Megan Folden

Saskatoon’s Karma Film production company is accustomed to working on large-scale projects. Their team has amassed forty industry awards, not least among them five Geminis. One such award, this time a 2020 Canadian Screen Award for Best Visual Effects, related to their work on Brotherhood. It’s a film, released in 2019, that was partially funded by Creative Saskatchewan via a program now known as the Feature Film & TV Production Grant.

Let’s start with the array of local news and national coverage the film has received. CTV and the Regina Leader-Post, were joined by the National Post and the Globe and Mail in profiling the project and Regina’s Rainbow Cinemas, in their own last days, chose Brotherhood as the last Canadian film they would show. Alongside Karma Film’s involvement, the feature includes contributions from Saskatoon composer and conductor William Rownson. In the words of BC-based director and writer Richard Bell, as he told SaskMusic in 2021, “Tobi Lampard and her team at Creative Saskatchewan were essential in getting Brotherhood financed…Film financing is a bit of a Rubik’s Cube, but we figured out early on that a co-production between Ontario and Saskatchewan was our best strategy. We’re stronger together, which incidentally is a theme of the film.”

Brotherhood, which screened in 26 Canadian cinemas over 2022, charts the true story of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew, a group of young men who tried to canoe across Ontario’s Balsam lake almost 100 years ago. Their 1926 trek, which (spoiler alert) ended in tragedy, sets for a film that Bell feels is exceedingly relevant in our province. He attended a 2021 screening in Humboldt and told local reporter Rachel May that the film resonates with the togetherness needed to get through COVID-19 at its initial peak.

“It sparkles more during COVID,” Bell said at the time. “Things have been falling apart for 19 months. In the beginning, we were all in this together but it started to fade after a couple of months…Those boys in 1926, when they faced the storm there are only survivors because they came together.” According to reporting that appeared in the Humboldt Journal, Bell would go on to connect the film’s themes with the collective tragedy that was the Broncos bus crash.

Like many film projects, Brotherhood wasn’t quick to come to fruition. Bell has repeatedly shared during the promotion of the film that its origins were in 2006 when he learned of the 80th anniversary of the tragedy. As he told the Dawson Creek Mirror’s Rob Brown last November, happening upon a church service being held to commemorate those who died was his starting point.

“I usually start off by saying that I was the treasure hunter…it did feel like uncovering buried treasure because I thought the story was so dynamic and so interesting and so moving, but then I did go into shepherd mode in that it took me a very long time to court producers and convince them that it was going to be a good idea for a motion picture.”

Eventually, Bell managed to convince a creative team to back the project. Released on the eve of the country’s first wave of restrictions, Brotherhood’s journey has been more about smaller venues as opposed to large-scale film festivals. As he told Discover Humboldt, Brotherhood—though it had to work through many sticking points to get produced—rings true to many local audiences.

“Brotherhood plays really well in small towns where people feel a connection with yesteryear still and they are proud of their local histories, and they have fond memories of summer camp. So much of it has been my release plan where I connect with independent cinemas.”

It’s a part of Canadian history that Creative Saskatchewan is proud to have had a hand in preserving.

If you’re looking to get financial support for your feature film, take a look at our guidelines. If you receive the funding then you’ll be following in the footsteps of projects like Summer at Charlotte’s and Shadow of… Both the Feature Film and Television Production Grant and the SaskTel Max Equity Fund are part of a wider assortment of funding programs that include streams dedicated to music video creation and film and television development.

Written by John Loeppky

Regina’s Aaron Sinclair is a well known commodity in Saskatchewan’s creative circles. Journalistic-style? Check. Music videos with well known local artists? Check. Narrative short films? Check. Commercial work? Check. However, just on the eve of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sinclair began to ponder which projects caught his eye as he continued working towards directing a feature film. What came of that thought experiment was The Wild, a micro budget project funded by Creative Saskatchewan.

Sinclair, owner of Aaron Sinclair Film Ltd., says that the film— which takes audiences through a tale that includes a series of small towns, a family, a friend, a mystery, and a possible curse—came front of mind because it fits with his already established style.

