A year and a half ago I booked a multi-stop ticket, packed up my bag, poured a ton of money into purchasing film equipments and hit the road. The next seven months saw me travel to Latin America, Europe and the Middle East, filming off-the-cuff short documentaries that centred around the hopes and struggles of people around the world.
The 3-part project, produced in partnership with UN’s International Organization for Migration and Mad Amendments, took me across 16 different cities and 4 different continents.
Everything from researching to scheduling, booking, filming and finally, editing, was handled between my directing partner and I. …
A few months ago, slowly emerging from the doldrums of the never-ending winter months of Toronto, and running low on inspiration, I decided to look for books by inspiring independent producers. The hope was to jolt my creative self back into gear and find my voice as an independent film producer through the reading of inspirational anecdotes.
Enter, Christine Vachon.
Vachon has produced many acclaimed American independent films, including Far From Heaven (nominated for four Academy Awards), Boys Don’t Cry (with an Academy Award winner), Happiness, Kids (Palme D’Or), Carol, Still Alice, among others.
A maverick producer, Vachon “has remained successful in a world hostile to both women and mid-budget films” by sticking to her guns. She shook up the industry in the 80s and 90s with auteur-driven counterculture movies, exploring the lives of fringe figures, genderqueer and transgender misfits, and unstigmatized villains. She has been a steadfast feature of the indie scene through the years, always championing filmmakers and stories that push the envelope. …
