November - December 2010 Reel West Magazine

Nov / Dec 2010

$5.00

Film, video, internet and digital production in Western CanAda

Nerd Corps’

Canadian Mail Publication Sales Agreement Number: 40006834

League of Super Evil finds itself on television sets world-wide

Rob Leichner’s diary on Whistler Film Festival bound

everything louder than everything else

Contents

16 Whistler’s Ascent

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The Whistler Film Festival is celebrating its tenth anniversary in December. Considered early in its development to be an echo of the Vancouver festival, it has worked hard to bring in premieres. Once thought of as being too small a town to host a major film event it has harnessed the momentum of the recent Olympics and appears ready to claim a spot alongside Sundance and Telluride as a “destination” festival.

5 bits and bytes

17 Summit talks

14 Question and Answer

Program manager Angela Heck discusses the new name and attitude at the Whistler Film Festival’s trade forum, now known as the Summit.

Production Update

10 Beginnings 12 Behind the Scenes 13 reel west profile 15 Expert Witness

20 home field disadvantage

18 Reel West Profile

Although it has a deserved reputation as being a great place to promote international films, the Toronto International Film Festival may not be as kind to Canadian movies.

While they usually get press coverage in their home country, producers can face an uphill battle when they look to create enthusiasm further a-field.

28 Legal Briefs 30 FINAL EDIT

22 evil attraction In a world of animated good guys, one TV series has gone the other way and attracted the attention of 150 countries. Vancouver-based Nerd Corps is winning battles in almost every territory with its League of Super Evil.

26 TURNING UP THE VOLUME In his diary on the making of the Whistler Film Festival-bound film Everything Louder than Everything Else Rob Leichner looks back at the day he decided to write what he knew, the day he changed the project from a web series to a feature film and the day the music started to get loud.

Cover and contents: Nerd corps’ League of Super evil Reel West Magazine is a wholly owned enterprise of Reel West Productions Inc. It exists and is managed to provide publicity and advertising that supports the growth of the Western Canadian Motion Picture Industry.

Executive publisher: Sandy P. Flanagan. Executive Editor: Ian Caddell. Publisher: Ron Harvey. Sales: Randy Holmes. creative Director: Andrew von Rosen. art director: Lindsey Ataya. Photo Editor: Phillip Chin. Reel West Magazine is published six times per year. Subscriptions Canada/US. $35.00 per year (plus $10.00 postage to USA). Reel West Digest, The Directory for Western Canada’s Film, Video and Television Industry, is published annually. Subscription $35.00 per year (plus $10.00 postage to US). Both Publications $60.00 (plus $10.00 postage to USA) Prices include GST. Copyright 2010 Reel West Productions Inc. Second Class Mail. Registration No. 0584002. ISSN 0831-5388. G.S.T. # R104445218. Reel West Productions Inc. 101 - 5512 Hastings Street, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5B 1R3. Phone (604) 451-7335 Toll Free: 1-888-291-7335 Fax: (604) 451-7305 Email: info@reelwest.com URL: www.reelwest.com.

Volume 25, Issue 6. Printed In Canada. To subscribe call 1-888-291-7335 or visit our website at www.reelwest.com. Reel West welcomes feedback from our readers, via email at editorial@reelwest.com or by fax at 604-451-7305. All correspondence must include your name, address, and daytime telephone number.

Reel West november / december 2010

3

Production update

What’s coming. What’s shooting. What’s wrapped.

Life Unexpected is one of 14 series calling BC home this month

Vancouver Hosting 14 Series

Two new television series, Mr. Young and Endgame, arrived in September and joined a group that is already substantial. There were 14 series calling BC home in October. The list included the earlier announced Hellcats and the second seasons of Stargate Universe, V, Life Unexpected, Hiccups and Human Target; the third seasons of Fringe and Sanctuary, the fourth season of Eureka, the fifth season of Psych, the sixth season of Supernatural and the tenth and final season of Smallville.

Endgame had Michael Shepard,

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Harvey Kahn and Avrum Jacobson as executive producers, David Frazee and S. Lilly Hui as producers with Hui as line producer, Mathias Herndl as DOP, Matthew Budgeon as production designer, Doug Brons as production manager, Carol Schafer as production coordinator, Gregory Astop as location manager and John MacCuspie as special effects coordinator.

Mr. Young, the story of a 14 year old child prodigy who returns to his old high school as a teacher, had Michael Shepard as executive

producer, with Lisa Richardson as producer, Alex Raffe as supervising producer, Victoria Hirst as line producer/production manager, Amir Mohammed as DOP, Thom Ward as production designer and Lucy Macleod as production coordinator.

The feature This Means War brought Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon to town in September to play a woman who comes between two life-long best friends. It had Brent O’Connor as executive producer, Will Smith and James Lassiter as producers, McG as

director, Martin Laing as production designer, Drew Locke as production manager, Jennifer Metcalf as production coordinator, Greg Jackson as location manager and Alex Burdett as special effects coordinator.

The digital feature Marley and Me: The Puppy Years is a prequel to the popular Jennifer Aniston movie. It had Janine Damian as executive producer with Connie Dolphin as producer, Michael Damian as director, Ron Stannett as DOP, Troy Hansen as production designer, Michael Potkins as production manager, Jennifer Aicholz as production coordinator and Dan Carr as location manager.

Three MOWs were scheduled to be here in October. Collision Earth had Tom Berry and Lisa Hansen as executive producers, John Prince as producer, George Mihalka as director, Thomas Harting as DOP, James Willcock as production designer, Simon Richardson as production manager, Jim McKeown as production coordinator, Karen Zajac as location manager and Al Benjamin as special effects coordinator.

Never Tell A Lie had Ian Hay as producer/production manager, Bradley Walsh as director, Paul McCulloch as production designer, Ron Pachkowski as production coordinator and Stephen Sangster as location manager.

Two For the Road had Irene Dreayer and Pam Eells as executive producers with Tracey Jeffrey as producer, Sean McNamara as director, Attila Szalay as DOP, Sandy Cochrane as production designer, Mandy Spencer-Phillips as production manager, Rhonda Legge as production coordinator, Kirk Johns as location manager and Bill Ryan as special effects coordinator. n

Reel West November / december 2010

Kistikan Can

Phyllis Laing, Liz Jarvis and Jean du Toit of Winnipeg’s Buffalo Gal Pictures have joined forces with North of 60 star Tina Keeper to form a new production company called Kistikan Pictures.

“We’re thrilled to be taking on this exciting new initiative with Tina Keeper,” said Laing. “We’ve known Tina for a long time, and realized that we can do a lot together by sharing our knowledge and vision.” Said Keeper: “Buffalo Gal Pictures is an incredibly dynamic company with a true passion for filmmaking. We share a lot of the same sensibilities, ideals and vision when it comes to production, so it makes sense to put our efforts together.”

Kistikan spokesperson RoseAnna Schick said Kistikan, which is a Cree word meaning ‘garden,’ “merges the strengths of both companies to establish a joint production company that will create film and television projects by and about Indigenous filmmakers/stories. The intent of the partnership is to produce works that will incorporate their best in business, technical and creative knowledge. The potential for mentorship in both creative and technical development is also a key element for the vision of Kistikan Pictures. Kistikan will develop and produce documentaries, dramatic features, short films and television programming that reflects the Indigenous experience.”

Schick said that one of the first projects from Kistikan is the third season of Cashing In, a co-production between Kistikan Pictures and Animiki See Digital Productions. The series is currently in postproduction and scheduled to air on APTN in the spring of 2011.

Bits and Bytes Panasonic Goes to Mid Canada Winnipeg’s Mid Canada Production Services recently became an authorized reseller of Panasonic Professional Imaging products. According to Panasonic spokesperson Trell Huether, Mid Canada is the largest independent production facility for film and television between Toronto and Vancouver. He said the company will now offer a full line-up of Panasonic Professional Imaging products including Panasonic Full HD 3D, P2HD, DV/AVCHD and DVCPRO. “We’re proud to be partnering with MidCan to offer the TV and film communities in Manitoba the finest in broadcast and AV technology,” says Panasonic national sales manager Terry Horbatiuk. “MidCan has a stellar reputation for quality and service in a steadily growing market that is important to us so we’re excited to be working with them.”

“We have built a solid reputation for providing our customers with the finest facilities and products, so teaming with Panasonic to bring their latest technology to our market was essential,” says Mid Canada president and CEO Wayne Sheldon. “The industry in this region of the country is strong and they demand the best. We now have the best Panasonic has to offer and look to expand our offerings in the future.”

Sheldon says Mid Canada operates out of a 16,000 sq. ft. facility in Winnipeg, servicing all aspects of the film, TV/Audio and web production industries in Manitoba.

PS Hires O’Connor BC film industry veteran Eleanor O’Connor is the new vice-president of PS Production Services Ltd. O’Connor comes to the job from Paramount Production Services, where she was vice-president of Canadian operations.

“With Eleanor joining PS at a national level we will benefit from her skills and experience in all of our markets,” said the company’s president Douglas Barrett. PS chairman and founder Doug Dales said he was “thrilled that someone who so ably competed with us is in the past is now able to join our team.”

In addition to the hiring of O’Connor, Barrett announced that Rae Thurston has been appointed as the company’s executive vice president and chief operating officer. He said the promotion of Thurston to chief operating officer “is an acknowledgement of the tremendous contribution” he has made to the company over the past 15 years.

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Sex Sells Germany played host to a Vancouver independent film about a dominatrix in late October. Mistress Superior, a film about a dominatrix who finds herself in emotional turmoil after seemingly losing her mean streak, premiered at the Fetisch Film Festival in the northern city of Kiel.

A spokesperson said Mistress Superior’s cast was comprised mostly of actors who work for the Vancouver Public Library where producer/ screenwriter John David Philip has worked for over 20 years. “There is a ton of creative talent among library staff,” says Philip. “In my job I get around the system a lot, so I Reel West november / december 2010

get to know people’s talents and interests.”

Philip said the festival offered to create a German-subtitled version of the film. He says he was worried it would lose something in the translation. “The German translation is as hilarious as the original,” he says. “We really pulled together to make a quality version that will make us eligible for other festivals that require a German-language submission. Of course we’re hoping it’s well-received by this first, very special audience.” Philip said the film was shot in Vancouver and stars producer Elektra Harris in the title role.

