Made-in-P.E.I. short film gathering interest online
Adam Perry's A Blessing from the Sea is expected to screen this year on The Movie Network
The movie trailer for a made-in-P.E.I. short film is getting a lot of buzz online.
A Blessing from the Sea tells the story of two down-on-their-luck Irish moss harvesters who discover two bags of money in a boat washed up on shore.
They decide to keep it. But then a body washes up and the troubles begin.
Island-writer and director Adam Perry said he is excited that people like the trailer. On Youtube, it received more than 7,000 views since it was uploaded on Jan. 10.
"First time, I think, I made something that people want to see," he half-jokingly told Mainstreet P.E.I. on Monday.
Perry and his team, writer and producer Jason Arseneault and Jenna MacMillan, plan to complete the film in the summer. It's set to show on The Movie Network later in the year, and throughout 2018, he said.
The movie features Trailer Park Boys' Jonathan Torrens, P.E.I. singer-songwriter Lennie Gallant and actor Lennie MacPherson, who plays the bad guy.
"He did such a terrific job," said Perry. "He will give you chills."
Plans for a feature film
Perry said the team had worked on the script for several years but did not get enough funding until they received the Harold Greenberg Fund's Shorts-to-Features award in 2016.
The program funds a short film project with feature-length potential by up-and-coming Canadian filmmakers.
Last year, the film's script also placed fourth in Reddit's 2016 Screenwriting Competition, and made it into the 47 semi-finalists in the feature category of the Shore Scripts Screenwriting Contest.
- Adam Perry's film script ranked 4th in Reddit Screenwriting Competition
- P.E.I. screenplay short-listed in prestigious contest
Once the film is ready, the team plans to show it at a number of festivals, to test out the characters and stories, and how the audience perceives it.
If successful, they hope to get the money and funding for the feature-length film, said MacMillan.
"Then we have this proof of concept that we can shop around with, so we don't have to talk too much about it," she said.
Not easy to fund made-in-P.E.I. movies
MacMillan said the short film cost them about $100,000, but the feature-length film will cost about $1 million.
They are already in talks with broadcasters and distributors but shooting the entire movie on the Island is impossible for now, she said.
MacMillan is part of a committee that lobbies the government to create a media incentive for filmmakers, as it exists in other provinces. They allow filmmakers to get some of their production costs back.
But on P.E.I., filmmakers don't have access to these incentives and have to be more innovative and resourceful, she said.
The team already depended on the generosity of cast and crew to pay for their short film. Without outside help, the feature film would have to be shot in Nova Scotia or Newfoundland, she said.
"Which would be devastating to a film set in P.E.I.," she said.
"The landscape is so beautiful and we have such talent here, hopefully the government will hear that and see that."
Still raising funds for short-film
The team also continues to raise funds to put the final touches on its short-film, which still needs special effects and a soundtrack, said Perry.
But the team said they needed to show a high level of production value so the feature film can live, too.
So far, the money and effort is paying off, though.
"People are sharing it and people are talking about it," said MacMillan.
And while the found-money story may not be a first, the film comes with a strong sentiment for the Island, with its many shots along the red-earthed coastline and references to Irish moss.
"Because in this day and age when everything's been done before that is one image that hasn't really been captured before," said Perry.
"And so we kind of wanted to do something original and fresh in that world but also tell a familiar story that relates to a wide market."
- MORE P.E.I. NEWS | Farmer Alex Docherty intends to fight pesticide charges
- MORE P.E.I. NEWS | Protesters rally against school closures outside state of the province address
With files from Mainstreet P.E.I.