By releasing a new movie, with an unexpected twist, a local filmmaker is giving back to the community.
The title of the film, Sweet Oil, will be shown at the Lyle Victor Albert Centre on Dec. 5 and 6, with all proceeds from ticket sales going to the Boys and Girls Club of Bonnyville.
Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. with the movie starting at 7 p.m.
“Basically it's a slice of life drama that takes place in the heart of oil country. The interesting thing about the movie is that it's a drama but it's also experimental. The experiment we did in making this film is that there is no spoken dialogue in the entire film. So it's essentially a half hour film with no dialogue,” said Chris Cowden, who is one of the directors and producers of this film.
Cowden is a Media Arts teacher at Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) and a graduate of the Vancouver film school.
“I've been doing this for a long time and I have a passion for it,” he said.
A film with no dialogue between the characters may seem different, but Cowden says this is a new and interesting way to tell a story.
“You would think it might not be that interesting, but it's just the opposite. It actually allows us to move the story along much faster than we normally would. It means we tell the entire story through the camera angles and the raw emotions of the actors. It's going to be something really fresh and new and something people may not have experienced or seen before.”
Cowden, along with the rest of the team, have been putting this movie together for the past couple of years. In the past he has done this project with much success. He held a similar event in Bonnyville for his movie called Max Caliber Hawaii P.I.
“We made this movie for film festivals, that's who we plan to send it out too, but we thought we would do a premier in Bonnyville. Obviously, we wanted to showcase the art of everyone that participated in it, for the community. We thought it would be a great opportunity to help those kids (Boys and Girls Club). Last time it was a huge hit,” said Cowden.
He invites everyone in the area who is a fan of film and would like to support a great cause to come out to this event.
“Were hoping to have another great charity function that will help the Boys and Girls Club.”
Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance at BCHS or the Boys and Girls club of Bonnyville. For more information visit facebook.com/sweetoilfilm.
