Cinema, Too

Director's Statement

The concept for Cinema, Too came from real-life conversations with ex-university students who I’ve spoken to throughout the years after graduating myself. While a few talked about how hard it was to pursue something they were passionate about, some had given up entirely and decided to study something else. While the entertainment industry is very competitive, I was surprised by the number of people who simply decided it wasn't for them. Even while they were still studying and loving that time of their lives. (Let’s face it, who didn’t love their time as a student?!) I’ve created Cinema, Too as a "love-hate" letter to artistic people and movies. The love part is the characters who find comfort in the art of movies and moviemaking, and the hate is the realistic expectations of making movies and how easy it is to point out the clichés and formulaic structures of some movies when we watch them nowadays. The dry in-jokes and humour about movies and movie critiquing are inspired conversations that I’ve had, and that I’m sure many other moviegoers have had in their lives. As the film is very dialogue driven, my inspirations behind the style are films by Kevin Smith, Richard Linklater and Joe Swanberg. Cinema, Too’s characters represent different stages in life. Paige (Charlotte Stent) is an enthusiastic young dreamer with big plans for the future, while Josh (Jordan Schulte) is an older and experienced person who believes that it's sad to build up your expectations for your future; his failures have left a bitter aftertaste. The themes in Cinema Too may be quite familiar, (following your dreams, finding your passion) but I think they are still very relevant today. Too often we compare ourselves to others and create a false perception of our ideal careers and jobs. Many people do take the easier path by working in areas they are not passionate about. However, sometimes it just takes a nudge from the most unexpected encounters which can inspire you to try a little harder to become the person you are supposed to be.