Arts and Recreation
Independent Film in Northern Ontario
Film Making in the North 101
- Gregory Tremblay
I’m sure you’ve heard, "There’s nothing to do in Sudbury", and I will be
the first one to admit that I myself have made that very statement a few
times in my life. Truth is, that statement is a lie. What do we mean
when we say there is nothing to do? That Sudbury has nothing to offer
us? Where would we be if the early pioneers of Sudbury (once called St.
Annes Des Pins) discovering this land, about to take their axes to bush
and hammers to rock, changed their minds because there wasn’t a bar to
go to after work?
One evening found me sitting on my couch, broke, uninspired and cursing
this town for a lack of something explosively exciting to offer me, when
I saw a commercial for an amateur video-makers competition. That night I
decided to get off my ass and write a short story for a short film. I
called a friend up and asked him if he was interested in being in my
film and the next day convinced my parents to purchase a cheap DV camera
for me to shoot with. I spent my one day off for each of the next three
weeks shooting my film (which I had no idea how to do) and the night
before the competition deadline editing with my friend and amateur film
actor/editor. The following day we handed in our film. And returned the
camera for a full refund.
It was exhilarating and we were so proud of our tremendous achievement,
and then completely depressed when we found out that our film never even
made the final ten. Now, it sounds as if our whole endeavor was all for
nought, but the truth is that we attended the film festival to see what
did make it into the finals and discovered that we were not that far off
for a couple of guys who had never even held a camera before.
That night I went home and wrote another short film. By the following
year my second short film had played at three festival screenings in
town and won first place, and $5000, in the very same competition that I
had entered the year before. Things were looking up.
Since then I have bartered my time for use of equipment at a local
studio and have made two more shorts, acted in three short films by
local filmmakers, and one feature by Native writer/director Darlene
Naponse that landed us at the star-studded Sundance Film Festival. There
I had the opportunity to see 16 films in one week as well as interact
with all of the directors and actors. I have been approved for two
screenwriting grants and written three feature length screenplays in one
year, and a dozen shorts films that I only pray I have enough to time to
produce. I have been on commercial shoots seven-thousand feet
underground at our Neutrino Lab located on the outskirts of Sudbury,
acted in commercials aired by MCTV and in Murder Mystery dinner theatre
productions, and amazingly, I have been granted permission to
co-write/direct/produce the novel Finders Keepers, written by the
North's own Best Selling author Sean Costello. Fifteen years ago I had
to read his novels in secret because I was too young for his morbid
tales and now I will be bringing one of them to the big screen!
Through all of this I haven’t quit my day job (yet) and have managed to
dedicate much of my time to my beautiful daughter Ariel, who was born
during the making of my first film.
Two years ago, I was broke, uninspired and thought there was nothing to
do in this town. Now, I’m broke, inspired and only wish I had more time
to experience all of the things this city has to offer!
So I've decided to stand up and take a groin pulling step into the vast
landscape of independent film making. There is no stronger or more
powerful medium than an audio/visual display of one man’s vision and the
combined efforts of many men and woman. It’s an adventure, a crazy spin
through the vibrant catacombs of your imagination and then the spewing
forth of those images and ideas unto anyone with a willing eye and ear.
If life is a roll of film then it’s up to us to capture what we would
like to see, cherish the events that are worth reviewing time and time
again and edit out all the crap that isn’t essential to the story. And
if all ends up on the cutting room floor, grab another roll and start
over.
I am a twenty four year old film maker who has taken on a monumental
project. But vision is catchy, and people are quick to catch that vibe.
If I crack open my skull I will find vision and ideas and if I open my
heart I will discover the means to sculpt those images and thoughts into
a vibrant interpretation of life as seen through my minds eye. If I
smash those things into oblivion, I discover ambition, and then it all
takes shape. With my voice I will scream out to the world, "Dammit, I’m
a filmmaker and I need not look any further than in my head or heart to
find true inspiration! Who wants to fund me?"
Many people ask me the question "Why make an independent film in
Sudbury?" and I eagerly reply, "Why not?" "How can you make a feature
film with no schooling or practical knowledge?" Watch me. And we'll show
the world what Sudbury is all about.
