2011 Filmmaking Teams
Follow the Crazy8s 2011 winners as they blog about their experience for the Vancouver Sun.
Alchemy and Other Imperfections
A man and a woman are so wrapped up in their crumbling marriage they have completely lost touch with the world outside.
Writer/Director: Zachary Rothman (pictured)
Producer: Heather Lindsay
Zachary Rothman has been writing and directing films for over ten years,
including horror film 'Lost' (Manitoba Arts Council), comic fantasy
'Electric Messiah' (BC Arts Council), existential comedy 'My Own
Partridge Family' (NFB), and the soon-to-be-released biblical sci-fi
fantasy 'Showdown on Olive Mountain' (2x4, Dog on the Beach
Productions). He pursues collaborative work and challenging narratives
which blur the line between fantasy and reality.
Heather Lindsay is a recent alumni of the National Screen Institute's
Totally Television Program, as the producer of a half hour television
comedy 'ditched'. As a producer, curator & production manager in the
live performing arts, Heather has been making an impact in the Canadian
theatre community with events such as the PuSh Festival, Caravan Farm
Theatre, Brief Encounters, Tremors Festival, HIVE, Fringe Festival,
Magnetic North Theatre Festival and the Here Be Monsters Festival.
Recent projects include: A Brief History of Romantic Love (Vanity
Projects), The Show Must Go On (PuSh Festival), Biographies of the Dead
and Dying (Machine Fair).
Chained
Peter and his father are hiding a terrible secret, a secret that's threatened when Peter's teacher starts asking questions about his monthly absences.
Writer/Director: Rehan Khokhar (pictured)
Producers: Matt & Mikey Granger
Rehan Khokhar
Born & raised in Guelph, Ontario, Rehan bravely traveled across the country to British Columbia to pursue his passion for film. He graduated from Capilano University's Motion Picture Production Program where he gained great insight into the film industry and learned to use the necessary skills to achieve his goals. After graduating, he was lucky enough to find volunteer work on many short films and music videos. He was able to later join the Independent production company's team behind RIESE as their assistant editor. From there, the work continued and was able to be the editor of 2010's Crazy8's film CAT VS. MAN as well as an editor for various VFS shorts. Recent credits include THE CHARLIE DA CLOWN SHOW & THE HAUNTING HOUR television series.
The Granger Bros: Matt & Mikey Granger
In 1999, Matt Granger's film career began as videographer on Bryan Singer's X-Men and led to the creation of the X-Men 1.5 Special Edition DVD. Now, for over a decade, The Granger Bros have been creating their own unique brand of short comedy films including "Epic: The Sir Arthur P. Laymond Story" (which included rare comedic performances by Robert Patrick and Harrison Ford) and numerous shorts licensed in 2006 by Lionsgate for use in the film "Good Luck Chuck". In 2009, legendary director Quentin Tarantino chose the Granger Bros' Pulp Fiction spoof "Quarter Pounder with Cheese" as the winner of MTV's "Bastardize Tarantino" film contest. On the heels of this success, with the help of the crowd funding website Indiegogo.com, the Granger Bros successfully raised $10,000 for the pilot episode of "The Charlie Da Clown Show" which is currently being shopped in both Canada and the US. In their spare time, the brothers enjoy long discussions about "whose fault it is", painting self portraits with watercolors and imagining a future where we will all live in perfect harmony with our robotic overlords.
Colouring on the Walls
Following the death of their father, Alice and Edward struggle to cope with their mother's dementia.
Writers: Julie Stangeland & Shaun McKinlay (pictured)
Director: Shaun McKinlay
Producers: Athan Merrick & Julie Stangeland
Shaun McKinlay
Shaun McKinlay is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Film Production Program holding a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, as well as a Diploma in Film Studies from Capilano University. His film, The Escape of Conrad Lard-Bottom, was nominated for a Leo Award in 2008, and has gone on to win two Peoples Choice awards. Shaun is currently in post production of his latest project entitled A Modest Proposal.
Julie Stangeland
Julie Stangeland is a graduate of the University of British Columbia with a diploma in Film Production. In addition to writing and directing, Julie has been active with the UBC Film Production Alumni Association for the last three years.
Athan Merrick
Athan Merrick is a graduate of the University of British Columbia Film Production Progam with a degree in Fine Arts. He is cofounder of Dendrite Studios, which recently completed its first feature length ski film entitled Out of the Shadows. In addition, Athan is an accomplished Director of Photography.
Dead Friends
9-year old Lola's only friend is her stuffed rabbit, Mr. Wimperbottom.
Then Lola finds a way to grow herself a new best friend.
Writer/Director: Stephen W. Martin
Producer: Katelyn D. Mann
Stephen Martin
Born in St. John's Newfoundland, Stephen is a product of his heritage, Whiskey and Whiskey.
He is the director of various short films, the writer of the occasional comic book and the frequent eater of pop tarts. He is currently directing his first feature length documentary film entitled, "The Godfathers of Rock Design", along with training his Mogwai to stay out of the pool.
Katelyn D. Mann
Kate is a native of The West Edmonton mall. Having a father as a concrete structure and a mom as a roller coaster, she excels in producing anything. Kate, since graduating film school, has produced a plethora of picture shows including pics about people, places and pygmies.
Funny Business
Esther and Eddie over-plan everything, even their sex life. When they unexpectedly discover that laughing at Eddie's jokes makes Esther climax, things start to heat up.
