Funding and Directing a Canadian Feature: MS Slavic 7

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Directors, Writers, and Editors Deragh Campbell and Sofia Bohdanowicz are adept at indie film budgeting or what they call the “microbudget.” In this interview, they talk about creating and funding their film, sharing some of the tips they’ve learned along the way, such as keeping the shoot to a minimal number of days, finding locations that would offer space for free, and raising funds from Canadian grants and screening fees.

Berlinale: Une Colonie

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Winning the Generation KPlus Crystal Bear for Best Film at this year’s Berlinale, Une Colonie, directed by Geneviève Dulude-De Celles, tells the coming-of-age story of Mylia as she enters her first year of high school.  The story is wonderfully depicted by several young actors—many of whom make their debut here—such as Emilie Bierre as Mylia, Irlande Côté as… Read more »

10 Filmmakers to Watch: Lucie Guest

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Lucie Guest is on our 10 to watch for her work as an actress, writer, and director in her award-winning short film, Never Better, about a loveable loser and the search for closer at the end of a relationship.

10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2016: Sophie-Anne Beaudry & Stéphan Beaudoin

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Collaborators in life and work, the husband/wife team of Stéphan Beaudoin and Sophie-Anne Beaudry join The Independent’s 10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2016 for their upcoming feature Yankee, which explores the idea of a woman entering traditionally male-dominated domains of violence. Here, they talk about Yankee, self-financing a film, and shooting on location.

 

10 Filmmakers to Watch in 2016: Paisley Smith

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Paisley Smith first found her niche in Virtual Reality working with the “Godmother of VR” Nonny de la Peña and the Emblematic Group. Smith now makes The Independent’s 10 to Watch list for her most recent project, an animated Virtual Reality documentary Taro’s World based on the story of Taro, an exchange student from Japan who lived with Smith and her family for his teenage years, but at age 17, took his own life.

RIDM 2015: Trials of Style

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“Sometimes I’m watching what I’ve shot and I’m like, ‘I could have never written that dialogue.’ People are really good actors in documentary,” said Montreal-based filmmaker Jean-François Lesage about making his doc, A Summer Love. Lesage and four other filmmakers with work screening at the 2015 RIDM Film Festival sat down with The Independent’s Patrick Pearce to talk elements of film style.

TIFF 2015: Doc Breathes Life Into Afghan Film Archive

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If cinema can function as a vehicle for a nation’s collective memory, Afghanistan only recently began to recollect itself. Pietra Brettkelly’s documentary, A Flickering Truth, mines the Afghan Film Archive for the nation’s cultural history and follows the team of people who are working to protect it and share it with the world.