One of the mantras of the Vancouver International Film Festival is to stimulate the motion picture industry in BC and Canada, and with the roster of Vancouver-based filmmakers showing features this year it’s a cinch to get charged up about local talent. But don’t utter a peep about “Hollywood North”; many of these directors not only shoot their films in Vancouver, but freely reference the city within the setting and dialogue. It’s increasingly difficult to stamp a film as 100% Canadian made when so much homegrown talent heads toward the southern haze of Hollywood fame and fortune, but many local directors can’t shake the streak of loyalty that keeps them from running for the border. Some have categorized these mavericks and their films as Pacific New Wave, a term meant to describe the trend for Western cinema to be wholly local, gritty, and real; where fictional dramas adopt a documentary-like probe into our coastal culture. However you describe this so-called movement, the core tenet is to promote the success of Western Canadian cinema, and that’s a principle we should all be eager to advocate.

Infamous was lucky to have the opportunity to interview a few of the directors whose fiction films are showing within the Canadian Images series of the Vancouver International Film Festival; they spoke candidly about their films, their process, and the nature of Western Canadian cinema.

Carl Bessai’s “Normal” (starring Carrie-Ann Moss, Kevin Zegers) is a drama surrounding 3 characters whose lives intersect around a tragic accident; they are forced to face eachother and address their respective histories before they are able to move on. Bessai was drawn to the intersecting ensemble narrative in Travis McDonald’s script, and took the opportunity to veer away from the intimate character dramas he had been making up until that point…this project stands out because “it is universal, it is beautiful…and every bit Canadian through and through.” Bessai has played a central role in the opposition against Canadian talent moving south, and is optimistic that soon Canadian audiences will get excited about local film: “I would love to be a part of convincing Canadians that we have an identity, that we have a culture, that our films are worth the price of admission.” When I ask him about Pacific New Wave, Bessai admits he really became excited about the notion in Toronto’s Ontario Cinematheque where there was a Pacific New Wave retrospective recently, and concedes that though Western filmmakers all tell different stories and utilize different styles, they share a nonconformist quality. Though he found it ironic that it took a label originating from Eastern Canada to validate Western filmmaking, Bessai admits that he can’t really complain, adding “bring on the Pacific New Wave”!

Bruce Sweeney is another well-known name when it comes to Canadian cinema, though his latest feature “American Venus” (Rebecca DeMornay, Matt Craven) is a much more sober project than the witty, underscored films of his past. Sweeney simply labels this as a film about anxiety, motherhood, and gun addiction, later elaborating that the story argues for “the necessity of familial relations despite their self destructive nature.” The central character is obsessed with controlling her daughter, yet she is unable to control even herself – a notion that aligns nicely with the “self destructive woman” genre in which the leading woman figuratively devours herself. Sweeney found himself in new territory with the star cast, which necessitated a strict 21 day shooting schedule and very little time to experiment on set – an intense adjustment from previous projects, where there was more freedom to play with story elements and re-shoot scenes when necessary. When it came time to edit, Sweeney admits he was relieved to be past the time constraints of shooting and take his time with the arranging the story. When I ask about Pacific New Wave, Sweeney recalls that in the past he often got together to discuss projects and ideas with, but not so much anymore as his priorities have changed with marriage and children. But Sweeney still has exciting prospects up his sleeve, and is currently working on a 6-part miniseries about workers in Fort McMurray, one of the fastest growing cities in Canada. This miniseries is a fictional drama with lots of comedic elements, and is Sweeney’s first venture into television.

Tracy D. Smith warns that her debut feature, “Taming Tammy” (Sarah-Jane Redmond, Aleks Paunovic) is not meant for an audience who takes themselves too seriously. “First and foremost”, Smith ventures, “this is a battle-of-the-sexes comedy based on The Taming of the Shrew, but we took a lot of liberties in this film…it’s playful, modern, and appealing to both male and female audiences.” One of the most impressive features of this project is the financing method that allowed its production. Tracy and her team asked people they knew in the film industry to invest $200 in exchange for a single share and an executive producer credit; one of the producers called this “creative financing”, where only those who purchased shares are entitled to a 2% backend of the film’s gross revenue. They capped the budget at $10,000, even when it became apparent that more producers wanted to contribute more cash: “We just wanted to have fun and make our own movie, while keeping the level of control very collaborative. We capped the budget so that no one individual could claim more control than any of the other investors.” The hardest roadblock for Smith to overcome was the transition from shorts to a feature. The entire crew was working for free, and they only had a 15-day shoot spread out over weekends, so it was a daunting task to shoot so many pages a day – but by running three cameras nearly all the time, they managed to get the job done. When I ask Smith about Pacific New Wave, she immediately notes that Sweeney and Bessai have been integral mentors to her and her career, always open to answering her questions and providing guidance. “If this ‘Pacific New Wave’ label helps facilitate the continuation of their careers, and audiences can continue to see the accessible nature of their films, then I’m all for it.” Stay tuned for Smith’s upcoming feature, an all-chick Western comedy with the NSI Features First program entitled “Saddle Bags.”

Other Vancouver-based talent screening at the 2007 VIFF, running from September 27-October 12, include the non-fictional features by Gwen Haworth (“She’s a Boy I Knew”), Tiffany Burns (“Mr. Big”), Suzanne Chisholm and Michael Parfitt (“Saving Luna”), John Zaritsky (“The Suicide Tourist”) and Brett Harvey (“The Union”). Don’t miss the official festival film guide and schedule, which goes public on September 8^th.

www.viff.org

INFAMOUS MAGAZINE, SEP 2007 ISSUE