Cannes Short Film Corner - Time Out
While on a trip to Milan, a couple pretends to meet as their younger selves, to determine their future together.
Interview with Producer Jennifer Pogue
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
In fall of 2015, my good friend Director Navin Ramaswaran of Splice Films had the European Premiere of his feature film in Milan, Italy at the International Filmmakers Festival. It was also nominated for 7 different awards at the festival (including Best Flim, Best Acting, Best Cinematography, etc…) so a few of us who were involved in the film and nominated decided to travel there from Toronto Canada to attend.
A few days before departing, we had a crazy idea: we’re going to be in a gorgeous foreign city… we should capture a story in this setting full of inspiration. From there, a script was written on the plane, equipment was stuffed into suitcases; we turned our beautiful apartment into a set/production office - and somewhere in between festival screenings and sightseeing, Time Out was born. In a nutshell, we made it because we’re a team of misfits that just love to make movies, even while we’re on vacation!
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Created from a festival setting with festival screenings in mind, Time Out is a light yet meaningful story. If you enjoyed the naturalism & honesty of Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise/Before Sunset, we believe ours will charm you as well.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The themes behind our seemingly simple story are actually quite layered. In the film, we follow a couple who is exploring their individual pasts together in an attempt to connect on a deeper level – all while the awareness of an uncertain future remains quite present as they attempt to navigate in this foreign setting. The main theme, which I believe is incredibly personal & universal, is how Time plays a vulnerable yet leading role in relationships – the past, the future, and the beauty of being lost in the present.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Writer Adam Langton had been toying with the ideas behind Time Out for some time, but hadn’t imagined it to be set outside of his hometown. When opportunity knocked, he quickly adapted it to take place in a foreign city without any preconceived notion of where or how. The whole thing was shot entirely guerilla style! That was the exciting part when we actually headed out each day to shoot, it was kind of like – “this café is beautiful! How long can we sit here until they kick us out, or notice the camera across the street…?” or finding the least congested areas for sound purposes, or rooms with the most natural light.
With Adam playing in the scenes as well, it allowed for quite a bit of improvisation, which really helped to achieve the film's naturalistic tone. We reluctantly ended up cutting out some of the character’s back-stories in post-production for time purposes and pace, but are happy with the end result.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Those who have given feedback seem really touched by it! I’ve had a few people reminisce about their experiences in Milan and the beautiful way the recognizable landscape is conveyed (Thanks to Bruce William Harper’s brilliant Cinematography), I’ve had others who seem to deeply relate to the relationship of the characters. Without giving away any spoilers, I always apologize when people are in tears or mad at the ending, but secretly inside I’m doing a happy dance, because it means we were effective in what we’re trying to portray.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I think one of the most surprising comments received yet was from Canadian Film Festival Programmer Bern Euler, who announced that he believed Time Out to be “the only time-travel movie that has been made without the sci-fi”. I hadn’t thought about that before he said it, but it certainly has some merit to it. I thought that was really cool.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
This is my first completed film as a Producer, and I’m so so proud of it and have learned so so much. I’m very excited for this little baby to head out into the big film world and travel as far and wide as possible!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Everyone! Ideally I would love support from veteran Producers to learn more about this next phase of filmmaking of getting the film out there. I welcome any potential buyers & distributors who think they may have a home for it. We’ve only just begun our festival run and have a few acceptances on the horizon, but I’d love to meet festival directors who believe the film might resonate with their audiences. Also journalists – I would love to read reviews on what stands out to film lovers & critics. I’m constantly inspired by other’s opinions and ideas.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Besides a general hope for audiences to like the film, it’s performances & feel the feels….Time Out also represents the magic that can be made when a group of hardworking friends with limited resources put their minds and ambitions together. I hope this film inspires other emerging filmmakers & storytellers out there to just go for it, regardless of what kind of money or fancy equipment you have behind you.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How does TIME affect the way we feel about our loved ones?
Would you like to add anything else?
