‘The real discovery I have made over the last couple of years is collaboration – it’s all about collaboration in every possible way,’ says writer/director Tim Southam of the filmmaking process.

Southam points to Satie and Suzanne, an hour-long drama/performance piece which he wrote and directed for Rhombus Media, which he says would not have been the same film without the music of Erik Satie and the dance interpretations of a choreographer. Or Drowning In Dreams, a feature documentary he made with the National Film Board in which the interview subjects provided the shape of the story.

But what really made the lesson hit home, says Southam, is The Tale of Teeka, for which he has received a Gemini nomination for best direction in a dramatic program or miniseries. The multiple award-winning, one-hour drama, which aired on cbc, Radio-Canada and tfo, is based on the play by Michel Marc Bouchard, who adapted for tv; produced by Triptych Media’s Anne Stratton, who developed the project over five years; and coproduced with Montreal-based Galafilm, with Rhombus International distributing.

Southam attributes the success of Teeka to the partnerships formed among the producers, himself and the writer: ‘It was the total devotion to the project, the mutual respect and the shared vision.’

Collaborating on a project and maintaining a clear voice is possible, he says, if you work with a team that holds similar filmmaking values. Southam describes his films as ‘off the beaten track’ and ‘stepping out of formulas,’ and cites Triptych, Rhombus and Galafilm as sharing his love for very personal, experimental filmmaking.

Although the original stage play used puppets for the central geese characters, Southam felt it would be best to play out the Tale of Teeka as a realist drama. ‘I didn’t know what I was getting into – with live geese playing the lead role. It was a big risk but we did it anyway.’

Finding material worth directing – that is ‘personally compelling’ – is always a challenge, says Southam, who stresses the importance of directors initiating their own projects. ‘There are certain stories you will never do as a director if you just wait for the scripts to come,’ he says.

Southam has cocreated and is cowriting a six-part comedic tv series with Michael Mackenzie called The Accident. Triptych’s Robin Cass is slated to produce, although a broadcaster has not been shopped as yet. Southam will collaborate again with Triptych later this year on The Bay of Love and Sorrows, based on the novel by David Adams Richards, who is also writing the script. Southam is also penning a feature, The Nature of Birds, with Toronto playwright Morwyn Brebner.

On the immediate horizon, he is slated to direct the supernatural thriller Island of the Dead in Montreal in late October. Southam wrote a draft of the script, about New York’s Potter’s Field. The producers are Cornerstone Films in New York and Montreal-based Luciano Lisi.

Southam shoots commercials between projects to keep his directing skills up to speed, working as much as possible with the camera and with actors.

New digital post-production techniques are becoming less expensive, and understanding and visualizing the potential of these technologies is an important learning curve for directors, says Southam.

‘But a trap in directing is becoming completely glued to the camera and relying on visual and tech skills,’ he warns. ‘The biggest, most important quantum leap in quality in a project is to get the performances and perfect one’s ability to work with actors. You can assess the shot breakdowns and build visual and sound sequences, but the magical part is the human element. That’s what I am trying to develop – there is so much potential and so much to learn about working with the script and the actors.’

Cheryl Binning