I always feel like ....

Somebody's watching meeee

Ok, not watching me, hopefully watching my show.

Hello!

Happy spooky season! Like many genre lovers, I'm very hyped for Halloween. I love seeing people wear costumes. As a non crafty person, I'm really blown away but what people come up with. It's a nice way to mentally prepare for the dread of winter. But let's be kind and rewind because so much happened in my not too distant past.

We'll start with the most exciting news. Charles TM Charles, my latest project, had its official debut on Bell Fibe TV1 on September 11! YOU CAN GO WATCH IT NOW! RIGHT NOW. LOOK, ISN'T IT PRETTY? MY PRECIOUS!

https://tv1.bell.ca/fibetv1/shows/charles-tm-charles

Don't have Bell TV1? Sucks to be you. I, uh, I mean...Please wait and see. Please.

Leading up to the release, Bell generously allowed us to premiere the first four episodes at the historic Westdale Theater in Hamilton. This was a magical night, we got to hear an audience respond in live time, and it meant the show was finally complete! I was humbled by the support and turnout we had that night. We got to reconnect with lots of our amazing cast and crew, and friends and family came out more than they ever have.

Charles hits the big screen

If you've ever made a movie you know in the post production process you see your film about 3000 times, so it can become a bit of a slog. That's why as filmmakers it is so so rewarding to watch it with an audience. You get to see it through fresh eyes. Stephen and I stood in the back, listening for every shift and giggle. My soul soared as many laughs echoed through the building. We had a lot of the cast and crew attending and I'm so glad we could be together when they saw their efforts on screen for the first time. As writers it was really educational and rewarding to see which jokes landed. I'm so grateful that we were able to screen it live. People seemed to genuinely love it and were eager to see the other four episodes.

They even put our posters up.

So the show has been delivered, but the work continues with promoting it and planning for the next stage. It's been such a huge learning process and I'm so happy I had this opportunity. I have my fingers crossed for another season because there is a lot more story we have to tell.

Of course in September I also went to TIFF 50. But this year, instead of doing the TIFF conference, I went to Access Canada. Naturally, I also watched a bunch of movies. I know a lot of people don't have time to see films during TIFF, but like I was saying earlier, I love watching films with audiences, so I always see as many as I can fit in. But my goodness trying to get tickets was rough this year. I'm used to rushing screenings with my conference pass so I don't know if they were more expensive than previous years, but they felt super expensive. However, as a type A person, the stress of rushing just didn't jive with me very well so I enjoyed this year a lot more as a regular attendee.

I was quite happy with the films I saw this year. Here are some quick impressions:

• OKA - visually stunning, very poetic. For me the three storylines didn't quite land but I loved this movie all the same. It was strange and had some memorable lines. It leaves you thinking. I would recommend seeing it.

• Obsession - Quite impressive for a young director, acting felt a bit over the top (maybe that's what they wanted) , story had some good turns. I liked the concept, would've probably established the female lead more before the chaos. Great for Halloween season.

• Adulthood - A fun watch but nothing too memorable. Strong performances.

• Normal - Midnight Madness screening had the best energy ever. Very funny. Great action sequences. I liked the Fargo vibes. Lots of good stuff. Henry Winkler was amazing as always. Great for autumn viewing.

• Ballad of A Small Player - the score was what sticks with me the most. One of the most entertaining and visually compelling films I've seen come out of Hollywood lately. The cinematography, production design, locations, were incredible. I appreciated the classic screenplay structure, the film had a strong final test moment. The greed aspect was well represented on screen. Lots of critics didn't like this one because it felt lacking in emotional impact but I'd still see it in theaters.

• Marama - This was one of the best debut features I've seen at TIFF. The filmmaker explored a deep human and personal issue in the framework of a gothic horror. I liked the build up of dread, and the final reveal was satisfyingly disturbing. The casting worked really well. I'm always interested to see how male filmmakers handle female protagonists and honestly this one held up super well. I'd watch it again.

• Two Pianos - this was part of my gala package and I wouldn't have chose it for myself. This is probably sacrilegious to say, but I'm not a big fan of jump cuts and melodrama, and this film had both. However the story held my interest and I had some empathy for the characters. I don't see a lot of films with young men being mentored by older women so that felt fresh.

• Whitetail - this is the type of film I've seen most commonly over the years at TIFF but they're not really to my taste. It's sort of a slice of life movie and not much happens externally beyond the initial incident. It doesn't follow a classic story structure where momentum builds, so you have a hard time of knowing when it's going to end. It has some nice camera work and acting, but it wasn't for me.

TIFF with Ruthvika who helped me a lot with Charles Charles

So yes, now you know what I think of movies. Of course I networked and went to a bunch of conference sessions at Access Canada. I did roundtables and even had three 15min pitches. I prepared like crazy for these and found them valuable and super nerve racking. It's so funny to me that writers have to present their ideas verbally. This is such a different skillset that I've certainly had to work on. But I think I did ok considering this was the first time I've done this type of pitching. In the conference sessions there were a lot of great tidbits I picked up on, and I'd probably go to Access Canada again. Overall TIFF was a week of beautiful weather and meeting lots of lovely people.

Alright reader, if you're still along for the ride, we'll head back to the present day. The writing and directing continue. I'm still waiting to hear from Telefilm regarding my Talent to Watch application, but based on my record, I don't expect good news. I applied to so many things this year and got into none of them. I'm doing one more application just to suffer a bit more. But honestly the 'no's' roll off me like a duck in water at this point. I just keep going and doing my thing and see where it takes me.

Currently I'm rewriting a feature and falling in love with writing again. I haven't had much time to write this year with Charles in post and producing stuff happening, so I'm really enjoying getting back in touch with this part of my brain. I'm also very excited to be starting a filmmaking collective with two people who I really vibe with. We're planning to take on the ambitious task of making one film a month. But, we're keeping it very small and loose and using this as a way to build our skills. This is something I've wanted to do since film school but I've only recently met the right people to make it happen. Let's go!

Well I could keep blabbing, but I'll stop because I'm honestly just updating myself at this point. Thanks for catching up with me (if you are reading this), and I hope you have a lovely spooky season. Let me know what you're watching, if you love Halloween, or anything else you want to chat about. Until next time...

-Jess