After what seemed to be the 78th time Arjan Gill of Gill Productions and I said “We should shoot something tonight” a decision was made. Over nearly a dozen games of pool (Arjan won…) we formed an idea for a short film thriller showcasing the habits and dark secrets of a lonely hoarder. We wanted to push ourselves, but we also knew each other very well in that if we were going to work on this project it had to be acted on immediately. Pen came to paper, and we began to jot down ideas,  sketch a wire frame and write a shot list. The vision for HOARDER was snowballing.

THE STORY

Our story takes place modern day. It follows a lonely hoarder in his warehouse of trinkets that he has collected over the years. The short showcases the meticulous nature of our lead role as he cleans, places, and builds in his grungy yet prideful second home. As the hoarder begins to put his woodworking table to use, he heres a loud smash from a distant room. The mood takes a quick turn, as a dark and chilling array of secrets brings fourth the true hoarding nature of this quiet and mysterious man.

LOCATION

Earlier in the week I had taken Arjan for a tour of my grandfathers warehouse in North Lethbridge. I describe it to most as “A Pan’s Labrynth of junk”. My grandfather himself has been a hoarder for years, his warehouse is his dumping ground and trophy room for his plethora of winnings. Arjan has told me multiple times “Work on projects with topics you either are very passionate about, or know very well” so basing this impromptu short on my hoarding grandfather seemed like the best of both worlds. There was no better place than his warehouse to host the short and so we started to make calls, and plan our evening.

CREW

Finding a person you can work with without any shred of negativity or judgement is rare in any field. This has been a big reason I enjoy working with Arjan. He is a human being first and a film maker second. We push each other by introducing new ideas and playing devils advocate to each others work. While we hold each other to a high standard, our mutual respect for each others vision leads us to a lot of “You’re totally right”‘s and nearly no “Go F@$& yourself”‘s. All this being said a short to the magnitude we were prepared to create needed more than just 2 creatives. I quickly began to think of who our “Italian Job esque” film crew could consist of.

After a quick 3 seconds of pondering I messaged Adam Thom of Tom Cat Visuals. Adam is one of the most passionate film makers I’ve met in Lethbridge. His upbringing and road to film making was very similar to my own, and at the age of 18 he is far ahead of where young Peter was at that age. Surrounding yourself with others that want to learn, are open minded, and easy to work with, is far more important than looking for someone based on their resume. Adam was excited and began to pack his gear, meanwhile Arjan had landed our 4th crew member.

Mr. Laureat Nkinzo is a very skilled photographer. He has an amazing eye for photography and a very clean and unique editing style. While Laureat is most passionate about photography he loves to help on set and be a part of the action. In what seemed like 5 minutes we had rounded up the ultimate group of team players and I have to say now that this is all wrapped up, filming this project felt easy with this group.

WHAT I LEARNED

I take away a lesson every time I shoot. Whether its a new way to grade, or a more effective way to capture sound, I feel that the takeaways from a project are the most beneficial to anyones progression as a filmmaker. If I had to share the most prominent lesson I had learned, it would be that the crew is everything. That statement is fairly open ended so let me elaborate. It wasn’t that Arjan, Adam, or Laureat had different skills to put into the project… they did, but it wasn’t about that. It was the fact that we were all genuinely excited to film this project. There was no time limit, no rules, no expectations of anyone, we were just excited.

LESSON – When you are excited and passionate about something you create what you could not envision from the start. No matter how great you think something may be in the beginning, if you find a group of people that are equally as excited and passionate, the end result will always be far greater than you first thought.

HOARDER was my first real crack at a short film and I finally understand the feeling of attachment and pride that comes from filmmaking. While I understand that to like a production is subjective, and that years from now I will hopefully be creating films that showcase this as the first attempt it is, HOARDER will always hold a special place in my memory. I hope you enjoy the film and the many more to come.

WATCH HOARDER

-Peter Fiorino

Arjan Gill – www.gillproductions.ca

Adam Thom – www.tomcatvisuals.com

Laureat Nkinzo – www.instagram.com/95Laureat