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Whistler goes to the movies

As the Whistler Film Festival launches its 13th year, Pique examines its growing contribution to the Canadian film world.

The first time a young Paul Gratton saw his country depicted on the big screen was in 1970.

Nestled in an Ottawa theatre, he watched as decrepit, old buildings and stunning scenery of the east coast gave way to the big, bright lights of Toronto in Goin' Down the Road. "It just blew me away," Gratton, now the director of programming for the Whistler Film Festival, says. "I'd never seen Canada up there. I paid $2 to go see this movie in a local theatre and it lasted only one week and didn't do terribly well, but it's now considered one of the seminal movies in Canadian film history."

Intrigued, he traveled to nearby Quebec to check out The Initiative, Quebec's first colour film and one of the many soft porn selections that were popular at the time. "It featured a bit of gratuitous nudity," Gratton says. "But what blew me away wasn't that. It was the fact that it was shot up in the Laurentians by the side of a lake and looked just like my family cottage. I had never seen the fall colours or beauty of Canada on a big screen. From that moment on I was hooked. That was going to be my mission in life: get more Canadian movies up there."

He has continued to work towards that goal in various roles as a TV and film executive over the years. Last year, he joined the WFF team, where he's been tasked with choosing the films that screen at the festival from Dec. 4 to 8. For the 2013 festival, 51 per cent of the feature films and 60 per cent of the short films playing are Canadian. "It's a very conscious decision on one hand, but it's also very much a response to what's submitted to us," Gratton says. "A Canadian film festival has a role to play in promoting Canadian films. It's an important mission and, because of the vibe at Whistler and the fact that a number of local filmmakers want to world premiere their film at Whistler, there's a responsibility that goes with that."

Not only has the Whistler Film Festival screened a hearty helping of Canadian films over its 13 years, but it has also slowly built up industry offerings that provide filmmakers and producers with support in the form of cash prizes, recognition, networking opportunities and mentoring. Just a few of those programs: the China Canada Gateway for Film script competition, going into its second year; the ShortWork Lab, which has given away $800,000 in production services and cash over the years; and the new Feature Project Lab, running this year to help selected Canadian producers connect with industry experts from across North America. 

"When we started the festival, our vision was to put Whistler on the map for arts and culture," says co-founder and executive director Shauna Hardy Mishaw. "That was our first intention, but by the time we hit 2004, we recognized that there was a bigger opportunity at play. We had a $1.2 billion film and television industry down the road and the fourth largest production centre in Canada. We had the fortitude over those three years to gain an understanding of what the opportunity was to align with the film industry in this country."

That year, the festival created the $15,000 Borsos Competition for Canadian Film, which is the second largest cash prize at a film festival in Canada. "We established (Borsos) with the intention to put Canadian film at the heart of our festival," Hardy Mishaw says. "It's now celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. We've had some of the top filmmakers in the country part of the competition. (We've handed out) almost $200,000. That really is a true success story for us."

Last year's Borsos winner held special significance. Picture Day, about a troubled teen, was produced by Peter Harvey, who grew up in Whistler and says attending the festival as a kid was a formative experience. Actress Tatiana Maslany also won for best actress in that film. "Winning the Borsos award opened doors for me," Harvey says from Toronto, where he's lived and worked for the last six years. "It introduced me to more writers who were looking to get projects off the ground, but it also solidified my position as an up-and-coming producer in Canada and kind of made other filmmakers go, 'OK, these guys are doing it right.' I know I've been doing a good job and I've been having fun making movies. Then you win something like that and it's recognition to be like, 'Yup, I'm on the right path.' Also, to win in my hometown was surreal."

This year, two films he helped produce are screening at the festival, including the quirky Patch Town and the festival opener Cas & Dylan, which marks 90210 hunk Jason Priestley's feature film directorial debut. Both are Borsos contenders. "Patch Town is premiering at the festival," Harvey says. "I haven't seen a finished product of (either film). I'm going to be seeing it for the first time in Whistler, which I love."

Harvey is also participating in the four-day Feature Project Lab where a panel of experts will help him strengthen his latest project, Talk Like A White Boy, and delve into topics like distribution, finding investment outside of Canada and production challenges. "There are a lot of people vying for those positions and only six people got picked," Harvey says. "I was honoured to be one of those six. I think producing Picture Day helped me get there... (The industry experts) are going to help us develop a better sales strategy for films so we have a better potential for selling the films in foreign and North American markets as well."       

