Vancouver, BC (January 18, 2024) – The Crazy8s Film Society is pleased to announce this year’s top 6 finalists. The 8-day annual filmmaking challenge provides funding, professional mentorship and support to emerging filmmakers to help them produce a short film. This year’s films include projects from some of BC’s brightest up and coming talents including Hong Kong-Canadian filmmaker Kevin Cheng, voice actor turned writer/director Larissa Thompson, award-winning writer/director Teresa Alfeld (Doug and the Slugs and Me), actor and director Dave Beamish (Riverdale), Leo Award-winning filmmaker and actor Jess McLeod and Filipino-Chinese-Canadian animator and filmmaker Kevin Ang.
“It’s been a challenging year for our industry across North America, making it more important than ever to support our local talent and industry. Crazy8s is very thankful to all our funders and sponsors, as well as the industry and filmmaking community, for their unwavering support of emerging and independent filmmaking talent here in BC. We can’t wait for audiences to see what our Top 6 teams create,” says Executive Director, Grace Chin.
The top 6 filmmaking teams and projects this year are:
ASTRONAUT
Director: Kevin Cheng
Writer: Stephanie Joan
Producer: Stephanie Joan, Luke VandenBerg
Logline: Amidst a backdrop of 1990s Chinese-Canadian immigration, a young boy is visited by his absent father who builds him a cardboard spaceship and launches him on a fantastical mission to connect with the neighbourhood kids.
DTF?
Director: Jess McLeod
Writer: Jess McLeod (Co-Writer), Sam Krochmal (Lead Actor, Co-Writer)
Producer: Erin Purghart (Lead Producer), Garfield Wilson (Co-Producer)
Logline: During an anonymous sexual bender, a young queer writer is forced to confront his insecurities when he ends up on a Grindr date with his former English professor.
GONE ABROAD
Director/Writer: Kevin Ang
Producers: Moheb Jindran
Logline: When a conservative Chinese-Catholic school covers up the suicide of 15-year old Kevin’s best friend, he and his teenage friends spend the school year uncovering the truth.
OUR LONG GOODBYE
Director/Writer: Dave Beamish
Producers: Eva Tavares, Erin Morgan (Producer’s assistant)
Logline: Caregiver by day and musician by night, Mark brings his elderly father’s dementia-addled mind back every evening with his songs…until he can’t.
TOE PICK
Director/Writer: Teresa Alfeld
Producer: Kiefer Doerksen
Logline: A struggling teenage figure skater pushes back against the constraints of her sport in 1990s Vancouver.
WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO WITH YOUR HANDS?
Director/Writer: Larissa Thompson
Producer: Amanda D’Silva
Logline: Kendra struggles to fit in at a noisy party, much to the chagrin of her guardian angel, a sharp-beaked and sharp-witted harpy, who really wants her to stop staring at her shoes. Inspired by classic 80s puppet films like The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth, What Are You Supposed to Do With Your Hands? explores the unique experience of living as a late-diagnosed autistic woman.
Running since 1999, Crazy8s was created to help emerging filmmakers who have little or no access to funding for short films and to train crew and cast. Crazy8s has become a place to discover new talent, provide valuable on set training, and give opportunities for filmmakers to create work that can be used to launch their careers in the film industry. Crazy8s has provided working opportunities for thousands of people, in addition to supporting directors, there are opportunities for producers, writers, performers, cinematographers, editors, and a host of other crew members who gain valuable experience and build working relationships that often continue for many years to come.
Many Crazy8s alumni over the past 24 years have gone on to have vibrant careers in the film industry. Director Jessica Lauren Doucet’s Crazy8s film Hellmark had its world premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, Helen Liu’s High End Dying won Best Horror Comedy Short at Horror Film Festival, and I Can’t Go On from director Brenna Goodwin-McCabe won Best Foreign Short Award at California’s LA Femme International Film Festival. ZIP from director Ava Maria Safai had its world premiere at the Calgary International Film Festival, Consumer from director Stephanie Izsak is available on platforms such as Tubi and Pluto. Many more Crazy8s filmmakers have gone on to have successful careers in the film industry, approximately 24,000 people have attended Crazy8s screenings, and the films have appeared in more than 500 international film festivals, with many being broadcast on television and on streaming platforms worldwide.
Crazy8s is run by the Crazy8s Film Society, a not-for-profit society created to foster support for emerging filmmakers who have little or no access to funding for short films. Crazy8s is made possible through the support of the DGC-BC, Telefilm Canada, Creative BC, and many more creative industry and education sponsors, supporters and partners. Finished films are screened at a gala event that will take place April 20, 2024 at The Centre in Vancouver, with an afterparty to follow at Science World. The gala is attended by a who’s who of the Vancouver film industry and local and international film lovers.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Top 6 Teams Bios / Images / Website / Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / YouTube
ABOUT Crazy8s
Crazy8s is an 8-day filmmaking challenge that provides funding and support to emerging filmmakers to help them produce a short film. Crazy8s is run by the Crazy8s Film Society, a not-for-profit society created in 1999 by members of the Directors Guild of Canada – BC to foster support for emerging filmmakers who have little or no access to funding for short films. To date, 139 films have been made.
A heartfelt thanks to all our generous sponsors and supporters from past and present years:
PRESENTED BY: DGC-BC
PRESENTING SPONSORS: Telefilm Canada, Creative BC
SILVER SPONSORS: CMPA-BC, ACFC West – Local 2020, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel
BRONZE SPONSOR: Bridge Studios
EDUCATIONAL SUPPORTERS: Capilano University School of Motion Picture Arts, UBC Department of Theatre and Film, UBC Department of Creative Writing
