Making a film is never easy. Especially when it comes to a follow-up feature.

Here, Playback Daily catches up with three sophomore features set to make their world debut at Montreal’s genre-focused Fantasia International Film Festival (runs online from Aug. 20 to Sept. 2) – examining how some retained their creative control, decided to go the self-funding route and the opportunities that helped support them along the way.

Come True (Aug. 30)

Years from first draft to premiere: Three and a half years.

Playback: And how did you pitch your film to funders? What was your budget?

Writer/director Anthony Scott Burns: I pitched Come True with a detailed visual package, some of my previous work for style reference, and a finished script.

Most of the financiers knew my work or had worked with me in the past, and so I was very lucky: I didn’t have to go to too many places to muster the funds. The story started as “something we could do for under $500,000,” and then grew a bit from there as people saw the potential in the narrative. It was very important for me to retain creative control, and so we capped our budget at the exact dollar value where I would no longer be in charge of the vision. As an indie filmmaker, it’s crucial to me that we always come in on, or under budget, and so I always create with this in mind (constraints are a very welcome part of my process). For me, this is the key to being able to continue making art: financial responsibility.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered bringing your second feature together and how did you overcome it?

Burns: I had a bit of a classic Hollywood first-timer experience (PTSD included), and so I was a bit of a maniac when it came to keeping creative control on Come True (as I had lost it on my first feature film). I also wanted my second outing to be more ambitious, like the films I grew up loving/watching. I wanted us to work outside the ‘single location’ genre space.

Those two elements (control and ambition), created the perfect storm for a low budget film, making our biggest challenge: our own high expectations for the final film. We wanted to make something that felt like a “real” movie, but without the typical finances to accomplish this. I am very harsh on myself and want my art to look and feel a certain way: a level of art direction that usually costs much more than we had.

Tell us an interesting story or fact about your film that would surprise most people.

Burns: Come True was made (outside of our wonderful cast) with a total on-set crew of five: Nick, my right hand. Howard, our multi-talented coordinator. Boriana, who beautifully transformed our actors into their characters everyday. Dan recording crisp sound, and Liam pulling our ever-shallow focus. It was an absolute blast creating in this fashion. Painting our props, choosing all the costumes, and scouting all the locations, left us the necessary money for more shoot days, which is all I ever want.

Come True features Vincenzo Natali (Cube) as an executive producer and Steve Hoban (Ginger Snaps) as a producer. How and when did they get involved? And why were they the right partners for Come True?

Burns: Vincenzo and Steve have been there from the beginning of Come True. We began talking about making this together before Our House (my first feature) was even greenlit, and it just felt like the exact right project for this group of minds. Their passion for wild indie cinema really spurred me on to make this story, and their years of experience assisted shaping our unorthodox production methods. I have been blessed to have them as supporters from the moment I returned my career focus from commercials to feature filmmaking. We both saw and respected each other’s work, and the relationships digitally blossomed from there.

What’s next for you? What other projects do you have in the works?

Burns: I have numerous projects in the works, including some VR games, and some exciting musical excursions, but… The next feature film is something fun, horrific, beautiful, personal, and takes place around 1870. This past year has made me yearn for entertainment. I try to make films that I’d want to see in the theatre, and right now, I want to grin from ear to ear with joy and excitement for the magic of visceral cinema. That’s all I will say right now.

Yankee (available on demand)

PB: How many years did it take you to go from first draft to premiere?  

Director/executive producer Stéphan Beaudoin: We wrapped production and principal photography in spring of 2017 on a script written at the end of 2015. Yankee being an independent film, post-production was spread and worked out through all of our other projects, whenever we had the time and the financial resources we would get back to the editing and all the other stages of post. It was quite a journey! We are thrilled for the film to have come out the way it did.

Writer Sophie-Anne Beaudry: Writing was all but the contrary, as I wrote the first draft in just under a month, and then reworked the screenplay through prep, so all in all the shooting script was done in about two months time. Quite a rush!

How did you pitch your film to funders? What was your budget? 

