Goldie Smitlener isn't your typical Hollywood film producer, but what she lacks in work experience and a network of contacts, she makes up for with vision and passion.
Against all odds, the 69-year-old grandmother's feature-length film, Stolen Path, has garnered awards and international recognition. Growing up in Croatia, Smitlener read Moc zemlje by Janoko Matko, a love story about a spoiled rich girl and a peasant boy in Croatia, circa 1910.
"I came to Canada when I was 16 and for the next 50 years that story never left me," says Smitlener, who lives in New Westminster. "Its simplicity and resolve showed me that true love lives beyond the grave. I always thought it would make a good movie."
A property manager all her working life, Smitlener's only experience in the film industry was buying a ticket to the cinema.
"I asked [my granddaughter] Daniela if she wanted to be in a movie I dreamt of making," Smitlener explains. "She gave me the incentive to go ahead – my idea seemed crazy to everyone but her. And once I get something in my mind, it gets done."
Incredibly, 16-year-old Daniela Smitlener won two best actress awards, including one for Best Actress at the Toronto World International Film Festival, and, like her grandmother, had no previous film experience.
After writing the script, Smitlener advertised on Craigslist for "someone to direct an Indie love story." After shooting at her friend's castle in Croatia, back in the editing room in Vancouver Smitlener unfortunately discovered the director didn't share her vision. Undeterred, Smitlener found another director, John Banovich, again through Craigslist.
And while the producer's main role is to find money, Banovich says Smitlener did much more than that. "She is the proverbial granny, the mother hen," says Banovich. "She was always asking the crew if they had enough to eat, if they were dry and warm enough."
Only about 30 per cent of the footage was saved from the cutting room floor, but being familiar with loss, Smitlener soldiered on.
"I lost my son 17 years ago, but it feels like yesterday," she says. "I coped by working 12 hour days and haven't stopped. If my mind isn't on work it would be on sad things. I live by myself – no one would put up with the way I work. I was born and raised in a village similar to that in the book, I know how hard it was to live and work there."
And she's a hard worker. Smitlener taught herself how to write the script and got involved in all aspects of production. She did most of the catering, found some of the crew on Craigslist and costumes on eBay, but marketing is her biggest challenge.
"Getting the film into festivals was the easy part, selling it is the hardest," she says. "I'm a simple person. People look at me and aren't interested, especially when they find out it's my first film, and at my age."
But Smitlener may prove them wrong.
"I want to tell youth and seniors to follow your dreams. Even without financial resources, if you have passion I believe you will attract people who can help," Smitlener says. "Start creating and you'll soon develop a network. I don't mean make a movie – bake cookies, visit the elderly. You won't have time to feel sorry for yourself."
Words of wisdom indeed. Would Smitlener do it again?
"With Daniela, anytime."
Any regrets?
"None."
Stolen Path makes its Canadian premiere April 17, at Vancouver Technical Secondary's auditorium. Two screenings also take place April 20 to coincide with National Canadian Film Day at the University of B.C.'s Robson Square Theatre.
For more information, visit stolenpathmovie.com.
