The Crazy8s Film Festival makes filmmakers crazy busy. Feb. 10 was the first of three days of work for six determined filmmaking teams tasked with making a short film in only eight days as part of the Crazy8s challenge.
Among the filmmakers is award-winning Peter New, who now makes his home in Gibsons. His film, WoodMan, written and acted by New, was filmed at VFS Studios in Vancouver. The woodman is a lonely man made of wood who connects online with a secretive woman, sharing truths that break them out of the cages of lies they’ve told themselves.
“I’ve spent quite some time contemplating the notion of honesty,” New told Coast Reporter, “and what exactly that means. We lie all the time: ‘pleased to meet you’ when we may not be.” This thinking led him to the Pinocchio story – how would the wooden boy survive a typical life?
“During these contemplations, I also happened across some documentary about a rare skin tumour that causes wood-like growth on the limbs and face, and all of those elements conspired to generate this adult version of Pinocchio trapped in his apartment by his own lies.”
This idea remained stuck for a decade, and New gives credit to director Mike Jackson who discovered the missing element: social media. As New said, “It’s the place we all can lie just a little and never be discovered.”
New won a Leo award for his work on Point Blank, and his short film, The Bar, won the first annual Hot Shots Shorts competition. He has since been travelling the world and acting in his show called My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Emmy nominated editor-turned-director Mike Jackson takes on this homage to Pinocchio in this journey of self-discovery.
New describes the filming process as frenetic.
“I spent a lot of it in the make-up chair (three hours to put on, one hour to remove),” he said, “making for 16- to 18-hour days. On our cramped little set, my nose was attached to 600 feet of branch, and I was trapped under a heavy prop computer, while crew buzzed around me. It’s one of the most exhausting filmmaking experiences I’ve ever endured. But boy, was it worth it! The footage looks just fantastic!”
The filmmakers follow up with five days of post-production and they will be delivering their completed short films this Friday, Feb. 17.
The Crazy8s Film Society chose the six winning teams of their 18th annual competition from among a record 216 original applications. The stories are wildly diverse – from dramas about Vietnamese immigrants to an underground hip hop story inspired by the LA riots of 1992. Some are satirical comedy or personal epiphany. One team has taken over a studio set in Langley to recreate the dusty landscape of the old West in the 1860s. (To read more about the filmmakers, go to http://crazy8s.film/crazy8s-2017)
Each team receives $1,000 cash from generous sponsors and a production support package that includes top-of-the-line camera, lighting and grip packages, production insurance, location permits, online editing and a professional sound mix.
The finished films will have their exclusive world premieres at a gala screening at The Centre on Homer Street in Vancouver on Saturday, Feb. 25 at 7 p.m. The after party at Science World includes a red carpet entrance, energetic performances by bands and DJs for dancing. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door and can be found at http://crazy8s.film and at several Vancouver locations.
