Cannes Film Festival 2010 – Short Film Corner
Everyone has heard of the CannesFilm Festival and have seen the pics of the stars walking the red carpet and have heard of this movie or that movie opening the festival. It is also a film industry networking event, with parties, producers, directors and stars as this festival isn’t established for public viewing. It is one of the oldest private film festivals in the world started in 1939 for art to protest against fascist governments and showcase art in film. Through the decades and into the 21st century it has made it’s presence known as a venue for showcasing European films and for other feature films to be picked up for distribution around the world. It really is a one stop shop of film makers to see what others are doing and to show off what you have accomplished lately. There is a jury that screens every film and there are awards given to deserving films. The head juror this year is Tim Burton, the creative mind behind films such as “Edward Scissorhands” and “Alice in Wonderland”. It will be interesting to see who get’s the Palm d’Or this year.
There is a lesser known component of the film festival called the Short Film Corner [SFC] and to quote the SFC website it is the “essential rendez-vous point for film makers”. We are privileged to have “Rosie” registered int he SFC 2010 Catalog for distributors and other filmmakers to screen. Executive Producer, Paul Armstrong, is off to Cannes to as a result of gaining registration into the SFC. Hopefully, he will be able to generate more industry buzz around our “Rosie”.
Cheers,
KILLAWATT
November’s ION Magazine article
Last November, Ms. Alicia Worbel from ION Magazine contacted Jereme and wanted to write an article on not only the film “Everything’s Coming Up Rosie” but on Jereme as well. As a Vancouver filmmaker it was an honor to be recognized by local media.
Read the article if you haven’t already ready it – here it is or go to ION Magazine to check out more! http://www.ionmagazine.ca/2009/11/jereme-watts-everythings-coming-up-rosie/
Thirty-three-year-old Jereme Watt had not always planned on becoming a filmmaker. After receiving a diploma in Outdoor Pursuits at Mount Royal College, he moved to Fernie, B.C. to improve his snowboarding skills. But after two years on the slopes, he decided to make a change and go back to school. Jereme went to the Fernie library intending to research a post-secondary program, such as physiotherapy, that would allow him to expand on and nurture his love for the outdoors. However, the library’s collection of academic calendars was quite sparse, and instead Jereme encountered information on a film program in Calgary. He has since graduated from the program and worked on several projects. Everything’s Coming Up Rosie is his first short that has generated buzz outside the realm of YouTube.
The film centres around the life of a young autistic girl who struggles to communicate with her family on the most basic of levels. Jodelle Ferland of Nanaimo, B.C., star of horror flicks Silent Hill and Tideland, plays the leading role (she’ll also be in the third Twilight movie). While we get a glimpse into the life of a loving family experiencing strain due to frustration, the film is slightly atypical in that it employs both animation and actors to tell its story. What arises from this is a sort of Alice in Wonderland-type feeling where the viewer not only has the opportunity to see what the parents of the autistic girl see, but also to view the trials and tribulations that the girl herself has to sift through in her own mind.
If you do shed a tear at the end of the film as I did, Jereme would be pleased—not because he enjoys watching his audience cry, but because this is a way of measuring success. He says, “I have heard from some people who have seen Everything’s Coming Up Rosie that there was an emotional nerve struck and that is very satisfying to me because it’s all about storytelling … I am very proud of this project overall in that regard.”
Although this is Jereme’s first major short, there is certainly no visible lack of experience in the film. Humbly, he credits much of its success to the creative people he worked with on the project, who allowed him to learn more about the filmmaking process. He adds, “finding the reasons for doing the things that we do, can be a very entertaining aspect of life.”
Words: Alicia Wrobel
If you have any questions for Jereme, please feel free to post a comment here or email us at info [at] killawattproductions [dot] com.
Cheers,
