You don’t have to be crazy to make a film in 8 days ...
... but it probably helps — and being chosen to make a movie for the Crazy 8s Gala can be ‘best way in B.C. to launch career’
The Crazy 8s Film Society is once again gearing up for eight crazy days and nights of filmmaking.
“It is actually crazy. I have no illusions that this will be easy or simple,” said Shauna Johannesen, one of this year’s selected Crazy 8s filmmakers.
The non-profit organization has launched its online crowdfunding campaign and is hosting a fundraiser screening Thursday at the Rio in a bid to help power the annual filmmaking challenge in which six emerging filmmakers creating short films in just a week and a day.
Once the films are wrapped and in the can, the results will be screened at the Centre for Performing Arts as part of the Crazy 8s Gala in late February.
“It’s crazy all right, but everyone gets to relax and really celebrate their success at the Gala on Feb. 27 when the finished films are shown to a sellout crowd of over 1,700 people,” said Paul Armstrong, executive director of Crazy 8s Film Society. “You can’t beat that feeling.” Last November, nearly 180 video pitches were submitted to the nonprofit society. Of those, 40 were selected to present to a live panel before 12 semifinalists were given the chance to workshop their script with a professional story editor.
From the dozen, six winners were selected by a Crazy 8s jury and awarded $1,000 and a production package with everything needed to shoot their short films.
“If you’re one of the lucky final six, once the excitement of being chosen wears off, then panic sets in — as you realize that now you really have to make this film in eight days,” Armstrong said.
Since the project was started in 1999, more than 90 filmmakers and their teams have been given the chance to produce fully funded short films.
It’s been called “the single best way in B.C. to launch your career” by Crazy 8s alumni Zach Lipovsky, who went on to place in the top five on the Steven Spielberg-produced reality show On The Lot.
Armstrong said Crazy 8s not only gives filmmakers the resources and support to create a professional short film, but also provides them with important connections.
“Filmmakers get to connect with amazing crews and suppliers, and make connections that will last forever,” he said.
Among the top six selections this year is an action film set in a grocery store, a dark comedy about a lonely serial killer and an LGBTQ romantic comedy.
During 2014’s run, Shauna Johannesen wrote and starred in Bedbugs: A Musical Love Story. She returns this year as a writer and director for Trying.
Johannesen said her participation in Crazy 8s has helped her learn about the filmmaking process and informed her work as an actor and writer.
“On the career side, Bedbugs had a lot of festival success — winning several awards including three Leo Awards — which has got me some traction and meetings with TV writers, directors and casting directors,” she noted.
“Plus, Crazy 8s has a great reputation in the city and they bring a large audience to the gala so these short films get seen — which is what ever filmmaking wants for her film.”
To buy tickets to the fundraiser screening or the Crazy 8s gala on Feb. 27, visit crazy8s.film.