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The Canadian film industry has always faced a unique set of challenges, particularly with Hollywood — and its massive budgets for marketing and distribution — right next door. The Vancouver industry (a.k.a. Hollywood North) has long been working within that system, but for Canadian filmmakers who make homegrown movies, there are added obstacles. "It's funny," Harvey says, "French Canada has it much easier because they actually have an audience already there that wants to see their films, whereas English-speaking Canada has a harder time because we're competing with the U.S. So many films get made every year and you have to usually attach somebody noticeable to the film so a distributor or foreign sales want to pick up your film. If you don't have that, festival support can help you a lot as well. Winning an award at Whistler and that sort of thing can help get your film in the spotlight."

As Harvey points out, French Canada has long embraced its filmmakers and the Quebec film scene has flourished as a result. (For proof, check out Louis Cyr at the festival, which grossed over $4 million in Quebec alone this year.) But, in English Canada, locally made films have largely been underdogs. There has been a stigma attached to Canadian productions — in part, that they're low budget and low quality — that has been hard to shake.

Historically, creative Canadians of all stripes, whether its comedians, actors or musicians, have had to make it in America in order to gain acclaim at home. While Canadian musicians — particularly indie rock stars like Arcade Fire or Feist or Tegan and Sara — have managed to shake that curse, Canadian filmmakers and actors are still struggling against it. For Hardy Mishaw, it's an important fight to win. "What does Canadian film mean? To me, it means our ability to support our own story telling in our own way," she says. "At the end of the day, we have a unique culture. To maintain our culture and support it, we need to tell our own stories."

One only needs to look at Brent Butt, stand-up comedian, actor, writer and creator of the popular sitcom Corner Gas, to see that progress has been made. Butt turned himself into a household name by unabashedly showcasing what many consider to be one of Canada's least glamorous locales — rural Saskatchewan — on the small screen.

Similarly, his first feature film, No Clue, which will make its world debut in Whistler, is set in Vancouver. "My production company is called Sparrow Media," Butt says. "The reason I called it that is the sparrow is a bird that doesn't need to fly south. It reminds me of my goal to remain in Canada. I want my work to be seen around the world, but I'm hoping I can do it all here like a little sparrow." 

His story of experiencing his home represented on screen is much different than Gratton's, though the impact was similar. "Very early on, I remember watching Bugs Bunny on a Saturday afternoon and Daffy Duck was trying to make a boulder in front of this cave of gold move with the words 'open sesame.' But he couldn't remember the words."

The befuddled duck tried all of the 's' words that came to mind. "One of them was 'open Saskatchewan,'" Butt says. "I remember it stunned me. Somehow, the fact that Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny made mention of the place I lived, it hit me. It's weird I would find validity for where I live from the mouths of cartoon characters, but it somehow made it seem possible to be from Saskatchewan and make it in show business."

However, Butt adds, he didn't consciously choose to remain in Canada for patriotic reasons, at first. "Early in my stand up career I went down to L.A. to pursue things down there, but I didn't have the paperwork to stay and I came back to Canada," he says. "I had a bunch of work lined up in Vancouver and it was the first time I spent any time here and I just never left. I never pursued the States thing, not for a lofty patriotic goal, just Canada kept me busy. I was booking stand up across the country. I got TV opportunities. Then you have to make the decision at some point, 'I have the means to pack up and move down to the States if I want to,' but now I really want to stay here and do the work." 

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Butt isn't alone in his desire to make Canadian movies. Telefilm Canada, an organization dedicated to supporting the Canadian film industry through investment and promotion, helps between 50 and 60 films get made each year with a budget of $90 million to $100 million. (It is also a major supporter of the Whistler Film Festival.)

"We don't think (Canadian film) has a quality issue," says Dave Forget, director of business affairs and certification with Telefilm. "We think it has a promotion issue. That's why events like the Whistler Film Festival are really important in our calendar. (Festivals) give people that experience of being able to see Canadian films and say, 'Holy cow, these are really great films being made here.'"

