Fredericton Filmmaker to Pitch New Short Film at WIFT-AT Making Waves Conference

FREDERICTON – Fredericton filmmaker Rebecca Elmire Tremblay has been selected to pitch her short film for the CBC Pitch Competition at the WIFT-AT Making Waves Conference. On March 24 and 25, 2023, Tremblay and four others will pitch their latest ideas in hopes to win a grant for production funding.

After applying from an ad she saw in a WIFT-AT newsletter, Tremblay will have the honour of pitching her latest short film, Come Home, in front of a live audience and jury in Halifax.

Background

As a child, Tremblay was always interested in being an actress. She performed in pieces for local productions and programs. But regardless of her passion for acting, she never thought she would be able to pursue a career in the field.

Many years ago, she opened a puppeteering company that would perform for children in schools. After running this for five years, Tremblay says it took a lot of vulnerability to step out of that field and into acting professionally.

“I had this realization at some point that the puppet was [acting like] a layer of protection. It was helping me not have to be vulnerable,” she tells Huddle.

After realizing this, she made the decision to move into acting and filmmaking, which she felt was a more vulnerable and authentic method to display her artistry.

“In my thirties, I realized that that dream [of acting] was still very alive in me and I wanted to pursue it,” she tells Huddle. “So, I’ve been pursuing acting professionally for the past four years.”

After some time, though, Tremblay developed a budding interest in filmmaking, as well. When she realized that the two fields would work well together in her career, she decided to go for it.

Over the past few years, Tremblay has produced a couple of short films, both for fun and for film competitions, that allow her to not only produce but also to act.

Along with this, she has taken a variety of online courses through programs such as The BGB Studio in Los Angeles, with a teacher in New York, and a course with R. H. Thomson through a theatre academy in Saint John.

“Come Home”

Tremblay’s upcoming short film, Come Home, focuses on a grieving mother who takes a walk in the woods and has a moment of “deep grief.” She falls asleep and is  visited by her daughter in a dream.

Her “one-liner” for the short film is “Come Home is the story of a grieving mother who gets an unexpected visit that transforms her understanding of loss”.

Tremblay was inspired to write and produce the film after losing her dad to cancer in 2019. Shortly after his death, she says that he had visited her in a dream but was presented as who she remembered him to be from when she was eight years old.

“He gave me a huge hug and he was like my young dad like when I was a kid,” she says. “I felt like he was saying ‘I’m not as gone as you think I am.’ It was just a sign that his spirit was going to be with me and I could still connect with him”.

This past November, Tremblay was awarded $3,500 for the production of Come Home, from the CBC/NB Joy Award at the Silver Wave Film Festival. This money will help her pay for things like props, meals for the crew, and admin.

However, Tremblay says that she is still attempting to raise funds in order to cover the wages for the crew and post-production fees. Due to this, she has started a Go Fund Me in hopes for support and assistance from the community.

What’s to come?

Currently, Tremblay is working on the pre-production of Come Home, and will soon be submitting her film Good Mom to the CBC Short Film Face Off Competition. Good Mom was filmed in Fredericton at the Hartt Island RV Resort and Waterpark.

Filming for “Come Home” will begin in early April, with Tremblay saying that editing for the short film should be completed by this coming fall.

Ryley Roach is a Huddle student intern, based in Fredericton. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected]

Editor’s note: This story was last updated March 17, at 12:45 p.m.