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FILM DIARY - TALENT TO WATCH FILMMAKER GIVES BACK TO THE FILM CO-OP

Recently, the Film Co-op was thanked by a member filmmaker for its support in a big way. The thank-you will also help countless Film Co-op members, which is just the way the Film Co-op likes it.

Long-time member Jillian Acreman was awarded a Telefilm Talent to Watch Project in 2018 for her feature film script, Queen of the Andes. She shot her project this year in partnership with the Film Co-op, who is one of the many partner organizations across Canada on the funding program. The core staff volunteers their time to ensure that this annual program continues and members in New Brunswick (French, English, Indigenous) have the opportunity to apply.

Queen of the Andes: The government is drafting exceptional young adults to colonize Mars. Pillar has received her letter, and this is her last week on earth. 

What was exciting for Film Co-op staff with this project was the joy it brought to us on multiple levels. Jillian is a collaborative filmmaker who shared her journey freely us. We were able to experience how she felt and what her game plan was; that’s exciting. She consulted with/informed staff regularly, and we were impressed with her organization and planning. We loved hearing about the positive and more challenging aspects to do with her production as it moved along.

Jillian and her crack producer Arianna Martinez hired Film Co-op members to work on the project, which is always the hope when there is money; pay the members. The group was small, and they knew what they had to do. 

Following her production, Jillian gifted the Film Co-op with her Black Magic Camera and Metabones Speed Booster, and we were thrilled. It is a major contribution which will help the organization and membership ongoing.

“It was my pleasure to help the Film Co-op in this way. It was equally generous of the Film Co-op to work with me on my project. It saved me money on a reasonably small budget shoot, and it’s that mutually beneficial co-operation that makes us so great!” Jillian Acreman

FILM DIARY - I'LL FOLLOW YOU 

By Cat LeBlanc

Photo of Ashley Phinney (assistant camera), Lisa Jodoin (director/writer/producer) and Tony Merzetti (cinematographer) on I'll Follow You.

Synopsis: I’ll Follow You is a short film about young love, creative expression, and finding yourself. 

Recently, Tony and I brushed off some creative cobwebs and volunteered to help a Film Co-op member get their short film shot. We gathered a small crack team of talented Film Co-op members to get the job done. 

Film Co-op member Lisa Jodoin is a brilliant screenwriter, and the screenplay she wrote deserves to be shared with the world as a short film; the story is beautiful. She is also one of the sweetest people to work with; she is so appreciative of what others do for her. Lisa may be soft-spoken and quiet (I call her The Sphinx), but she also has a clear vision for how her films should look and the design for them, and she will not compromise her vision, which deserves respect.

Tony was the cinematographer, and I was the production manager and ended up as the caterer (most people will find this ironic as I never cook at home). I created some new vegan recipes for this production which was a new thing for me as someone who can barely get dressed in the morning.

Most members who are newer to the Film Co-op will not know this, but in the early days at the Film Co-op, there were less trained members and well, just fewer members, so Tony and I had to work on almost every member production in these two roles typically. We would work on most weekends on member shoots and then come into work every Monday morning no matter how late we stayed up shooting. We loved it! We were able to get to know all the members well on shoots, and the friendships we formed with our fellow creatives were terrific. 

Then, over time, the membership grew, and there were more people with specialized skills joining and more people taking workshops and getting training and people started forming their own groups to work with on films, and we were working on fewer films which gave us some relief. At one point, Tony was able to work on his own film projects, and I worked on some of my own film projects. In recent years, with the membership growth and tripling of the Film Co-op administrative workload, Tony doesn't have time to work on his own projects, or anybody else's typically, and neither do I. We are busier than one-armed paper hangers and spend a lot of evenings and weekends just trying to keep up with the Film Co-op administration, membership and activities. There is so much grant writing involved, as well on top of it all.

