Twenty years ago the idea of a Canadian film centre devoted to shaping future movie makers seemed improbable. Not to Canadian director Norman Jewison.
"When Norman first started the Canadian Film Centre he took a look at what other people were doing around the world. His argument was simple: We have just as much talent as anyone. So why don't we have a film school?" says CFC Executive Director Slawko Klymkiw.
Determined to unleash Canada's filmmaking talent upon the world, Jewison's little centre that could now stands among the best institutions around the globe, says Klymkiw.
"Norman's dream has been a great success," says Klymkiw. "Ninety per cent of our alumni are all working today thanks to CFC. From coast to coast if you look any feature film, TV show, documentary or media project being shot there is probably one CFC alumni attached to it. That's an outstanding achievement."
With Klymkiw helming the CFC today, the $13-million filmmaking centre has launched remarkable new initiatives including the TELUS Innovation Fund; the TV Pilot Program, the NBC Universal Multi-platform program and the Go West Project Lab. The CFC also boasts The Whistler Film Festival Partnership, The SHORTSNONSTOP Mobile Movie Festival - a new collaboration with the Tribeca Film Institute and the recently announced CFC NFB Feature Documentary Program, Canada's first theatrical documentary development program.
"We've come a long way. But I still think one of our greatest achievements is seeing CFC films get in to TIFF," says Klymkiw. Calling it "a very difficult thing to do given all the competition," two noteworthy CFC's entries this year include the short drama "Pudge" by director Annie Bradley and the feature film "NURSE.FIGHTER.BOY" by director Charles Officer.
"We have a remarkable lineage of great films that have screened at TIFF," says Klymkiw. "These new films are both inspirational tales about community and the problems faced by people of colour in Canada. They're great human stories. They're also great examples of how our CFC residents continue to excel two decades later."
Pudge
Annie Bradley, director
An unlikely friendship between a wealthy recluse and a poor girl who wants a new coat shines in this TIFF charmer. In it 13-year-old newcomer Laytrel McMullen stars as "Violet," a pudgy kid from the projects who is tormented at her new school because of her ratty, ill-fitting coat. Determined to get a new coat before her birthday, she ventures into a posh neighbourhood and lands a cleaning job for an eccentric old woman who never leaves her mansion.
"These two people have nothing in common but they need each other. They save each other's lives," says director Annie Bradley. "People at the bottom of the social pile believe they have nothing to offer those at the top. That's not true," says Bradley. "At the end of the day we're all looking for connection. That can always come from the most unlikely of places."
NURSE.FIGHTER.BOY
Charles Officer, director
A modern urban love story rooted in social reality, "NURSE.FIGHTER.BOY" tells the moving tale of a Jamaican caregiver, a has-been boxer and a daydreaming young boy whose lives are forever intertwined on one summer night.
"I made this film for my sister," says first-time feature filmmaker Charles Officer ("Da Kink In My Hair"). Diagnosed at 13 with sickle cell anemia, doctors told the girl she wouldn't reach 30 on her 17th birthday. Beating the odds, Officer's thriving sibling is now 43 and has an 11-year-old son.
"I was fascinated with the idea of choosing to have a child even though its mother knows she won't live to care for it," says Officer. "If people take away just one thing from this movie it's this: Every community member has a moral obligation to step up to the plate and do something a child is left alone. We can't just turn our heads and walk away."
