Day 3 (Shorts, Sand Banks, Wine & Cheese) - Hollywood North Film Festival
/ In the morning I ventured over to Trenton, the third city hosting the festival, since I wouldn’t make it over otherwise. On my way I also checked out Loyalist college, where numerous of the festival filmmakers attended or worked. Unbeknownst to me Trenton was hosting a fair of their own, and as I arrived along a river were large boats of dragon racers! If you’re unfamiliar (as I was), it’s essentially equivalent to modern day Viking boats in a race, with rows of 2 people paddling on one side, and someone in the back banging a drum for rhythm. Cool stuff.
After lunch I headed back to Belleville to catch my next block of films:
Films in Block #7: We All Go the Same, I’ll Take Care of You, White Lines (filmmaker in attendance), Memories, Helio
Jodi and Victor were in attendance and also headed to the 4:00pm screening in Picton, where they would be screening their short film Mercy. They kindly let me ride over with them, and this time driving to Picton it was a spectacular sunny day. The two of them explained to me what the Loyalists were (the namesake of their university) and we discussed other interesting elements of their local culture. They explained Canadians have the most mixed up hybrid of the metric system and the non-Metric system, combining the two and using various elements in different situations. For example, they measure their height in feet the way Americans do, but their driver’s license has it in centimeters!
Films in Block #2: Getting Ready for a Lunch Date, Duality, Contact, Sineater, Mercy (filmmakers in attendance)
This block was the only one with some sort of theme involved, as each movie was some sort of horror/thriller. Overall, I think that made for the best set in that the collective had a common feel. When it comes to programming festivals, I definitely think this has a positive impact on the overall viewing experience.
Since Mercy was a local film, not only were Victor and Jodi involved in the Q+A but many of their cast and crew was present as well! Sure enough Jacob the festival organizer had a small role as one of the many victims gruesomely murdered. What’s fun about the local film scenes is that it does bring a crew together in ways that are much more unique that cities like LA where film sets are so much more commonplace.
In the lobby, some of the festival patrons asked us filmmakers how we expected to make money off the shorts. The quick answer is that you don’t go into short filmmaking expecting a return on your investments. For me, the answer is that with every film you hope to gain traction and experience that can lead to bigger and better things.
With another window of time before my final event of the festival, a filmmaker wine & cheese reception, Bob and Laura wanted to check out the famous Sandbanks Provincial Park, and I happily asked to tag along. While none of us were dressed for the beach, we rolled up our pants and took off our shoes and nonetheless enjoyed this incredible park. Photographs are difficult to fully capture it. This unusual spot is a strange mix of dunes and beach, with large mounds of sand surrounded by water. Everyone said that this was the must see spot in the Bay of Quinte and you could see why: it was a picturesque day and everyone else was swimming. In attending this festival, it can’t be understated how much I enjoyed just visiting the area, just as rewarding as the festival itself.
Photo Credit: Bob Celli
Spending time with Bob and Laura was fantastic as well and as I mentioned before it truly felt as though we were able to get to know one another instead of some festivals where you do little more than swap business cards. Driving around the area and sharing stories about filmmaking and life itself was a real treat.
Sandbanks Provincial Park (so massive/unique photos can't fully capture)
Next up was the wine & cheese reception at the Three Dog Winery, further North on Price Edward Island. Good refreshments and great company. All of the familiar faces that I’ve mentioned and got to know at the festival were present, as well as a few new ones who I hadn’t crossed paths with yet. This was a perfect way to cap off the entire experience by socializing amongst many small groups of people and getting to know everyone just a little bit better. Lastly, Bob and Laura drove me back, following Victor and Jodi who knew the best way to Belleville. We all said goodbye and parted ways with new friendships beginning amongst fellow filmmakers from varied parts of the continent. So ended a unique and community based experience in attending the inaugural Hollywood North Film Festival!