From 20 members back in time, the Film Co-op has grown into 200 members province-wide. Tony has gone from being the only technical person and manager to being the Executive Director, and now we have a part-time technical person; Matt Carr (rock star). We are still very understaffed admin wise, even with summer students helping with more general things as the workload keeps on increasing, but the core staff remains the same. We do love what we do, that has never changed. Tony has been at the Film Co-op for over 30 years, and I have been here for over 20 years.

Did Tony and I have time to work on Lisa's shoot; not really.

There is something about Lisa that makes you want to drop your workload and help her bring her stories to life. When I reached out to draw other members into her project, it was amazing; the reaction almost all of them had when I asked them to work on her production. The response from nearly everybody was "anything for Lisa."

We ended up with the below crew, and it was great to have an opportunity to work with members we had never worked with before in some cases. Some, we had not worked with for years, and it was like old home week.

Lisa's beautiful story, I'll Follow You came to life with amazing young actors Summer Grant and Megan Murphy.

Writer/Director/Producer: Lisa Jodoin

DOP: Tony Merzetti 

Production Manager/Caterer: Cat LeBlanc 

AD: Annick Blizzard 

Assistant Camera: Ashley Phinney 

Production Designer: Lisa Jodoin/Kaitlyn Adair

Art Department/Wardrobe: Carlee Calver

Sound Recordist: Alex Brewer

Gaffer: Jon Blizzard 

Grip: Michel Guitard

Grip: Will Beatty 

Grip: Stephen Burgess 

Drone Operator: Jermaine Francoeur 

Script Supervisor: Michelle Chlow 

Set PA and Stills: Jeff Picka

FILM DIARY - MOVING ON 

By Michelle Chlow

Photo of Brenda Malley (actor/director/writer), Michelle Chlow (director/writer) and Caitlin Campbell (director/writer/cinematographer)

The Story: A woman struggles to cope with her day to day life after the loss of her longterm partner.  So much of her life has revolved around having this other person in it, that it seems even simple things have become frustrating.  

She tries to get used to a new 'normal' that leaves her feeling alone and overwhelmed.   

This short film is a narrative drama starring a woman learning to live life on her own.  The writer/director, production manager, DP, and sound person were all women, and were chosen because they were the best people available for the role, not because of their gender.  There are just so many talented women in the film community looking for opportunities!  

NBFC PROJECT SUPPORT LINKS

PAST - Telefilm Talent To Watch Program (For members in good standing only): February 2020 - http://nbfilmcoop.com/content/talent-watch-program

PAST - imagineNATIVE/NBFC Incubator Program (open to members and the public): March 1, 2019 - http://nbfilmcoop.com/programs/imaginenative-mentorship

ONGOING! - Member Production Support Programme (For members in good standing only): http://nbfilmcoop.com/programs/member-production-support-program

PAST - Bolex Film Scholarship (for members in good standing only): May 13, 2019 - http://nbfilmcoop.com/content/bolex-film-scholarship

PAST - Errol Williams Filmmaker Award (for members in good standing only): May 13, 2019 - http://nbfilmcoop.com/programs/errol-williams-filmmaker-award

UPCOMNG - CBC/NB Joy Award (open to members and the public): October 23, 2019: http://nbfilmcoop.com/programs/nb-joy-award

UPCOMING - Jane LeBlanc Filmmaker Award (open to members and the public) - October 23, 2019: http://nbfilmcoop.com/programs/jane-leblanc-filmmaker-award

NB Film Co-op member and summer student Ashley Phinney is researching and producing a VR film for the NB Film Co-op as part of her work so, more members can use the VR equipment the Co-op has now. Tony Merzetti, Matt Carr, Jared Carney, Jan Thompson, Annick Blizzard, Erinn Sharpe are assisting her as well as actors, Rylan Melles, Sam Westfield, Tony Tomarchio and Kaitlyn Adair. (Photo by Erinn Sharpe). Film Co-op Prez Britany Sparrow dropped in recently to catch some of the action on set.