N.B. Studio Will Shoot Feature Film With Support Of Telefilm Canada
FREDERICTON – Thanks to federal grant money, a Fredericton-based production company is poised to start filming a feature-length movie set in Canada’s Picture Province as early as this summer.
Strike Pictures is preparing to film a surrealist drama entitled, Do I Know You From Somewhere?, with the help of $250,000 from Telefilm Canada.
Director Arianna Martinez said the film features central New Brunswick locations written into its script.
She and producers Gordon Mihan and Lance Blakney plan to hire as many New Brunswickers as possible as cast and crew.
“Casting might be more difficult, depending on whether we go the union route or not. It just depends on who fits the characters best,” Martinez said.
“We will be working with local folks – local artists, community members here – and the plan is to try and stay within the province as much as possible to keep the work and creativity here. As for a crew, we ‘100 percent’ have the people here in New Brunswick, who are incredible at their work, who we’re going to reach out to for this film.”
Martinez, Mihan and Blakney plan to shoot the film over the course of about a month this coming summer.
Martinez told Huddle the film’s premise is a couple dealing with clashing realities and loss of memories in an isolated home, as a consequence of a cosmic event.
“It ticks off a lot of boxes for a lot of people. There’s mystery, intrigue, it’s a thriller,” Blakney said.
“It’s diverse, it’s queer; it speaks to many different audiences and again can be relatable for that escapist aspect to many different walks of life.”
This federal money currently comprises the backbone of the film’s budget, notes Arianna Martinez.
Production Costs
Martinez, Mihan and Blakney plan to produce the film at a cost of about $300,000 – an amount considered a “micro-budget” by industry standards.
“This grant makes things possible so that we don’t have to claw for a bunch of extra funding,” Martinez said.
“This type of work wouldn’t be possible without funding like this,” she added.
Blakney said this is a game-changer for Atlantic Canada’s close-knit filmmaking community.
“There’s been such a growing opportunity for film here. We really want to prove that economic viability is here and the skills are here and the quality is here, as well,” Blakney said.
Martinez, Mihan and Blakney are also in the process of applying for other sources of funding, potentially through the province, or ArtsNB.
“That’s kind of a work in progress, so there are no guarantees of any of that yet, so as for right now, our budget is $250,000,” Mihan said.
Martinez said the funding from Telefilm Canada bodes well since it boosts their credibility – and eligibility – in the eyes of other potential funders.
“A lot of funding bodies will see this contract as a trigger. They won’t give you funds for a film unless you’ve got a major funding body already signed to the project,” she said.
“They want to see that somebody else has already made a financial commitment, and then you’re significantly more likely to get additional funding.”
A stipulation of the Telefilm Canada funding is that their film stays in the “micro-budget” range, and not exceed $500,000.
Blakney stressed that staying within the budget range won’t be difficult, noting that their pitch was the product of a year’s worth of work.
Between that forethought and the experience they have making previous local feature films, Blakney said they all have prior experience budgeting films.
“We’ve seen, firsthand, how to produce a successful micro-budget scale feature. That was something we kept in mind,” Blakney said.
“We’re going to definitely make the most of the funding that we have and that we will have, but we want to use it intelligently.”
The funding Mihan, Martinez and Blakney received is part of a larger $3.5-million pool of federal funding being invested into 16 projects across Canada.
Inflationary Pressures
Things are “a little bit TBD,” Mihan noted when it comes to whether inflation will affect the production of the film or not.
“It depends on whether we order some equipment, we haven’t gotten to that part of the process yet,” Mihan said.
“As far as right now, there are no problems yet.”
Blakney noted that with the disruptions of the pandemic and inflation to the film industry, the stories and escapism cinema provides are more important than ever.
“The people are willing to put in the extra work to overcome those hurdles, because obviously, there will be supply chain issues, travel issues and people are going to get sick,” Blakney said.
“That’s just how it goes now. But the spirit of it all helps push it forward.”
Small Scale Production
Martinez said the production will be small-scale, with a limited cast and production crew.
The film’s cast will consist of two leads, three supporting characters and a handful of extras with small speaking roles.
“It’s pretty tight, which works well, with a limited budget, and trying to be as safe as possible, Covid-wise,” Martinez said.
“We tend to work better with fewer people. There’s less opportunity for miscommunication, and everyone stays on the same page and shares the same vision, creatively. It’s imperative we’re all making the same movie, when creating together, because it’s such a collaborative medium.”
Do I Know You From Somewhere? was among 16 feature-length film projects for the 2022-2023 fiscal year chosen as funding recipients by Telefilm Canada’s Talent Watch program – and the sole film in Atlantic Canada selected for funding.
“I think we started almost a full calendar year ago now. And to apply, you need an industry partner, so our industry partner was the New Brunswick Filmmaker’s Cooperative – of which the three of us are members,” said Mihan.
Strike Pictures has been producing films and earning national and international recognition for eight years, following its founding in 2015.
In addition to its creative projects, the studio offers commercial, educational and production services.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].