How do prolific local filmmaking communities come about… and how do they slip away? The push and pull with larger-scale, Hollywood style means of production and distribution can be demoralizing and confusing, so on this episode we're tackling its causes thoroughly. Curator and film critic Josh Cabrita joins us as we take our own home of Vancouver as a case study for how creative and institutional stagnation happens, and what we can do to counteract it.
In this episode, we discuss:
The hypothetical journey of an aspiring auteur, fresh out of high school.
What is the style of a “Vancouver film” — and how their aim to be different makes them more alike than they might wish.
The ideologies of film schools — just what kind of filmmakers do they want students to be?.
The conflicting ideals and benighted reforms of independent film funding bodies in Canada.
How and why the movies get shown — or not shown — by exhibitors and film festivals.
What it means to work against these powerful forces and complex problems as an individual.
Additional Resources:
Kurt Walker’s S01E03, a hopeful elegy for disbanded communities, is available for free online, and we highly recommend checking it out after giving this episode a listen.
”State of the Art” — Josh Gabert-Doyon’s piece on how the economic incentive structure has whittled away the animation industry.
We mentioned two especially promising local filmmakers, Jessica Johnson and Ryan Ermacora, in the episode — their short film Ocean Falls is likewise available for free online.
We quote extensively from Mark Fisher’s book of essays on pop culture, Ghosts of My Life, particularly the early parts.
About Josh Cabrita
Josh Cabrita is a freelance film critic and programmer from Vancouver. He has written for Cinema Scope, Reverse Shot, and MUBI Notebook.
