Interview with Director Marc-Andre Morissette (20:15)

20:15, the award winning short film directed by Marc-Andre Morissette at the WILDsound Best of Sci-Fi/Fantasy Short Film Festival in September 2016.

It was a pleasure sitting down to chat about his film and career.

Matthew Toffolo: What motivated you to make this film?

From the beginning I knew that I wanted to make my own way into the film industry. I didn’t want to have to go through being a PA for a couple years and then 3rd AD and then slowly making it up to director by the time I’m ready to retire. I wanted to go the indie route, and I’m still going that route. This short film was a test for me, as a director and as a writer. I had a few scripts written out but this one was the most complex one, to shoot but also on a storytelling aspect (no dialogue, multiple universes…) . So I really wanted to make 20:15 to prove to myself that I can make it and that I will make it!

MT: From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

I had first started working on the script in November of 2013, but at the time it was just outlines and I had a feature length film in mind. A few months later, we were tasked to write a 5 minute script for school. And so I took the idea I had already started working on and wrote it out into 4 and a half pages and got an A-. A year passed and I finally decided to make the film, a couple rewrites and then we were good to start pre-production. That lasted about 2-3 months, shooting was 2 days in June of 2015. Took the summer off, and then we began editing which ended in October. So grand total from idea to finished product : almost 2 years.

MT: How would you describe your short film in two words!?

No words

MT: What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Sound. Pretty much all the sound we took while filming was unusable. We had to rerecord everything in post, synchronize every new sound. It was torture. Fortunately there was no dialogue!

MT: What were your initial reactions when watching the Toronto audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

I was all gitty! I thought they had some really interesting things to say. I was amazed at how much they were able to pick up on in just one viewing. I can’t say this enough, I really love the concept of getting video feedback from the audience.

MT: How did you come up with the idea for this short film?

I had just watched Looper and I knew right away I wanted to make a time travel movie! I wanted to make a film where we would see both the past and the futur and then make the timelines meet.

MT: What film have you seen the most in your life?

Probably The Lion King, or maybe Star Wars IV, not my favorite Star Wars but every Star Wars marathon starts with episode IV. Either those two or National Treasure (I don’t care what you say this is my guilty pleasure)

MT: What is next for you? A new film?

Yes! New films! As they say on Film Riot : Write, Shoot, Edit, Repeat! I’m currently writing a feature script that we are planning on submitting to Telefilm’s micro budget program. That film will be a police/gangster thriller. I’ve also got another short film coming up. This one is horror and we’ll be shooting this November in Iceland. Really hyped I can’t wait!

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video of 20:15

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Interviewer Matthew Toffolo is currently the CEO of the WILDsound FEEDBACK Film & Writing Festival. The festival that showcases 10-20 screenplay and story readings performed by professional actors every month. And the FEEDBACK Monthly Festival held in downtown Toronto on the last Thursday of every single month. Go to www.wildsound.ca for more information and to submit your work to the festival.