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Going Public
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Praise and Thanks
Thank you to everyone who supported the film during the Fandependent Festival. We didn’t win the distribution deal but we received some beautiful and heartfelt comments from viewers, which mean much more than any deal, any day!
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Become a Fan
From August 15 to September 5, 2016 you can watch Last Stop for Miles for free on the Fandependent Films website.
During these three weeks, if you become a Fan (for about the cost of a latte), the money will then go to Mirabai Productions, the company I founded to make films that inspire hope and advocate personal change. The film with the most Fans wins a distribution deal, which means Last Stop for Miles could gain an even larger audience.
So become a Fan and help spread the word! Thanks for your support.
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Fandependent Films
Recently, Last Stop for Miles received an invitation from Fandependent Films (through the Vimeo account where you can buy/rent the film) to submit the film to their online festival. After checking out the site and finding it to be not only legit but an interesting concept, the steps were taken to submit.
Happily, the film was accepted and will now be showcased in their 2016 Summer Film Festival where each film gets a 3-week run. You will be able to support LSM by Becoming a Fan before the run is over. The three films with the most fans win their Audience Award and become enshrined in their Collection.
Stay tuned for more posts about how you can become a fan of Last Stop for Miles on the Fandependent Site!
Intimate Screenings
Last Stop for Miles is an intimate film. What better way to watch it than in an intimate setting?
At the end of April we screened the movie at Playwrights’ Workshop Montreal, which is a theatre space in the Plateau that supports the local and national playwriting community.
In August, we will present Last Stop for Miles at The Avalon Women’s Centre in West Vancouver, a space that supports women in recovery.
Last Stop for Miles is first-and-foremost a community art project. Screening it with the support of organizations committed to the communities they serve is both an honour and a pleasure. And it just makes good sense!
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Latest Rave Review
Celia,
I have nothing but praise for your movie. What you have accomplished with such a small budget, limited equipment and largely amateur cast is nothing short of extraordinary.
You direct with a great confidence; very effective blocking during long takes which is a skill that most modern directors don’t have, and your willingness to allow the scenes to play out as ensemble or two shots is really effective – when actors share the frame they are able to put aside their anxiety and play off each other. Golden era directors of the 30s-40s were masters of this technique.
A huge shout out has to go to Claire Ness who put in an absolutely luminous performance. She really invested herself in the character of January.
One more compliment has to go to Chris Rodgers for the cinematography. It really showcased the eclectic beauty of the Yukon, and I found that some of the most tragic scenes were shot with the most beauty. It is always interesting to see the Territory captured by a local as opposed to an outsider. There is no fear in showing the rough edges of the scenery. The Yukon is so much more than helicopter shots and gold rush relics.
In short, phenomenal work, Celia! Consider me a lifelong fan and supporter. Bravo on the hard work and sacrifices you have made to put this on the screen. I can’t wait to see where you go from here!
~ Steven Hanulik, Filmmaker
Festivals and TV and Vimeo, Oh My!
Well, folks, so far, this wee project has not managed to get in to any festivals outside of the Great White North. Here is a sample of one of the rejection letters I have received: “Our festival received a record number of submissions in 2015 and we’ve had to turn down a great number of films that we’ve admired…” There are certainly a lot of people making films out there! Between 1200 and 3500 submissions depending on the festival.
I’m disappointed, of course, and yet I understand the competition is fierce. I love the film and I continue to be incredibly thankful to all those who gave their hearts and souls to get it made. If the movie doesn’t have a festival life it will still be seen by other methods of distribution.
Community Cable 9 is one of our major sponsors and they ran the film for a couple of weeks in September, both Whitehorse and Yellowknife, and they will schedule it again in the future.
And you can now rent or buy the movie on Vimeo On Demand, which means it is out in the world and available for anyone interested in this humble story of one gal’s journey from shame to self-acceptance.
Thanks for watching!
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Tagged canadian indie, community cable 9, film festivals, indie film, last stop for miles, vimeo on demand, yukon
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Atlin Screening
The Atlin Arts and Music Festival is a gem of a festival in the wilds of Northern British Columbia and a two-or-three-hour drive from Whitehorse, Yukon, where Last Stop for Miles was shot. I’ve been to the Festival twice and both times was struck by the number of families attending and the real sense of community and connection between all the people crowded together in that little town nestled beneath the shimmering mountains.
The Yukon Film Society usually shows a number of films in Atlin during the festival and this year Last Stop for Miles will get a screening on July 9th at 10 pm. I wish I could be there to see it, to share in the fun times and the super-energy of performers and punters communing in one of the prettiest spots in the North.
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It Is Accomplished!
Twenty years after writing the play at the National Theatre School of Canada and hearing an actor say, “This would make a great film”, twelve years after writing the first draft of the screenplay, eight years after producing the short film to gain experience in filmmaking, five years after an intense development period that included Telefilm Canada granting us production funding and then taking it away, and two years after shooting the film in 15 days with a brave cast of local actors, a devoted crew of 3 and supportive community of hundreds, the little movie that refused to go down without a fight has been completed.
A true Yukon angel came on board at the 11th hour and helped me complete the film from England, where I have been since September 1st. Michael Vernon, an experienced filmmaker in his own right, helped me enormously by managing the project from Whitehorse and overseeing all the finishing pieces. I will be forever grateful to him for his work in this capacity. It is the reason the film got done by our December 31st deadline.
I am excited to announce that the film will screen at the Available Light Film Festival on Saturday, February 14th at 10 am and I hope those of you who live in the Yukon will come for the screening to share in the community experience.
I am in England until the end of February so, ironically, I will not be at the screening in person. However, the Yukon Film Society is arranging a Skype Q&A after the film is over so I will be there electronically. And, of course, I will be there in spirit.
My deepest thanks go out to all of you and to all the major funders: Community Cable 9, The Yukon Film Society, The Yukon Film & Sound Commission, and Marj Eschak – Coldwell Banker.
See you at the screening!
October Update
It has been six months since my last update. That’s practically a million years in the blogosphere. Has anybody been wondering what is happening with the feature film? Following with bated breath and being disappointed with the lack of news? My apologies to those of you who were hoping for more communication about the process. I am not as plugged in as I once was!
Well, the last time I posted there were expectations in place that we would finish in time for spring festival deadlines. Despite a great push, we were unable to complete the work in time for submission to festivals. Work then slowed during the summer months but, happily, autumn has seen the process continuing with increased commitment. We are facing a contractual deadline to finish by December 31st, as per an agreement with the Yukon Film and Sound Commission, one of our funders. I am currently living overseas, which makes working with our collaborators back in Canada more challenging but email makes it possible and we are all persevering!
In the next 8 weeks Riki Richter will endeavour to complete the sound edit and design, which will be complemented by Daniel Janke’s original and evocative score. Andrew Sharp is in the process of creating handwritten titles and multi-disciplinary artist Jess MacDaniel has just come on board to finish up all the remaining bits and pieces and sew it all together.
Please keep us all in your good thoughts as we move toward what will undoubtedly be a rough-and-tumble piece of creative expression and, hopefully, a meaningful community art project!
And a really big shout-out goes to Community Cable 9, Yukon Film Society, Yukon Film and Sound Commission and Marj Eschak – Coldwell Banker for the enormous support they have all provided on the project.
Thanks to you, too, for supporting and following the project.
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