada as a major sponsor and 11 films to promote. In addition, as part of the deal with Kodak, Film Canada set up a cross-country promotional tour of colleges and universities to give the films exposure at home after the festival was over. This year Roger is at it again, with additional sponsors (he is working on Microsoft) and his own Internet company, filmon-line.com, which, for a small commission, will act as a source for filmmakers to display promotional clips to potential buyers on-line. On top of all this activity, the deal with Kodak Canada also includes a paid trip to Cannes for qualifying Canadian film students who are enrolled in a three-year program and have a letter of recommendation from their film professor. The students are given accommodation and a pass to the festival. Roger is proud to disclaim any government support for his activities and has provided a much-needed boost in an area where Canadiml filmmakers have been traditionally weak--promoting their own products.... When Film Canada Yearbook publisher Pat Thompson died last year, she left behind a valuable archive of her activities with the Canadian Film Awards and the Film Societies of Canada. Typically, none of the institutions in Toronto which claim to support Canadian film, most notably the The Film Reference Library, was interested in the collection and it ended up at the National Archives in Ottawa, where it will remain inaccessible to all but the most determined researcher. The Film Reference Library became a part of the Toronto International Film Festival Group 10 years ago. It's claim to housing the the best collection of Canadiana this side of the Cinematheque Qebecoise is seriously compromised by a lack of funding.

Paul Townend

Winnipeg

Several new exciting documentary projects are in the works by Winnipeg filmmakers. John Kozak (Hellbent, Dory) returned from a road trip across the United States doing research and interviews for The World According to Comic Books. He landed the last interview with veteran comic-book artist Gil Kane in Miami just before Kane's death in January. Kane drew The Green Lantern, The Hulk and Captain Marvel comics in the 1960s and 1970s. Kozak also hopes to interview Will Eisner (creator of The Spirit) Julius Schwartz (DC comics editor from 1944 to 1986) and Sheldon Moldoff (creator of the Hawkman comics). The film is being shot in HDTV and traces the development of comic-book art from its roots in the pulps and newspaper strips of the 1920s and 1930s. A passionate collector, Kozak has over 35,000 comic books in his collection. He says, unlike Ron Mann's previous Comic Book Confidential, he wants to concentrate on the phenomena of comic-book collectors. "They don't think they're collecting trivia. They're collecting art".... John Paskievich (The Gypsies of Svinia, Sedna), a pioneer in creating original documentaries on the spiritual life of other cultures, is shooting a new film on digital video about the tragic history of post-Second World War Ukrainian immigrants and how memories of those events have impacted on them and their children. Paskievich says, "It's about what it means to grow up as the son or daughter of Ukrainian immigrants after the Second World War. It's about crossing borders from one culture to another." The working title is My Mother's Village.... Paula Kelly (Personal Alarm, Epiphany Rules) is researching and writing The Notorious Mrs. Armstrong about a key activist whose contributions to the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike have been overlooked. Helen Armstrong was the 11th strike leader of the original 10 ring leaders. "Her role has slipped off the history page because historians haven't been very interested in the role of women in the labour movement," Kelly says. Armstrong fought for a minimum wage law and had an impressive career as a union organizer.... Finally, Credo Entertainment Corp. is assembling Head Over Wheels, a 13-part series on women's recollections about growing up with the car. Executive producer Andrew Koster says the subject has really opened a nerve. "The car is the major household appliance," says Koster. In the research stage, series director Shereen Jerrett (Kid Nerd, Dog Stories) contacted over 300 women who told stories about pioneering women race-car drivers, women as long-haul truck drivers and women having babies in their cars.

