Latest posts from National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI)

Dear Kate

Posted: 22 Feb 2019 09:18 AM PST

Lorna’s attempt to reach out to her estranged daughter reveals some stark truths in this drama about a retired vocalist who finds comfort and companionship through memories.

Creative team

Writer/director: Ilona Elizabeth McCrea
Producer: Matthew Ackland

Filmmaker’s statement

A heavy sadness consumes me, the days I walk through these cream coloured halls. A tomb of forgotten lives; rich with experience and filled with vivid memories. Each resident a trove of wisdom, left to spend their final years as invisible members of society.

This morning a gurney is wheeled down the corridor. A silver hair peers through the long vinyl bag. This once vibrant soul has departed our world, with no one to comfort them through their last breath. As they each await the inevitable, they live in hope of a friendly face, an attentive ear or a loving hand. None of them imagined a fate like this when they were young.

There is a propaganda of youth that surrounds us. An unending desire to cure, mend or stop the fatal ‘disease’ we call: Old Age. This aversion is nowhere as deeply felt as it is through the hearts of those who have been stamped with this ‘use by’ date. Their value and worth judged, and defined, by an uncontrollable force of nature.

As a team, Dear Kate challenged us to take a deep look at ourselves, our relationships and the importance of communication. It aims to question societal perceptions on aging through Lorna’s story.

By journeying with Lorna I wanted to give the audience a juxtaposition between a rich, full life and a present reality that feels stagnant and isolated. Through her nostalgia, Lorna tries to attest to her worth as a woman and as a human being. In her plea we come to see her feelings of regret, her struggle to accept her current reality, and her need to feel loved and wanted, again.

This film is the product of a generous community and a wonderful cast and crew. It is with sincere gratitude for their hard work that we present this short to you.

About Ilona Elizabeth McCrea

Holding degrees in journalism and creative writing from the University of London, Ilona went on to study acting at the William Esper Studio in New York City. With a strong interest in storytelling and the human condition, she has worked with numerous productions and news agencies that share this focus.

Garnering 13 nominations and four awards, Dear Kate is Ilona’s directorial debut.

The post Dear Kate appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

A Great Guy

Posted: 22 Feb 2019 08:37 AM PST

Ryan, a lovelorn 27-year-old, is out with his girlfriend Emily when she drops the We-Need-To-Talk, sending Ryan into a tailspin of all his previous relationships.

Creative team

Writers: Adrian Patterson, Chrisari Gold
Director: Adrian Patterson
Producer: Brendan Whelton

Filmmaker’s statement

The inspiration for A Great Guy came from overhearing a conversation where a girl broke up with her boyfriend. Before expressing her true feelings, she called her boyfriend a great guy as a way to ease the blow of what was coming.

I took it a step further and thought, what if you’re repeatedly told you’re a great person but can’t find true love? What would that do to your psyche? My goal was to let the audience feel the awkwardness of putting yourself out there in the dating world.

A Great Guy is a comedy with a familiar premise, the coffee date where someone has to present the bad news. When Emily tells Ryan they “need to talk,” Ryan is thrust into a manic fever dream, seeing apparitions of his ex-girlfriends at the coffee table in place of Emily. Ryan is confused as these former flames repeatedly break up with him, setting the stakes for what Emily will do to him.

The story and presentation of A Great Guy may have a theatrical feel, but I consider it an almost virtual reality experience. Not only is Ryan the protagonist of the film but, for most of the running time, the audience is also Ryan. Ryan’s fever dream is shot in a first person POV, allowing the audience to see and feel through his eyes.

The actors staring into the lens come from my appreciation of Jonathan Demme’s use of semi-fourth wall breaking close ups in The Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia. The editing complements the cinematography, showing Ryan’s confusion and anxiety through quick cuts and the overlapping dialogue of his ex-girlfriends.

My aim was to create an overwhelming feeling and slight discomfort with the audience as a way to empathize with Ryan. As Roger Ebert once said, “Films are empathy machines.”

A Great Guy is a comedy that puts its characters and audience through a wave of different emotions in a short period of time. Enjoy the ride.