Beaudoin: The film is entirely self-funded (emoji of our bank accounts crying). In all seriousness we financed the whole project and shot the film completely independently. We see it as an investment for our writing, directing and producing portfolio. The cast and crew were extremely helpful and we were able to negotiate agreements with the unions as to deferring costs and salaries. We were therefore able to make the film with a final budget of about $90,000.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered bringing your second feature film together and how did you overcome it? And could you tell us something interesting about Yankee that would surprise most people? 

Beaudoin: Yankee was hard to make. In all stages of production. The subject matter is hard, the shooting in winter was quite strenuous, the post was long and gruesome. Every step of the way was a challenge! For example, two days before the start of filming, there was a fire in our main location at the warehouse where most of our sequences were to be shot. We spun on a dime and immediately sought out another location. We had to recoordinate three weeks of planning in one day! On another day, there was vandalism at the apartment building where we were filming and the power was cut off. We had no tie-in for the lighting, no heating for the team and no power for any of the equipment! We had to rush out and rent a generator to be able to work through the night. At another location there was an incident involving a possible gunman. The police abruptly interrupted the set and evacuated everyone outside of the premises, for safety measures. But it did create this great and immense feeling of togetherness between everyone on set, the cast and crew all huddled around the work to be done and we had an awesome creative atmosphere. To this day we remain a close knit group.

Beaudry: Writing a bilingual script, while working in Devon’s personal strengths as a stuntwoman into the script was a challenge [as] we really wanted the action and the fights to be emotionally anchored in the characters’ storylines. Having big ideas and a small budget, we had to be very imaginative!

What did you take away from working together on Le Rang du Lion (The Lion’s Path) that you were able to apply to Yankee? How was the process of putting Yankee together different or similar?  

Beaudry: For The Lion’s Path, Stéphan and I conceived the story around the farmhouse and that specific location where most of the film takes place. It gave us ideas for many of the scenes, and I was able to feed off of this particular location when imaging the story and writing the script.

And what’s next for you two? What other projects do you have in the works? 

Beaudoin: It will be a horror drama. Think Poltergeist meets The Conjuring. A film on “fear of the other,” on family, on the secrets of the past through the need to belong.

Beaudry: There will be young children. It will take place on a farm. We’re kicking off writing this fall and we’re really excited about our subject and the film’s concept! (Playback note: Beaudoin and Beaudry told Playback that they are interested in approaching funders for their third feature together instead of the self-funded route. They are also looking into approaching streamers.)

The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw (Aug. 22)

PB: How many years did it take you to go from first draft to premiere? 

Writer/director Thomas Lee: I started work on the first draft in 2015. The script went through many changes over the course of the writing process, and there were occasionally periods of time when I wouldn’t be able to write due to personal reasons, such as moving.

How did you pitch your film to funders? What was your budget? 

Lee: Epic Pictures Group came on first, and that was because they liked the script. The project was also selected for three Frontieres events (co-production market, finance forum, and the proof-of-concept platform), which provided a major spotlight on the project. The market exposure, combined with the script and the fact that I’d completed a previous feature, all contributed to the appeal for financiers. Telefilm Canada was a major partner as well. The budget was $1.2 million.

What was the biggest challenge you encountered bringing your second feature together and how did you overcome it?

Lee: There were many challenges in the making of the film – writing the script is hard, securing finance, making choices during production when the clock is ticking, etc. Finding the right people to bring on is really hard, as you have to trust your collaborators. It’s very important to do your due diligence when considering who to bring onto your project.

The Curse of Audrey Earnshaw sees George Mihalka (My Bloody Valentine) credited as an executive producer. How did he get involved?

Lee: George Mihalka is associated with the Canadian distributor. Once they acquired the project, he became involved.

What did you take away from your time with Frontieres?

Lee: Being selected for Frontieres was huge for the project. They really supported the film, even from the earliest drafts of the script. It’s a wonderful opportunity to have your project selected by them, as the exposure is invaluable. Attendees gave smart notes on the script, and had strong insight regarding the financial side of things. The Frontieres team are all great people, and I’m so thankful for the opportunity they gave to the film.

And what’s next for you? What other projects do you have in the works?

Lee: I’m working on my follow up, another original script. It’s a visually-driven exploration of betrayal and vengeance. It’s smaller in scale but larger in emotion than my previous work, and it’s also more personal.