“I feel very strongly that this film is a great place for me to jump into the world of features because it contains so many of the things that have become a part of my aesthetic. There is a strong female lead with themes of empowerment. The story is surreal and mysterious but feels like it takes place in our world. There is a nostalgic element that incorporates my own life and story.”

Sinclair, with his aforementioned experience, says that Saskatchewan has a ready and willing talent pool that makes projects like The Wild possible.

“I believe there is a great resource of untapped potential here in Saskatchewan. I have been scouring for talent with every project we work on and what I’ve found is that every time people rise to the occasion. I have worked closely with several talent agencies and have also developed my own internal list of actors. We’ve also built our following to a point where we can put calls out for actors and receive a number of quality auditions.”

Sinclair has taken inspiration from filmmakers like David Lynch as he’s weaved his way between projects in the last ten years. His music videos have included working with other local artists, like Megan Nash, and his commercial work has included videography for Sheldon Williams collegiate. Through it all, as evidenced by his 2021 director reel, Sinclair’s style has evolved to be ephemeral, intimate, collaborative, and varied. Slightly away from the camera, he’s also worked on a magazine-style project entitled “Atmosphere”. It’s a creative product he describes in much the same way he does his films.

“ATMOSPHERE is a dreamy collection of photographs, words & collaborations by Aaron Sinclair and numerous other artists. This ethereal moodbook is about relationships, nostalgia, beauty, seasons of life and dreamscape aesthetic all brought together in beautiful high-quality magazine-style print.”

On the business side of his creativity, in addition to this plethora of creative output, Sinclair has worked on wedding photos and videos, started a Patreon, and is selling prints of his work. His YouTube channel also includes projects like a mini documentary with local artist Ava Wild. No matter your entry point into Aaron’s work, it’s obvious that he’s as focused on process as product. Here at Creative Saskatchewan, we’re glad that our film-centred funding is just as applicable to the path a project takes to its final form.

If you’re looking to get financial support for your feature film, take a look at our guidelines. If you receive the funding then you’ll be following in the footsteps of projects like Summer at Charlotte’s and Shadow of… Both the Feature Film and Television Production Grant and the SaskTel Max Equity Fund are part of a wider assortment of funding programs that include streams dedicated to music video creation and film and television development. The possibilities are endless.

By John Loeppky

Saskatchewan routinely lives up to its moniker as the Land of Living Skies, but what happens when sunshine and fertile soil turns into a desolate wasteland filled with disease? Don’t worry, this isn’t a call to action for the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture, and we’re not looking to book a flight to the world’s seed vault anytime soon, this horrifying scenario is the main focus of the newly released Welcome to Kittytown. The project was funded via one of our previous micro-budget film grants and premiered last October in Saskatoon.

Like most films, especially ones on very small budgets, the process wasn’t quick but it was intentional. The team behind the film, led in part by Robert Bryn Mann (producer, writer, actor), believe that the time was needed to bring the film to life in the way that it needed. Mann says that, without the funding from Creative Saskatchewan, the project would not have gotten off the ground.

“We took our time with it, because we knew the importance and value of the funding you gave us. It could’ve gone to others, but it went to us. And now, we are looking for distribution.”

Welcome to Kittytown follows the story of a farmer who is one of the last members of a society that has been affected by a plague brought forward by the use of genetically modified seeds. Director Douglas Luciuk says that the film was a fitting one to be working on in the midst of a pandemic.

“Here I was at the start of the pandemic, editing this post-apocalyptic film that deals with a shortage of toilet paper, then I look in my bathroom, and my wife and I only have 3 rolls of toilet paper left…it was surreal. Life imitating my art.”

The film involved 27 local artists and has been selected for a number of film festivals, including the 2022 Montreal Independent Film Festival, Snowdance Independent Film Festival, and Newfoundland’s Fog Fest Horror Film Festival. Almost exactly three years from when the team started shooting in October, 2019; Welcome to Kittytown premiered at the Roxy Theatre in Saskatoon.

Mann says that he’s hopeful for the future of Saskatchewan’s film industry because of the $7.5 million investment that was made in October of 2022.

