When I step onto the first of the two Crazy8s sets I’m scheduled to visit on Valentine’s Day, I’m on the lookout for wild-eyed, hyped-up filmmakers on the verge of nervous breakdowns.
I think nervous breakdowns are called for, given the circumstances. The entire premise for Crazy8s is nuts: six filmmaking teams receive eight days (three on set, five in post-production) to shoot and lock a short film.
What’s more, these teams won this opportunity over 189 other filmmaking teams, up 40 from last year. They all willingly put themselves forward to create their short films under the gun.
Of course, there are benefits to being selected for the Crazy8s movie-making marathon: an influx of cash, and a production package containing everything filmmakers might need to make a short film in just eight days (not to mention the world premiere of said film at a fancy gala).
In recent years, Crazy8s films have gone on to do exceptionally well on the festival circuit: last year’s puppet-centric Bed Bugs: A Musical Love Story screened in Whistler and at the Vancouver Short Film Festival, and 2013’s ode to film noir Under the Bridge of Fear aired on CBC Television.
The results speak for themselves. Nonetheless, heading into my set visits, I find the entire premise to be bonkers, and I expect to see bonkers filmmaking in action.
But as I pass through the doors of the North Vancouver elementary school where Crazy8s comedy Kindergarten, Da Bin Ich Wieder is being filmed, and observe dozens of cast and crew quietly performing their tasks with laser-focused diligence, I quickly realize I’m going to have to revisit my definition of crazy.
Kindergarten, Da Bin Ich Wieder is the story of Audrey Ragnarson (played by Aubrey Arnason, the affable co-host of The Wedding Belles), a grown-up who (for the kind of reasons that exist only in movies) must enroll in kindergarten after skipping it the first time around.
They’re running three hours behind schedule, which is concerning to writer and co-director Arnason, but she’s not banging her head against the blackboard (yet).
“We’ve had to move things around, but [co-director Kalyn Miles] has a great vision for the film, and we’re able to change things on the fly,” says Arnason, dressed in a kindergarten-appropriate yellow frock. “We know the story so well that we’re able to manipulate things to get our shots. And if we don’t, what are we going to do?” Arnason laughs. “Maybe we’ll put the script page right up on the screen.”
She’s laughing, but that doesn’t mean she’s crazy.
I don’t detect any craziness at the other Crazy8s set I visit that day, either: The Twisted Slipper, filming at North Shore Studios, although I do encounter a helluva lot of hairspray.
The Twisted Slipper is a modern take on the Cinderella story. In this version – co-written by Sharai Rewels and Angie Nolan, and directed by Nolan – Cinderella is a fella (portrayed by Arctic Air alum Adam DiMarco) who yearns to be a drag queen.
“[DiMarco] has to really play the emotion for the audience to really care, and I can’t imagine what it’s like for him because he’s never done it in massive high heels and a crazy wig and a gown before, but what he’s brought so far is magical and beautiful,” raves Nolan.
I peek into the bustling hair and make-up room. Actresses like S. Siobhan McCarthy and Laura Adkin perch patiently in chairs while make-up artists and hair stylists secure intricate wigs onto their heads and false lashes onto their eyelids.
David C. Jones (who plays Destiny, a Fairy Drag Mother) shows me his long fake fingernails, and professes admiration for the Vancouver drag queens who’ve inspired his performance in the film.
I leave The Twisted Slipper not having found crazy, but creativity, a collaborative spirit, and lots and lots of glitter.
The four other Crazy8s films each promise their own special blends of cinematic magic:
One Last Ride from writer/director Caitlin Byrnes (daughter of blues legend Jim Byrnes) showcases the staggering talent of singer/songwriter Colleen Rennison; Scott Belyea’s gritty drama Outside the Lines peels back the curtain on telephone fraud; Under a Glass Moon from writer/director Mo Soliman requires septuagenarian thespian Mel Tuck to engage in hand-to-hand combat; and Jem Garrard’s The Wolf Who Came to Dinner employs an array of special effects techniques, including an epic werewolf prosthetic.
You can tap into the Crazy8s madness yourself at the gala screening of the six Crazy8s films at The Centre (co-hosted by Diana Bang from The Interview and Nelson Wong of American Mary), followed by a rollicking after-party at Science World. The craziness goes down Feb. 28.
• Details at Crazy8s.cc/events/gala-screening-party
