Program at a Glance
1:30 pm Doors open
2:00 pm Welcome from Saffron Bisiker, MLA Adam Walker and Qualicum Beach Town Council Member
2:15 pm Films
3:15 pm Intermission & Mingle
3:30 pm Debut: We Are Just Soldiers
3:45 pm Awards
4:00 pm Wrap
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A note from our festival producer:
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Thank you so much for attending the first Qualicum Beach Film Festival! This event showcases independent cinema from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. From our numerous submissions, we have selected ten films that exemplify the diversity and talent of the film industry.
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A little bit about how this festival came to be: I am a screenwriter, actor, and film producer and director. I created this event as my grade 12 capstone project out of my passion for filmmaking, as well as my desire to shine a spotlight on those creating art, entertainment, social awareness and change through film throughout the Vancouver Island region.
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I hope that the ten films we're sharing with you today, as well as my own that I'm debuting at this event, will inspire you to create your own art in enduring ways.
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A final thank you to our judges Deniz Somuncuoglu, Soph, and Maggie Sheehan. Also, many thanks to the volunteers who helped make this event possible. I am humbled by your support.
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Sincerely,
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Saffron Bisiker
Films In Order of Appearance
FRAMED BY BREAD | No advisories
Ben Giesbrecht - Director, Director of Photography, & Editor
Connor Copithorn - Writer & Cast
A short satirical film showcasing an afternoon in the life of a self-proclaimed West Coast Sandwich Chef.
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TURKEY'S COOKED | Advisory: Brief drug reference
Sarah Nicole Faucher - Director, Producer & Art Director | Michael Korican - Post-Production, Editor & Writer | Cast: Athena Guest, Tai Schober, Amanda Mobley, Erin Sterling, Douglas Mark Thompson
A dark comedy in which Ashley introduces her anxious new boyfriend Billy to her family for turkey dinner.
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DON'T MAKE A MOUNTAIN | No advisories
Ross Bodenmann - Director, Videographer & Editor
Cast: Lauren Mann - songwriter & musician, Josh Hansen
In this music video, a woman is on a journey of discovery and adventure, and a man lost in a wilderness of his own making. Lauren Mann narrates their parallel narratives from the edge of the world.
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THE IMMORTALS | Advisory: Discussion of violence
Ross Langill - Director, Editor, Writer, & Producer | David Vatousios - Writer
Cast: Wendy Stevens, TJ Matthews
A zombie and vampire discuss what it means to be a monster.
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FORGOTTEN | No advisories
Barry Jesse Smith - Writer & Director | Rochelle Allison - Videographer
Cast: Rochelle Allison, Angel Ariel Morales Rojas, Deborah McCarron
It is 2424 and Idris, the android on a research spaceship discovers that a malfunction has sent the ship to a new galaxy, close to a planet that is far from its own galaxy of Trinon.
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HAIRSPLITTING | Advisory: Brief violence
Carmen Dixon - Writer, director, casting, camera, & editor
Cast: Mackenzie Rae, Carter Unickow, Alex Brennen, Lana Nepomuceno, Shannon Loughlin
Teenage girl, Adeline, is very stressed about her academics. The idea that she might fail has been plaguing her. When unable to concentrate during a test, she eventually loses herself to her perfectionism.
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JOYRIDE | No advisories
Laurie Empey - Director, Writer, and Producer
Cast: Norma Bowen, Trent Peek, Melissa Tol, Athena Guest, Sam Follis, Doug Crockett
Joyride is about a beautiful classic car being inherited by a man named Earl. Curiously, desperate to get rid of it, he puts it up for sale soon after we discover a unique and unexpected feature about it.
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PRAY FOR MY HAT | Advisory: Flashing lights
Mackai Sharp - Director | Girly - Performer | Perry Maysun - Performer
In this international music video collaboration, Vancouver's emerging hiphop artist Girly works with New York's Perry Maysun in their new single "Pray 4 My Hat" music video.
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THE STRAIGHT AGENDA | Advisories: Brief drug use
Emily Robertson - Director, Cinematographer and Editor | Mieke de Vries - Writer, Story Editor, and Music
Cast: Mieke de Vries as herself
Through the use of childhood home videos intertwined with present day scenes, a writer shares her experience of coming out as a pansexual woman in a world where people are assumed straight at birth.
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IMITATES LIFE | Advisory: Brief alcohol use
Tabatha Golat - Director, Producer, Editor, Casting, & Title Design
Cast: Kaliandra Capri, Maggie Bugg, Sean Baker, David R. MacKenzie
Artist Amy feels the pressure of preparing pieces for her first public gallery showing and seeks advice from her closest friends during a night out. Trying to fill the gap in her work and love life, Amy sculpts the perfect man, who comes alive to show Amy how to love herself.
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DEBUT: WE ARE JUST SOLDIERS | Advisories: Scenes of war
Saffron Bisiker - Writer, Producer & Director
Cast: Deniz Somuncuoglu, Cooper Hills, Jason Haney, Marcel Heim, Eddy Green, Bryn Evans
July 7, 1944, the war is at its most brutal point. Felix Hartmann, a young German soldier with an uncommon perspective on the war, begins to question all he was taught in the German army. After a situation leaves Hartmann face to face with Canadian Soldier, Private Ralph Anderson, he must decide whether to betray his values or betray his country.
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