By Elaine Thrash
Actors, writers, and directors: what we all have in common? A passion for films, of course. However, each one of us has a different or slightly different background that shaped our trajectory towards this passion.
The following interview shows what guided us all here.
Thanks to the 11 students who took some time to answer these questions:
- Actors: Christopher Flint, Darrin Vo, Elaine Thrash, Everlyn Becky, Maria Pashkovisky, and Thanh Nguyen;
- Writers: Braeden Fruin, Gabrielle Mar. and Kay Sigurgeirson;
- Directors: Elizabeth Ababio and Vinicius Cavalieri
1) What's your highlight of the year?
Sometimes it's hard to think of highlights after this very weird and rough year, but believe it or not, they exist. For Darrin, Kay, Liz, and Breaden, the whole process of being on set surrounded by passionate and talented people was a blast this year. Gaby enjoyed seeing all films coming together; Chris had a fun experience filming at the Richmond Country Farms, while Maria enjoyed directing the skits for the Unlock the Vault Film Festival. Everlyn's highlight was honing her craft through Langara Film Arts program. Vinicius visited Banff for the first time. Elaine had a couple of films screened and awarded in film festivals throughout South America. And Thanh still remebers his early days playing basketball at the YMCA Langara before the lockdown.
2) What's the coolest thing you learned/ experienced during the program?
Breaden, Vinicius, and Thanh agrees that the collaboration between actors, writers and directors is what fascinates the students. In this program we all learn how to work on a set environment and we end up discovering things we never thought we will like and be good at. For example, Kay realized she likes gripping; Everlyn enjoyed searching for props, while Elaine rediscovered her passion for Fine Arts through making props and helping with set dec. Maria's coolest thing was shooting underwater. Chris loved the Voice Over classes and all the cool stuff he can do with his voice! Gaby was enlightneted by the possible moods someone can create through lights, while Liz got deep into camerawork, different shot choices, as well as actors placement and all the things she can do to develop her own style and be a better director.
3) If you weren't a (writer/ director/ actor) what would you be instead?
It's funny to imagine different career choices people might have. Everlyn, for example, would like to be a doctor or a massage therapist. Vinicius would be a writer instead of a director. The writers Kay and Gaby would try acting or directing. Chris, Liz, and Elaine would probably find themselves in visual arts, perhaps working with drawing, sculpture, paiting, or animation, although Elaine would also like to be a singer, such as Darrin. Thanh would be a writer. Braedan doesn't know what he would be instead of a writer, while Maria would love to be everything, or just being the owner of an artsy cafe/lounge with live music, and also teaching workshops. Cool stuff!
4) Favourite film/ TV show. Why?
That's a tricky question, especially for Film Arts students, because we always struggle to pick only one favourite. But here's what first came in our minds and hearts:
For Braeden, his favourite film is Airplane. "because it always makes me laugh, no matter how many times I’ve seen it" he says. For Chris it's Donnie Darko. He thinks "it is such a great film that speaks on so many levels (...) you can watch this film a dozen times and always pick up on something new." The Rush Hour trilogy will always have a special place in Darrin's heart, while Elaine's favourite TV shows are Breaking Bad and its spin-off/ prequel Better Call Saul because of the breathtaking moments that engages her to keep watching them. Everlyn likes the drama and the friendship values in Gossip Girl. Gaby loves the story and all the visuals from Treasure Planet. And speaking of treasure, Kay can't stop watching the Pirates of the Caribbean movies and she always notices something new every time she watches them. "They’re works of art to me" she says. Liz pointed out The Prince of Egypt because it's based on a story in her religion and the way it's told, with music, animations and a great vocal cast grabbed her attention as a filmmaker. "It's a movie that has stood the test of time and has aged like fine wine" she completes. Liz also mentioned a show that inspired her to get into film: Avatar: The Last Airbender. Maria's favourite film is a poetic one called Mirror, by Andrei Tarkovsky, while Thanh's favourite show of all times is How I Met Your Mother. And finally, Vini alsolikes Breaking Bad because "every single element (plot, direction, cinematography, performance) is stellar; the harmony between all these elements is what got me interested in studying directing" as he says.