Tel. 604.451.REEL (7335) TF. 1.888.291.7335 e. info@reelwest.com 101 – 5512 Hastings St. Burnaby, BC V5B 1R3 www.reelwest.com

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A show about Regina that echoes films about Paris, New York and Tokyo will have its broadcast premiere in November after a four day show at the Regina Public Library Film Theatre. I Heart Regina combines the work of 14 Regina based directors and more than 200 crewmembers and performers.

In his review of the film the Montreal Gazette’s Pat Donnelly said it had him hooked from start to finish.

“It’s like a short story collection by a group of keenly observant authors,

read at one sitting. Its brief slices of life in the Canadian city noted for being as cold as it is flat, have an authentic, improvised feel, with a hearty dose of Western irony.”

The 14 I Heart Regina directors are: Brett Bell, H. Mauricio Carvajal, Lowell Dean, Jackie Dzuba, Eric Hill, Rob King, Terry Mialkowsky, Jason Nielsen, Dianne Ouellette, Robin Schlaht, Vanda Schmockel, Nils Sorensen, Brian Stockton and Mark Wihak. Becki Hui is the producer.

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Vancouver’s Force Four Entertainment recently announced that three-time Gemini nominated lifestyle documentary series The Cupcake Girls has been renewed for a second season on the W Network. The show’s first season began airing in August on American network WEtv. “We are thrilled that the series has resonated with viewers in both Canada and the United States,” says Force Four’s John Ritchie. “The W Network is a great broadcast partner to work with, and it’s very exciting to be nominated for three Geminis and be renewed for a second season of following the personal and business adventures of Heather White and Lori Joyce.”

According to spokesperson Lindsay Namiache, production on the second season began in early October. She said the first season starred White and Joyce on their journey to build a cupcake empire. She said the Vancouver-based bakery, Cupcakes, specializes in whimsical cupcakes, cakes and other nostalgic baked goods employs 50-60 employee. There are two retail bakeries and four franchise bakeries to date with a third planned for December.

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Reel West November / december 2010

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Returning Hiccups

Hiccups is back and catching on worldwide. In a subdistribution deal with Thunderbird Films through Electus Distribution, former NBC Universal co-chairman Ben Silverman has bought international distribution rights for the first season of the Vancouver-shot series about a children’s author with anger-management issues.

“Ben is somebody who has the capacity to move a show world-wide,” said producer and co-star Brent Butt. “With his history as founder of Reveille, one of the top distribution companies in the world, and then as the co-chairman for NBC Universal, he is a respected voice at all levels of the business.”

Butt said the first season of Hiccups premiered to 1.9 million Canadian viewers on March 1, making it the most-watched premiere of any scripted Canadian series and the “new number 1 comedy program (Canadian or American) of the year.”

The series is executive produced by Laura Lightbown and David Storey and produced by Nancy Robertson and Arvi Liimatainen. The supervising producer is Andrew Carr. It’s produced by Butt’s production company, Sparrow Media Company Inc. in association with CTV and The Comedy Network. The second season is currently shooting in Vancouver.

Reel West november / december 2010

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Vancouver is hosting a new series about the misadventures of a 14 year old college graduate who returns to his old high school to teach science.

Mr. Young is scheduled to launch on YTV next spring.

According to spokesperson Julia Frittaion, the show was created by executive producer Dan Signer, a writer/producer for Disney Channel’s hit series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. She said the show is being produced by YTV and Vancouverbased Thunderbird Films. “We are

thrilled with the quality of the talented writers and cast who have signed on to bring Dan Signer’s outstanding concept to the screen,” said Thunderbird president Michael Shepard.

Frittaion said the show stars Tooth Fairy’s Brendan Meyer as a child prodigy faced with teaching his skeptical contemporaries. The cast includes Matreya Fedor, Gig Morton, Kurt Ostlund and Emily Tennant and Anna Galvin. She said it will be the first multi-camera sitcom series produced in the city.

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Beginning of Endgame

Thunderbird Films recently announced the start of production for the Vancouver-shot Endgame, a series centering on a brilliant chess master. A spokesperson said Endgame is slated to premiere in Canada on Showcase in the spring of 2011. The international distributor is the Endemol Group. The series stars Big Love’s Shawn Doyle and The Tudors’ Torrance Coombs. According to the spokesperson it revolves around a Russian chess master (Doyle), who uses his skills of perception and strategic thinking to solve crimes that have stumped others.

“Audiences are hungry for creative television and Endgame offers our audience a great mystery series from a distinctly new point of view,” said CanWest vicepresident Christine Shipton. “The series is an ideal addition to the Showcase line-up. It’s steeped in international intrigue with a great cast of dynamic characters.”

Endgame was created by Avrum Jacobson. Da Vinci Inquest’s David Frazee is the producer and Michael Shepard, Jacobson, Tim Gamble and Harvey Kahn are the executive producers.

Reel West November / december 2010

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Four Winnipeggers of Aboriginal descent have consented to take part in the series Fit First, which will be shown on APTN throughout the fall. According to spokesperson RoseAnna Schick, the six episodes will begin in mid-October and chronicle the trials and triumphs of the participants as they attempt to lose weight.

“As they embark on very personal journeys, each will be pushed to their breaking point, and challenged to go beyond it,” said Schick. “It takes courage, drive and determination – in mind, body and spirit – to do what they are doing. As they begin to experience lower numbers on the scale, improved fitness, and increased confidence, their stories will inspire in ways even they did not expect. And through losing weight, they just may find their own inner ‘warrior spirit’ along the way.”

Schick said the participants include 48 year old motherof-five Irene Mesich; 43 year old Leann Frederickson, who has two children and a grandchild, 40 year old Kim Ziervogel, who has three teenaged children and 34 year old father-of-three Willis Petti. She said Kent Brown, a head coach for Winnipeg’s United Boxing Club is the trainer.

The show is produced by Stephanie Scott and Vanessa Loewen, and executive produced by Scott and Peter Strutt. It is a co-production between Animiki See Digital Productions and Indios Productions.

Reel West november / december 2010

9

beginnings

David Hauka on location near Palm Springs shooting his new film Awkward

David Hauka

“I had found something I never knew existed. I had found something I didn’t know I was missing...”

G

rowing up in a small coastal town like Gibsons, BC has its advantages, most of which are only realized after leaving. During the 1960s and ’70s the town was a vibrant, creative place surrounded by ocean, forests and mountains.

The population seemed to me to be

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from everywhere and included First Nations, British, Scottish, German, French, Japanese and Jamaican. Even though we lived in a three TV channel universe, my world seemed interesting and dynamic. Most people worked in the fishing and logging industries or at the local pulp mill, none of which were of particular in-

terest to me. That was probably because my father was an electrician to pay the bills and an inventor of submarines to feed his passion. Gibsons was a great place to grow up, and I couldn’t wait to get out.

I didn’t have to go looking for the film and television industry. It came to me in the guise of CBC’s Beachcomb-

ers TV series. When a well-meaning CBC producer visited our school saying they were looking for a few young actors for the series, my friends and I paid little heed. We had other things on our minds like Boy Scouts, boats and an increasing interest in girls.

Acting or anything film-related was not on the horizon. So a few years later when I got a job as a production assistant on Beachcombers, I did not consider it an entry point to the film and television industry. I needed money for university so I could get a degree and a real job.

My summer on Beachcombers was great, save for one incident which I will get to later. My duties were in the furthest orbit possible from the set under the watchful eye of Jake Wiebe. I helped breakdown sets and slopped paint. I met young professionals in the art department, including Michael Bolton, and Jimmy Chow.

After a few weeks working with Jake, I was sent over to the locations department to work on set. Working in the art department had stoked my interest and so going to set every day was a great next step. Cameras! Lights!

Boats! I was handed a stop sign, given a walkie-talkie and told to stand at the mid-point of School Road and stop traffic as required by the set. Things went very badly.

The walkie crackled to life: “Hold the traffic!” barked the AD. I stepped out, stop sign held out like a shield, into the middle of the steep hill that was School Road. No traffic. The set was doing take after take of Nick complaining about something while I stood guard. Ten minutes passed and the set seemed to have forgotten me and my nonexistent traffic. Then a souped-up red convertible came blasting down the hill towards me. I recognized the car and driver. It was a friend since Grade One. I smiled, waved and held up my sign higher for him to see. It wasn’t him blasting past me so much as the extended middle finger that caused damage.

I couldn’t figure it out. I knew that guy! The radio crackled: “David! I said hold the traffic! What are you doing up there?” I looked at my sign, and then at the mayhem at the bottom of the hill where my friend’s car had just barreled through the set. “I’m coming in,” I replied. A few days later, the pulp mill called and I took a job there for the rest of the year, earning enough Reel West November / december 2010

money for university. I forgot all about film and television for several years.

Simon Fraser University showed me how really big the world was. I met people from around the planet who were striving for knowledge and taking action. I was exposed to information and situations that my upbringing had not prepared me for.

I sank and swam at the same time.

It was great! During my first summer semester, I followed a friend into the student newspaper office and didn’t really come out of there for a year. I was taught the basics of reporting by the likes of Ian Caddell, Shane McCune and Lee Rankin. Eventually I learned to take pictures well enough to become Photo Editor at the paper.

I probably would have stayed in journalism had it not been for a strange SFU tradition of the period: labour strikes. Strikes were a serious and regular event at the university.

Students and faculty would respect the pickets, so classes were held off campus whenever possible. On campus, young politicos (and some old ones) would plug toilets, put up posters and make a mess while the union and management tried to find compromise amid the madness. One evening in late October my friend and fellow film student, John Darby, told me I had to attend an evening lecture being held at the Pacific Cinematheque. There was a woman from the BFI (whatever that was) speaking and the woman I was mad about would be there. Afterwards

we planned to go to the Movieland Arcade to try out a few new pinball machines. (Yeah, I played pinball).

Writing fiction or screenplays had never occurred to me before walking into the old Pacific Cinematheque offices that evening. It was in an industrial part of the city that is now choked with Olympic condos. Outside, the building looked unwelcoming in the dark and rain. Inside it was all shadows and obstacles. A few bare bulbs lit our way past shelves sagging with film cans and papers and into an open area with chairs, students, a projector and a screen. I grabbed a chair only two away from the object of my desire and settled in hoping to look both interested and interesting. Professor Michael Elliott Hurst entered and ad-

damp and dark room.

Experimental Films from Britain’s Post-War Period was suddenly the only subject I was interested in. Names of filmmakers, political/historic context and Marxist theory washed over me.

