BrianIn these times of stimulus packages, bailouts and hiring freezes, it’s tough for young people to even afford the escape of a night at the movies.

How hard is it, then, to make a movie in this day and age, with no financial support?

That was the question facing twenty-something Toronto filmmakers Gurjeet Kaur-Bassi and Jamie McMahon last fall. The fresh-faced graduates of Humber College’s Television Writing and Producing program were sitting on a film idea they believed was special. But weren’t sure how to pull it off.

Two friends approached them with a screenplay for Brian, a coming-of-age comedy about a university grad who shuns capitalism to live on the streets. Bassi and McMahon immediately knew they had to make it.

No capital. No sponsors. No paid actors, camera operators, sound technicians or editors. At a time when the worldwide economic crisis was just sinking in, most university and college grads were thinking about finding any job they could get, not starring or investing in movies.

“Once we read it, we realized the film had a lot more going for it than just laughs,” Bassi says. “It had a real heart and, as directors, we felt we could serve the material well.”

Obviously, finding source material wasn’t the problem for Bassi and McMahon. But how could they make it happen? No capital. No sponsors. No paid actors, camera operators, sound technicians or editors. At a time when the worldwide economic crisis was just sinking in, most university and college grads were thinking about finding any job they could get, not starring or investing in movies.

But that’s when the stars aligned. Almost as if by fate, Bassi and McMahon’s unique network of friends, all with complementary talents, came together at once. McMahon’s cousin, a professional editor, joined the project for free. Bassi’s cousin was a makeup specialist. McMahon’s friend and neighbour was a budding musician specializing in film scores. Suddenly, the project was in motion without a penny spent yet.

McMahon says he knew what was happening wasn’t just a coincidence.

“Because our talents all intersect, we have an environment of free expression and collaboration,” he says. “We all take cues from each other on how to improve, and we’re always surrounded by creativity.  When you’re in that kind of environment, you feel like something special is happening.”

Fate even helped Bassi and McMahon land talented young actors. Chelsea Larkin, a longtime friend of McMahon’s who worked with him on The Toronto 48-hour film festival, was part of the Second City conservatory and helped recruit a bushel of quirky, hilarious young actors – all for free.

Among them was Jeremy Knight, who stars in Brian’s title role. Knight immediately identified with the wise-cracking character’s quarter-life crisis.

“Humour lies in contradictions, and the idea of an upper-middle class university grad ‘playing poor’ is funny to me,” Knight says. “Brian decides to ‘live life on the streets,’ but only commits halfway. He still sleeps on friends’ couches and uses his iPod, but now he wears the costume of a homeless person, which he ignorantly thinks qualifies him as the genuine article.

“Also, I saw that he was a lot like me,” Knight adds. “Like Brian, I graduated with a Commerce degree from U of T, and by the end of my program, I was definitely turned off by some of the basic underlying concepts of capitalism that we take for granted.”

McMahon and Bassi were thrilled with Knight’s performance alongside Larkin. They knew what they were getting with their old friend Larkin, but Knight caught them by surprise.

“We knew his chemistry with Chelsea was great, but we weren’t sure how he would hold up on his own, carrying a film,” Bassi says.

She adds that both Knight and Larkin’s improv skills brought dimensions to the characters that they never imagined.

“When directing we try to give the actors as much freedom as possible, because we believe in letting individual artists make meaningful contributions to film,” Bassi says. “Chelsea and Jeremy thrived in this environment of open collaboration, and that was a joy to witness.”

Talking to Bassi and McMahon, it’s clear making Brian was more about the film itself. For one, it allowed them to showcase the Annex in Toronto, where most of the cast and crew resides. They viewed the Annex as a character in itself, McMahon says.

“We wanted to celebrate Toronto, not mask it as a different city,” McMahon says. “As filmmakers, it’s a good thing to be familiar with your locations. Maybe we’ll call it the ‘Lord of the Rings’ technique. Peter Jackson had New Zealand, we had The Annex.”

Making Brian was simultaneously rewarding and challenging for the cast and crew. Larkin found working with close friends fun but distracting.

“Working with some of my best friends who I find extremely hilarious, I definitely had trouble getting through scenes without laughing!” Larkin says. “And once you start being affected by something you or your scene partner finds funny, it’s hard to stop and get back on track.”

“We wanted to celebrate Toronto, not mask it as a different city. As filmmakers, it’s a good thing to be familiar with your locations. Maybe we’ll call it the ‘Lord of the Rings’ technique. Peter Jackson had New Zealand, we had The Annex.”

As much fun as Brian’s crew had working together, it wasn’t all puppy dogs and rainbows. Bassi and McMahon’s company Three Part Productions, along with Mud Troll productions, could barely afford to make the film with their limited resources, meaning the co-directors had to “wear many hats,” McMahon says. He adds that they found themselves “taking on the jobs and responsibilities of an entire filmmaking team, from pre-production right through to the distribution of the film.”

The Brian team could only afford a three-day shoot, so it was finish the movie or bust, Bassi says.

“As [directors], it’s your responsibility to make sure the material you’ve shot is the best it can be,” Bassi says. “When you’re working under those kinds of constraints, you have to make every second the camera is rolling count. If you get to the editing suite and you find out you don’t have everything you need, well, you’re screwed.”

While it’s up to the audience to evaluate the sum of Brian’s parts, everyone involved took something important from it. While the producing and directing team learned about every skill involved in moviemaking, the actors were blown away by the professionalism of the experience.

“I showed up on a Friday afternoon, armed only with a script and the knowledge I was making a student film,” Knight says. “To my delight, people were handing out call sheets, wearing headsets, and at one point, I was brought a cup of tea. So I felt like Barbara Streisand on set.”

Larkin says the Brian crew’s commitment and attention, both to detail and the actors, blew her away.

“Perhaps because they were young and therefore relatively inexperienced, their eagerness and genuine excitement of being a part of Brian shone through constantly,” she says. “After having been on some ‘professional’ film sets with experienced people, I found the Brian crew’s demeanour and great attitude quite refreshing.”

If nothing else, Brian is living proof that, with the right group of committed people, anyone can create something special for the screen, even on a limited budget. But what do the minds behind Brian want viewers to take from the film?

“Most importantly, I want them to laugh. It’s a comedy,” Knight says. “And hey, it would be nice if after seeing Brian, you stop to consider the next street person you pass by as a fellow human being with a unique worldview who could tell you a million stories, instead of just a part of the urban scenery.

 

“Also, I want people to remember the name Three Part Productions. This is a tight, well-oiled filmmaking machine whom you’re going to hear plenty more from. Believe that.”

 

“Brian” premieres Thursday, April 9 at the Bloor Cinema in Toronto. Tickets are available at the door for $6. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Salvation Army. To reserve seats, contact producer Ashley Shields-Muir at Ashley.shields.muir@gmail.com.






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