While the way people watch movies has changed — for example, Forget says in a recent survey Telefilm conducted, it found six per cent of Canadians watched a film on a mobile device last year — festivals serve as a starting point. "A film is going to have a career, starting with a festival release or in a theatre, then go on to be available on any number of platforms," he says. "Our priority is helping to find audiences writ large. We need to be conscious of the fact that audiences are finding films on all these platforms."

To that end, the industry side of film festivals — where ideas like this are discussed — have become increasingly important. "(Whistler) is a great place for the industry to get together," Forget says. "A lot of great conversations can take place... this is where a lot of deals happen. In the best circumstances, festivals play the role of promoting film and talent and creating a base where talent gets to see each other."

Gratton, who has lived, breathed and worked in Canadian film for decades, also believes one of the biggest hurdles for the industry is publicity. "If I was running the country, I'd put quotas on publicizing Canadian movies with trailers or posters," he says. "I don't believe in quotas for the movies, but there are enough screens in most cities that if a Canadian movie is doing business, it's going to hold its screen. I think awareness and marketing remain the biggest challenge. That's the biggest role Canadian film festivals fulfill."    

Adds Hardy Mishaw: "Theatrical distribution is primarily controlled by American companies. That's an issue. There's limited spots for television. You're up against the franchise-driven industry and the studio. So from the independent scene, it's a lot harder for an independent to get their films seen. The major challenge Canadians have is they don't have the marketing budget."

To that end, Harvey hopes film fans in his hometown will realize the rare opportunity the festival provides to see movies they would otherwise never get to check out. "There are amazing films that get screened," he says. "My biggest thing is it's not as big as it should be, meaning there's not enough people in seats watching movies. That's something that I'm working hard (to change) with my local connections; trying to get people in seats. I look at it as a missed opportunity for people in Whistler to see amazing films from across the country and across the world as well. It's a once-a-year event where you can see these movies you probably will never get a chance to see again."

Though he hasn't called Whistler home in many years, he touts the film festival as if it were his own. "I find it very special," he says. "It's not really like anything that's out there. It's a very intimate festival. Whistler is so small and the village is so small that people at the festival — fans and festival-goers — get to mingle directly with the filmmakers, actors and everyone up there...  If you want to see films that aren't Hollywood and are likely better, the Whistler Film Festival is your chance."

Carving out a Canadian career: Brent Butt

Brent Butt first established himself as a household name in Canada when he created the hit CTV sitcom Corner Gas. He followed up that success with another series, Hiccups, about a children's author who's forced to deal with anger management issues — all the while keeping his stand-up comedy career in his back pocket.

Now, Butt is set to delve into the world of feature film with No Clue, a detective movie set to make its world debut at the Whistler Film Festival, which he wrote and stars in. Pique caught up with Butt to talk about his foray into movies.

Pique: What's the difference between working on a feature film and working on TV series?

Brent Butt: It's a much bigger job. You're writing 100 pages versus 30. A feature film has to be bigger, deeper, more intense. It has to have more twists and turns. A sitcom is very small stories. In Corner Gas and Hiccups, they were fun, character-driven episodes in these people's lives. When I sat down to write this, I said to myself, out loud, like a crazy person, 'I want to write this so it's not zany and wacky. It's a dark, gritty murder mystery and it happens to be funny because the main character is in over his head.

Pique: Can you tell me a bit more about the plot?

BB: In some ways it's an homage to the classic detective movies. It starts with a damsel in distress coming in to get help because she can't find her brother. She goes into the wrong office. She walks into a salesman's office. He knows the real detective is out of town and can't help her and she needs help. And she's quite attractive.

Pique: Did being a household name in TV help you in the film world?

BB: People with past success, it will open a door, it gets you in the door, but it doesn't make the sale. With movies, there are a lot of pieces of the puzzle to line up... Lining up financing, there was a decent budget on this movie — $6 million — that's a lot of shekels to get people to part with. We had fans and champions, but that only goes so far.

Pique: What kind of audience do you think it will appeal to?

BB: I think it can appeal to a broad audience. At the end of the day, it's a murder-mystery. It's one of those few genres that travel culture to culture and everyone knows what's going on... I think the trick is to not worry about who you're appealing to. You can't make stuff for other people. You have to make it in a way you're proud of. With Corner Gas, we didn't think anyone would watch this show about a small town in Saskatchewan, so we just did what we thought was legitimately funny and good. When I was writing this movie, I really didn't think it would be made, so I just wanted to write the movie I wanted to watch.



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