Film Students’ Short Showcased At Hot Docs
Photography by Lauren Belanger
AMANDA BRAITHWAITE
TTC subway drivers witness between 20 and 30 suicides annually. A married couple, both subway drivers, is the subject of a film that will be screened at the upcoming Hot Docs Film Festival. Titled Chance Encounters, the film was produced by Humber students. It tells the story of Kevin and Shelley Pett who witnessed suicides within the same year while on the job.
The film was shot using TTC subway stations as the backdrop
“One of our teachers had connections with Hot Docs,” says producer Matthew Ieraci, “so she submitted eight films to waive the entry charges.” The film was the only one selected to be screened at the festival out of the eight submitted.
The festival is showcasing 200 documentary films created by young filmmakers from all over the world. Chance Encounters is nominated for Best Short Documentary and Audience Award. Director Justin Colautti came across the subway driver’s story in the Toronto Star, which sparked his idea to make it into a short documentary. Six people worked with Colautti to create Chance Encounters.
A photographer gets close to the ground to shoot a still image for the documentary, Chance Encounters
Matthew Ieraci produced the film, Lauren Belanger cowrote and managed production and Edward Gaudet served as the digital technician. Jesse McCracken directed photography and operated the cameras while Nikita Parsons edited sound effects. The project began in Colautti’s sixth semester at Humber when he was given the assignment. Colautti and Belanger were assigned to come up with a proposal for an eight to 10 minute documentary idea. It wasn’t until their seventh semester that they were asked to make the idea come to life.
“The story on its own was so strong, as long as we didn’t screw it up,”
Chance Encounters focuses on a married couple who have both witnessed suicides while on the job
says Colautti. He continues, “It was a monumental task,” and his mindset was that he was “just making a film,” Ieraci says he always had confidence in Colautti’s vision and that the documentary would be a success.
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