Then the films started. They were intense, troubled, funny, moving and frightening. The BFI woman, the woman two seats away and pinball all vanished for me: I had found something I never knew existed. I had found something I didn’t know I was missing.

After the lecture, John and I left and went straight to the Movieland Arcade.

I was distracted and didn’t play particularly well. The next week, I withdrew from studies, having decided to take up a friend’s offer to tour France with him the following summer. Taking a con-

films ever since. I entered the SFU Film Workshop, meeting and eventually working with Charles Wilkinson, Tobias Schliessler, Jori Woodman, Tony Dean and many others who have gone on to successful careers. I also met my future business partner, Raymond Massey, with whom I would later make Impolite and Whale Music.

After university, I started to run into people I had met during my brief time on Beachcombers. They were all rapidly rising professionals enjoying hard-won success on features and television. Friends from Gibsons who had entered the industry after Beachcombers were hard at work by the time I entered the field. The list included John Smith, “Bucky” Buckmaster, John Sleep and others who

“Writing fiction or screenplays had never occurred to me before walking into the old Pacific Cinematheque offices that evening...”

– David Hauka on attending a particular evening lecture dressed the class. After an introduction I paid no attention to, the woman from the British Film Institute stood up and faced the gathering. She was tall, lean and dressed in a black dress and jacket. She wore a wide brimmed hat that cast a partial shadow over her pale face. When she spoke, her precise and accented English seemed to breathe warmth and life into the cold,

tract job, I worked hard, made money and thought a lot about film. I also acted in a few SFU student productions, meeting Danny Nowak, Tony Giancinti and John Houtman on different sets.

On return from France, with the help of Houtman, Darby, Giancinti and experimental filmmaker Michael McGarry, I made my first film Oh, Really..., a very dark comedy, and have been making

were all part of the rapidly growing production community. Many of my closest friends and colleagues had cut their teeth on that series many years ago, and working with them over the years has made the industry my home. Now, after all this time, I wonder: what would have happened if that bastard in the convertible hadn’t flipped me the bird? n

Reel west profile

Vancouver Film Studios Gerry Rutherford Gerry Rutherford made the move from union boss to the public sector several years ago when he went from being business manager at I.A.T.S.E., Local 669 to business affairs director at Scarab Digital Studios. In 2007 he took over responsibility for lighting and grip, dolly, lift and locations services departments at Pacific Backlot Services, the company that oversees Vancouver Film Studios.

Home town Winnipeg, Manitoba First day in the business April 1, 1987 in Toronto working for ACTRA as a Commercial/IPA Steward.

Best day Two of them. First one: March 3rd 1996, when leading negotiations on behalf of IATSE Local 669, the BC Council of Film Unions finalized negotiations of the first Master Agreement with the AMPTP (Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers) and five hours later I was the proud father of my lovely baby girl Victoria Joy Rutherford. Second: May 3rd, 2007 having lunch at the Casual Gourmet in North Vancouver with Pete Mitchell who offered me the job at Vancouver Film Studios.

Worst day Two of them too. First was the day my great friend and mentor Richard Leiterman passed away. The second was the day my other great friend and mentor Ken Leslie-Smith passed away.

Most memorable working experience Having the opportunity to get to know Tom Short (IATSE past President), Nick Counter (AMPTP past President) and David McLean (Chairman, McLean Group of Companies), and watch them in action.

If I won an Oscar I would thank Allan Krasnik, Virginia Ryshpan, John Bartley, Roger Vernon, Richard Leiterman, Ken Leslie-Smith, Rick Perotto, Danny Ho, Pete Mitchell, the McLean Family, Derek Hall, Kim Alexander, Jenifer Row-Emery, Paul Roscorla and my family My latest five year plan To keep working with the fantastic management team at VFS on the plans for the future of the Studio.

Reel West november / december 2010

11

Photo Phil Chin

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Reel West November / december 2010

Behind the scenes

Angusfilm

Behind the Scenes with Mark DesRochers and Tom Crowe

W

hen they founded Angusfilm Production Services in 2004, Mark DesRochers and Tom Crowe already knew more than most people about the vagaries of location work. They had held the positions of BC Film Commissioner and CEO of the Victoria Film Commission respectively and during their tenures had dealt with the “big picture” items of the industry in BC. Even with their experience as location managers (which stretched back to the 1980s) they admit that six years into their latest endeavour they continue to learn the machinations of the filmmaking process. Angusfilm has supervised over 500 film and television productions at dozens of different locations they represent in Metro Vancouver. The properties have ranged from major industrial complexes to wildlife reserves and from public parks and beaches to corporate and commercial offices.

Both men have found some key differences between their current work and the jobs they have held.

‘where are the trucks and crew going to park?’ ‘What time do the gates need to be opened for catering?’

‘How is a huge explosion not going to upset the public or destroy the park?’ And it’s about the number of horses, snakes and helicopters that are needed.”

DesRochers says that one of the advantages of working in a private enterprise is that it allows you to avoid government interference. However, it doesn’t mean that things are any easier. “There is always some form of political intrigue on certain productions. The freelance nature of our business does not allow for lifelong government bureaucrats to control or even torpedo operational plans. Now those things are done by the studio executives, megalomaniacal producers, union reps or bipolar actors. The juggling act is still part of our daily routine. It’s just different balls and more production related issues.”

Crowe’s experience in forming relationships between the industry and communities has come in handy. He says Angusfilm has managed to bring at least one disgruntled community

5 in negotiations with the Village to secure highways property for their huge build to replicate the Lions Gate Bridge.”

Their current job has a range of requirements. In addition to negotiating with communities, Angusfilm works hand-in-hand with directors, location managers and production designers to get the look and production values required for their project.

On episodic series they work closely with the location managers and production team on projects that are based on an idea or script outline, often discussing and scouting for locations that are still being written.

They will often work with a production from the time they open their offices through script concept to prep, filming, wrap and restoration.

Along with their associates, Cam Gardner and Diane Patrick, they are often managing and supervising numerous shows simultaneously.

“Suspension of disbelief is a constant in our work because of all the sci-fi shows we work with,” says DesRochers. Crowe says that the list of upcoming jobs range from the biggest

“Utilizing a holistic approach to our operations allows us to keep our roles and responsibilities in perspective...”

– Mark DesRochers, co-founder or Angusfilm Production Services Crowe says that the most prominent dissimilarity between their work in site supervision and the things he did as Victoria Film Commissioner and as a location scout for the BC Film Commission is the minutia. “Breaking down a script at the Film Commissions provided producers with services in general terms including available locations, crews, studios, etc. Site supervision is more about Reel West november / december 2010

back into the industry fold. “The Village of Lions Bay had a moratorium on filming for several years. We entered negotiations with the municipality to help create a practical policy and a film friendly environment. We now formally represent Lions Bay as film supervisors. That allows filmmaker’s access to locations previously unavailable. Case in point, we assisted Final Destination

of box office films like the concluding movies in the Twilight series to episodes of locally shot television series.

While the industry may seem glamorous to those who have never been on the set of a production, DesRochers says that the traditional description of on-set work as “about as sexy as manufacturing sausages” is accurate. “What we do keep in mind is the big picture of the biz, as we did

in our days as Film Commissioners.

If a production has a positive experience that we have contributed to our whole community benefits. Utilizing a holistic approach to our operations allows us to keep our roles and responsibilities in perspective as well as assist productions to meet their creative requirements. If we don’t have the locations or are unable to provide the logistics they may need we always advise or suggest alternatives. We also work with the production to come up with creative options for special effects (explosions, fire), and stunts (car chases, rigging etc.) that due to environmental or community impact concerns cannot proceed. An air ram with debris flying around can replicate a black powder explosion. Rigging to trees 40 to 50 feet up negates the need to bring a crane into a park. We also have to be diligent in reminding productions that parks are public property and can’t be ‘bought’ or closed down for filming.”

Crowe says the bigger the production the greater the chance Murphy’s Law will be the rule rather than the exception. “On large productions we are sometimes at the mercy of many variables including actor availability, weather and script changes. Mark and I have been around this industry long enough to take the Buddhist approach: ‘All suffering lies in expectation.’ We try not to let our assumptions fool us into believing all plans will come to fruition. A large feature recently prepped a location in one of our parks for months for what they originally thought would be weeks of filming. They filmed for two days.

On a Friday afternoon the show had the prep crew wrapping the set they’d built for the last three days while trucks, equipment and set-dec etc. were arriving, still scheduled to film the next day. ‘The best laid plans of mice & men.’ They might not want to be identified.” n 13

question and Answer Stephen Frears directed Helen Mirrin to an Osacr for The Queen

Stephen Frears

T

here may be more renowned filmmakers but few that are as consistent at discovering talent than Britain’s Stephen Frears. Although he doesn’t own an Academy Award, his films have won over two dozen nominations and he has played a pivotal role in the careers of Daniel Day Lewis (My Beautiful Launderette), Jack Black (High Fidelity), Annette Bening (The Grifters), Michelle Pfeiffer and Uma Thurman (Dangerous Liaisons) and Gary Oldman (Prick Up Your Ears.) Two years ago he directed Helen Mirren to an Oscar for The Queen.

14

Director

His latest film is Tamara Drewe, the story of a journalist who returns to the town that treated her badly after having a nose job. He was interviewed at the Toronto International Film Festival by Reel West editor Ian Caddell. The film was scheduled to have a platform release across western Canada in early November.

You have a great resume when it comes to casting. How do you spot talent?

“I guess I believe in them in some way. When Daniel Day Lewis dyed his hair, I made a film with Dan. The next time I saw him his hair had

changed. He’d betrayed me.”

You have done well choosing scripts but the films are very eclectic. Do you ever go looking for something specific?

“You just read something and like it.

I don’t think about it. I’m going to do different films all my life, but I didn’t set out for that. I guess I have a low threshold of boredom. I rely entirely on what I read. I avoid that situation of having to dream up something myself. I don’t have to invent something, just respond.”

Were you a bit surprised with all the hullaballoo surrounding Brokeback Mountain, given that you’d

done that many years ago with My Beautiful Laundrette?

“Well, I’d made a Western that I thought was a gay story. But no one else seemed to. The Western I’d made had two men in love, or one was infatuated with another.”

Is it more difficult for you to make an American film like High Fidelity than it is to do British movies?

“I don’t know anything about America. I only know about the American cinema. So it’s like going on holiday.