I hope audiences enjoy LISTENING to the film as well. First of all, we did not have an on-set sound recordist with us - just a couple of lav mics - which is CRAZY and should never happen again. But I don’t think anyone would have guessed it, all thanks to our incredible Sound Mixer & Designer – Stéphan-André Guschewski. Secondly our composter, Antonio Naranjo, created some hauntingly beautiful music that fits the tones of the film perfectly. We were so lucky to have these creative geniuses on board.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Jen Pogue (Producer, Lead Actor)
Jen is currently in post production with two other films that she co-produced - Good Hands & Orchid – with many more in development. She will be producing and starring in the stage play Hands Down for the 2017 Toronto Fringe Festival.
Adam Langton (Writer, Lead Actor)
Adam has been working on multiple writing projects in between acting jobs and auditions. He most recently has played principle roles in Shadowhunters: The Mortal Instruments, Joseph Tudor in Reign, Eyewitness, and Taken the Television Series.
Navin Ramaswaran (Director)
Navin’s newest feature film Chasing Valentine, has garnered critical and public acclaim and has won multiple awards including Best Picture at film festivals worldwide. The movie was made under his own banner Splice Films and is currently being released in the US, UK, France, Germany and Spain.
His recent commercial projects include the award winning Coca Cola Freestyle campaign, Disney Channel Canada, and WestJet “12,000 Christmas Mini Miracles” and “Make A Wish” spots. He also edited the viral hit WestJet Christmas Surprise 2014.
Navin recently completed Late Night Double Feature, a horror anthology now available on Blu Ray and DVD, and the award-winning short One More for the Road produced by Fangoria writer Kelly Michael Stewart. Navin also directed Season 2 of the web series Pete Winning and the Pirates (which was nominated for 4 Independent Screen Awards, including Best Directing (2015)) and The Misfortune of Madeline Moody, a horror short that premiered in 28 Cineplex Odeon cinemas across Canada in Feb 2014 as part of distributor Raven Banner’s Sinister Cinema Series.
Navin’s next feature film Poor Agnes, which he is directing and editing recently completed production in Thunder Bay, Ontario this fall.
Bruce William Harper (cinematographer)
In between shooting over 40 short films, over 100 episodes of dramatic web content, documentaries, commercials & music videos; Bruce also enjoys instructing filmmaking with youth at the Toronto International Film Festival. He recently won Best Cinematography for the LA Web Series for his work on the internationally acclaimed web series Out With Dad. Bruce has just wrapped principal photography on Splice Films’ upcoming horror feature Poor Agnes.
Interview: May 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Time Out
While on a trip to Milan, a couple pretends to meet as their younger selves, to determine their future together.
Length: 9:59
Director: Navin Ramaswaran
Producer: Jennifer Pogue
Writer: Adam Langton
About the writer, director and producer:
JENNIFER POGUE
An award-winning Toronto based Actor in film, television, theatre & voiceover; Jen is most excited for her new role as Producer, with many projects in brew.
ADAM LANGTON
After years of performing Classical theatre, Adam began pursuing film and television roles in 2013. He now lives and works as a writer/actor in Toronto.
NAVIN RAMASWARAN
A Director & Editor based in Toronto, Canada, Navin is an award-winning filmmaker and creative lead on various commercials and music videos.
Key cast: Jennifer Pogue & Adam Langton
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists
Social media handles:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SpliceFilms/
Twitter: @splicefilms
Funders: self-funded
Made in association with: ACTRA Toronto
Where can I see it in the next month? Time Out is at the beginning of its Festival run. It had its World premiere at the Canadian Film Fest in Toronto in March, and we’re at the beginning stages of planning the American premiere at the Action on Film Festival in Las Vegas in August.
Aspect Ratio: 1.78.1
Shooting Format: ProRes422HQ
Exhibition Format: DCP, Quicktime, BluRay
Screener Format: Online Screener (H264), BluRay, DVD