“I would like to congratulate the team for locking investment from the Saskatchewan Government. Said hard working team truly deserves it, and I am thankful for Creative Sask for helping Saskatchewan-made films and TV opportunities flourish for more homegrown filmmakers. We at Land of Darkest Skies Creative Works support your team in making more magic here at home.”

Examples of that magic can be found on the film’s website. Early on, it was clear that the team behind Welcome to Kittytown was going to use Saskatchewan’s landscape to their advantage, shooting their footage using some of the newest affordable gear on the market. You can see evidence of this very prairie videography on the project’s website. Though the main shoot took 17 days, the rest of the project’s development meant many hours in an editing booth. The official trailer for the film, which was released in June of 2022, has thus far garnered over 142,000 views. We’re looking forward to seeing where the film will take the emerging cast and crew as they navigate a film landscape that is on the road to blossoming.

If you’re looking to get financial support for your feature film, take a look at our guidelines. If you receive the funding then you’ll be following in the footsteps of projects like Summer at Charlotte’s and Shadow of… Both the Feature Film and Television Production Grant and the SaskTel Max Equity Fund are part of a wider assortment of funding programs that include streams dedicated to music video creation and film and television development.

By John Loeppky

In theatre, a triple threat is someone who can sing, dance, and act. The success of Zarqa Nawaz’s web series ZARQA has us here at Creative Saskatchewan wondering if we need to call someone who has garnered three of our grants for one project a triple threat as well. That’s what Nawaz did, with jurors selecting her project for a Marketing and Export Development Grant, a Television Production Grant (now part of our Feature Film & TV Production Grant) as well as a SaskTel Max Equity Grant.

Of course, Nawaz is no stranger to success. We’ve spoken with her before for a Q and A at an earlier stage of the project and anyone with even a brief understanding of Saskatchewan film and television will remember Little Mosque on the Prairie’s triumphant run from 2007 to 2012. This time around, Nawaz says that the three grants she received seriously helped land some additional funding.

“The series got so much attention in Canada and worldwide from the promotion of the trailer, we were able to attract a new investor, USHub, to help finance the second season. Our goal had been to increase views to the [series] which we achieved and we also increased investment.”

The web series, which was one of the top three most viewed CBC Gem short form originals last year, is described by the national broadcaster as being a show where “Zarqa [the main character] – a divorced, middle-aged Muslim woman – strives to reinvent herself… until her impulsive and vindictive personality gets in the way.” With each episode clocking in at less than 13 minutes, the show is incredibly bingeable and has been green lit for a second season.

The project, however, has not had a short road to fruition. After producing a trailer, Nawaz turned to Crowdfunding to raise part of the project’s initial budget. As the creator of the series posted on that original crowdfunding page, the goal was to create a series “with more bite” and one that challenged how the film and television industry viewed Muslim women.

“Muslim comedians like Ramy Youssef (Ramy), Aziz Ansari (Master of None), and Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick) have been criticized for portraying white female romantic leads as the trophy, at the expense of Muslim women who are stuck playing the comic foil. ZARQA is going to change all that!”

It’s not like Nawaz had only ever created Little Mosque on the Prairie before diving into this newer venture. She’s also written two books (Jameela Green Ruins Everything and Laughing all the Way to the Mosque), led four short films (Fred’s Burqa, Random Check, BBQ Muslims, and Death Threat), and been part of an expansive documentary about equal access for Muslim women in Canada (Me & the Mosque). Having sold pilots on both sides of the border, and been a journalist since the early nineties, Nawaz brings an exceptional list of accomplishments along with her to any project. She was happy to share with us how her provincial funding was received by Canada’s national broadcaster.

“CBC Gem was very impressed with the support Creative Saskatchewan gave to ZARQA through its major marketing fund. We have sold both the 1st and 2nd season to USHub which will get us a global audience.”

If you’re looking to get financial support for your feature film, take a look at our guidelines. If you receive the funding then you’ll be following in the footsteps of projects like Donkeyhead and Flat Out Food. Both the Feature Film and Television Production Grant and the SaskTel Max Equity Fund are part of a wider assortment of funding programs that include streams dedicated to music video creation and film and television development. Meanwhile our Market Export and Development Grant provides funds to market your work.

By John Loeppky.