Spring 2003
Raw Pennies
by Duncan Delorenzi
Rene, a homeless street performer, and Bernie, an uptight restauranteur, 'meet cute' when Bernie gets caught up in Rene's guerilla theater skit. Soon they discover that despite their differences in class, both are struggling with the same problem -- how to earn their families' respect.
Duncan Delorenzi, a helicopter maintenance engineer in Kamloops, B.C., attended the Vancouver Film School and has worked in locations. He worked with Guy Bennett (writer/director of Punch) as his Advisor.
The Scholar and the Warrior
by Kara-Leah Grant
Teenaged Lexia knows she's a little different. She discovers just how different when a sorcerer arrives from a parallel world and kidnaps her Dad. When she follows him through a hole in the sky to a fairytale world she discovers her uncanny powers just may not be enough to save him.
Kara-Leah Grant is a New Zealander now working as a freelance journalist in Whistler, B.C. Her Advisor was Charles Lazer. She received the British Columbia Film Fellow for this year.
The Flame Within
by Ted Hunt
A talented high school runner is recruited into a high school wilderness adventure program. After a horrific camping trip, she's afraid to reveal the truth about its charismatic leader and brainwashed students until her coach discovers their diabolical secret.
Ted Hunt is a retired high school principal and journalist who has published numerous features and short stories; he is also a former B.C. Lion, member of Canada's Olympic ski team and captain of the national rugby team. Maureen Dorey was his Advisor. Ted has been granted the Telefilm Canada Western Division Fellowship.
Pink Ludoos
by Belle Mott
When young Gugan refuses the unknown boy her dead grandmother arranged for her to marry, she knows that she will pay. For one thing, she is already pregnant (with triplets!) by her inappropriate boyfriend. Pride and independence mean more to her than Punjabi tradition; when she's turfed out of her house she won't crawl back. But magic is afoot and ancient powers have strange effects, even in suburban Surrey.
Belle Mott is a schoolteacher who has written fiction and plays. She is the recipient of the CityTV Cultural Diversity Fellowship. Her advisor was Mina Shum.
The Kid with the Camera
by Curtis Saretske
A satirical fable about celebrity and the power of the photograph to steal our souls. Young Walter has a wonderful talent to capture the essence of his subjects, but he's a parasite who sucks them dry. This is a very disturbing comedy.
Curtis Saretske, a recent graduate of the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, works in post-production in Toronto. Guy Bennett was his Advisor. Curtis is the Movie Central Fellow for this year.
Wish
by David Schmidt
A young man, pulled every which way by his attraction to several women at once, loses his ability to tell fact from fancy and ends up losing everything he has.
David Schmidt has written and directed two film comedies, worked as a story department intern on Tom Stone, and has three feature screenplays optioned in Los Angeles. He has been a semifinalist in six U.S. competitions, with two scripts in the prestigious Chesterfield Writer's Film Project. His advisor was Tracey Forbes (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). David has won the New Line Cinema Fellowship.