Dave Barber

The Prairies

With confidence gained from successful deals involving MOWs and feature films sold to more than 100 countries, Minds Eye Pictures CEO Kevin Dewalt is backing another winner. This time it is a television series for kids called Mentors. Produced by Margaret Mardirossian of Anaid Productions, with creator/writer/producer Josh Miller, the series has been winning awards and broadening Minds Eye's visibility. It's been available across Canada on the Disney-dominated Family Channel since October. The series follows the adventures of a young computer genius, Oliver, and his friend Dee as they zap historical figures into their 21st-century lives via an ingenious computer program. The scripts focus on a problem that a mentor solves for the teenagers. Ultimately, the solution enriches their experience--and the audience's--when some obscure or little-known facts about Einstein, Oscar Wilde or Joan of Arc are revealed. Mentors is being shot in Edmonton and directed by Arvi Lilmataninen. Miller says that the production has been "turned up" a notch, making it challenging for the cast, crew and budget, but ultimately, a richer viewing experience for the audience. The challenges ranged from filming with a live bear to recording with a full symphony orchestra. Mardirossian says, "We've received great response from the international market for the series".... Another Edmonton production with international impact and Mardirossian's involvement is The Tourist, produced by Big Schtick with comedian Rick Bronson and carried on the Life Network. Each episode takes Bronson to a North American destination; along the way, through humour and interaction with the locals, travel tips and intriguing facts keep the audience entertained and informed. Bronson and Neil Grahn are the co-creators. Grahn shams directing and travelling gigs with Brian Murphy and Bob Keates. The talents of associate producer Alexandra Zarowny and director of photography Mike Oulette of New Picture Crew Ltd. assist in the production.... Toronto-based Rhombus Media, the 1999 recipient of the Banff Centre for the Arts National Award (given to those who achieve much in their own careers and encourage and train the next generation of Canadian talent) received the Donald Cameron Medal, a $10,000 cash award and a residency at the Banff Centre For the Arts .... Encouraging, indeed, is Local Heroes, a film festival that originated in Edmonton (March 31-April 8) and has spawned an offspring in Winnipeg (February 27-March 4). For details on both events check out the National Screen Institute Web site at www.nsi-canada.ca and the Local Heroes link.

Tim Christison

West Coast

The Y2K nonevent means that Vancouver hasn't yet broken off and sunk into the Pacific--good news for us, but not for all those members of the various unions down in Hollywood screaming out for tax breaks geared toward helping U.S. producers compete with our deflated dollar. It seems that what's bad for our hockey teams is definitely good for the film business.... As deadlines loom, the competition for the awarding of Vancouver's newest television station has the various competitors scrambling for letters of support from prominent locals while the rest of us sip martinis and debate the merits of the applicants. Let's see. In addition to other promises--more than 30 hours of original local programming per week (of which 12 hours will be non-news programming and two hours will be magazine-style, cultural programming) and $16 million allocated to prelicense a minimum of seven B.C.-produced movies each year--Toronto-based CHUM Ltd. pledges to produce at least 100 hours of a Vancouver-based soap. The mind boggles at the possibilities: fast ferry tragedies; lost snowboarders on Whistler mountain; backroom political shenanigans wherein promises are made and backyard decks are built; and the ghost of Bruno Gerussi hovering over the whole damn thing. Personally, I doubt if the soap will fly because what goes on out here puts most soap operas to shame. And even if the CHUM soap is completely over the top, it will only appear more like reality--and we all know how well reality does in the ratings. The other applicants (Craig Broadcasting, Trinity Television, CFMT-TV) will also have pitched their proposals to the CRTC at the February 21 hearing. No decision is expected for six months.... Some of the people currently making movies in the rain: Sean Penn directs The Pledge, produced by Michael Fitzgerald and shot by talented cinematographer/director Chris Menges; Once Were Warriors director Lee Tamahori is helming Morgan Freeman in Along Came a Spider; Ernest Dickerson is making Bones; and Ryan Phillippe and Tim Robbins are starring in Antitrust under the direction of Peter Howitt.... Finally, the Vancouver film scene lost one of its veterans--and I lost a friend--when Ridge Theatre owner Ray Mainland was killed in a car accident in January. He owned the Ridge, Vancouver's only repertory cinema, for 15 years, providing a venue for a lot of great films and making a lot of friends along the way. He will be missed.

Jack Vermee

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