听
Ana Valine wants to chill your bones.
The 麻豆传媒映画filmmaker 鈥� whose darkly comedic first feature, Sitting on the Edge of Marlene, was a big winner at the 2014 Leo Awards 鈥� deep-dives into thriller territory with her sophomore feature, Once There Was a Winter. The highly anticipated film has its world premiere on Sunday as part of the 2017 麻豆传媒映画International Film Festival.
Valine鈥檚 psychological thriller follows a quartet of characters 鈥� three men credited only by their trades (Welder, Hunter, Plumber), and a female welding assistant referred to as Lady, sometimes the exceptionally patronizing "Little Lady" 鈥� as a quick stop at a remote mobile home turns into a standoff between embittered brothers, with innocent Lady caught in the crossfire.
Once There Was a Winter is chilling cinema on multiple fronts: the long-buried tension between the brothers that hangs like frost in the air as they trade thinly veiled barbs over booze, guns, and meat; the creeping sense that Lady grows more vulnerable to harm every second she remains in the company of these three men.
And there鈥檚 the cold associated with the setting itself: a claustrophobic mobile home on a plot of land in BC鈥檚 unforgiving north, replete with snow and wolves and night鈥檚 darkness.
Valine drew some of her inspiration for Once There Was a Winter from the time spent working on a northern pipeline when she was in her late 20s. 鈥淚 was the only female on the crew, and in those situations, you鈥檝e got to learn to roll with it,鈥� says Valine. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e just there to do your job and you鈥檝e got to stay safe and you also have to prove that you鈥檙e strong enough to be there, not just physically but mentally, too.鈥� Valine says that one night during her time on the pipeline, she found herself in 鈥渒ind of a dodgy situation, and I realized that if anything did happen to me, no one would know where to find me.鈥�
Thus, Once There Was a Winter also serves as 鈥渁 nod to the women who don鈥檛 make it out of those situations,鈥� according to Valine. 听
Valine and co. (four actors, 10 crew) filmed Once There Was a Winter on location in Dawson Creek, in and around a remote trailer they found on Craigslist. The 17 shooting days were an exercise in method directing, says Valine. 鈥淚 had been joking about going up and doing full method filmmaking, but it wasn鈥檛 a joke,鈥� chuckles Valine. 鈥淭here was no power in the trailer, so we had to run power in. There was no water. We had to go in an hour early every day and make sure the wood stove was on so it was warm enough.鈥�
But the location proved a worthy stage for Once There Was a Winter鈥檚 cast of players 鈥� Kate Corbett, Teach Grant, Juan Riedinger, and Kris Demeanor 鈥� and Valine's searing script. They shot chronologically, mostly at night, and 鈥渋t was a bit like theatre,鈥� says Valine. 鈥淚t was important to have strong actors, seasoned actors, because it was a demanding shoot.鈥�
In order to succeed in their demanding roles, Valine called upon her actors to understand something that she admittedly found difficult to explain. 鈥淭his particular film is hard for me to explain. I made [Sitting on the Edge of Marlene] from my head and my heart, and with this one, it鈥檚 all gut and groin. It鈥檚 a visceral feeling, and it still is. It鈥檚 still hard for even me to watch the film. So to try to explain that to a cast, that this is a film that you feel rather than watch鈥� They went. They just went. They let go, and they went with it. They committed, and they were responsive and worked with each other and played with each other, and really connected to the journey, which is not an easy journey.鈥�
As far as psychological thrillers go, Once There Was a Winter is a bona-fide nail-biter. It鈥檚 also an unusual specimen in that it is irrefutably woman-centered. 鈥淭he film is intentionally not completely balanced, even though it is an ensemble piece, but it is Lady鈥檚 story, and it was filmed and written particularly to be from Lady鈥檚 perspective, so when the audience sees it, they鈥檙e experiencing it more from the feminine perspective,鈥� says Valine. Still, 鈥淓ven though it鈥檚 a female story, and it鈥檚 a woman鈥檚 film, it doesn鈥檛 pass the Bechdel Test, and it鈥檚 in a very masculine world. So it was an interesting story for me to tell, because she鈥檚 strictly outnumbered, and as female filmmakers, it feels like that, too. Most of the time, we鈥檙e outnumbered. Even on a crew, we鈥檙e outnumbered, and it鈥檚 not that it鈥檚 a bad thing, because most men are very supportive, but there is that life imitating art.鈥�
鈥� Once There Was A Winter screens Oct. 1 at the Rio Theatre and Oct. 6 at Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas as part of the 2017 麻豆传媒映画International Film Festival. Tickets and schedule information at .
