Terry Ortynsky might be best known for selling cars in Yorkton, but he is also a film producer, and has worked on different films over the past few years. One of those films is Twice, a screening of which will open the Yorkton Film Festival on May 22.
Twice is about a mysterious woman who comes into a small city and has to deal with her past, Ortynsky explains, which affects everyone who comes into the store. The title comes from the store where she works, which deals in antiques and used objects.
"The film has a redemptive quality about it," Ortynsky says.
The film is directed by Robert Fritz, who Ortynsky says he has known for 30 years. He says that the start of his interest in film was a workshop with Fritz, and he proposed making a film together three years ago. This will be the third film Ortynsky and Fritz have worked on, previous films being Akt 2 and Past Tense.
Ortynsky was a hands-on producer, and he and Fritz collaborated on the music and the script for the production.
Twice is also an appropriate name for the film as the production was filmed twice. Ortynsky says that the first shoot didn't go well, so they got a new cast and tried it a second time, which resulted in a much better film.
While he admits that not everyone would associate him with the arts, he says that it's a big part of his life and career outside of film as well. He notes that running a dealership requires creativity to make it work and get customers enthusiastic about the product.
"I've always been creating. We've got a unique sales process which we created. I just took that over to film."
The event has limited capacity, and invites can be found at the Yorkton Film Festival office or Royal Honda and Royal Ford.