Writer: Andrew Templeton (pictured)
Director: Russell Bennett (pictured)
Producers: S. Siobhan McCarthy & Kate Green
Co-Producers: Gillian Bennett (pictured), Russell Bennett & Andrew Templeton
Andrew Templeton
Andrew Templeton is a Vancouver-based writer and playwright whose recent credits include What You Want, Fever (Radix Theatre, as part of HIVE 3), Biographies of the Dead and Dying (productions in both Vancouver and Toronto), This Mortal Flesh (Jessie nominated for Outstanding Original Script), Portia, My Love (Jessie nominated for Outstanding Original Script), Howard Johnson Commits Suicide (London, UK); Branwell Alone (London, UK), Ken Dolls (also adapted for television) and Hazardous Cows (also adapted for radio). He was a member of the 2005 Banff Playwright's Colony. He is currently working on The Last Occupant of Troy (in development with Playwrights Theatre Centre) and Babylonia (a commission from Radix Theatre). Funny Business is his first foray into film.
Russell Bennett
Russell Bennett's documentary, Stoned: Hemp Nation on Trial premiered on CBC Newsworld's Rough Cuts, becoming the show's most popular documentary in 1998 and was nominated for Best Political Documentary at Hot Docs. Working with his wife, Gillian Bennett, he has written, acted and produced the critically acclaimed plays The Reefer Man, Rocket Man, Self-Storage and Crude Love. Bennett has starred in many short films including The School and The Last Bang. Working with Emmanuel Shirinian, he co-wrote, co-produced, co-directed and co-starred in the short Les Softies, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. Bennett won the 2011 NSI Drama Prize to direct his next short film Henry.
Kate Green
Kate brings over 15 years of experience working in theatre, film and television as a producer, director, writer, and actor working in both fiction and non-fiction genres. Kate's work ranges from documentaries like Raid the North Extreme (GLOBAL) to comedic shorts like Crosswords. She has worked as an assistant director on the reality television series Crash Test Mommy (SLICE), as a Story Coordinator on Anna & Kristina's Beauty Call (W Network) and as a Producer/Director on Season 13 & 14 of The New Driver's Seat (CHUM), The Canadian Rally Championships (CITY TV) and Discovering Great Towns. Kate is currently in development on Henry - a 2011 winner of the National Screen Institutes Drama Prize.
S. Siobhan McCarthy
S. Siobhan McCarthy is the founder of blyssful PRODUCTIONS. She's an accomplished transdisciplinary artist with many years of professional performance experience and training which allows her to draw from a wide range of modalities. She is an accomplished producer/content creator of multi-media theatre, film, radio, print and new media. She was profiled and published in the CTR where she was credited as being one of "Canada's foremost cross-over artists." McCarthy has been the Production Manager of the Vancouver International Film Festival Trade Forum for over ten years. She graduated from UBC with an Honours Degree in Theatre Film and Creative Writing and attended UBC's Entertainment Administration Program.
Gillian Bennett
Along with Russell Bennett, Gillian has written, produced, directed and performed in several award winning theatre productions, including The Reefer Man, Self-Storage, Rocket Man, Rapture in Blue, and Crude Love. Gillian graduated from The Neighbourhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City, and has a BFA in Creative Writing from UBC. Gillian and Russell won the 2011 National Screen Institute Short Drama prize for a script she wrote called "Henry", which will be in production later this year. She was script editor for "Les Softies" which premiered at TIFF this year and will be appearing soon in Brent Butt's "Hiccups".
Run Dry
In a future Vancouver running out of water, Billie has to decide what price is too high to escape the dying city with her privileged boyfriend.
Writer / Producer: Jordan Hall (pictured)
Directors: Sarah Crauder & Lindsay George
Line Producer: Laura Good
Jordan Hall
Jordan Hall is an emerging artist whose work has been dubbed "stellar, insightful" by Plank Magazine, "thoughtful" by CBC Radio, and "vivid, memorable" by NOW. Primarily a playwright, her work for the stage includes the short plays Red, The Second Last Man on Earth, Annie & Izzy, and Asleep at the Wheel, as well as her full-length play, Kayak (Samuel French 2011). Her first short film, Love Sucks, is currently in production, and she is developing her newest play, Travelling Light, as an Associate with the Playwrights Theatre Centre. As a dramaturg, Jordan recently worked on the Dora award-winning Belle of Winnipeg, and is a mentor for UBC's Booming Ground program. Find her at www.jordanhall.ca
Sarah Crauder
Sarah Crauder is pursuing her MFA in Film Production and Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia. She attended Simon Fraser University for her undergraduate education, graduating with a BA in Psychology in 2003 and a BFA in Film Production in 2005. Her fourth-year film at Simon Fraser, a 13-minute short comedy about comic book store employees called "Because You Demanded It!" was shown at six international film festivals, including the Vancouver International Film Festival. She's also worked professionally in the production office, art department, and casting department on a number of feature films shot in Oregon.
Lindsay George
Lindsay George is a graduate of the University of British Columbia who has become an accomplished DOP in the five years since she finished the program. After winning the Leo in 2008 for cinematography in a short film, she has gone on to co-DOP the feature, A Night for Dying Tigers, which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival this year. Most recently, she was awarded the Kodak Image Award for excellence in Cinematography. She looks forward to co-directing Run Dry, with a focus on the look and feel of the photography as it relates to the script.
Laura Good
Laura Good has produced a variety of short films, from the comedy "Oh Hey it's a Ghost" to the upcoming human trafficking awareness piece "While I Breathe"(whileibreathe.com). She is currently producing an ambitious short film by Rachel Talalay, and a graduate thesis film at the University of British Columbia. Good has additional experience on industry productions as a licensed special effects technician, and has a Bachelor of Science in Aviation with a commercial pilot license. She is currently a 3rd year student in the Film Production Program at UBC.