But High Fidelity was more complicated, because it was based on an English novel. So I was already cheating and hedging my bets.”

Does anyone ever tell you that you can’t make a film because of a label that might have come from making a previous film?

“I don’t think producers are as stupid as you think. They’re smarter than that. No one’s ever tried to make me stick to one kind of film.”

What do you bring to the table?

“You’d know better than I would.

But I think I’m good at my job. I don’t think about that. I just think I’m lucky. I’m good with actors. And I’m cheap. I don’t worry about a lot of things. If someone offers me a job, I’m just grateful.”

Did you ever turn things down?

“Special effects stuff. I was asked to make an action film with special effects. And my camera man said, ‘Look, we’ll have a good time, but you’ll be bored out of your mind.’ I don’t have a list of things I want to do, that I check off. I just hope I’ll be surprised by a script.”

What about The Queen? That seemed like a high-risk film?

“You mean a high-risk film in that I might get my head chopped off?

I think we got away with murder if you want my honest opinion. I don’t know why we were allowed to get away with it, but we did. I thought the material was very good and I thought Helen (Mirren) was very good.”

Do you look at your old films?

“Never. Sometimes you’re flipping through channels and you catch it.

And you keep on flipping. Sometimes you think, ‘Oh, that was good,’ and other times you think, ‘That wasn’t so good.’”

Are there parts of filmmaking that you don’t like?

“The selling of it afterwards. Making this film was great. The weather was lovely, the cast was good. It was great.” n

Reel West November / december 2010

Expert witness

Clint eastwood

“I was always shocked about Frank Capra. I spent time with him at his summer home and he was always so bright and I thought ‘why doesn’t he still work?’ And Billy Wilder stopped working in his 60s and I thought ‘here is this guy who is so bright.’ He lived well into his nineties and didn’t work and I never could figure that because I thought your best years should be at a point when you have absorbed all this knowledge.

Maybe they just didn’t keep up with the times or they picked stories that didn’t work or they had a few pictures that didn’t do so well. Hollywood is fickle and they move on.

There is a Portugese director who is still making films who is over 100 years old and I plan to do the same thing.” Clint Eastwood on making movies at 80.

“I was in the gondola at Telluride (Festival) and people were talking about Never Let Me Go and I was sitting opposite them and they didn’t recognize me and they were talking freely about the movie! If you don’t go to nightclubs, which is my idea of hell, then you should be okay. I am not devastated to not go to cool restaurants. It is not really taking anything from my life.” Oscar nominee Carey Mulligan on avoiding the paparazzi.

“It’s no secret that mothers are the number one topic in therapy. So you know it is all going to be your fault no matter what you do. If you know that going in you can sort of pick and choose what you say yes and no to because you know you are always wrong. That said, the most precious and daunting task that I can imagine, let alone know exist, is to be a good parent. It requires life training. Calling forth the greatness of a child or a race horse and working within their understanding of themselves and getting them to believe in themselves, is a noble task.” Actor Diane Lane on being a real life mother and playing one in Secretariat.

“My life has changed significantly since the success of Mad Men and it has been a very exciting ride and a very strange time but I get to work with some tremendous people and opportunities come to me because the profile has gotten very broad. I am very fortunate and very happy. I don’t want to write because I can’t focus. I find it terrifying. My girlfriend of more 13 years is a writer and producer and will be directing a film soon and is an accomplished actress as well. I watch her do that stuff but I don’t have

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the focus. I have the attention span of a hopped-up squirrel.” Actor Jon Hamm on Jon Hamm

why he sticks to acting.

Excerpted from interviews done by Reel West editor Ian Caddell.

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15

MAIN AND TOP Whistler Film Festival opening gala and festival party; ABOVE L-R Whistler Film Festival Artistic Director, Stacey Donan and Executive Director, Shauna Hardy Mishaw

Whistler’s Ascent

Nine years after Kasi Lubin and Shauna Hardy Mishaw co-founded it the Whistler Film Festival has become a destination event with support from local, national and international filmmakers and distributors. The doors were opened in December of 2001 with Hardy Mishaw the executive director, a position she still holds. So have things gotten easier?

Story by

Ian Caddell Hardy Mishaw, who was pregnant during two festivals, says she is pleased with the progress.

“I had two kids in five years from 2005 to 2009 so it’s a lot easier now than during those years,” she says. “I think that we have managed to build a really solid team. Our artistic director, Stacey Donen, is in his second year and he is doing a great job and I love his vision. He has a very strong commitment to artists and that is what makes it a filmmakers’ festival.

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Most of our staff has been here from two to four years and some have been here for all ten years so they know what they are doing and our systems are in place. There have been the inevitable growing pains but I am pleased with the way it is evolving.”

The evolution includes the acquisition of a local theatre, the introduction of year-round programs - including the five day producer-oriented CFC Go West Project lab - and a repositioning of the festival. Hardy Mishaw says that Whistler’s festival was never going to be successful as long as it copied the Vancouver International Film Festival, which tra-

ditionally runs two months earlier.

She says that all of the changes that have occurred have helped to give the festival its own identity “We have become more of a yearround organization now, which is important to establishing an identity. Our programs have definitely evolved. Now instead of being just a three day entity we can point to the fact we are screening programs every week of the year. Our Go West labs (in June and September) are an exciting initiative and all about providing market intelligence so Canadians can compete internationally. (Producers get feedback on scripts and then take

them to screen.) We are also looking to add other programs for youth and adults so they have a chance to learn the art of filmmaking. And we are working to establish a world class state of the art HD 3D theatre. We have taken over the Rainbow Theatre and we are going to gut it and make it into a fantastic space and permanent home for the festival. And the festival itself is different this year. We are really determined to introduce films so we have North American premieres and Canadian premieres.

We are not just showing films that play at the Vancouver film festival.

We are more aggressive now. I am excited about the fact that we have a vision to establish it as a destination for art and film.”

The festival, which will run from December 1 to December 5 this year, hired Donen in the spring of 2009.

His background seemed perfect for a festival that wanted both a festival programmer and someone who could help it become more involved in year-round programs that would promote education and connections for Canadian filmmakers. He held the dual jobs of director of programming for The Royal, a Toronto repertory Reel West November / december 2010

cinema and post-production facility, and programmer for Reel Canada, an educational initiative aimed at connecting Canadian students with Canadian film. He took the job because he felt there was potential to create a festival that might be mentioned someday in the same breath as the Sundance Film Festival and the industry-driven Telluride Film Festival. He says that the Whistler festival should be able to get where it wants to go but admits there is still work to be done before it can be truly considered to be a major event on the festival calendar.

“I want to be very realistic. There are a lot of film festivals and we are trying to find our own place. We are a small but growing film festival, a boutique festival really. We start Wednesday and close on Sunday but we will show about 35 feature films and four short film programmes. Vancouver comes just before us but we are definitely looking at new films and those that aren’t playing in BC. I would like to have a balance and have several films that no-one else is playing. I would like to build it so that five years from now there are such great films at Whistler that people have to come

there were films whose reputations were established at Sundance and it would be great to do that for Canadian films. I would also like to look at doing some of the things that they do at Telluride in terms of bringing industry leaders to Whistler. It’s about status and it is about people coming because they know that they will see good films: films about something.

Films that raise awareness about different issues and push boundaries. We want films that make people think because that is a good use of the festival. Not the normal fare but films we can discuss.”

Donen would also like to see the festival take a leadership position in pushing film culture boundaries. He says that the combination of promoting Canadian films at the festival, the year-round programming and the annual industry trade forum, now known as the Whistler Summit, should all contribute to helping Canadian filmmakers to make better movies.

“The setting of the festival allows filmmakers to be in a place where they can sit by the fireplace and go to the bar and talk about ideas. We want to make new discoveries and

The Summit So, what’s in a name? If you are bringing film and television industry people together for meetings and panels during your festival and you call yourself a Forum, you might get confused with bigger festivals with the same reference. After several years of being known as the Whistler Filmmaker Forum the Whistler Film Festival found a name that fits for its tenth edition.

Angela Heck, the program manager of the newly named Whistler Summit says that the name came from a component of last year’s Forum. “Everyone is trying to find their niche,” she says. “Last year we had some key executives here and we decided to call that part of it the Whistler Summit because it reflected the conversation. We looked back at last year and we were reviewing everything and said ‘that is where we want to be. We need a higher level of access to the digital worlds and how they combine with film’ and that was where it came from. We wanted to offer programming that reflects filmmakers’ voices.”

In an era that sees filmmakers increasingly concerned about finding partners who can supply needed financial support in order for movies to get distribution, Heck says the 2010 Summit will focus on connecting people who might not otherwise meet. She says the approach includes no-pitch zones where eight emerging filmmakers will sit

“...We are more aggressive now.

I am excited about the fact that we have a vision to establish it as a destination for art and film.”

around a table with a high level producer and bounce ideas off him/her.

– Shauna Hardy Mishaw

will be connected to several other professions including the people who cast movies

“I see it as a chance for people to keep the conversation going and to allow the people in the room to make pretty significant connections. There will be a cross section of the industry and the intent is to gain market intelligence. In the afternoons there will be one on ones and producers will be able to sign up online once they have registered. That way they can request meetings with people who have been featured in the roundtables and they will meet with them for ten minutes and refine their pitch.”

Heck says that while producers will find the Summit of particular interest, the dots and the actors themselves. “We are looking at a casting panel so we will be inviting

here. I think it can be the kind of destination festival that you ‘have to be at’ because you feel that you can mingle with people who can help you. I look at all festivals to see what makes them work. There are other festivals like ours but at the end of the day we want to remember that it is about the movies themselves and that we serve the filmmakers and the audience and that is the most important thing in terms of being a destination festival.”

To complete that vision Donen hopes to do for Canadian films what Sundance had done for films made outside of the studio system. “We would like to spotlight Canadian cinema and not because we are legislated to do it but because we like Canadian films. In the early years of Sundance Reel West november / december 2010

talk about cinema as a cultural entity. It always seems that discussions about cinema and culture only come up when there is an election. I think the Summit will be integral to furthering those discussions and will be a nice connection to where we are as a community in terms of interaction.

