IFF at the AFF

Three Island Film Factory members recently had their films screened at the Atlantic Film Festival. Each film is rooted in the context of PEI and it is a huge nod to their quality to be screened at this esteemed festival. IFF is telling island stories to the world!

The Queen of the Crows was the recipient of the 2012 CBC 321 Award. Directed by Harmony Wagner and produced by Jason Rogerson, Queen of the Crows peers into the life of artisan Claire, who fights to keep eleven year old Elsa from being swallowed up by the mental health system – with the help of 30,000 neighbourhood crows.

 

The Crow Agenda is a short documentary directed by Jason Arsenault and Jeremy Larter. The film examines Charlottetown’s role as a roosting site for thousands of crows.

 

 

Island Green is a National Film Board production, directed by Millefiore Clarkes, in which a hopeful question about the future of PEI’s agricultural landscape is posed: “what if PEI went all organic”?

Winning Awards

IFF member Louise Lalonde won a 2013 WWAVE Award at the Women Making Waves conference in Halifax. Women Making Waves is a conference put on by the Atlantic Chapter of Women in Film and Television. Louise Lalonde has contributed greatly to the sector through many avenues, not the least of which is heading up the PEI Screenwriter’s Bootcamp for seven years running.

IFF member Millefiore Clarkes won the 2013 ‘Best Music Video Award’ at the MusicPEI Awards show in Charlottetown in February. The award was for directing the video ‘People I Love‘ for the band English Words.

In the Running

Two IFF members, Brian Sharp and Adam Perry, are in the running for Telefilm Canada’s new micro budget feature program. The program will grant $100,000 to ten successful production teams from across Canada to create a low-budget feature film. The Island Media Arts Co-op was selected as one of 20 organizations to put forward one application to the national competition. IMAC brought together a jury of industry professionals from PEI and NS to make a selection from a pool of PEI projects.

The Assassination of Michael Ellis – a story about teenage bullying in school – was selected for the national competition. The script was written by PEI-writer Mickey Acorn and if the project is chosen, will be produced by Brian Sharp and directed by Adam Perry.

The Appointment

IFF member Louise Lalonde recently wrapped the shoot for her new short The Appointment. The film stars Murielle MacDonald and Olivia Barnes. Shot in both English and French on location in Charlottetown, The Appointment is about a young woman who desperately seeks guidance from a fortune teller.

Lalonde wrote the script and directed the film. Her crew consisted of Becky Parsons (Director of Photography), Tom Barnes (Sound), David Bennett (Art Dept., Props, Set Design), Dan Grady and Susanne MacDonald (Grips/Gaffers), Claude Lalonde (Script Supervisor) and Diane Barnes (Publicity.)

Becky Parsons has worked around the globe and is currently based in Toronto.  Having worked with Lalonde on previous projects, Becky jumped at the chance to shoot this new film.

Louise Lalonde has been involved in film for well over a decade and has many short films to her credit. She is the founder/director of the highly successful PEI Screenwriter’s Bootcamp.

IFF and IMAF

The Island Media Arts Festival was six days of film (and video) celebration in Prince Edward Island (May 8-13th). The IFF participated on many levels. Our members had films screened, our members volunteered and helped with the smooth running of the festival… and IFF also hosted an industry meet and greet with the new ED of Telefilm Canada, Carolle Brabant.

Digital Media Workshops Update

The IFF and Skills PEI are almost finished rolling out their Digital Media Workshop Series. Maritime industry pros at the top of their game were brought in to bump up the skill level of our already seasoned film and digital media workforce.  A five day production management course led by Cathy Grant and Margaret Harrison was jam packed with an astounding amount of information.  From this group one participant, Dan Rowswell, was chosen to production manage the rest of the workshops in this series.  His management skills were put to the test when he had to schedule and wrangle three workshops happening concurrently at Springhead Studios in Charlottetown. Several mock film shoots were set up to teach practical technique in the areas of Directory of Photography led by Jeff Wheaton, Field Sound Record led by Aram Koujoudmian, and Grip/Gaffer/Electric, led by Corey Bulger.  It was a fun filled weekend of learning and comradery that got rave reviews from all the participants.  Much was learned and many connections were made.  The next weekend was Sound Design led by Steven Naylor and Comedy Editing led by Kim McTaggart.  Steve introduced his group to the art of sound by having them experience and experiment. And Kim’s approach was similar, introducing her group to the art of making people feel and laugh through pacing and timing of edits.  Again, participants of both workshops came away feeling like they had really upped their game with the practical and creative information they were given.  Long Form Drama Editing led by Chris Cooper and Online Editing led by Ken Peterson will wrap up the series of workshops at the end of March.  It is expected that these workshops will go just as well.  The members of the Island Film Factory  would like to thank all of the workshop facilitators for taking the time to offer our filmmakers such an exciting and rewarding experience.   The skills that the participants have been able to glean from the best of the best will go a long way toward putting PEI on the map in the Canadian film/digital media industry.

IFF Members Nominated

MusicPEI has nominated four IFF members for the music videos they produced for Island musicians, for the 2012 PEI Music Awards. The videos are:

Silence, Bloodhound! for Christopher Rodgers – Directed by Susan Rodgers

The Way We Do’er for Boxcar Dan – Directed by Jason Rogerson and Produced by Harmony Wagner

Stealin’ for Catherine MacLellan – Directed by Millefiore Clarkes

IFF Digital Media Industry Workshops Application

For anyone interested in signing up and signing on to this great professional training opportunity you can find the application here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/M6P27GS

THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION IS DECEMBER 15TH 2011. TRAINING WILL TAKE PLACE IN FEBRUARY 2012.

It is FREE to apply. If accepted the training courses are $100 each. Worth every penny.

Questions? Contact IFF at iffpei@gmail.com or call 902-566-3312

If you are already skilled in the following fields but would like to increase your professional skills to make you more employable in the growing industry on PEI, please apply!

1. Production Manager (5 days, 3 participants)
2. Director of Photography (5 days, 3 participants)
3. Field Audio Recorder (3 days, 3 participants)
4. Grip/Gaffer/Electric (3 days, 5 participants)
5. Editing Long-form Drama (3 days, 5 participants)
6. Editing Comedy (3 days, 5 participants)
7. Online Editing (3 days, 3 participants)
8. Sound Design (3 days, 3 participants)

The IFF Digital Media Industry Workshops

The IFF, along with CulturePEI and SkillsPEI are collaborating on an intensive new skills training initiative that is aimed at taking skilled key industry personnel to the next level of professionalism. The training sessions will be lead by top people in their field: Production Manager, DP, Grip/Gaffer, Sound Engineer, and Editor.

The aim is to create several viable options for each position in the province, in order to support the industry’s growth in the province.

If you are already somewhat skilled in any of the listed areas and would like to take your training to the next level, please fill out this survey: Survey (it takes 10 seconds).

Training will begin in Feb/March of 2012.

Two IFF Members at AFF

Harmony Wagner and Jason Rogerson were recently at the Atlantic Film Festival in September. Harmony was there with her debut as a director for the short film Vast. Vast also won the Audience Choice Award at the 2011 Island Media Arts Festival. Jason Rogerson accompanied his short comedy Lucky 7 to the AFF this year. Lucky 7 was the 2010 recipient of the CBC 3-2-1 Award.