#67 – FILM SCHOOL

The Adventure – Film School

After the success of the Montreal World Film Festival, I decided that I loved making films, so it was time to do something about it.

Initally, I asked Bruno to train me…Bruno Tore, filmmaker extraordinaire. He said, yes, and so a plan was made for me to go off to Portugal and then possibly Africa for some special projects.

But then Life sometimes happens. Life can sometimes accidentally derail you from your plans. The company I consulted to asked me to stay for another year to finish the project. Bruno ended up working on all sort of other projects and Life moved us along in different directions.

So, to get a taster, I enrolled I the Gulf Islands Film School, specializing in Documentary Filmmaking.

Many things happened while there.

I almost dropped out midway because of an unexpected medical emergency that popped up that required for me to have IMMEDIATE attention…and unfortunately, there was no such thing as a pharmacy in the middle of nowhere. This was something that affects women – no, not my monthly moon cycle, but something that makes you want to continuously scratch that itch until your skin is a horrible disaster. And the only immediate solution is a skin cream found in a pharmacy. One of the mentors there ended up going to see two women he knew that lived on island. Thankfully, one of them had a tincture that was able to provide some sort of temporary relief. It was embarrassing.

But then, something else happened. For the intensive program, we lived in wooden cabins that were completely ‘rustic’ beyond rustic. One night, something happened in my ear. It was like something was in it and there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t sleep because something was moving about. When I got back into Vancouver, I went to my doctor. Turns out a moth somehow made it into my ear and I was experiencing its death throws.

Showering with men. Did I mention shared showers. One time, I was so completely exhausted that I forgot my towel. I was wet and freezing cold beyond all belief and I knew someone was in the shower beside me. Turns out, it was a great fellow who, very kindly, offered me his incredibly wet towel that he just used all over his body to use to wipe down mine. There comes a point in time where you just stop giving a damn and you just get to the business of getting on. So I grabbed the wet used towel from an almost complete stranger and I used it.

It was our final night and we HAD to get the project done. Our team was so far behind. At the beginning, it seemed like no one could make a decision on what we were going to make a film about

In the wee hours of the morning, a young helper decided to help us fix our sound….but it went from being completely mediocre to absolutely brutally horrible with his fix. I don’t even know what to say.

It was, absolutely, the week from hell. Personality clashes popped up between different people, my vagina, my ear, my lack of sleep, my inability to remember my towel. Nerves frayed, I pushed on. Life is like this. Always messy, always fraught with something or another. It can be challenging and rewarding.

In the end, even though our film sucked crap, it was still an experience I would gladly relive.