I would like this to be a place for creation and talk about new films and have a discussion about what does or doesn’t work. I want anything that allows us to talk about connecting one place to another. We have a need to show films from around the world so we can connect ourselves to France and Italy and England and eastern Canada and to do it on a small scale but a scale that serves the interests of filmmakers and audiences.”

casting directors. We want to increase the scope of the festival so we are focusing on bringing people up from LA. We are going to focus on a casting workshop that says ‘you know you need the talent but how do you get it and how do you keep it?’ The industry program is geared for producers but it will be interesting to actors because they will get a closer look at how the system works and a chance to forge relationships. And we have the MPPIA (Motion Picture Production Industry Association) short film pitch which will be back again. The people who won the previous year will be presenting their finished film so that allows for continuity and new transitions.”

Like the Banff Television Festival, which promotes accessibility in a remote location surrounded by people who do the same thing as you do, Heck says the Summit has aspects of summer camp. She says that while there might not be a connection the first time producers meet, it’s possible that if they keep coming back relationships will emerge eventually.

“I think that one of the key strengths is that we offer people an intimate environment here,” she says. “Access is absolutely pivotal. That’s an important aspect of this place.

You get people here and you get to know them. The connection might not pan out for this project but might pan out in five years because you started the relationship in Whistler. We have such a great reputation people are starting to want to be here.

They will stay for three days and they will meet lots of people. We can forge long term relationships for mid to high level filmmakers. Having those higher level discussions will help them in their career.”

n

17

Veteran filmmaker Lynne Stopkewich joined the Whistler board of directors in year five. She is one of three filmmakers on the nine member board (along with producer Shawn Williamson and director Carl Bessai) and says that she has been to festivals where filmmakers tend to be forgotten. She doesn’t see that happening at Whistler.

“Filmmakers can feel lost at the bigger festivals,” she says. “They feel like they are part of a machine. All festivals try to celebrate films and filmmakers but when you have one that is a little contained you have more of an opportunity for people who are starting out. I think the (Whistler festival) environment helps that. I like to watch filmmakers hooking up with bigwigs because filmmaking is about relationships. I think that vision has remained consistent at Whistler. The quality of the programming has increased and the attendance numbers have gone up every year as a result. Filmmakers have put this festival on their agenda.

It is one of those places that if you go once you are going to go again and that inevitable word of mouth has helped to put the festival on the map. I think the collective filmmakers’ experience has been positive. We are limited in terms of our resources because we are a non-profit but we have been ambitious and we are determined to provide a positive experience for filmmakers even in tough economic times.”

Of course, it is unlikely that the festival would have lasted ten years if it wasn’t for the setting. And Hardy Mishaw admits that having access to an international promotion for the last seven years has helped to give

2009 Whistler Film Festival Opening Gala

the festival an extra boost.

“We started the festival in 2001 and Whistler was chosen (to host the 2010 Winter Olympics) in 2003.

So we knew for several years that we were hosting that. I think bringing the Games here was a real achievement particularly when you consider that this town was built just five decades ago. The Games brought incredible infrastructure and the Cultural Olympiad helped a lot as well.

We feel that the festival will be a key driver in terms of where the town goes from here in its growth strategy.

We are now in the right place at the right time and we should be able to

benefit from the worldwide attention of brand and destination. Those things are just starting to translate right now and it is going to take a few years to measure impact.”

While Hardy Mishaw says that comparing film festivals gets a little tiring, she says that she and the Board and the Whistler staff know what their festival can and can’t do and that both filmmakers and audiences are finding their way to the festival in significant numbers.

“My correlation when I am asked to compare us to bigger festivals is that we are fine dining and they are a buffet. Festivals like Toronto’s

have a far bigger potential audience in terms of who they are appealing to. Whistler has 11,000 people so we have to look beyond the borders.

We are not in a huge metro area but we are becoming more like Telluride or Sundance. People have to travel to get here. Whistler has a 50% occupancy rate during festival period so there is room to grow. We have hundreds of rooms and the most inspiring setting in the world. You can walk anywhere and it is interactive and intimate. You spend as much time at a bigger festival trying to navigate your way around as you do going to movies.” n

Reel west profile

Screen Siren Pictures Christine Haebler Vancouver-based producer Christine Haebler recalls reading a script for a movie called Daydream Nation and then spending half the night trying to figure out how to make it happen. Eighteen months later she was at the Toronto International Film Festival at the movie’s premiere. It is scheduled to screen at the upcoming Whistler Film Festival.

Home town Vancouver, BC First Day January 9, 2010 Best day January 4, 2010 when Josh Lucas accepted the lead male role, which enabled us to close the financing five days prior to starting pre-production.

Worst day October 18th, 2009 when 50% of the financing dropped into the ether.

Most memorable working experience Having just screened Hard Core Logo at SXSW and having Quentin Tarantino jumping out of his seat giving us a standing ovation. Later, he invited us to dinner while asking to buy the US rights for his new company.

If I won an Oscar I would thank everyone who ever gave me a break and Bruce McDonald who back in 1994 said “sure she can do it.”

My latest five year plan is to grow food, paint and spend a lot more time with my pre-teen daughter.

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Reel West November / december 2010

Home Field Disadvantage

On a sunny Saturday in Toronto, you can barely get close to the Intercontinental Hotel on Bloor Street. The boutique hotel juts out of the sidewalk for eight floors and leaves little room for the people who have come to gawk.

Story by

Ian Caddell They are looking for movie stars they assume will be entering and exiting during the ten-day Toronto International Film Festival. Unlike the nearby Four Seasons Hotel, which has a number of entrances, the Intercontinental has just the Bloor Street doors. While there are also people standing outside the Four Seasons, which is home to several major studios, the odds are better that you will see stars on Bloor.

The Intercontinental is home to the smaller distributors and independent publicists whose role in the festival has increased as the festival has become home to Oscar buzz. While George Clooney isn’t here, you may run into past and, likely, future nominees like Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz or Michelle Williams by wandering down Bloor. Ryan Gosling, who was the first Canadian actor to win a best actor nomination in more than six decades when he was nomi20

nated for 2006’s Half Nelson, is here as well, this time for Blue Valentine, which co-stars Williams.

In an interview room, he says that he has read a few scripts from Canadian producers but hasn’t seen anything he likes. That doesn’t help Canadian producers, most of whom would love to be part of the Toronto buzz since distributors are always more apt to promote movies that come out of the festival with word of mouth publicity.

Some Canadian filmmakers will fare better than others but still won’t have much appeal for the Bloor Street gawkers, most of whom wouldn’t know a Canadian actor if they fell over one.

(Two years ago, they thought Gosling was Ryan Reynolds.) However, if they have a distributor in the hotel and a savvy publicist, they will probably get some coverage.

Katrin Bowen, who took time out from her busy schedule as the Vancouver International Film Festival’s Film & TV Forum artistic director to bring her movie Amazon Falls to Toronto, says that there was a Canadian

press junket for the film that created over 40 interviews to promote the movie’s Toronto debut.

“We arrived the night before the film’s premiere and we worked with the media till about 2:30PM from early in the morning. We had no time to think and then we had to change and go to the evening screening which was sold out. It was really exciting to be there and it was nice to feel we were helping the movie. Then later I got about eight scripts sent to me. Producers were pitching me rather than the other way around, which is what I am used to. It was also great in the sense that it gave me the opportunity to take meetings with producers who I could work with on my next feature film projects.”

Terry Miles had been to Toronto before but says things were different this time. Two years ago he brought When Life Was Good to TIFF and recalls that the movie was ignored by the media. He says that this time the A Night for Dying Tigers cast appealed to the Canadian media which created coverage that some Canadian movies

are unable to attain. (The movie stars Jennifer Beals, Gil Bellows and former CSI: Crime Scene Investigation co-star Lauren Lee Smith.)

“In 2008 we were virtually nonexistent but just happy to be there.

There was definitely more publicity this time. Unfortunately we didn’t have any screeners ready until we were on the plane so it was tough to get lead reviews. However, there was more interest in the cast this time which was good because this stuff is hard for me. I don’t like to say the same thing twice and the questions are superficial. Things like ‘what does the title mean?’ I try to make it interesting so that it is not disingenuous and approach it so that they know I want to talk about it.”

Miles says that getting there is half the work because filmmakers have already achieved something when they are accepted to show their film at the festival. There are usually only about 22 Canadian features that make it into the various programs for which Canadians are eligible. “It’s a big deal Reel West November / december 2010

for filmmakers because distributors are happy just to have the (TIFF) logo on the poster. It’s a stamp of approval. And it’s exciting when you get the phone call. Of course, I think it can be a bad phone call when it is a no. I think the perception for Canadian filmmakers is similar to the sense that Americans get when they are accepted into Sundance. You feel like it is either that or nothing.”

That said Miles was not unhappy to take his film to the Vancouver film festival. He says that while there is less to gain, there are benefits. “The audiences were amazing. The screenings sold out in 40 minutes. However, it’s unlikely that with a Canadian film you are going to get the (media) recognition here.

There is a lot of focus on local films but you don’t have the red carpet thing going on. It’s more about watching movies than having the buzz.”

There is also the opportunity to show your local film to the people who helped you make it. Bowen says that she was happy to bring the film home to the cast and crew. And she says she was fortunate to be able to take a week off from her duties at the Film & Television Forum to bring the film to Toronto given that she was a little busy with her day job and just mailed a screener out.

“The people at the Toronto film festival didn’t know I worked at VIFF,” she says. “I literally mailed them a screener.

I found out later that I really should Reel West november / december 2010

Although Canadian-made films such as (left to right) Amazon Falls, A Night for Dying Tigers and Daydream Nation continue to struggle in gaining international publicity at the Toronto Film Festival, producers seem to agree that they are happy with the coverage given to them by the national media.

have held a private screening for them when they came to Vancouver to screen films. But I was fortunate to go there. I appreciate that Fran Bergin (the Forum’s producer) was open to me working from Toronto. I also appreciate that I was able to show it here (in Vancouver) because the film has 100 percent Vancouver cast and crew so showing it here was a kind of homecoming. The audience here were the people I work with and the friends and colleagues that I care about. The cast and crew believed in me even though I didn’t have a track record. It’s as good as it is because of the people who worked on it.”

While most Canadian films have the potential to find support from their home country’s media, if you are looking for an American buyer for your film, there may be limited benefit for you at Canadian film festivals. The BCproduced Daydream Nation found a home with Canadian distributor E1 in the Intercontinental Hotel but that didn’t translate into US sales, says pro-

ducer Christine Haebler. Like Bowen, Haebler was happy with the attention given to her film by the national media but says that she and her colleagues at Vancouver’s Screen Siren films had a more ambitious agenda.

