Female filmmakers inspired by the #MeToo movement are finding their own voice and expressing their own views at RDC.
All aspects of production for the film Rescue Me — from conception to directing, producing and acting — were carried out by female students, said James Wilson, a film instructor for RDC’s Motion Picture Arts program.
“They talked about the #MeToo movement and decided, ‘We want to lead this and tell this story in a way that’s completely female driven.’”
Rescue Me is a fictional short, produced by Mette Van Klaveren, about a troubled girl who finds redemption through her contact with rescue animals. It’s one of a dozen student productions to be screened on Friday and Saturday, June 1st and 2nd, at RDC’s Welikoklad Event Centre.
This year’s MPA projects are described as a very diverse set of stories.
“There were some years when everyone latched onto zombies or made vampire films, but this year everybody found their own voice and had a unique story to tell,” said Wilson.
With an attitude of “let’s do it and see what it looks like,” producer/actor Sam Quinn created Paint Dance, a short that incorporates story, improvisational dance — and paint, said Wilson. “It’s her emotional, experimental project.”
There will also be a preview screening of a yet-untitled, feature-length movie shot last fall at the Los Angeles planetarium (a location that was memorably featured in the Oscar-winning La La Land).
Wilson said producer McKenzie Brown and other students in the group made contacts in L.A. and discovered first-hand what’s required to get a film licence there. “They learned a lot going to Hollywood…”
Another group also did a lot of trouble-shooting to make a film about a guy called Nate. Wilson said this short, produced by Garrett Hall, will hopefully be entered in next year’s Alberta Media Production Industries Awards.
The various MPA student films range from five to 20 minutes in length. Admission to the two-hour screenings at 7 p.m. is by donation. Patrons are welcome to also tour the Welikoklad Gallery, next door to the theatre, which is exhibiting works from RDC’s permanent art collection.
lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
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