Although summer is still a month away, local movie theatres are already filled with the annual crop of big budget summer blockbuster films. From explosive superhero battles, to slapstick comedy, to remake after remake, there’s something for every film lover to enjoy. But what about those film buffs who want something a bit different? Those who are looking for relief from the gratuitous onslaught of summer films?
If you’re looking for fewer special effects and more thought and content, then make sure to check out the high-quality Canadian indie films that A71 Entertainment is bringing each month to Peterborough’s Market Hall.
Now based in Toronto, A71’s co-founders Chad Maker and Kirk Comrie are originally from Peterborough. While A71’s film series are screening in theatres across Canada via a deal with Landmark Cinemas, Chad and Kirk made sure to add Peterborough’s Market Hall as one of the venues.
“It’s fun to go to go down the 115, go back home, and host the screenings in front of everyone,” Chad says. “Although I’ve lived in Toronto for 20 years, I’m one of those guys who’s always talking up Peterborough.”
Chad started his career in the film industry by designing movie posters, including those for Canadian cult favorites Ginger Snaps and Hard Core Logo.
“I was doing movie posters for some friends of mine, and once you start doing that in this industry people start to track you down,” Chad explains. “But while I was designing the posters, I began to realize that only about 10% of the films would ever get seen because there wasn’t enough support behind them.”
So he decided to do something about it and, in 2003, joined forces with Kirk Comrie to form Agency 71 Inc., which specialized in branding and marketing for independent film and television.
“Kirk was working with a software company, but he left that to come work with me because we wanted to not only do movie posters but also trailers and websites,” Chad says. “We wanted to do anything that would market Canadian films, because nobody else was doing it.”
“David was working for a company called Channel Zero as their business developer,” Chad says. “They owned CHCH and Moviola and all these networks. Then Dave left that job to produce feature films. He produced a film called Amal which was a really successful Canadian/Hindi film. So we started talking and thought that maybe we should all work together.”
As a result, the three men combined their talents in marketing and production to establish A71 Productions Inc. in 2010. The company has since produced or executive-produced over half a dozen films. They subsequently launched A71 Entertainment Inc. as a film distribution company.
Although the Canadian film industry has always been highly regarded by critics, Canadian films always seem to slip under the radar in our own country, largely due to lack of awareness about the films.
A71’s mission is to get these films the attention they deserve from Canadian audiences.
“The biggest challenge is that we live next door to the entertainment behemoth of the world,” Chad says. “It’s really a battle to cut through the noise — we’re up against the extremely slick marketing machine of Hollywood. But there’s a particular audience that’s looking for good stories and something unique. That’s where our marketing angle works for us.”
One of A71’s marketing angles is bringing a film’s actor or director to the screening, either in person or via Skype, to talk about the film and answer questions from the audience. Although common in larger cities like Toronto and Montreal, these post-screening chats give Peterborough audiences a unique up-close-and-personal movie experience.
“We like to bring the talent out to the events because it provides an inside scoop for people,” says Chad. “They get a bit of the behind-the-scenes aspect of the film. With fewer people buying DVDs and Blu-rays, they don’t always get the filmmakers’ stories anymore. So instead we’re bringing that to the theatrical experience.”
“Prisoner X is a film we are co-presenting with IndieCan films,” Chad says. “It’s a really fun and intense thoughtful thriller about a potentially time-travelling terrorist.”
Prisoner X Trailer
The Rainbow Kid
Prisoner X will be followed by the award-winning 2015 drama The Rainbow Kid on Thursday, June 9th.
“The Rainbow Kid is a first-time feature film for director Kire Paputts,” says Chad. “It’s the story of a teenage boy with Down syndrome who leaves a less-than-desirable home to go and find the end of the rainbow. The lead actor is named Dylan Harmon, who does have Down syndrome, and he won best actor at the Hamilton film festival and was nominated for an ACTRA award. We still have to confirm it, but I hope that Kire and Dylan will be coming for the Q&A.”
Chad has since confirmed that writer/director Kire Paputts and star Dylan Harman will be at the screening for a question-and-answer session following the film.
But it’s a film coming to Peterborough later in 2016 that Chad thinks will really get people talking.
“We picked up Jackie Boy at the Canadian Film Festival this year,” Chad says. “It isn’t going to be for everyone. It’s going to be very controversial for sure.”
Chad says the film, about modern dating culture, is very intense.
“At the film festival, we had 300 people at the screening and five of them walked out in the first half an hour,” Chad explains. “It’s a film that definitely will have people talking. We’ll be bringing Jackie Boy to Peterborough, but when we do the marketing we’ll be putting out strong warnings about the content.”
With plans to hold a screening at the Market Hall each month, A71 will continue to bring some truly unique entertainment to Peterborough. This is a fantastic opportunity for Peterborough audiences to see high-quality films they otherwise would not have heard of.
“Our focus is to introduce audiences to new filmmakers that really have a lot of new perspectives on things, a lot of drive, and new stories to tell or a new spin on an old story,” Chad adds. “We believe there is such a lot of new emerging talent that our goal is to make a lot of noise about the filmmakers and new stars.”
While screening a film for a single night can be a challenge, Chad says it’s worth it to bring these unique films to a Peterborough audience.
“Ultimately it comes down to the fact that we are film fans and we love to share these films with people,” Chad says. “What we’re finding is that when people do come and see the films, they continue to come back.”
For more information on A71 Productions and A71 Entertainment, visit www.a71productions.com and www.a71entertainment.com.
For more information on upcoming A71 screenings in Peterborough and to purchase tickets, visit the Market Hall website at www.markethall.org.
The Rainbow Kid Trailer
