As the main class project within the Advanced Television and Film - Script to Screen program, students in their second semester choose a short film written by a student in the first semester and carry out the film to completion. Last year, students chose the film Respect, written and directed by Aaron Rothermund, as their project. The film follows the main character, David Allen, who goes to his last audition, and if it does not work out, he is ready to call it quits. Of course, the audition does not go as planned, and viewers get to see how it all plays out.
The film had its very first premiere at the 15th annual Hamilton Film Festival on November 13, 2020, as part of the Local Comedy Shorts category. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the festival chose to carry out the event in a drive-in format. Allie Himann, the producer of the film, attended the festival and says, “It was a very different vibe from past years as everyone was social distancing in their cars. I felt that it took away from the excitement of debuting a film. It also took away the networking capabilities that come with film festivals. Although it was great that the Hamilton Film Festival had found a way to bring the film community together.”
Despite the change in how the festival carried out, the premiere of the film is an amazing accomplishment for everyone involved. Steve Lucas, Program Coordinator of the Script to Screen program, says, “Getting selected at a festival the size of Hamilton is an objective stamp of approval for the film, the program, the college and, most importantly, all the students and professionals who made the film possible in the first place. It’s one of those rare life events that never really gets old.”
Getting the film to the festival took a lot of work and preparation. Darryl Dinn, first assistant director of the film, reflects on that process, as he says, “I never realized the amount of detail that goes into it, such as preparing the digital press kit, getting all of the photos, and getting a trailer made. There’s a lot to submit just to be seen, so it has definitely taken longer than we realized just to get all of those eggs in a row.” Allie similarly reflects on this process, as she says, “[There’s] lots of behind the scenes work to create a DPK (Digital Press Kit) before being able to submit to the festivals. Once you’ve submitted, it’s more of a waiting game. Once you have been accepted, then you have to tweak the DPK to the festival’s needs.”
Respect has also been officially selected for the Montreal Independent Film Festival! While winners of the festival are selected December 14, 2020, this news is an incredible accomplishment for everyone involved with the film.
Looking ahead, Darryl explains that it will not be until January before they hear back from other festivals to see if they have been accepted or not. Darryl and Allie have also helped to get the film Frankie Boy, created by Script to Screen students in 2018, to the distribution stage, but Darryl says that it has taken longer to get everything together. However, because of the pandemic, submission dates to festivals have widened compared to previous years, which allows for an even greater opportunity to submit. This means that the new year can bring even more festival screenings for the films!
To find out further details on Respect, check out the film’s IMDb page.
By: Alexandra Few