About Adrian Patterson

Adrian Patterson is a Toronto-based filmmaker. He studied filmmaking at Toronto’s Centennial College, where he developed a surrealist style that encompasses his narrative and music video work. His films have garnered numerous awards and nominations.

A Great Guy screened at the Toronto Independent Film Festival and won the best short film award at The Shortstack Film Festival.

The post A Great Guy appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

Headdress

Posted: 22 Feb 2019 08:31 AM PST

Filmmaker JJ Neepin recreates her great grandfather’s portrait and considers the responsibility it carries.

Creative team

Writer/director: JJ Neepin
Producer: Justina Neepin

Filmmaker’s statement

Headdress is a personal story and one I wanted to share in the hopes of starting an ongoing conversation about the controversial topic of cultural appropriation. This is what the Headdress symbol means to me and why.

About JJ Neepin

JJ Neepin is an Indigenous writer and director based out of Winnipeg.

With her sister, producer Justina Neepin, they have created several short films with their production company JJNeepinFilms Inc. Their work has screened at film festivals around the world, including imagineNATIVE in Toronto, LASkins Festival in Los Angeles and Maoriland in New Zealand.

JJ has directed several episodes of Eagle Vision’s true crime documentary series Taken, APTN’s ghost investigation show The Other Side and several other documentary television episodes.

Constantly honing her craft, JJ has participated in the competitive 2018 Women in the Director’s Chair Story & Leadership program, 2017 Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television’s Women Director’s Apprenticeship and various documentary mentorships with Hot Docs and the National Screen Institute.

The post Headdress appeared first on National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI).

The Last Ride

Posted: 22 Feb 2019 08:27 AM PST

Indigenous music icon Errol ‘C-Weed’ Ranville had his life shattered when he survived a fiery head-on car crash that killed his wife along with four teenagers, giving him a second chance that has lead to an unprecedented creative drive to solidify his legacy and promote reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and Canada.

Creative team

Writer/producer: Gary Zubeck
Director: Rick Skene

Filmmaker’s statement

The subject of The Last Ride is Indigenous music icon Errol Ranville, who’s overcome horrific personal tragedy to fulfill an inspired new vision.

One crucial aspect of my vision for the story was to create real emotional impact for the tragic car crash. I felt the best way to achieve that was to replicate the crash and fiery explosion onscreen – old-school, using real cars. The dramatic moment of that horrific, unanticipated split-second when life as we know it shatters completely sets up the emotional context beautifully for the further narrative.

To lift the piece out of the sit-and-chat, talking heads style of documentary filmmaking, I wanted to shoot and employ cinematic transitions like dissolves and super-impositions and other visual effects to underscore the mood and meaning of the story. I feel this not only represents an exciting project from a directing standpoint but it put to work our strengths and resources as a production team. My work in the past directing stunt sequences and car crashes gave me insight and resources that might never otherwise have been available to a smaller project such as this.

I also wanted to use the recurring image of the crash visuals as a poetic device, employing drop frame and slow-motion stylization to represent that ever-present emotional scar in his life. We play Errol’s own music as the soundtrack to the haunting recurring visuals of the crash as we hear Errol narrate the story and the profound changes it made in his relationships to family and community. We follow his recovery and his choice to heal and help others heal. We see his return to music and creativity, and discover his thoughts reconciling the mystery of life and music.

About Rick Skene

Rick Skene has worked extensively in the film and television industry for over 30 years.

He is the leading stunt coordinator/action sequence director in central Canada with over 175 feature film and series credits. His expertise covers a wide range of stunt work, including car stunts, body burns, wire-work, ratchets, air rams, high falls, fight choreography, etc. He is a highly respected stunt driver and works frequently in this capacity designing and executing major chase/crash sequences.

Rick works as a director/second unit director planning the shots and directing the filming of stunt and fight sequences. He also has an extensive acting resume which includes playing the serial killer lead in Steven C. Miller’s feature film reboot of the horror classic Silent Night.

Rick teaches at the University of Winnipeg’s theatre and film department in the advanced filmmaking program. His lifelong love of documentary filmmaking, combined with the compelling story producer Gary Zubeck first brought forward, caused Rick to jump at the opportunity to direct The Last Ride.

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