“E1 did a very good job with the Canadian press but the American press didn’t come out at all,” she says. So would she go back to TIFF with a film that was looking for coverage outside of this country’s borders? She says that it would depend on several factors.

“There is a real competition for press there, particularly for films that don’t have US distribution,” she says. “We were up against major competition.

We had a wonderful screening but as far as getting press and industry there to get buzz there were 12 other major US films that didn’t have their distribution in place. So the press and industry focus is going to be on these movies and not on a Canadian film without established actors. It was a good experience and we learned a lot as we do in all these things

but we will pay more attention to where we are placed because we screened the film at the beginning of the festival and we had no time to build momentum.

We got a gorgeous Variety review but it came out four days late. Had it come out on the day of the screening that might have shifted things a bit. It is all about strategizing at TIFF because you have very little control.”

So where do you go if TIFF doesn’t work for you? Haebler says that if you are looking for American press coverage that could trigger US distribution, you should probably go to America “I think in a year where you have many films competing for acquisition it is better to go to a lot of different festivals.

In our case, we weren’t ready for Telluride (just before Toronto) which is acquisitions based. TIFF has become a world class festival but the studios are vying with each other for attention for launching their Oscar buzz. So there is a lot going on there and a little film like ours can easily get lost in the shuffle.” n 21

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Reel West November / december 2010

Evil Attraction You probably grew up knowing two things about television: you cheer for the heroes and they always win. Movies could be confusing. You never really knew where you stood when it came to “anti-heroes” but TV usually delivered the goods and good guys.

Things have changed...

Story by

Ian Caddell Vancouver’s Nerd Corps Entertainment has managed to find support in 170 territories for a children’s show that encourages audiences to cheer for the villains.

Called The League of Super Evil, it’s the story of a group of villains plotting to take over the world one neighbourhood at a time. Led by a tiny overlord named Voltar, their plans usually go awry and they are forced to retreat to their lair. Nerd Corps’ Ace Fipke who developed the show (it was created by Philippe Ivanusic-Vallee and Davila LeBlanc) says that he thought from the beginning that it was an interesting twist on established relationships between heroes and villains.

“We felt that having the heroes be villains was a great hook,” he says. “There has been an obsession, at least in North America, with the world of Marvel and DC (ComReel West november / december 2010

ics) and the blockbuster movies that have come out of them. I think you can now poke fun without it seeming to be a parody. To some degree the show takes itself seriously but I look at it and say ‘it’s a fantastic world that isn’t culturally specific, one which has a universal appeal’ and that, in turn, allows the show to appeal to all territories.

We could be in any city in the world in the show. Kids get it and they can laugh at it. It is visual so you get the gags quickly. There are funny characters and there is slapstick and there are urban and suburban landscapes. And there is a Voltar in every culture in the world.”

The show is everywhere. It’s seen in all of the Englishspeaking countries and throughout Europe and Asia.

Fipke says that animation travels well. “When you look at it and try to make choices as to who the lead characters are and what the themes should be you usually conclude that children’s programming will have a better chance of travelling. It’s foundational moral storytelling so it has more of a ‘good versus evil’ type of story based on clas23

“It has really strong and funny characters, delivering absurd stories but still totally rooted in the world of the child...”

– Steven Andrew, BBC

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Tel. 604.451.REEL (7335) TF. 1.888.291.7335 e. info@reelwest.com 101 – 5512 Hastings St. Burnaby, BC V5B 1R3 www.reelwest.com

24

sic storytelling and myth. I think it travels better than some of the more specific storytelling.”

It also helped that Nerd Corps had previously gone the same route with other shows. The programs Storm Hawks and Dragon Boosters also had international distribution. Barbara Uecker, who heads up the children’s programming department at Australia’s ABC network, says that while the show will not air until December, she has high expectations.

“Both Storm Hawks and Dragon Booster have been very well-received by our school-age audience on ABC TV,” she says. “Australian kids appreciate the way in which Nerd Corps’ shows combine humour and action, which makes their shows stand out so successfully in our market. The exceptional designs are also a factor. We are confident that League of Super Evil will maintain this successful track record, and we look forward to launching the series on ABC 3.”

Steven Andrew of the BBC says that while the previous Nerd Corps shows were well received in Britain, he thinks The League of Super Evil, which has already aired for one season, has earned its success on its own. “We ran the first season and I think it is terrifically funny and very inventive comedy. I picked up the second season simply because it’s one of best character-based comedies I had seen for a very long time. It has really strong and funny characters, delivering absurd stories but still totally rooted in the world of the child. Nerd Corps never forget who their audience is. I sit watching with my ten year old son and then, after having laughed out loud a lot, we do what we always do with our favourite comedies: we quote all the best lines.”

Nerd Corps knew that it wanted to self-distribute early in its evolution. Fipke had worked closely

with Ken Faier of what was then Alliance Atlantis Communications on Dragon Booster so Nerd Corps hired him to work directly for the company before it set out to sell Storm Hawks in 2006. Faier says that having worked on Storm Hawks and Dragon Boosters, he saw The League of Super Evil as having a chance to claim fans of the earlier shows who felt too grown up for traditional superhero cartoons.

“In a way we are almost making fun of shows that we do well,” he says. “It’s for kids who are now nine or ten and watched superhero shows and can say ‘I watched those when I was a kid.’ This show is ambitious in that action and comedy are difficult to do well in one program whether it is live action or animation. But live action comedies are in demand. The Disney Channel has done well with live action and created fewer slots for animation but they want more comedy. Action cartoons have been tough to place because a lot of broadcasters feel it excludes girls and they want a broader audience.

We are really good at action but we are trying something new here and I think it works.”

Phillippe Soutter agrees. Soutter, who sells territories for France’s PGS Entertainment, says that comedy is not only hard to do but it is hard to sell. “Humour is always a tricky thing,” he says, “in terms of sales.

You usually have lots of locally specific references as opposed to more action-driven shows. I think Nerd Corps’ extensive knowledge of the international market enables them to deliver a show that kids can connect with throughout the world.”

The world of content distribution has changed a lot in the four years that Faier has been at Nerd Corps but he says that the company has been able to keep up with most of the developments. He says that Reel West November / december 2010

Reel convenient.

while they have hired people to deal with some of the technological changes, their core success is television for kids. Thankfully, while children have lots of options these days, they still like watching TV. “We are still dealing with the same types of broadcasters and they are buying our show and asking for more rights so that they can stream online. There are several things that give me hope about animated television shows. For one thing, kids’ time watching television, according to most surveys, has not diminished. So it can still be an incredibly important part of entertainment for them. As a result of that, the networks are still buying. That is good since we still need broadcasters to buy the show and there is still a partnership between producer and distributor and broadcaster so it is a good model.

Things are changing all the time, of course, and we have about ten people on our interactive team. We are developing in that direction.”

Sylvia Schmöller, who acquires programs for Germany’s SuperRTL network says that the network is aware of the options children have when it comes to enterainment choices. “Kids these days have so many choices to keep themselves entertained and they know exactly what they want. And if they don‘t like what they see, they change the channel and turn to the internet, games, mobile devices etc. Therefore we thoroughly check all elements, including visuals, scripting and characters, before we acquire a show. We felt that the most universal element of this show is the humour and we know that comedy works across gender and ages. We also liked the idea that the show has supposed villains who are trying so hard at being evil but fail miserably, in an incredibly funny way.”

Faier’s experience at Alliance AtReel West november / december 2010

lantis gave him respect for the cost of creating Canadian shows that will be competitive with US productions in the international market. He says that the best way to make a quality show is to sell territories before you begin the creative process. He says that unlike several Canadian animation companies, Nerd Corps has always shied away from selling series that they haven’t created. That comes from the need to ensure that the reputation for quality is still there when they go back to sell one of their own shows.

And while he believes that it is possible to have success selling ancillary products like toys, it’s good to remember that anything new to the market has to contend with brands that aren’t going away soon.

“You can’t finance a show with Canada alone. There are wonderful financial incentives here but you have to have a show that sells. We have toyed with the idea of taking third party shows and selling them but we have been a little reluctant to take in a show that we can’t validate in terms of quality. We are product first, quality content first and that has led our sales pitches.

And our capacity for making our own shows is 50 half hours. We have consciously gone out to the market and said ‘we are not a high volume player.’ We have stuck to that strategy and it has worked out well for us. Storm Hawks has had a toy line and is in 150 countries. The toys are selling everywhere and every kid loves them and they are a quality product but it’s not going to be Star Wars or Power Rangers. If you go down the list of boys’ action toys you are looking at the same properties as ten years ago. It is difficult to knock them off their roost.

However, we feel comfortable with where we are in that area just like we feel comfortable about where we are with the shows.” n

Current and archived issues of Reel West Magazine are now available online at www.reelwest.com

FOR ALL YOUR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS IN WESTERN CANADA CALL 604-668-7233

25

Daniel Deorksen as Kalen in Everything Louder than Everything Else

26

Reel West November / december 2010

Turning up the Volume Recording studio co-owner Rob Leickner’s two years of making Everything Louder Than Everything Else started at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival while the world premiere takes place at December’s Whistler Film Festival. In his diary, he talks about what happened between festivals including the day he decided to write what he knew, the day he changed the project from a web series to a feature film and the day the music started to get loud.

Diary by

Rob Leickner September 2008 I’m at the Toronto International Film Festival as part of the cast of When Life Was Good.

I have to get my act together and make my first narrative feature. Being around all these filmmakers and actors has really inspired me. I want to be here as a director and not as a bit player in a film. I have stories to tell, I just have to find a way to get them to the screen. I want to do something that’s improvised and focuses on my love of music.

October 10 I’m co-owner of a recording studio and have been for over 12 years. I’ve decided I’ll do a web series that takes place at my studio, The Hive. My partners are kind of leery. I tell them it’s a comedy and they’re even less impressed.

They don’t want me to get in the way of the bands or do anything to belittle all we’ve worked for. I understand where they are coming from. I must try my best to put their fears to rest. They want me to call the studio in the film something different. I’ve decided to call it Pop Filter. As far as a title goes I’ve chosen Everything Louder Than Everything Else. Why is it called that? Because it’s something most bands demand when you’re mixing their albums.

One way or another, as a recording engineer, you have to come up with a way to make this paradox a reality. I think it works perfectly for the theme of the film.

