Shot a fun spot for Tourism Yukon and the clever folks at Cossette Communications, for International Beverage Day. Probably one of the weirder shoots I’ve been on!
Yukon Sourtoe Cocktail
Yukon Sourtoe Cocktail
Yukon Sourtoe Cocktail
Yukon Sourtoe Cocktail
Yukon Sourtoe Cocktail
Yukon Sourtoe Cocktail
This past September was super busy as I was developing a new scripted webseries called The Last Avenue. The series follows characters that live on 8th Avenue, which is the last unpaved road in downtown Whitehorse. The street is nestled against the clay cliffs that loom over the city and is often viewed as the forgotten street . It’s home to a diverse range of the Yukon population and my co-creator, Peter Jickling, and I see it as a metaphor for the Yukon in general - rugged, stubborn, isolated, forgotten, and beautiful.
Presented as an anthology over ten eight-minute episodes, The Last Avenue web series explores a range of themes and common experiences. An eclectic cast of characters confronts family, careers, birth and death, survival, sexuality, misconceptions and social change as they navigate along the bumpy road in life.
A big shout out to our main funder, Independent Production Fund, who believed in this project from the start. Of 160 applications across Canada, The Last Avenue, was one of 15 chosen for development! We used this funding to create 3 scripts, 10 episode synopses, character breakdowns, and a Proof-of-Concept Trailer.
On a personal level, it was super cool to see the local filmmaking community, and community in general come together to bring this project to life - we had 26 actors and 16 crew! It was also great to direct scripted content again and collaborate with so many talented yukoners.
So the next step is to try to get funding for the actual making of the series. We will keep you posted!
You can check out the trailer here:
CAST:
Patrick Keenan (Voiceover)
Lahcen Amzoug
Melaina Sheldon
Stephen McGovern
Ingrid Janzen
Gabe Stetkiewicz
Mo Whibley
Jenny Hamilton
Ken Green
Chris Mcnutt
Jen Massie
Walking Wolf Soady
Leanne Cranfield
Carey Mitchell
Ben Wondga
MJ Cranfield
James Cleary
Patrick Royale
Cindy Klippenstein
Fiona Salone
Hector Lang
Mary Sloan
Austin Davignon
Ocean Stimson
Ben Lorenz
Lochlann Fraser
PRODUCTION TEAM:
Co-Producer: Kelly Milner
Co-Producer: Brendan Preston
Lead Writer: Peter Jickling
Writer: Graham Kay
Director: Brendan Preston
Director of Photography: Marty O'Brian
Additional Cinematography: Brendan Preston
Art Director: Fiona McTaggart
First Assistant Camera: Alex Chan
Sound: Patrick Hamilton
Sound: Mike Code
Editor: Brendan Preston
Camera/Production Assistant: Lia Fabre-Dimsdale
Behind The Scenes: Shawn Jo
Water Safety Crew: Dawson Bealieu & Alex Johnston
Score: Patrick Keenan
Soundtrack: Groan Boy (bigboatrecords.com)
Once in a while you get a gig that allows you insight into how people in your community that are outside your regular social circle live their every day lives. Projects like these are a large part of why I got into filmmaking - I’m constantly curious about how people live. This was the case on a recent project in which I was given the opportunity to create a film for FASSY (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Society Yukon) and Yukon Health and Social Services. The film focused on several individuals with FASD and their struggles in the context of finding and maintaining housing in the Yukon. The finished film was presented at a national symposium being hosted here in Whitehorse, which was attended by Social Workers, policy makers and NGO’s, and the feedback was incredible. Apparently nothing like this has been done in the past and the film will go on to be viewed at similar gatherings throughout Canada. My hope for the film is that in some way it helps shape policy and understanding to make the lives of those with FASD a little easier.
This has been a strange year for us all. Due to COVID, I’ve had a number of gigs cancelled and other gigs created. One example is the 2020 Virtual Indigenous People’s Day Celebration. Because the usual celebrations at the Kwanlin Dunn Cultural Center could not happen, the organizers got in touch to create a two hour celebration film that showcases Indigenous musicians, storytellers, cultural presentations, and community leaders.
BIG NEWS!
We won this years Available Light Film Festival Pitch Contest for our webseries The Last Avenue (based on the award winning film we made in 2018). CBC, APTN and Northwestel awarded the project $5,000 in cash and $4,000 in-kind services, towards the production of the pilot episode HENRIETTA. 2020 is shaping up to be a big year!
