Its fitting that the recent Societys On Location fundraising event at Northshore Studios fell on the longest day of the year given the slate of major announcements on tap.
Now in its 12th year, the Whistler Film Festival (WFF), which executive director (and co-founder) Shauna Hardy Mishaw explains came into being almost by accident, has become one of the premiere boutique festivals in the world. And this is no mere boast. As Hardy Mishaw notes, of the roughly 2,000 film festivals in the world, Variety magazine, considered to be the Hollywood bible, endorses 30 festivals a year, and in 2011 they chose to partner with WFF. And theyre back again for 2012.
Asked what that means for WFF, Hardy Mishaw doesnt hesitate: Publicity. With media coming on board with five days of coverage it is huge. And where Variety goes, other media outlets are sure to follow, such as Bell Media which, this month also announced a multimedia partnership with WFF. Adding to the excitement is the China Canada Gateway for Film Script Competition.
The competition open to Canadian writer/producer teams has been in discussions for several years and is the first international co-production of its kind with China. [Winning] ensures the distribution of the film in the Chinese marketplace [the second biggest in the world] and funding, which is a huge opportunity, Hardy Mishaw says. If youre interested you have until August 17th to pitch your synopsis for consideration.
And if that wasnt enough, theres more to come.
To help shepherd WFF to the next level, it brought Paul Gratton on board as the director of programming. In his varied 30-year career Gratton an avowed tequila aficionado has run an arthouse theatre, worked for Cineplex and helped jumpstart Canadian Pay TV. (I was there in 1982 when the flip was switched [and] ran Superchannel.) When CHUM TV wanted to apply for an arts channel, they approached Gratton. He laughs, I said But youre dirty rock n rollers and they said Thats why we want you to join us. So I started Bravo with a desk in the hallway across from the mens room.
But Gratton is a film buff at heart and was ready for some fun. Ive seen 19,000 films since 1963 at the age of 10 and I have the notes to prove it, he says with a big smile. So whats his vision for the festival? He chuckles. Its such an unfair question after 24 hours, but Ill answer it anyways.
He notes that with the steep economic decline in Europe, rich film subsidies there will fall, so you have to follow the audiences. India, China and Korea have large populations and a growing middle class, so Im going Pacific Rim. The BC connection isnt lost on Gratton either. BC is about service production, and of course Canadian films, but its also about special effects and Id like to see panels that reflect that.
But he also wants to expand beyond being a destination or industry festival.
How do you get Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»audiences that are well served by its festival to drive two hours? Well you program things that they dont, and Gratton clearly isnt worried about shaking things up. Ive got nothing against emulating a Midnight Madness kind of thing; its become one of the most important strands in Toronto. And then he drops the C word: Id like to bring in some movies that are effects driven, and may not be considered to be appropriate for festivals, such as commercial film I see nothing wrong with opening with a 3D movie. Following on that theme, he adds, [or]a commercial Bollywood film and bring some of the stars up. I guarantee you their fans will make the two-hour journey to see them.
Asked for his thoughts on women in film (especially in light of the recent controversy at Cannes where no female directors had a film in competition) Gratton was straightforward: I dont believe in programming for political correctness, but having said that, in Canada there has always been a strong contingent of female filmmakers [and] youre sure to find solid representation of women directors at the festival.
Just as were about to finish, Gratton is pulled away for the fourth time during our interview. He jokes, Were going to have the most-interrupted- interview-series, and closes with Those are my thoughts after 24 hours. Give me a call next week and Ill have a whole different story for you.
