Editorial - Time to create a local film culture

The Yorkton Film Festival is North America's longest-running film festival, and that is something the organizers can be proud of.

However, the existence of the festival in the city has never generated a local film making buzz. That is particularly surprising in recent years given the rapid advancement of film technology which is affordable to the hobbyist.

The emergence of hand held cameras, and even cellphones, with video capabilities, has bashed open the door in terms of creating film for just about anyone.

The Internet, especially the site YouTube, has also created a cheap distribution platform which can take a locally short short-film to a worldwide audience.

So, with the film festival here to generate a level of awareness of the media, it is strange a film club has not sprung up to create local productions. Or, that we do not hear of more Yorkton and area people creating short films in the basements and garages as a hobby.

It is also somewhat disappointing that having the festival in the city has not enticed a larger film production to the city as a shooting location.

Rouleau, SK., population about 400, is now famous because it was the location where the television series Corner Gas was shot.

Little Mosque On the Prairie is doing the same for the town of Indian Head.

Perhaps Yorkton needs to take a hint from the town of Kipling. With a population under 1,200, Kipling set about to attract a movie production to town. They ended up raising a quarter of a million dollars, and attracting Corbin Bernsen to shoot his movie Rust in the town using predominantly local Kipling actors.

The production, and how it came to Kipling has created a two-way buzz. On one hand it has been great for putting the town on the map, and the unique financing arrangement has drawn additional eyes to the film.

If Kipling could raise $250,000, what would our community be able to attract in order to have a film made in Yorkton?

Rust's producer Dana Lesiuk, a Saskatchewan filmmaker has said.

it's a model to make a film she would certainly be involved in again if the opportunity arose.Certainly the actors are here to fill in roles. We know that from watching past Paper Bag Players productions, Shakespeare in the Park and former Community Theatre efforts.

There have even been Yorkton people in film before, with several actors from the city having both major, and support roles in the feature-length; The Coming, which was shot in Russell, MB., a couple of summers ago.

Certainly having a film shot here would have obvious benefits, including business sales, tourism dollars, and the increased profile of the city within the province as a film generates a buzz which has media and the general public thinking Yorkton.

The film too is likely to benefit from some added 'spin' since it would be on location in a city with a tradition within the Canadian film community because of the long-running festival.All the elements would seem to either already exist locally, or likely raising funds, be achievable here in Yorkton, to shoot a film in the city.

It would seem we as a community just need to take the heritage of the film festival one more step to create a greater local film culture.