February’s Dog Film Spotlight
Today’s film spotlight focuses on the feature film February’s Dog directed by Candace Schmidt-Gonzalez and written by Paul J. Chinook.
What is the title of your film and what inspired said title?
February’s Dog – The meaning behind the name is a blend between February Being an incredibly difficult month to make it through in Canada with how cold it is and how long it stays dark for blended with the term “black dog of depression”
Tell us a little bit about the story and origins of your film.
February’s Dog is a deep dive into how difficult involuntary job transitions can be. We follow 2 men, Dale and Nigel as they are working away and enjoying life. They get a cryptic call from their boss to come in for a meeting. They get laid off but get told they will be hired back in 3 months when the price of oil comes back up. Time fast forwards, Dale and Nigel are still struggling. Many personal crises are raging.
The origins are from the writer Paul J. Chinook’s personal experience working in the oilfield for over 20 years. While February’s Dog is not necessarily a true story, there is a lot of truth from the lives of my friends and colleagues that are woven together in this script.
Any films or filmmakers that inspired this film?
This probably isn’t the answer that you want, but no not particularly. To be honest, I sat down to write this and was staring at a blank screen. It was like a force flowed through me and created the script. I essentially wrote the framework of the script in 2 nights while drinking a case of beer.
What is the goal of the film for you?
There is a micro goal and a major goal. Some of the micro goals are to showcase that Calgary and Alberta is not just a great place to film, it is also full of skilled actors. Calgary gets a lot of productions that come to film there but don’t give many local actors an opportunity. I figured, if we start making our own stuff no one can say no to us!
The major goal is to help create a better world. There are lots of people that are unprepared to either deal with, or help others go through difficult personal crisis. The message of February’s Dog is very powerful because the issue is so powerful.
What has the journey been like getting the film into production?
The journey started off great. Because I was so incredibly naïve on what it takes to get a film properly completed. There were numerous bouts of frustration and success as I continued to develop the skills and ability to actually get the film completed. I made many of the mistakes that lots of first time film makers make by rushing to get to set and live my dream of acting! I will never do that again. I have met some wonderful people along the way and have learned a lot about myself along the way also. It was incredibly challenging but equally as enriching.
One thing you learned from this project?
One? Lol. I earned volumes as this was my first film. I would rephrase that to the most important thing I learned. The most important thing I learned was that you need to have a process for everything from paperwork to building a team. If you don’t have a process, you are going to have problems. If you have a process, you can fix the process and solve lots of problems.
How can folks find you and your film online?
We are just now starting our festival run. The film was just recently completed and has only been seen at it’s World premiere. February’s dog was blessed to get picked up for global sales by Adler and Associates and they are very optimistic for the future of February’s Dog. We hope to do limited theatrical runs in both Canada and USA before going on line.
Official Website
Any last pieces of advice for fellow filmmakers?
Take your time, don’t rush to set. Make sure you are ready then double check. Build a good team and treat them well. If you have not been through film school, get a few books before you begin producing a film. American Film Market Presents – The complete Film Production Handbook 4th edition by Eve Light Honthaner is a wonderful resource that every beginning film maker needs to have.
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