The past decade has proven to be exciting and rewarding for Mark Palumbo.
As the chair of Music and Film In Motion’s board of directors, he’s watched as more than 60 productions took root in northern Ontario, many in the Greater Sudbury area.
Titles like Men With Brooms and Oliver Sherman may stand out, but they are only a small sampling of what has been captured on film in the region.
“This activity has created hundreds of jobs for crew, actors and extras and has resulted in over $100 million of economic impact in northern Ontario,” he said.
Palumbo attributed the area’s “natural beauty, ease of access and its friendly and co-operative people” to it attracting so many production crews.
Having community organizations like Cinéfest helps, too.
During the 23rd anniversary of the festival, which runs Sept. 17 to 25 at SilverCity Sudbury, a number of films with local connections will be shown on the big screen.
(Non)Fiction is one of those films.
The feature-length film is the story of the three women in a filmmakers’ life — his wife, his mistress and his former student.
“The underlying theme of deception continually burrows through the entire film,” a press release from Cinéfest stated. “In the end, everyone may not only be deceiving one another (and even themselves), but the film itself may be a complete deception for the viewer as well.”
Each of the film’s three characters are played by multiple characters, further developing the story’s deceptive plot.
Sudbury born and raised writer, producer and directer Ben Paquette said creating the film gave him the opportunity to explore the relationship between artists and the art they create.
This will be his fifth film to screen at the festival.
In earlier years, Paquette said he noticed a correlation between the characters in his movies and the audience’s perceptions of him.
One of his earlier films “was creepy, so people thought I was creepy,” he said.
(Non)Fiction gave the indie filmmaker more chances to play with the idea of what is real, and what isn’t, in film.
Viewers will find themselves asking, “Am I really watching what I think I’m watching?”
“It’s funny, if you can engage in what (the film) is trying to do,” he said.
Since “writing the bad guy is always more interesting,” Paquette knows audiences may leave the theatre with warped ideas of who he is, but that’s OK by him. Creating thought-provoking film is part of what he loves.
(Non)Fiction plays at Silver City at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 23. The film will be followed by an hour-long discussion period with Paquette.
The Standoff is another home-grown flick being screened at the festival.
Written by long-time Sudburian Anne Boulton and directed by John Alden Milne, who’s lived in the city for six years, the film is “a darkly comedic look at a relationship on pause.”
The short film stars local talent, but not the type you’d expect to see in front of a camera.
Musicians Ryan Levecque and Cindy Doire are the main characters, and Mark Browning also has a leading role.
The “non-actors” were able to push the boundaries, experimenting within their new roles, Milne said. The results were more than he could have asked for. “Making a movie with your friends doesn’t mean it has to look like a home movie,” he said.
Having directed everything from music videos to commercials to large format productions, Milne said the short film was a special project for him because it was literally “shot in each other’s backyards.”
Recognizable locations like the Towne House Tavern make it “definitely a Sudbury film,” but the story is universal, according to Boulton.
Although she and Milne “don’t fight as much” as the characters in The Standoff, “the dialogue comes up in our daily conversations,” she said. “That’s how couples speak to each other.”
The Standoff screens at Cinéfest on Sept. 22 at 4 p.m. A reception will follow the screening at La Fromagerie Elgin at 7 p.m. For more on the film, visit facebook.com/thestandoff.
For more information about Cinéfest or what’s playing at the festival, visit cinefest.com.
- Posted by Jenny Jelen
