Manitoba filmmakers are carving out more space in the film industry

Emerging Winnipeg filmmaker, Joshua Banman, pitched his short film called “The Sculptor: Birth of the Patavision” to countless arts organizations, all in a bid to help him bring his idea to fruition.

“(It) follows the story of a sculptor who finds a magic stone and it downloads to him what it wants to be. And he’s scared to make it because he knows it’s gonna change the world. But he does, ’cause he’s a sculptor and that’s what he does. And it comes to life and it is a Patavision. Tragically, after all this toil, it only plays commercials,” said Banman.

Envisioned as part of a grander, avant-garde science fiction film, Banman said he was writing grants left and right and searching for someone to take a chance on him.

“Some of the feedback was, ‘This is way too ambitious. You don’t have a big enough portfolio to prove it,'” He said. “Everyone was saying no. At the time, I’ll confess, a no can make you feel bitter. You can feel entitled to yesses,” he said.

Scaling down his vision, Banman said he took the concept of Patavision and made it into a short film — and a proof of concept of his skills as a storyteller. Partially funding his film to get it off the ground, Manitoba Film and Music and the Winnipeg Film Group supplied funds during the post-production process.

“I’m really proud of what the final film is and I don’t think it would have been the same if I had just gotten the first yes when I asked for some help with it,” said Banman.

Though not completely his original concept, Banman’s creation clearly resonated with the right people. His premiere is happening next week at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montreal. The emerging filmmaker said he was excited as it has played a vital role in the careers of renowned names like Guy Maddin and Denis Villeneuve.

“And now — Josh Banman, dare I say?”

“There’s ways to make weird things (in Canada) that in the American independent system, you would just not be able to do.”

-Galen Johnson

As Banman looks forward to his first festival experience as a director, a trio of Winnipeg directors are looking back on their most recent one just ahead of a local premiere of their film.

Frequent collaborators Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson had the premiere of “Rumours” at this year’s iconic Cannes Film Festival. The apocalyptic comedy stars Hollywood artists in their prime such as Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander and Canada’s own Roy Dupuis.

“When I did get there, it was just as glitzy and as glamorous as I’d thought it was as a teenager,” recalled Maddin. “It was just the legend come to life. I was thrilled.”

But according to the Johnson brothers, the road to Cannes was a difficult one. They cited Blanchett as a big reason why they were able to make it to France.

“A script like this is always going to be really hard to finance,” said Galen. “We’re lucky to be here because the film industry is partially government financed, so there’s ways to make weird things (in Canada) that in the American independent system, you would just not be able to do.”

Evan adding, “There is ways of making films outside Hollywood. Around the world, there’s so many great movies being made at smaller levels.”

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Related: Conversation with “Rumours” directors Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson

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Though the experience between Banman and the Rumours trio are very different, they can all agree on one thing about the global festival circuit — it’s opened up to see a greater variety of filmmakers, with many local artists choosing to create surreal and dream-like movies to make their mark.

“It seems far more diverse now, with cultural groups that would have been marginalized right out of the industry having a presence on the screen now,” Maddin said.

Banman adding, “I hope that I can be so bold as to say, Winnipeg has a tradition in its film, in its storytelling of original stories that are inventively told,” he said.

“You see it with Guy Maddin, you see it with him and the Johnson brothers. These are weird stories but they’re entertaining and they’re told in new ways. What a cool kind of legacy for Winnipeg to have.”