Reel West november / december 2010

October 11 This idea is really coming together. I’m writing paragraphs for the upcoming scenes we are going to film. Some are no more than a sentence. This is not going to be written in a standard script format. I’m not writing any dialogue.

That will come from the actors. I originally had a male lead in mind but he dropped out. I will make this work to my advantage. I’ve now got Joanna Garfinkel to play the owner of Pop Filter. She has a vast knowledge of indie rock as she’s been in many bands and was programmer at a college radio station in Austin, Texas. I like the idea of a woman being the owner/head engineer of the recording studio. This industry, like many, is male dominated and I feel this will make for some great comedic power struggles.

October 12 Mona Mok, my co-producer, and I are working on scenes and shot lists. We’ve got some great tracking shots and weird angles we’d like to incorporate but we’ll see if they actually play on the day. Also I’m going to be getting some china balls and bulbs because the studio is way too dark. We are shooting on two HV20s in 24p mode, one with a wide angle lens adapter, which will be on a tripod and the other one will be handheld (no wide angle; just naked). {I know what you’re saying, “that’s an $800.00 camera”. When you see the footage you will be impressed, I assure you. When Steven Soderbergh made Full Frontal, his XL1 didn’t look half as good as the images coming out of the HV20.}

October 13 I just wrote some character notes for Sylvie. I’ll forward this to Joanna. “Sylvie: A ten year veteran of the recording world. You used to be a musician but now you just record music. The word ‘producer’ is equivalent to ‘c***sucker’ in your opinion. Recording engineer is the top of the food chain in this industry.

You are a conduit for the band’s music; not a manipulative asshole. She finds beauty in imperfection. Obsessions: Vintage gear, loose tea, hairy guys with university degrees (preferably ones that don’t lend themselves to profitable careers), how Phil Spector achieved the ‘wall of sound’ and using gear in ways in which it wasn’t intended. Favorite bands: Anything droney, shoe gazery (e.g. Slowdive), the Smiths, Magnetic Fields, Led Zepplin, Early Motown, Red House Painter, IRS era REM, any punk that’s pre 1980, Neil Young, Neutral Milk Hotel and Smog. Dislikes: Perfume and cologne, the phrase ‘the fact that’, any band that is part of a second wave or later (e.g. Stone Temple Pilots, Nickelback, Blink 182), overly positive people, holey soles (foam sandal/clog hybrids; particularly in neon yellow), people who reference bands, producers and books that clearly haven’t had any first hand knowledge of said subject (you make it a point to call them on it).

October 14 Had a great lunch with two of the cast members today (Joanna and Steve Hubert) and the more I talk to them, the more I feel my vision is going to get to the screen undiluted.

They are excited by this project. Spent

the weekend being sick and watching the Godfather series with Frances Ford Coppola’s great commentary. Best bit of advice: Always shoot a scene where one of the actors is on the phone with either their back to you or mouth obscured by shadows. Reason being? So you can add dialogue in post-production that fills in any story gaps.

October 15 Principal photography starts on Everything etc. All my fears were dispelled by my awesome cast and Mona (who is working as producer, cinematographer & coeditor). We start shooting around 6:00pm and stop at 10:30pm. Good thing Mona brought delicious cookies. We manage to get three scenes done. The tone is decidedly light yet natural for the first few scenes. The drama will come later. I write a very loose synopsis for the three scenes I’m going to shoot. I plan to do this as guided improvisation so I’m hoping the actors are up to it. I am seriously biting my cheeks when Steve (who’s never acted before) does his first scene. This guy is funny. Ryan Matthews, who plays Vince, is dry and witty like I’ve seen him in real life.

I’m so glad other people will get to see how he is. Joanna is the grounded one (someone has to be otherwise it will fly off the rails). Later I will learn Steve wanted to tell me that he couldn’t do the movie but he’s had so much fun tonight that he stays on as the wildcard engineer, Randall. As long as Mona and I are impressed, that’s all that matters. I’m sure other people will like it. Maybe. The edit starts tomorrow.

October 16 At home I watch the dailies. There are so many nuances I missed while filming. These actors are really solid. I’m going to put together a teaser for the first three scenes on the web in hopes of attracting more talented actors to this project. I’ve heard it before but it really all comes down to good casting.

If you have that, it makes directing that much easier.

October 20 It is no mere short or 27

Steve Hubert as Randal

web series we’re making here now but an actual motion picture. We decided that it deserves to be a film.

I don’t want to waste all this talent I have on computer monitors. I want this to go to festivals.

November 1 Filming a scene with Dan Moxon (Keith) and Joanna (Sylvie). Keith is Sylvie’s on and off boyfriend. We film their first scene together and the energy is awkwardly appropriate for the story development (their relationship is on the outs). Keith treats us to some sad keyboard playing.

his scenes done before he leaves Canada. We get to film in Joanna’s apartment which is great; she already had the place set-decked. A wall of vinyl records is the best part for me. This scene is fantastic. I know I can finish this film now. Even though it’s improvised, there is a lot of my life on display here. I taught English and have had many conversations just like this (we’re unabashed music snobs).

November 3 I just scheduled seven more days of shooting. All of these scenes take place at the Hive

I want the actors to do. This works best with Steve Hubert. Whatever crazy idea I have, he can articulate it and make it work. Trying to put all the madness I’ve witnessed and collected from other engineers and musicians in the Vancouver music scene into a cohesive story might be a bit of a challenge. I welcome it though.

November 10 The tapes are piling up. We’ve now got a ton of footage to wade through. I imagine we’re about a quarter of the way done on this film. We just have to see where

On set, I liken my directing style to that of a class clown. If I find something I can add to the scene, I’ll cut and yell out what I want the actors to do.

I’m already in love with this film.

Notes for today’s scene: “They are finishing up dishes from breakfast and Keith breaks the news to Sylvie that his tour is going to be extended.”

November 2 Jono Hall, who plays Sylvie’s brother, Jono, is shooting his first scene. In this scene, we have two bits of info to get across: Sylvie’s found a new intern and Jono, who comanages the studio with his sister, is going abroad to teach. There are so many parallels to the actor and the character. He is going to teach English in Korea just like his character in the film. This makes for a natural performance but we have to get all 28

Recording Studio between the 4th and 29th of November. I finally get to have Sylvie, Randall, and Kailen interact with musicians.

November 4 Some seriously great stuff with Steve (Randall) and Dan (Kailen). Randall is showing the new intern, Kailen, how he records and mixes music. I’m laughing so hard I can hardly hold the camera still.

I can’t wait for everyone to see this footage. Now I just have to do as good of a job at editing as they’ve done improvising. On set, I liken my directing style to that of a class clown. If I find something I can add to the scene, I’ll cut and yell out what

these scenes take us and then go from there. I feel like we are building something, yet I don’t know the final outcome. Using your camera as a pen is scary but ultimately a very rewarding endeavor. Also, this is Jono’s last day of shooting. He’s going to Korea to teach kids. We’ll miss him. Next day of shooting is the 15th.

Nov 11 I’m editing some of the scenes together and I can’t get over how good Steve Hubert is. It’s hard to believe he’s never done any acting before. Anytime his character Randall is on set, everyone knows to expect random hilarity. Steve is so committed to the part that he wears

a different awesome sweater for each shoot. Steve is a comedic genius.

November 14 I’m at Paul Bennett’s place with Bianca Versteeg. They play Gunter and Giselle; they’re in a band called TranceLucent, a dance rock duo. They are just one of the crazy bands that Sylvie has to work with. We are writing a song entitled No Emoticon to Describe This. Paul is coming up with some great 80s video game sounds and I’m using a German-English dictionary to spark some ideas. The lyric that gets the best response from Paul and Bianca is “raise the roof, fall off the roof ”.

November 15 Gunter, Giselle, Kailen and Sylvie record No Emoticon to Describe This. There is champagne and random lyrics a-plenty. The mixing session (sometime in December) should be just as fun. Paul and Bianca are great sports about what I’m putting them through and I can’t wait to work with them again.

November 23 I just started a new, full-time job and Mona is feeling sick so we decide it is OK to take this weekend off. We’ll be back at it next weekend though. I’m hoping we’ll be filming two scenes with just as many bands.

November 30 Dan Moxon’s (Keith) band, Small Fame (called Dream Alive in the film), are playing at the Sweatshop. Mona and I act fast and get to the show with our cameras and sound recorders. I’ve decided to film a scene in the band van with Keith and Randall.

Randall explains one of his recording techniques: sound throws. People are going to lose it during this scene.

December 7 Notes for today’s scene: “I would like to film the mixing portion of the fabulous TranceLucent on Dec 7th at 9am. Who’s in? Also is anyone good at origami? It would come in handy for a prop for that session.”

February 2, 2009 Hard to believe the last time we filmed was on December 7th. I could blame it on my new job, personal stuff and my new apartment but procrastination played a big part. Well, “Live at the Hive/Pop Filter” is happening and it is a very good thing. We’re filming some great footage from a couple of bands: Vincat and Library. Terry Miles brought his sexy hvx200 to the set as the wild third camera. Thanks man. Filming some scenes with Randall and Kailen interacting with the bands, as well as a scene with Randall and Keith. I’m so glad this is going off without a hitch.

February 14 Filming the band Reel West November / december 2010

Hot Plate today. Randall somehow became a member of the band.

April 2 Sylvie, Randall and Kailen finally perform together as a band.

We think this will be the last scene of the film. We’ll see if that’s still the case after we do the edit.

These guys were great. They learned a cover song by OMD called Electricity in a very short time, delivered the goods on film and had a fun time too.

June 5 I’m handing the hard drive containing Everything etc. to an editor today. I feel I’m too close to the film to do it justice. He’s a fan of the film so we’ll see what he can come up with in 12 weeks.

September 12 I get to see what the editor has done today. It’s a little under cooked. I can’t really blame him, as this is not your typical scripted narrative. I know now I’m the only one who can edit this film. He does have a few suggestions for scenes that I might want to include. I’m going to film a couple more scenes with Sylvie and Keith, as well as one between Randall and Kailen to wrap up their subplot.

October 10 I’ve hit another wall while editing. Originally, this movie was going to be light on plot. I don’t have a problem with that. I actually enjoy those types of movies. Making them is a different story though.

Now that I’m assembling Everything etc. it looks like the film is only about 80% done. I really need to connect a lot of these disparate scenes that I’ve created. I’m thinking about putting a band that I love at the start and near the end so that there are some seriously good songs in the film and not just wacky crazy bands. I approach the band Chet and Steve McBean of Black Mountain and Pink Mountaintops not expecting them to say yes. It’s nice to dream though.

