Prodigals puts women into key creative roles
Q&A: Director Ouellet ‘excited’ about VIWIFF participation
Now in its 13th year, the Vancouver International Women in Film Festival celebrates women’s stories on film as well as women behind the camera.
Among the films screening at this year’s festival is Prodigals. The third feature from Toronto-raised, Vancouver-based director Michelle Ouellet, it tells the story of Wesley (David Alpay) and his return to his hometown of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. There, he tries to defend his old friend Benny, who is charged with murder.
Postmedia News talked to Ouellet about her new film.
The name of your production company is Sociable Films. But at least one of the characters, Benny, is very anti-social, isn’t he?
He and Wesley are such foils for one another.
Thematically, what was interesting about the script for me is the idea of second chances — and the idea that these two guys’ lives mirror each other, but things have turned out differently for both of them based on circumstances.
The screenplay is from a play. How did you come across the script?
I have to full credit to Sabrina Evertt, our executive producer. She is the one who had worked with Sean (Minogue, the playwright)
and had developed the play from an outline.
Her company Twenty-Something Theatre (now Firepot Performance) produced the play in Vancouver in 2011 and she supported the film adaptation. So she’s the one who brought it to stage and the screen.
How much was filmed in Vancouver?
We’re technically a Vancouver production. We shot 18 days in Vancouver and only a few key scenes in the Sault. It’s a modest film. For me, after having done Paranormal Solutions (a tongue-in-cheek web series with
shorter production times), time was the most important currency. That was the way we could get the most time to shoot it.
How did Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries), who plays Wesley’s former love interest Jen, end up in the movie?
I knew Sara socially. I was a big fan of her work. I saw her in Eadweard (a Canadian film shot here in 2015) and thought that she did a magnificent job.
It was important for that character, Jen, to be played like a woman. I wanted her to be strong. I felt if some guy had skipped out on me and left,
I don’t know if I would be that quick to let him back in the fold. I wanted someone who had a strong presence and intelligence and could hold her own with Wesley.
With the #MeToo movement and more and more attention on the lack of diversity in movies, particularly when it comes to directors, does the opportunity to be in this year’s Vancouver International Women in Film Festival feel different than previous years? (Ouellet’s 2013 feature Afterparty screened at the 2014 VIWIFF.)
I’m hoping that with female representation
in the film industry in the conversation, that will be a boost for the festival and filmmakers.
One of the things that I was happy with was that they decided to program Prodigals even though it is a story with a male perspective and male protagonist.
I said to the VIWIFF, this isn’t a female perspective story per se, but the key creative people are all female and the themes are universal. Is it something that you would be interested in? And they said yes. I’m excited about that. I’m looking forward to seeing a wide variety of stories at the festival.