A “chick-flick/superhero film” made by two Olds filmmakers is in the running for a $40,000 prize on CBC TV’s Short Film Face Off.
John Negropontes and Tyler MacIntyre were thrilled to discover their 11-minute short, Secret Identity, about a grandma’s revelation that she once had a romantic encounter with a superhero, is among nine films selected to compete in the televised contest.
Their quirky film will air Saturday during the first episode of the 7 p.m. CBC series. The other finalists will be shown over two more episodes of the show, on June 23 and 30. Then the CBC will open phone lines for 24 hours for viewers to vote.
Negropontes and MacIntyre hope their nostalgic romance will go over well, because they could use the prize money for future projects.
A couple of hundred filmmakers had initially entered the CBC contest for a chance to win $30,000 in cash from Telefilm Canada and $10,000 in equipment rentals for P.S. Production Services.
For Secret Identity to make it to the finalist stage is a thrill for the filmmaking partners, who first met as daycare tots in their native Olds.
MacIntyre and Negropontes, the only Albertans in the finals, made their first film together during a teachers’ strike while they were both in high school. In 2002 they entered Saturday in the Motion in Film Festival at Red Deer College and won an award for it.
Secret Identity, starring Lee Merriweather, is already an award winner. It nabbed the Best Film prizes at the 2011 ComicCon International Independent Film Festival in San Diego as well as the Sci-Fi Film Festival in Phoenix.
In May, Secret Identity was up for three awards at the Alberta Film and Television Awards in Calgary. And MacIntyre went home with a Rosie for Best Director.
Negropontes, who produced the film, described the plot as being about Janet, who’s engaged to a guy who can’t afford to buy her a wedding ring. Janet visits her grandmother to ask about using her ring for the ceremony. And Grandma ends up surprising her with a doozy of a story about how she once crossed paths with a superhero.
He describes the film as “fun and light-hearted,” but added there’s a nostalgic, romantic quality to it that seems to go over well. “Our female friends, especially, seem to like it.”
Both filmmakers left Olds to study at the University of Alberta. After getting bachelor degrees, MacIntyre and Negropontes both moved to Los Angeles in 2008 to study at the American Film Institute, where they graduated in 2010.
Both men now work in the Los Angeles film industry in editing and producing roles.
The pair recently completed another short, Shinny, along with Edmonton producer Nathan Brown. It’s set on an outdoor hockey rink in the 1950s. While the film’s location is supposed to be Toronto, it was shot overnight during a freezing Edmonton winter, which the filmmakers recall as a challenge.
But they are hoping Shinny enjoys a similarly successful festival run.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com