Schedule

The Nickel is proud to present a screening of Thom Fitzgerald's Award Winning Film Cloudburst!
Empire Theatres Studio 12 June 13, at 8pm.

Stay tuned for more details!

Cloudburst is a romantic road movie written and directed by Thom Fitzgerald.

It stars Oscar®-winning actresses Olympia Dukakis and Brenda Fricker as Stella and Dot, an aging couple who escape from a nursing home in Maine and drive to Nova Scotia on a quest to be legally married. Stella and Dot have been together for 31 years and have faithfully accompanied one another through life's ups and downs. Now in their seventies, Stella is hard of hearing and Dot is legally blind. Dotty's prudish granddaughter, Molly (played by Genie Award-winner Kristin Booth), decides the best place for Dot is a nursing home that will provide all the necessities. This forces Stella and Dot to make a bold decision: they will leave their hometown and make their way to Canada, where same-sex marriage is legal. It's a last-gap bid to stay together. En route to Canada, they pick up a young hitchhiker, Prentice, played by newcomer Ryan Doucette. A small-town boy turned modern dancer, he is returning to Nova Scotia to visit his dying mother. Despite his bravado, Prentice is a confused and wounded soul who has much to learn from Stella and Dot as they wage their own unexpected battle – after three decades, can they keep their family together?

With equal parts humour and grace, Cloudburst explores the important themes of life, death and love through the eyes of this oddball trio.

The film also stars Michael McPhee as Molly's husband Tommy; Marlane O'Brien as Prentice's mother; Randy Bolliver as Prentice's father; and Mary-Colin Chisholm and Steve Arnold as Stella and Dot's helpful neighbours.

Fitzgerald (3 Needles, The Hanging Garden) originally staged Cloudburst as a play in April 2010, at Plutonium Playhouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It won the 2011 Merritt Award, Nova Scotia's theatre award, for Best New Play.

Cloudburst was filmed over seven weeks in a variety of locations throughout Nova Scotia.

It is presented by Sidney Kimmel Entertainment (SKE), founded by veteran producer Sidney Kimmel in 2004. The Los Angeles-based independent production and finance company specializes in bringing high-profile, quality entertainment projects to contemporary audiences via major studio distribution partners. SKE titles include United 93, The Kite Runner, and Lars and the Real Girl as well as the comedies Adventureland and Death at a Funeral.

http://www.cloudburstmovie.com/

3 Acts in 3 Minutes, Presented by Mark Hoffe

Saturday, June 16 2012 & Saturday, June 23 2012
Cost $50, or $25 if prepaid by June 2, 2012

Which came first: the structure or the story? You’ll have to take this workshop to find out! From sluglines to storylines, parentheticals to plot points, and dramatic beats to dramatic needs, “3 Acts in 3 Minutes” is a rollercoaster ride through the wonderful world of screenwriting in three hours flat. And that’s just the first half! A week later, participants return for another three hours to reveal their stellar three page scripts. Aimed at emerging screenwriters and filmmakers but open to all, “3 Acts in 3 Minutes” promises to be a fun and informative workshop.

Mark Hoffe wrote and directed Spiritual (2001) – his first short film – with assistance from The Newfoundland Independent Filmmakers Co-operative’s (NIFCO) First Time Filmmaker Program. Snarbuckled (2010) – his second short film – premiered at the 30th Atlantic Film Festival. Mark holds numerous television credits as staff writer for seasons two and three of the children’s show Mickey’s Farm, researcher for Soccer Shrines, and head writer for season one of The Pet Network’s docudrama series Pet ER. Mark is the founder of Mad Mummer Media, a Newfoundland-based company currently in post-production for Bubble Dancers, an interactive media experience co-produced with the National Film Board of Canada with Mark as creative director, writer and producer, and currently in post-production for The Needle and the Damage Undone, a television documentary produced in association with CBC NL with Mark as director, writer, and producer. He is a member of the Writers Guild of Canada and NIFCO and serves on The Nickel Independent Film Festival’s Board of Directors.

For more information and registration, please email nickelfestival@gmail.com

The 8th Annual Nickel Screenplay Series

The Nickel Independent Film Festival invites submissions of short screenplays for its 8th annual Screenplay Series Workshop. This workshop is held during festival week to encourage participation and networking with other filmmakers.

-Scripts should be no more than a maximum of 15 pages (shorter is better) and must be submitted in a 12 pt font with page numbers.
-Please provide contact information on the front page of your submission.
-Writers must be available all day for the Friday, June 22 workshop and reading of their play.
-Co-writes are eligible for submission.
-Deadline for submission of short screenplays is June 1, 2012, 4 pm.
-Includes admission to the Friday night screening at the Festival and afterparty.
-There are no costs to the writer for this program, the Nickel covers the full cost of the consultation and workshop, but travel expenses are not included.

Please drop off submissions at the Nickel Independent Film Festival office at 197-199 Water St. 2nd Floor or email them to nickelfestival@gmail.com (we will follow up with a confirmation email upon receipt). Write Nickel Screenplay Series Submission in your subject line when you email the script. Decisions will be made by June 6, 2012. All submitters will be contacted.

All submissions are considered and selected for the workshop by a committee of industry professionals. Chosen participants receive a consultation from an experienced screenwriter in early June, after which they may chose to do a revision of the script.

For the workshop, a director is assigned and casts are chosen from the professional community. The first half of the workshop day provides an opportunity for the writer to work with a director and professional cast to rehearse the script and provide feedback. In the second half of the day, the works in progress are presented in a free staged reading to a public audience for their feedback and questions.

Films developed through this series and then independently produced include Tammy Teardrop (Phil Caron, 2009), Four Sisters (Wanda Nolan, 2010), Clipper Gold (Joel Thomas Hynes, 2011) and Her Son (Stephen Bryant, 2012).

Facilitated by Ruth Lawrence. For more information contact us at nickelworkshops@gmail.com or visit our website at www.nickelfestival.com