October 30 I just sent off an email to Steve McBean: “Hey Steve, It’s Rob from the Hive. I’m almost finished my feature length film Everything Louder Than Everything Else. The film is a comedy that takes place at the Hive.

Here are two clips from the film.

Right now I have enough footage in the comedy and drama area but it is lacking in the music department.

I was hoping Pink Mountaintops could record a song for inclusion in the film and soundtrack.

Ever since Ex-Dead Teenager recorded in our basement, you have been a big part of the Hive. I just thought it would be great to have an Reel West november / december 2010

amazing band be part of a film that portrays both a humorous and honest view of an indie-rock recording studio.

Talk to you soon.”

Just got his reply (the same day!) “Hey Rob, that would be cool and fun.” Steve I message Ryan Beattie from Chet on Facebook and he’s into it too. Now that Steve and Ryan have said yes, I just have to come up with a schedule that works. Scheduling has been the hardest part of this film.

December 10 The demo version of the Metal Problem song is unbelievable. It’s called Through All The Worry. I think I’m going to cry. Originally the band was a random reference that came up a few times in the film. Now we are making the band a reality, thanks to Steve McBean.

December 14 Just finished three days filming Chet and Metal Problem.

Ryan Beattie is great as the musician without a name and Steve McBean (Ivan) goes toe to toe with Randall in the weirdness department. Amazing tunes and acting. I can’t believe this weekend actually happened!

December 27 The teaser clips I sent out to some important people in the indie movie world have had some great feedback. They really want to see a cut of the film.

January 15, 2010 I’ve got picture locked for Everything etc. but colour and sound still need some work. I’m sending it off to a couple of people. I hope they like it.

February 19 I just got an email from an American critic. He absolutely loved the film and went on for a dozen paragraphs as to why. Things are looking up for this little film.

July 31 We’ve been rejected from so many film festivals that I’m starting to worry this film won’t screen anywhere outside of my living room.

Mona insists that we enter it into the Whistler Film Fest.

October 4 I’m on lunch break at my day job when I cut my finger on a foil to-go container. As I’m fishing through the first aid kit in vain for a band aid, my phone rings. Caller ID says WHISTLER FILM FEST. I don’t get it in time. I call back and speak with Stacey Donen. He tells me Everything etc. is invited to WFF. I can’t believe it. The last seven years of nobudget filmmaking have finally paid off. I can’t wait to head up there for the world premiere. I call Mona and it takes me a while to convince her I’m not joking. I think I’m going to cry. n

Legal Briefs

CAVCO Changes Coming December 31st Kyle Fogden Entertainment Lawyer

This spring, CAVCO (Canadian AudioVisual Certification Office) has published an updated version of the Guidelines for the Canadian Film or Video Production (Canadian content) Tax Credit. The new Guidelines are a consolidation of the 2004 Guidelines and the Public Notices that have been published over subsequent years, including the all-important Producer Control Guidelines from 2007 (now section 4.10 of the Guidelines).

Since the publication of the new Guidelines, CAVCO has already issued an updated policy on Proof of Citizenship and Permanent Residency for Producers and Key Creative Personnel. This policy, which was just released in September, replaces section 4.01 of the new Guidelines and should be noted by all producers and creative personnel working on Canadian content productions.

As many of our readers know, the Canadian content tax credit requires that Canadians fill all producer positions and a minimum number of creative positions on a production. Until 2009, CAVCO obligated production companies to obtain Declarations of Citizenship or Permanent Residency for all Canadians working in these positions, to evidence of their compliance with this requirement.

In 2009, in response to a report by the Auditor General of Canada, CAVCO revised its policy on proof of citizenship and residency, and began obligating production companies to collect and retain copies of their Canadian producers’ and creative personnel’s citizenship and permanent residency documentation (including passports and permanent residency cards). As mentioned, this policy was memorialized in section 4.01 of the new Guidelines.

In an environment of increased sensitivity to privacy, information security and identity theft, members of the film and television industries quickly responded to CAVCO with concerns about the amount of private information that was being retained by production companies, and the security of that information.

In response, CAVCO has created a

new centralized system to collect and secure evidence of individuals’ citizenship or permanent residency status. The new system will provide each producer and key creative with a unique CAVCO personnel number that can be provided to production companies for submission as part of their tax credit applications. The production is no longer required to obtain a declaration or passport copy; the valid personnel number will be sufficient for tax credit purposes.

Although the new policy is now in effect, and personnel numbers are being assigned and accepted, CAVCO is giving tax credit applicants until the end of this year before the numbers become mandatory. After December 31, 2010, all tax credit applications will require the CAVCO personnel number for the applicable producers and creative personnel.

In order to apply for a personnel number, individuals can use CAVCO’s online system at www.pch.gc.ca/ cavco. The entire application may be submitted online, using a scan of the individual’s proof of citizenship or permanent residency. CAVCO will also accept applications by mail.

Production companies should now start ensuring that all of their producer and key creative personnel have applied for and received their CAVCO personnel numbers. We recommend that production companies add a provision to all of their producer and key creative contracts, under which the individual is obligated to provide their personnel number (or to apply for one if they haven’t yet).

CAVCO’s new policy implements a more streamlined method of ensuring that Canadian personnel are engaged in producer and key creative positions.

Production companies are relieved of the burden of collecting and securing sensitive personal identification records, and individuals no longer have to be concerned about providing copies of these private records to every production on which they provide producer or creative services.

Kyle Fogden represents independent film and television producers in financing, production and intellectual property matters, as well as recording artists, record labels and publishers in music industry matters. n 29

Final Edit Sherry came to D Films a year ago from Maple Pictures where he had been co-president. Cianciotta is a former Alliance Film vice-president. He left Alliance to co-found Vancouver-based distributor Red Sky Entertainment.

Fubar II Takes Calgary

Justin Rain and Nathaniel Arcand star in Two Indians Talking, which won the Most Popular Canadian Film Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

Photo Michael De Sadeleer

BC Films Dominate at VIFF Audience Awards

Home was where the hearts were when the Vancouver International Film Festival announced the winners of its audience awards at its October 15 closing night gala film, The Illusionist.

Sara McIntyre’s BC production Two Indians Talking, which stars Nathaniel Arcand and Justin Rain, won the Most Popular Canadian Film Award while Leave Them Laughing, Vancouver director John Zaritsky’s story of comedian Carla Zilbersmith’s struggle with ALS, won the NFB Most Popular Canadian Documentary Award. Force of Nature: The David Suzuki Movie, directed by Vancouver native Sturla Gunnarson won the VIFF Environmental Film Audience Award.

Meanwhile, Vancouver-based actress April Telek won the Women in Film and Video Vancouver Artistic Merit Award for her performance in Katrin Bowen’s Amazon Falls. The award is given annually to a B.C. woman filmmaker or performer of distinction whose work appeared at VIFF. Quebec filmmakers won the Vancouver festival’s juried awards for Canadian features and shorts. The 30

ET Canada Award for Best Canadian Feature Film and its $20,000 cash prize went to director Denis Villeneuve of Quebec for Incendies.

The winner was selected from eleven films in competition. An honorable mention was given to Curling by Quebec director Denis Côté. Quebec’s Halimi Oardiri won the $2000 cash prize that goes with the award for Most Promising Director of a Canadian Short Film, for Mokhtar.

The United Kingdom/Brazil film Waste Land won the Rogers People’s Choice Award for most popular documentary film while the VIFF Most Popular Nonfiction Film Award went to Germany’s Kinshasa Symphony, directed by Claus Wischmann and Martin Baer.

The $10,000 Dragons & Tigers Award for Young Cinema went to Japan’s Hirohara Satoru for Good Morning to the World! There were eight films in competition.

D Films Gets Agreement Toronto distributor D Films has signed a long term development deal with Vancouver-based Founda-

tion Features, which was founded by former Infinity Features executives Dave Valleau and Rob Merilees.

According to a spokesperson for Foundation, the deal will cover development on a long-term slate of projects. “Rob and Dave are extremely talented filmmakers and we are proud to be their long-term distribution partners,” said D Films president Jim Sherry. “We are very appreciative of their confidence in D Films and look forward to bringing their vision and stories to audiences within and outside of our Canadian borders.”

At Infinity, Merilees and Valleau worked on the Oscar-winning Capote, Snow Walker, Stone of Destiny and the recent The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus among other films. “I’ve always had tremendous respect for Jim and his work,” said Merilees, “and I’m very excited about the team he has put together at D Films. Both Dave and I look forward to working closely with Jim, Tony Cianciotta and everyone at D Films to bring great stories with domestic and international appeal to the big screen.”

Fubar II won the People’s Choice Award at the recent Calgary International Film Festival. The Alberta production, which stars Dave Lawrence and Paul Spence as two slackers who move to Fort McMurray to work on the oil rigs, is a sequel to the 2002 Michael Dowse mockumentary Fubar.

The winner of the juried CIFF Mavericks Award was Benjamin Heisenberg’s German-language film The Robber, which tells the story of a marathon runner who robs banks as a hobby. Paz Fabrega’s Spanishlanguage Agua Fria De Mar won the Mavericks Special Jury Prize. It’s the story of a couple on a road trip who encounter a young girl who tells them that she has run away from home.

Kevan Funk’s 13 minute film A Fine Young Man set during the Cold War won the Alberta Spirit Award for short films. The festival wrapped in early October after an 11 day run.

West Wins at DGC Western Canadians triumphed in several categories at the recent Directors Guild of Canada Awards. The list included a victory by Vancouver native Reginald Harkema for best feature film direction for Leslie, My Name is Evil and one by Winnipeg’s Norma Bailey for best director of a television movie for Too Late to Say Goodbye.

The Manitoba/Ontario co-production Keep Your Head Up Kid: The Don Cherry Story won the award for best television movie and best sound editing. The award for best comedy series went to Saskatchewan’s Little Mosque on the Prairie while the best family television series prize was won by Alberta’s Heartland. Edmonton’s Dean Soltys won the best editing award for Sea Wolf.

Other winners included Sidney J. Furie, who won the DGC Lifetime Achievement Award, Adrienne Mitchell, who won the best direction for a television series award for Durham County; Cairo Time, the winner of the best feature film award and Being Erica, which won the award as best dramatic television series. n Reel West November / december 2010