P.E.I. filmmaker gets the green light for feature-length thriller

It is an exciting time to be making movies on the Island.

P.E.I. writer and director Adam Perry has received funding from Telefilm Canada to shoot his feature-length thriller called A Small Fortune.

Telefilm has had their eyes on the project for five years and now Perry is getting set to shoot on P.E.I.

"A couple weeks ago they actually signed a contract with us to go into production."

Nobody wants to see a movie where only good things happen, bad things need to happen too. Bad things happening to good people.— Adam Perry

The budget for the film is $995,000 with Telefilm offering up around 40 per cent, Perry said.

Perry would like to say the hard part is over, but it has only just begun.

"Now, I have to go and make this film happen. And it's not just words on paper it's going to be something we can look at and listen to," he said, adding the project has proved persistence pays off.

A Small Fortune is built around a P.E.I. Irish moss fisherman's discovery of a large amount of money, and how it turns his life upside down. The same story was completed by Perry and others last year as a shorter 17-minute version called A Blessing from the Sea.

"We shot it up in North Cape of Prince Edward Island, which not too many films are made up there. So it was imperative that we were able to show Telefilm and other financiers that these are some of the elements they can expect in a much larger production." 

From reel to real

Now, with Telefilm involved a feature film seems more real, Perry said.

"It's kind of like OK, this is going to be a real movie."

Perry started writing the script when his daughter was born in October 2013 when he moved his office back home.

"I had a lot of time and I was like: 'I'm finally just going to stop shooting stuff and editing stuff and actually try and write a good story.'"

Perry and his friend Jason Arseneault came up with the idea.

"It was just a spark I couldn't let go, and I still can't. I still want to tell that story."

The bag of money the fishermen find is wanted by other individuals in the film.

"It's a thriller. One of those rules working in that genre is: No good can come of this. Nobody wants to see a movie where only good things happen, bad things need to happen too. Bad things happening to good people."

As part of the process, Perry shot a proof of concept, a small trailer selling the idea of the film featuring P.E.I. singer Lennie Gallant and Island-born actor Jonathan Torrens.

Now, the challenge is getting people to work on the film. Equipment will be brought in and there are insurance and union costs, Perry said.

"You have to be smart, even at $1 million to try and get that money on the screen."

In order to fulfil the contract with Telefilm, the movie needs to be completed in a year. Perry is hoping to start shooting in September.

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