Local filmmakers earn STORYHIVE grants
Jordan Brodie of Coaldale and Arjan Gill of Lethbridge have both won grants of $40,000 each from STORYHIVE to produce an original short film this summer.
Gill, no stranger to local film success, will be creating a science fiction film entitled “Solus;” and Brodie will be producing a documentary called the “The End is Near.”
In order to receive the grant money each artist had to include a virtual reality/immersive 360-degree aspect to their projects.
“This project is called Immersive Project,” explained Gill at his home studio on Saturday. “There were 10 people accepted across B.C. and Alberta to make a 360 degree video, and a companion (linear) short film.
“For us, (the grant) is mostly about putting the money to where it is worth it. Finally we get to pay people what they deserve, and we get to put some decent money into production.
“It is about taking the equipment we have built up for our company the past few years, and using that, and putting the grant money toward things like the sound, effects and production design.”
“It's pretty exciting,” agreed Brodie. “Both myself, and the person I am working with Shauna, are recent film graduates of the University of Lethbridge. It's a great opportunity to make a breakthrough thing like this. It feels like a good stepping stone.”
“Solus” is about the troubled relationship between a girl named Zara, who has chosen to stay in the country on the Blood Reserve, and her brother in the city, who has chosen a much more difficult path. When an alien attack occurs on Lethbridge, Zara must decide to either come to join the fight with her brother or run away. The 360-degree aspect of the film will take place in Lethbridge, and show Zara’s brother caught amid the first moments of the alien attack.
“The project is about the lifestyle choices people make, and a lot of family connections, and what they mean,” said Gill.
Brodie’s project “The End is Near” takes a different direction, telling the real life story of Lethbridge's “Attainable Records,” which closed last year. Brodie will be using the short documentary format to talk about the underground music scene in Lethbridge, and other cities in Alberta.
“Myself and a few friends used to run Attainable Records,” confirmed Brodie. “This film is kind of the story of that.”
The 360-degree aspect of Brodie’s film will allow the viewer to appear as an entertainer at a virtual “Attainable Records” in its hey-day.
Both Gill and Brodie be flying to Vancouver on March 10 to meet their STORYHIVE mentors. Their final film cuts are due on August 7.
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