5) What motivated you to study Film Arts?
A shared passion for films is basically what got us into Film Arts, but let's check some interesting answers. For example, Vinicius wanted to learn more about production and how he could improve his cinematography skiils to incorporate in his own music videos. Darrin wanted to see if Acting was really something he could pursue as a longlife career. Maria took a class with instructor Katrin Bowen two years ago and she loved to explore the directors studied in this class. She also followed her mother's advice to study Film Arts, similar to Thanh's mother who wanted him to go to school no matter what, and so he went! Everlyn was motivated by her passion for film and TV, however another reason was the coordinator Jonas Quastel who kindly explained about the program to her. Liz wanted to learn from the best, so she knew she could gain useful life lessons at Langara. Since high school, Kay was interested in filmmaking, and after some time and some soul searching she finally decided to give it a try. Besides his love for movies, Braeden already wanted to work in the industry for a long time. Gaby was motivated by an English teacher in grade 12 who saw a screenwriting potential in Gaby's short stories. Chris wanted to take a dream and then create something tangible from it. And Elaine wanted to make great connections in the film industry and start creating and producing original content abroad.
6) What do you like to do when you're not (writing/ directing/ acting)?
This last question was just a fun way to know what we are into when we're not doing our "labeled functions"!
"Making music", "Palying videogames", "Drawing", "Cooking", "Writing songs", "Watching films", "Watching BTS (band)", "Relaxing", "Playing Dungeons and Dragons", "Basketball (pre-pandemic times)", "Paddling", "Snowboarding", "Singing", "Playing table top games", "Having fun with friends", "Listening to Heavy Metal", "Watching Football", "Squeezing my cat", "Being creative", "Traveling", "Listening to music", "Visiting my family in Salt Spring", "Webcomic", "Taking photos", "Modeling", "Doodling", "Going to church", "Reading comics and novels", "Piano", "Dancing".
Haha! Can you guess who said that?
(Answers at the end of this post!)
Wow! How nice it is to know a little bit more about these incredible and talented folks! For sure the LCFA 2020 group will never be forgotten. What a year! What a collection of chalenges and uncertainties. One thing for sure can be said: we are warriors! Learning to make films during COVID really prepared us for the world outside school!
Good job everyone!
Special thanks to Langara's staff and faculty for believing in us and for guidind us through the first steps of a long and prosperous journey.
Who Said That?
"Making music" (Vinicius, Elaine)
"Palying videogames" (Braeden, Chris, Than)
"Drawing" (Kay, Gaby, Liz,
"Cooking" (Maria)
"Writing songs" (Everlyn, Elaine)
"Watching films" (Everlyn, Braeden, Kay)
"Watching BTS (band)" (Liz)
"Relaxing" (Gaby)
"Playing Dungeons and Dragons" (Braeden)
"Basketball (pre-pandemic times)" (Thanh)
"Paddling" (Chris)
"Snowboarding" (Chris)
"Singing" (Darrin, Elaine)
"Playing table top games" (Chris)
"Having fun with friends" (Darrin, Kay)
"Listening to Heavy Metal" (Elaine)
"Watching Football" (Braeden)
"Squeezing my cat" (Elaine)
"Being creative" (Darrin)
"Traveling" (Kay)
"Listening to music" (Kay)
"Visiting my family in Salt Spring" (Kay)
"Webcomic" (Gaby)
"Taking photos" (Kay, Elaine)
"Modeling" (Elaine)
"Doodling" (Maria)
"Going to church" (Liz)
"Reading comics and novels" (Chris)
"Piano" (Maria)
"Dancing" (Liz, Elaine)
Elaine Thrash is an actor, singer, dancer, writer and model currently based in Vancouver, BC.