Local filmmaker/actor Meet and Mingle at city hall
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by Carrie DebroneKitchener Citizen
February 14, 2013
The Multicultural Cinema Club will host a Meet and Mingle on February 16 to allow local filmmakers and theatre actors to meet each other.
The event will be held from 1 to 3pm at the Kitchener City Hall Rotunda and is sponsored by The City of Kitchener. Finger foods and beverages will be on hand.
The Meet and Mingle is the third and final component in a focused discussion series organized by local film and community theatre actor D. Morton, who is the The Multicultural Cinema Club’s Collaboration Host.
“The idea came to me when I was handing out awards at the Local Focus Film Festival,” Morton said.
“When local filmmakers decide to make a film they usually use their friends and family as actors or search the website for semi-professional film actors who they think won’t be too expensive to hire. The film community is totally unaware that experienced actors exist in the many small theatre companies in the area. Many of those actors would be willing to work as film actors,” Morton said, adding that although most may not know much about film acting because they have been performing in live theatre for their whole lives, many are interested and willing to learn about film acting.
“And the theatre actors don’t know that there are a great number of independent filmmakers in our area wondering where to get actors,” Morton said.
“I thought it would be great to bring both groups together.”
Morton first met with local filmmakers who provided insight into the current sources for actors, as well as the qualities that filmmakers are looking for in their actors.
A second meeting, with local actors, provided insight into the barriers and needs that local actors have been experiencing to date.
The Meet and Mingle is meant to provide an opportunity to network and build relationships within and between these two groups, as the foundation for a self-sustaining community of people interested in making films in the Region of Waterloo.
The Multicultural Cinema Club is also working on a few new initiatives that have sprung from these conversations, including a workshop series for actors. Details will be presented at the meeting.
There will be an open microphone for filmmakers or actors to announce coming projects to those in attendance.
“I also strongly suggest people bring pens, paper (or cell phone) to take names and numbers, along with their business cards,” Morton said.
The Multicultural Cinema Club is a Community Tools Project of The Working Centre. It was established in December 2006 to create a culture of cinema within Waterloo region by screening films, hosting discussions, creating artistic works, and encouraging community filmmaking.
MCC is a non-profit, community artist-run-organization committed to supporting groundbreaking and professional artistic productions, presentation and programming of independent video and media art.
The club is working towards making filmmaking technology more accessible to a wider range of people in the community who would like to gain or build skills in this area.
It provides access to a large inventory of film-making equipment for use by its members, is developing a studio space that includes editing suites, support and advice on film editing, provides workshops and skills sharing sessions on film-making, shares information on topics relevant to local filmmakers, including information on casting calls and local events, has established Good Work Productions – making professional quality films with a social purpose that builds on the skills and resources of staff and members of MCC, runs the Local Focus Film Festival showcasing the work of local filmmakers and screens films on relevant community issues followed by discussions about the film. MCC facilities can be used in a wide range of productions - video art, drama, documentary, multi-media, performance, installation, and community-based projects.
D. Morton