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Quickie film production hits Cloverdale

A heritage house on a creepy wooded hilltop in Cloverdale was the scene of a two-day horror film shoot last weekend. Audiences won’t have to wait long to view the final result – Chained, a film short, debuts Thursday at Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre as part of Crazy 8s, an eight-day filmmaking competition.
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A scene from Chained

A heritage house on a creepy wooded hilltop in Cloverdale was the scene of a two-day horror film shoot last weekend.

Audiences won’t have to wait long to view the final result – Chained, a film short, debuts Thursday at Vancouver’s Vogue Theatre as part of Crazy 8s, an eight-day filmmaking competition.

Chained is written and directed by Rehan Khokhar and produced by brothers Matt and Mikey Granger – one of six teams selected for the frenetic film challenge for up-and-coming filmmakers.

Chained was shot at Mound Farm, a hill south of Highway 10 near 168 St., owned by the City of Surrey, which allowed the production to shoot there at no cost.

“I’ve done a lot of shooting in Cloverdale in the past and I’m always amazed at what a multi-purpose town it is,” said co-producer Matt Granger.

“It’s just full of undiscovered little treasures in the way of locations.”

Chained crew at Mound Farm in CloverdaleThe house used in the short shoot was perfect, he said, adding the city was “super-accomodating and helpful”.

“When you’re making short films on little or no budget, you’re absolutely dependent on the kindness of others, and we’re grateful for how easy everyone involved with the location helped make the shoot for us,” he said.

Chained tells the story of Peter, a 12-year-old whose teacher worries about his monthly absences from school. When the teacher makes a home visit to investigate, he discovers a terrible secret Peter and his father have been hiding.

“Scary,” a jury member said, describing the Chained plot after the final six film productions were chosen out of a field of 120 hopefuls.

Teams get $800 and equipment packs with everything they’ll need to make a short film in eight days – an exercise that verges on the insane, noted one producer.

The 2011 competitors shot March 26-27, then edited and completed their films over the next five days, delivering the finished product April 1.

Adding to the challenge this year is it’s an unusually busy time for B.C. film and TV productions.

Then there’s the fact that there’s no high definition film stock available in Canada because many Japanese tech companies have shut down production in the wake of last month’s massive earthquake,  forcing the contest to switch to completely tapeless production.

Premiering along with Chained are Zachary Rothman’s Alchemy, Shaun McKinlay’s Colouring the Walls, Stephen W. Martin’s Dead Friends, Russell Bennett’s Funny Business and Run Dry by Sarah Crauder and Lindsay George.

Tickets to the April 7 gala screening at the Vogue are $25.Follow the Cloverdale Reporter on Twitter and Facebook. View our print edition online.