There may be snow on the ground, but Brett Schinkman already knows what he’s doing with his summer. The Grade 11 student at Elmira District Secondary School dreams of becoming the next Kevin Smith or Ben Affleck, a film director who started with nothing but talent. Schinkman has completed a script for a short film entitled River Running. With the support of his youth pastor at Emmanuel Evangelical Missionary Church in Elmira he may have found a director for the project, which will begin filming this summer. He hopes the film will be ready to enter Canadian film festivals beginning in 2012.
The idea to make the film began last summer while Schinkman and friends were trying to make another film. “It didn’t go so well,” laughed Schinkman.
They thought about making a movie next summer so they, “could put a lot of work into it and try to actually do something with it,” he said. “We wanted sort of a forest setting, so I kind of played around with that.”
The result became River Running, a 20-minute film about a troubled young man, Greg, who finds solace in a friend, River.
“River is the epitome of cool. He really has it altogether,” said Schinkman. “Craig kind of has to face the fact that his relationship with River may be damaging his relationship with others.”
Emmanuel youth director Matthew Brnjas read the script in late December and wanted to help Schinkman put the film together.
“I think it portrays the negative side of being pulled away from family and pulled away from your support network and into darkness in a way. It’s a bit more of a heavier film, but well written,” Brnjas said. “I can’t wait to see it put into production.”
When the movie is completed the premier will be held at the church.
There is no budget for the film and Schinkman is relying on a volunteer cast and crew to complete the project.
Currently the band Gwen’s Mascara, also made up of EDSS students, is writing the soundtrack.
Schinkman is hoping to turn the experience from this project into a lifelong career in film.
“He really loves film and that’s really his passion: acting, film and drama,” said Brnjas of his friend. “I want to see where he can take this gift of script writing and film making. He’s got a real talent for it.”
