The film is called The Impossible and it shows just how possible it really is to create a career for yourself in the movie industry, right here in Prince George.
Director Isaiah Berra, 19, has his mind set on making movies as a profession. He is enrolled at Capilano University to turn his dreams into practical knowledge, but he is going there with a body of work already "in the can" as they say in the film industry. He departs for post-secondary breathing the airs of success - the airwaves that will broadcast his short film The Impossible this week.
Shaw TV in Prince George will broadcast The Impossible on Shaw TV's Channel 10 a total of eight times over this weekend. It takes Berra's efforts to new heights because, he said, his team and his level of experience have been growing over the past two years or so to the point of reaching broadcast quality.
Berra's merry band of fellow filmmakers - about 20 core people aided by an ever-increasing bunch of helpers - call themselves the Princes Of George Film Company. They have made eight films so far, some of them good enough in their own estimation that they were worth posting on their YouTube channel. The Impossible represents their consensus best work.
"When I was making Pomegranate (a short film about mafia-style gangsters) I knew the production quality was getting better so I took it to Kevin Neil at Shaw and asked him what he thought," said Berra. Pomegranate was released in early 2016.
"Kevin watched Pomegranate, liked it enough that he did a story on the Princes Of George and used some footage of the film, but he said it was too violent for a family audience but if we ever did anything that was appropriate for morning TV, come back and show him, so that's what we did with The Impossible."
This latest effort is the comedic story of a Grade 8 Athlete of the Year trophy. The shortlist for the trophy is a hilariously inappropriate collection of candidates, told in the style of a sports channel biography show. It is part paradox, part satire, all local and earnestly funny.
"This award is as unnecessary as it sounds, and we made it over-dramatic," Berra said. "The best part is, there's no punchline. The joke is how seriously we are taking this absurd award. It is in a world where it is over-validated. It's so serious it's funny."
All the actors involved and all the crew members (sometimes they do both duties) are volunteers who want to be part of creating a film project. The act of filmmaking is the reward they all get. Brothers Daniel and Matthew Carson, 18, have been involved in a number of Princes Of George movies, seeing the company grow from shooting the first one on a single iPad to now calling in extras, utilizing makeup artists, determining locations and sets, implementing a music soundtrack, and shooting multiple takes to get the correct performances from the actors as well as different camera angles for better story editing.
"The movies Isaiah makes have a wide variety of genres, by now. This one is without question the strongest work yet," said Matthew, who had an acting part in The Impossible.
"The script was strong, the acting was more developed, we shot it on higher quality camera equipment, everything about it was higher quality. We have our own sense of humour, it's unique, and it came through. It's not just in-jokes - those are definitely there just for us - the audience will be laughing along with it."
Daniel said he was considering a career in the screen arts, but 2D animation was his area of interest. "This is not the same kind of movie, but learning about this craft helps your mentality for the other. They are related," he said.
That's why both Carsons and Berra have involved themselves in live theatre as well as film. The Carsons have been involved in PGSS stage productions, and Berra was the director of last year's production of Sherlock Holmes put on by the UNBC Drama Group.
"A lot of people want to do both," said Berra. "They help each other, even though there are some big differences between stage and film. In theatre you have to do the perfect take, it has to be once only, and it has to last throughout the entire play. In film, you can do several takes and then splice together the best parts of the best takes to make one scene. If you can do theatre, it makes you more efficient at film. So a lot of the people involved in the film company are getting involved in the UNBC Drama Group. It's kind of like training for the next film project."
This film project has some star power. There are some notable hockey players, some popular local teachers, and many familiar faces from the community out on the screen. There are also several recognizable locations and clear evidence that Prince George people provided behind-the-scenes support or certain elements of the show wouldn't have been possible.
The final cut is about 15 minutes of viewing hilarity.
Once The Impossible has finished its television run, it will be posted for all to see on the Princes Of George Film Company channel on YouTube where audiences everywhere can enjoy the all-local, all-volunteer efforts that are forwarding some career aspirations and perhaps inspiring others in the community to do the same.
See The Impossible on Shaw TV's Channel 10:
Today - 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Saturday - 10:30 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Sunday - 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Monday - 9:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.
