A local group of Red Deer College filmmakers are seeking community support to land a major prize from an indie film organization.
CineCoup Film Accelerator, an independent film studio, is looking to help out Canadian filmmakers in a big way.
According to the web site, the company assists indie filmmakers in the development, marketing and production of feature films.
“Filmmaking teams apply to CineCoup with a movie trailer, then advance through a gamified selection funnel using CineCoup’s social web platform…filmmakers develop their projects and pitches by building fan support through online marketing while generating new creative content.
“The Final five projects will be optioned for development and one will be selected for (up to) $1 million in production financing and a release in Cineplex theatres.”
Red Deer’s Tiffany LeBlanc along with Trent Asher (producer/writer), Ethan Hill (producer/director), composer J.M. Beardlsey and Jesse Prosser (producer/editor) are working on their own project in hopes of landing the top prize. “We powered through the trailer and got that done, which was great,” said LeBlanc, adding that even landing in the top five could open doors for major production assistance.
The project is divided up into what LeBlanc describes as ‘missions’. The team is now just finishing up their fourth mission. Teams then advance via a combination of ratings, commenting, sharing and voting to the Top 120, the Top 60, the Top 30, the Top 15 and the ‘Final Five’. The team has made it into the Top 60 so far.
“We’re trying to get as much word out as we can,” she said, adding that the voting is what will ultimately help push the team closer to landing in the Final Five.
LeBlanc describes their film, which is called Seth, as a psychological thriller. The story follows, John, Evan and Sam. Seth, a mysterious stranger, befriends each of the men.
According to the web site, “His seeming normal behaviour changes, as he begins to use each one of the individual’s self-doubt against them causing them to make choices that they will regret for the rest of their lives.”
As the process reaches a conclusion in June, CineCoup evaluates the Top 15 teams by considering a combination of performance indicators from prior weeks and past voting performance.
“From there our producers and partners (through their combined experience) look at the quality of the script, and speculate a project’s potential on a variety of levels from production costs to marketability,” reads the web site. The final five teams then have the opportunity to pitch their project before an audience of fans, industry and media.
The Top 30 voting window is April 20th through to April 24th and the Top 15 voting window is from May 4th until May 8th. Fans must be registered users and sign in to cast any vote during a voting window.
Meanwhile, even if the Red Deer team doesn’t make it to the final cut, they are absolutely committed to the project.
“No matter where we end up in the contest, we are determined to get this done.”
For more information about the project, check out www.cinecoup.com/seth/speechless.
editor@reddeerexpress.com
