A Red Deer filmmaker is a rising star in the movie business.
On the weekend, Lori Ravensborg will be honoured for The Long Road at the Canada International Film Festival in Vancouver.
“I am looking forward to the experience and it’s nice to be an arena where you feel primarily the artist,” said Ravensborg, who is a Red Deer College part-time instructor, a mother, an actor and a writer.
“And the other avenues of your life take a backseat for a few hours. I’m just excited to be a filmmaker for a couple days and take it all in.”
The film festival features film submission from all around the world. Various awards are given out throughout the weekend. Ravensborg will receive the Rising Star Award in the short film category.
“It feels great to get any kind of recognition,” said Ravensborg, 42. “When you take an artistic pursuit, you hope it’s going to be viewed with admiration and respect, that it is going to affect or touch someone. I am thrilled about that.”
The Long Road is a 28-minute film that tackles the choices that people have to face at the end of life and how those choices bring families together and pull them apart. The film focuses on an Albertan farmer who loses his wife of 41 years.
The short was filmed locally using Central Albertans, including actor John Treleaven and production manager James Wilson, along with newcomers Shannon Strumecki, Rob Hay, Tamara Werden and Rivera Reese.
The film was released last spring and was shown at the Oceanside Film Festival in Oceanside, Calif., and at the Red Deer College’s Arts and Culture Days in September. Ravensborg has a couple of other shorts in the conceptual phase on her plate.
This year’s festival program showcases a variety of North American and international feature films, shorts, documentaries, animations and more.
The festival is held on April 5 and April 6.