For his second short film, Nanaimo filmmaker Quinton Foote turns from space wizards in a distant galaxy to warring gangsters in the 1920s.
Foote, who launched his movie making career last year with the Star Wars fan film There Can Only Be Two, is premiering his latest work, Denouement, at the Bowen Park auditorium on Sept. 8.
“It always feels good to have another project done and under your belt and I do feel quite good about it, so that’s obviously a big relief,” said Foote, who started writing Denouement nearly a year ago.
“It’s always very nerve racking to kind of put it out there in front or a live audience more than anything, I’d say, but I’m really excited.”
The 16-minute film tells the story of two rival gangs who come together to settle a truce, putting an end to years of violent conflict. Foote said the film’s central question is “how for would you go to fight for what you believe in?” He said it’s a common dilemma.
“I always try to have the core of the story be relatable to the audience in some way or another. And I like the idea of, like most films, taking a simple idea an making it a grand story,” he said.
Foote, who is named after director Quentin Tarantino, has long been a fan of crime movies for their realism and grit, but also for the place that humour can have.
“I think they’re really quite funny and they can cover a large subject matter, so that was the deciding factor on the genre,” he said.
“And I love the ’20s just because you throw the prohibition in there and it kind of seems like the last days of the Wild West before the law really started cracking down.”
To add to the authenticity, Foote shot the film among the Parksville Museum’s heritage buildings and at Shelter Point Distillery outside Campbell River. Filming took place over three days in June.
Foote said he’s learned from his first filmmaking experience with There Can Only Be Two. Denouement features actors from his first film and Foote said the post-production process was much faster this time around.
“Every experience you have making a movie you just get better and better at it,” he said, adding that as a self-taught filmmaker, he was driven by passion.
“I’m not a film student or anything, I’ve never taken any writing courses or an editing course or anything like that. I’ve just loved film more than anything since I was about 13.”
Foote said he will submitting Denouement to film festivals and at the end of September it will make its festival debut at Nanaimo’s Hub City Cinema Society’s CineFest.
WHAT’S ON … Premiere screening of Denouement at the Bowen Park auditorium on Saturday, Sept. 8. Doors at 6 p.m., screening starts at 6:30 p.m. Admission by donation.
arts@nanaimobulletin.com
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