The Pembina Valley Filmmakers Forum (PVFF) held its first public screening this past weekend.
On Saturday, February 25th the big screen at Morden's Kenmor Theatre was lit up by a made-in-Manitoba film titled, "Moving On."
Santiago Larrauri, the group's screenwriter and director with nearly three decades experience in the industry, says the story line follows a woman who is experiencing loss.
"She hides it from people. She lives her life without telling people exactly what she's lost, or who she's lost in this case. It starts to take a toll on her new relationship with this man who's wondering why she shows pictures of her daughter and her art to everyone, but never seems to introduce her to him. It's a story about love, loss and life because she's lived her life for a year-and-a-half and she's hoping that she can get away with it until the point she realizes she can love enough with this guy to actually tell him so that she doesn't lose him."
Larrauri was pleased with the turnout for their first public screening - and the surprise ending.
"Even my crew and cast didn't know about it. I like odd endings. I like people to think I'm going one way and then I go completely off. It's sort of my trademark. They liked the ending. Only the actor and myself knew about it. I even handled the camera myself."
The evening's second feature - Makeover - was one of Larrauri's most recent films produced back home.
"The reason I showed that one is [because] that one was done by an amateur film crew with me as well. So, you know, comparing apples with apples, I wanted them to see that these guys at that point in time had the same training and experience as the guys I have now, and look what we were able to create. And then I was telling them that two or three years later, all these guys now are directors in their own right, they're writers, they're producers. And I told them that can happen here. It's just to give them some motivation."
Born and raised in the Philippines, Larrauri's ticket into the world of film making was the martial arts skills he acquired as a teenager.
During a competition, a Chinese director ran up to ringside and told the 14-year-old fighter he was needed for a fight scene. His work in front of camera morphed into working with a well-known action movie director, where he learned about screen writing, working a camera and lighting. Within five years he was directing his own films, most of which have been shot in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Thailand.
Over the next 27 years, he built up two production companies, shooting an average of 20 projects every year.
Then COVID hit and the phone stopped ringing.
"We closed down the studio. All of a sudden, after five years of applying we got a letter saying, oh, by the way, you're approved for Canadian residency.
And my wife said that's a sign. So, we packed up and left. We looked up Morden and we said, oh, it looks like Ireland (where we lived before). And we said, oh, perfect, we'll go there. And then it snowed. Doesn't look like Ireland anymore."
After they couple settled in southern Manitoba, Larrauri could not take off his director's hat, constant critiquing the movies they watched.
One day his wife urged to start a film group, like the one he had in the Philippines many years earlier.
"I didn't know if anybody would even join PVFF to be honest with you, and much less have anybody with experience. But I thought I'm willing to teach them. The guys that came out, they actually learned really quick."
After putting up notices, a few guys joined the fledging group.
"We started meeting for coffee regularly. One day I came up with an idea that, hey man, this is a good idea for a short film. We can do it and it grew from there."
At this point, Larrauri is group's sole writer. He also funded the production of their first film. The long-term goal is the creation of a local company, Pembina Valley Productions.
"But I can't do that yet with my current group because they're not there yet. But I think after the third or fourth project they will be, and we will put up the company."
Larrauri calls his crew an odd group: a musician works the audio; two photographers make for alternate videographers, "one who is particularly talented in lighting - I made him my Assistant Director and lights man." Then there's a marketing guy plus several green trainees who he's teaching from the ground up. All he needs now is another writer.
The seasoned Filipino director says Saturday night it was a special night for his crew.
"The guys were very excited! This is more for them than anything. I wanted them to get a taste of what people will say about their project. Judging from their applause, it looks like it was a success. You could see the smiles on the faces of my crew and my cast. That alone was worth it."
With ticket sales providing a starter fund, plans are in the works to launch a crowd sourcing campaign to pay for the completion of group's second and hopefully third films.
Larrauri is working with the video hosting platform, Vimeo, to make Moving On available as a pay-per-view for one month.
