Dawson City International Short Film Festival

Saturday, April 11, 12:30-1:30pm
Master Class
Meet Special Guests, Bill MacGillivray and Terry Greenlaw.
At SOVA (3rd and Queen) FREE

Bill MacGiilivray and Alistair MacLeod

Since 1987, Bill MacGillivray and Terry Greenlaw have been partners in Picture Plant Ltd, the production company MacGillivray began in 1981. Being among the first on the East Coast, their company is one of the true originators of Atlantic Canadian Cinema and MacGillivray and Greenlaw have continued to create dramas, documentaries and television programs that are said to be some of Canada’s most original and challenging.

Among their previous works are the feature films Stations, Life Classes and Understanding Bliss and more recently, the feature documentaries Reading Alistair MacLeod and Silent Messengers — both co-produced with the NFB. True to its pioneering tradition, Picture Plant also produced Canada’s first all Black Movie Of The Week, One Heart Broken Into Song. Written by George Elliott Clarke and directed by Clement Virgo and broadcast nationally on the CBC network, it has since been seen around the world. Picture Plant also created and produced Newfoundland’s first network dramatic television series, the thirteen part Gullage’s, written and directed by MacGillivray.

Picture Plant continues to work on new projects and this spring
there are several that are nearing their final stages of development.
These include: a dramatic feature film called What You Need, to be directed by Jean-François Pouliot (Seducing Dr. Lewis), a feature film adaptation of Marian Engel’s infamous novel Bear, to be written and directed by MacGillivray, a feature film adaptation of the Hal Niedzviecki novel Ditch, called Hard Drive, a documentary on Canadian songwriting legend Ron Hynes and a pilot for a new music series for the Atlantic region of the CBC.

They will discus the development of their company Picture Plant and how it fit into and helped create a regional film industry in Atlantic Canada. Many of the obstacles and successes they have had are directly linked to challenges that face Yukon producers and filmmakers. Co-productions, leveraging broadcast opportunities and finding stories from within your region that appeal to a national and international audience will be topics discussed in this informative, interactive session.

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