GANDER, NL - Filmmaker Patrick Condon, who grew up in Gander, will have his film Incredible Violence screened at the Frontières Showcase during the Cannes Marché du Film, the business portion of the Cannes Film Festival.
Condon is “equally really happy and really terrified” to be part of the genre showcase which is happening in France on May 12 and 13 and will feature 16 horror films from around the world.
The filmmaker, who has been dividing his time between Toronto and St. John’s for the past 10 years, says the Frontières Showcase screening is an honour in itself but it could be a stepping stone for even greater things.
“What we are taking part in is a showcase for movies that are almost done,” Condon said. “They invite a handful of horror movies to participate from all around the world so it's a major deal for us. In Cannes it'll be shown to potential buyers and distributors.”
He and the other producers, Ian Vatcher and Walter Lawlor, will be in Cannes for the Frontières Showcase. Following that, they will be screening the movie at Perspectives Canada, another showcase organized by Telefilm, the film’s major funder.
Incredible Violence, the story of a man who turns to violence to cover up a squandered film budget, was shot over a 10-day stretch in the summer of 2017.
“It's a horror movie about a filmmaker (named Patrick Condon) that wastes the money lent to him to make a horror movie called Incredible Violence,” Condon said. “So his plan is to lock a cast of actors in a house and kill them for real.”
The real-life Condon was responsible with his funding and his actors are all very much alive, but the team did take an interesting approach to creating the film.
“When we made the movie we got the actors to agree to actually stay in the house where we were shooting and not leave until we finished. So, the actors were stuck in the house for 10 days,” Condon said. “The cast and crew found the experience to be pretty exhausting but it helped with their performances in the movie.”
Condon is largely self-taught and got his start by making movies with his friends. He credits a high school course and the programs at NIFCO (Newfoundland Independent Film Co-op) for helping him further develop his skills.
“There was a media course at Gander Collegiate where the class made a weekly TV show that aired on Rogers (Cable Atlantic at the time) and that was influential,” he explained. “Then, about eight years ago I made my first short film and took advantage of some of the programs offered at NIFCO. NIFCO has been my second home during the making of the movie.”
Condon has also directed a number of short films, a variety of commercials in Toronto, and the local TV show Majumder Manor, with Shaun Majumder.
For information about the film 'Incredible Violence', please see www.instagram.com/incredibleviolencemovie or www.facebook.com/incredibleviolencemovie
