It was the kind of idea that could go one of three ways: fizzle out; change lives for the better; or end with curse words, hurt feelings, and shattered relationships.
Luckily for the trio of artists behind Sociable Films director Michelle Ouellet (The True Heroines), actor/writer Nicholas Carella (Motive), and actress Ali Liebert (Bomb Girls) the idea to form a company and make a movie didn't come to naught or end with a trail of broken friendships.
Far from it: the monumental effort to birth a feature has set the trio on a path where producing film projects together is now a big part of their lives.
This is precisely what they craved when they discussed the seemingly far-flung idea in the first place. "We wanted a continuous creative outlet," Liebert says, seated beside her business partners at the Four Seasons Hotel. "We shared in the desire to not want to wait for our careers to happen."
Thus Afterparty was born. Sociable Films' inaugural feature is an edgy and fully improvised dramatic romp about a group of wedding guests partying together in a house after the reception is over. The cast list reads like a who's who of hot Canadian talent: Jodi Balfour, Emma Lahana, David Milchard, Erica Carroll, Peter Benson, Christina Sicoli, Graham Coffeng and Liebert and Carella, too, all under Ouellet's direction.
Like most indie films, Afterparty — which will have its world premiere at Whistler Film Festival on December 5 — needed ample doses of ingenuity to bring the idea from concept to reality; unlike most indie films, it was produced by a collective of 14 people, including key cast and creative crew. Shot over six weekends in a rental house in Langley, Afterparty's was the kind of film set where everyone pitched in and did whatever was needed to bring the movie to fruition — and no diva antics were tolerated.
"Everyone had a sense of ownership," Ouellet recalls. "You could see it in how people were being very flexible with their time, or doing a scene and then running out and grabbing toilet paper. We furnished the set with furniture from everybody's apartments."
It was a true all hands on deck experience, according to Liebert — and a heck of a lot of fun. "That summer would have happened regardless of whether we made a movie or not, and we made a movie," she says. Carella concurs: "You've already won the game if you don't feel like youre working."
This is part and parcel of what Sociable Films is all about: to make the kind of movies they want to work on with people they actually like.
They certainly started off liking each other: Carella and Liebert met on CBS' Harper's Island, and Carella and Ouellet are high school sweethearts turned married filmmaking duo.
Now that Afterparty is in the can, they all still like each other. Carella says Afterparty contains Liebert's finest work to date ("I think this movie is going to be the introduction of the real Ali to everyone else"); Liebert lauds Carella and Ouellet's fearlessness ("These guys have shown me that there's always a solution"); and Carella's eyes fill with tears when he reflects on Ouellet's abilities as a director ("I feel, as an actor, very safe in Michelle's hands").
Leading up to the world premiere, the trio couldn't be more excited (or nervous) to share the fruits of their labour. "This is our film baby," said Liebert, laughing.
Look for Sociable Films to announce a full slate of film projects and take Afterparty on the road for a cross-country tour.
