Thorneloe program a boon for burgeoning film industry

As a film buff growing up in Sudbury in the 1980s, Benjamin Paquette said there wasn't a whole lot available here for people with his interests.

When he expressed an interest in making films as a teen, he was laughed at, as cinematography equipment was expensive and difficult to come by.

He said he was really excited when Cinéfest started 25 years ago, and was at the front of the line to watch movies that otherwise wouldn't be shown here.

Paquette also had to go out of town to learn how to become a filmmaker, attending Concordia University in Montreal.

Fast forward 25 years, and Paquette has helped to establish Thorneloe University's bachelor of fine arts degree in motion picture arts.

Paquette, a professor in the program and its curriculum director, said he was first approached about starting the program about five years ago when he was screening one of his films at Cinéfest.

He moved back to Sudbury, and has gradually increased the program's course offerings. The program has now been built up to the point that it warrants a a full specialization.

“I'm crazy excited,” Paquette said. “You have to realize where I was 17 years ago, and what Sudbury was like and stuff. The fact that (the program) is coming, just watching it happen is really amazing.”

He said there's already 12 students in the motion picture arts program, which only has a capacity for 20, and that was just through word of mouth. The university isn't planning to advertise the program until next year.

The idea behind the program is not just to train people to work on some of the out-of-town film productions which have been shot in Sudbury over the past year, but to develop Sudbury's own film industry, Paquette said.

“It's kind of cool that we see Andy Garcia walking down the street, but if we're real serious about this as a community, and you want this to stick around and ... be an industry, then you have to put together the infrastructure for this.”

Thorneloe University had already offered specializations in visual arts and theatre for its bachelor of fine arts program, and adding motion picture arts completes the puzzle, said the university's president, Robert Derrenbacker.

There's many synergies between these specializations, he said. For example, many students involved in Thorneloe's theatre productions are also involved in motion picture arts projects, he said.

The fact the motion picture arts instructors are local filmmakers means students will be able to get hands-on experience on films being shot in the area, Derrenbacker said.

“I like to think about this as bringing the classroom to the film set, which is really exciting to me,” he said.

Each year, the students actually produce another chapter in the "Perspective" series, which is actually a feature-length movie about an ongoing love triangle. These movies are then screened at Cinéfest each year.

Now that Thorneloe offers the specialization, the university is working on articulation agreements with the film programs at Canadore College in North Bay and Confederation College in Thunder Bay.

Graduates from these programs would be able to attend Thorneloe and receive credit towards a university degree, Derrenbacker said.

“I'm hoping in 10 years we're known as the best film program in Northern Ontario at a university level,” he said. “I'm really exited for the future.”

The problem is, though, the program doesn't really have the money to purchase equipment needed for film production.

Derrenbacker wants various levels of government will step up, while Paquette is hoping a non-profit film equipment sharing group he's set up will be able to help out.

Paul Dzioba and Zahra Golafshani are two of the students enrolled in the program, and they say they've loved their experiences at Thorneloe.

“It's a great program,” said Dzioba, who wants to become a filmmaker when he graduates. “There's a growing film industry here. Ben's a really great prof. The classes are really awesome.”

Golafshani, who said she wants to work in some aspect of film production, if not necessarily as a filmmaker herself, said she likes the practical nature of the program.

“I really like it,” she said. “The fact that it's new and it's growing, it's pretty interesting.”