HALIFAX – Two filmmakers from the Halifax area are preparing for the trip of a lifetime to the Cannes Film Festival.
Dylan Aucoin of Dartmouth and Mark Corless of Halifax teamed up to create Alison, a short film about a woman who buys a toy revolver with the wrong intentions.
The pair said the idea was conceived last summer and they recently submitted the film to several film festivals. Cannes was the first one to accept their film.
“It’s overwhelming. It still hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Aucoin said.
“You never think as a filmmaker you’re going to get an email from Cannes telling you ‘We’ve decided to play your film, we’ve accepted it’. It really was a ‘pinch me’ moment.”
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“I’m tremendously excited,” said Corless.
Aucoin and Corless, who went to Cannes last year, had been counting on financial assistance from Film and Creative Industries to get them to the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, but the department was axed after the provincial budget, leaving the filmmakers scrambling to find funding.
That’s when Corless created a page for the duo on crowdfunding website gofundme.com.
“We figured we would give it a shot. We figured we had nothing to lose,” Aucoin said.
Pretty soon, friends, family and strangers had chipped in about $5,000, enough to send the pair to Cannes for 10 days. They leave next Tuesday.
“It was incredibly touching. Everybody came forward and really helped us out,” Aucoin said.
They said the opportunity, both personally and professionally, is priceless.
“We both have a couple feature film scripts in the works. Any chance to advance those ambitions really is our sole goal of going to the festival,” Aucoin said.
Corless said his last visit to Cannes helped him build connections and establish a network. He said this year will be no different.
“The real value does lie in showing up. Actually showing up and showing your face to things is really what solidifies the whole value,” he said.
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