It can be said that life is, at the bottom of everything, just a series of actions and reactions. We act blindly, hoping for some return and sometimes rewarded, but often disappointed. We tell ourselves, I know what I’m doing, that this is right and this wrong. We think that we will find that road, where so many others have failed we will find it. And yet the tragedy is, even if we realize this, the reactions to those actions are still real, they are real and sometimes they can be disastrous.
This is the tension at the heart of A HARD WINTER, a short film set in the freezing cold of the Canadian prairie. Three brothers, James, William and Kurt, feeling the anxiety and nothingness behind them, run head first into a life of crime, robbing banks in small Albertan towns. Then, inevitably, their last job goes bad. Real bad. Now, the three brothers have to get off the road for the night and the only safe haven they have is a bridge they thought they had burned long ago, their estranged sister’s house in the country. This is the story of that night, a night of silent goodbyes and exhausted revelations.
I'm Julien Testa, the writer/director of A HARD WINTER. I was born in Olds Alberta, but moved to Calgary when I was one and spent most of my life in Canada there. I started making films when I was nineteen, while studying film theory and criticism at the University of Calgary. In 2014, I moved to London to pursue a Master’s in filmmaking at the London Film School, where I have made numerous films, including What Do you go Home to? (2015) a film-essay influenced by the poetry of T.S Eliot. “ A Hard Winter” will be my fourth film, and my most personal to date, as it is loosely based on my relationship with my brothers and sisters.
I know what a lot of you must be thinking. Here is yet another short film asking for funding on yet another crowdfunding website. I can understand the hesitancy, but this film is different. First, it is a film set in Alberta, featuring Albertan characters which is unfortunately quite rare. Too often, Alberta is simply a backdrop for something else, either pretending to be Montana or some other Western American state, or just some anonymous pretty landscape. This film is about shedding light on Albertan stories, stories that so often go untold. Secondly, this isn't an action film, it isn't a small film which is trying to appear big. We have an experienced team involved in this project, and we know exactly how to maximize the quality of the film with exactly the kind of funds realistically available to us without compromising the artistic integrity of the piece.
10,000 dollars might seem like a lot, but it is the amount which this story needs. The money will be used to pay our valued crew, which include a mix of local and international talent, everyone from actors to grips for the four days of intense shooting. It will be used to pay for the gear: camera, lights, vans etc. All the nuts and bolts needed to make a production work. Finally, the money will be spent on promotion after the film is completed, including entry fees for film festivals and other exposure heightening events.
My team is an extremely experienced one, one that I've worked with on numerous projects. Our cinematographer, Sebastian Lojo, has shot films everywhere from London to Greece, from Turkey to his last shot in Italy. In short, this ain't our first rodeo. We are professionals, and the film we will deliver with your contributions will reflect this professionalism, and I am sure that when it's all said and done, you'll be proud to say that you contributed to this project.
