Photo: Josh Dawson
The Kamloops Film Society held its Independent Short Shorts film screenings Sunday afternoon as part of its annual film festival.
Local filmmakers got the chance to show off their creativity and talent last weekend, as audiences gathered to see their short films on the big screen.
The Kamloops Independent Short Shorts festival was held on Sunday afternoon and saw a variety of short films made by local filmmakers play at the Paramount Theatre .
Kamloops Film Society executive director Colette Abbott said the KISS festival is intended to celebrate local filmmaking creativity and passion.
“I think it’s always great to see what people are creating in your own backyard, there’s such variety,” she said.
“We want it to be an opportunity for people to take a chance even if you’ve never made a film before, give it a try, submit it and then it’s just great to see it on the big screen and celebrate the accomplishment.”
Made with passion
Indigenous filmmaker Chris Bose won the second place award in the amateur category. He said he’s been making films for about 20 years.
His short film submission this year, Hungry One, includes footage and images he’s collected over the years interspliced with black and white footage of Indigenous children being taken to a residential school in Williams Lake.
“It shows [audiences] the residential school, it shows them being taken away and converted and killing the Indian in the child, so it’s powerful,” Bose said.
“I usually make comedies and other kinds of videos, and I figured, well shit, I got a platform and an opportunity, I might as well say something.”
Vancouver-based filmmaker Brandon Giddens claimed the first place award in the professional category. It was his second time submitting to the festival.
His short film, The Triumph and Tragedy of Lickedy-Split, follows a hitman tasked with eliminating another hitman before they can share long-held secrets.
He shot his film in Kamloops with a group of eight people and says there’s plenty of talent and passion among local filmmakers.
“It’s my hometown, Kamloops, and I really want to see Kamloops grow with film,” he said. “There’s a ton of potential for that city, and it would be really cool to see it rise.”
New filmmakers take their shot
Steve Manhattan took home the Thompson-Nicola Film Commision’s lottery prize for his film Missing Marbles Farm Begins.
Having made commercials and “oddball things” before, he said it was his first time putting together a film of any length and called it “surreal.”
“The only reason we answered was just to see what we could do, what it looked like on the big screen,” Manhattan said.
“It was just more for ourselves to see what it looked like, and mission accomplished.”
Geordie Stenner won the jury’s award for Best Llama for his short film Bubbles the Killer Llama.
Alongside a friend, Stenner said he had planned to participate in a Global Game Jam, where video game makers are tasked with creating a game from scratch in 48 hours.
“I noticed the deadline was the same day as the film festival deadline,” he said. “What if I made a short film for the game and then I used all the stuff I made in the game for the short film as well?”
He said it was his first time making a film and he happy with he final product and enjoyed the audience’s reaction as well.
‘Anybody can do it’
Sam Theriault, KFS programming manager, said this year’s festival saw submissions from filmmakers between the ages of 75 and 14 who all submitted film with varying styles.
He said the short shorts festival is also about inspiring filmmakers.
“I think part of it is seeing other people, like your peers, get their film on the big screen, and then know that anybody could do it,” he said.
“Anybody can do it, I think that’s the point.”
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