Port Moody is often host to major film productions.
A new competition is set to shine a light on just how these operations work — and showcase the community itself.
The Frantic Breeze Fast Film Competition is set to start this Friday and run until Monday. Teams will have a grand total of 72 hours to write, produce, edit and upload a short film.
Local news that matters to you
No one covers the Tri-Cities like we do. But we need your help to keep our community journalism sustainable.
“It’s such an interesting process,” says Tracey Schaeffer, festival producer. “I would love to have people from Port Moody and people from the Tri-Cities area come and actually watch these teams work.”
The competition was Schaeffer’s idea. She has worked in the film industry for more than 20 years and has taken part in a few similar competitions.
“I know how important it is for young filmmakers to do this kind of stuff,” she says. That is, to learn how to make films and do them well, quickly.
When Schaeffer moved to Port Moody, she noticed the City of the Arts had plenty of opportunities for artists, just not for those in the film industry. She joined the city’s arts and culture committee and pitched the idea for the competition last fall.
It’s taken about a year for it to come to fruition, with 10 teams currently signed up to take part. Their goal will be to create a four-to-seven-minute film that showcases Port Moody in some way.
“We want to encourage people from all over the place to come and look at our beautiful city,” says Schaeffer.
To keep teams honest, there will be a mystery package of three elements that the teams will receive on Friday. They will have to incorporate the elements — possibly original music, a local storyline, a location, or a piece of art — into their film.
There’s more than $1,300 available in prizes, and a special youth category.
The final videos will be judged by an esteemed panel of industry experts including:
- Jason Karman, local director;
- Hiro Kanagawa, Port Moody actor and winner of the 2017 Governor-General’s Literary Award for Drama;
- Lisa Durupt, owner of TriCities Film Studio;
- Dana Gee, Postmedia arts writer; and
- Fred Ewanuick, actor known for his role as Hank Yarbo in Corner Gas and Dan Phillips in Dan for Mayor.
The films will be screened on Sept. 10 at Port Moody’s Inlet Theatre. Tickets are $8. The doors will open at 6:15 p.m. There is also a small artists’ market and pre-show taking place beforehand. Doors for that event will open at 3:45 p.m.
