Tabatha Golat loves to tell stories, particularly if they are told in film.
The Salmon Arm Secondary grad was elated last week to be told she will be getting $10,000 to co-produce a new film called United Guys Network, which looks at the concept of the unwritten macho guy code through the life of a husband and wife.
Golat’s submission was selected as one of the top 15 finalists from B.C. for the digital shorts edition of Telus’ community-powered funding program, Storyhive.
“I am really grateful to Telus and thankful for the opportunity to make this film,” said an enthusiastic Golat from Vancouver last week. “I went to my first film course at 13 on Galiano Island. It was a summer course and from there I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
And Golat took any film opportunity that came her way. In school, she whet her appetite in a career prep film course and pursued a few projects including two grad ceremonies and a dog show.
Following her graduation from SAS in 2003, Golat headed to Victoria where she earned a degree in film production.
“I did a short film two years ago called Ten Thousand Steps, which is available on YouTube,” says Golat. “It won Best Dramatic Performance of an actor at a San Francisco Film Festival.”
United Guys Network tells about newly married Paul Seger, a loving and attentive husband to his wife Sheila.
This threatens the other guys in the neighbourhood, who take action by kidnapping Seger to re-program him to be more manly.
Three men from the United Guys Network undertake the process in an abandoned warehouse. They focus on re-programming so-called real male skills like avoiding housework, obsessing over sports and mastering the art of half-listening.
The more Seger resists, the more the guys hammer away at him – until he breaks.
Back at home weeks later, the brainwashing affects Seger’s relationship with Sheila, who is confused by her husband’s new behaviour. But the United Guys Network is keeping an eye on him to keep him in line.
Seger faces a big choice – return to his former loving ways or act like a typical husband.
“I love storytelling and comedy would be my forte – embellishing the funny thing,” laughs Golat. “I don’t have it in me for the doom and the gloom and the drama.”
Golat says she has a great team of filmmakers in Vancouver and is excited – and a tad overwhelmed – as the film, which would normally take about one year to make, must be completed in 74 days.
“It pushes you to be on the ball,” she says. “With film, people are always willing jump in to help,” she says, noting she met scriptwriter Montgomery Burt at a documentary film workshop in November 2014. “He sent it to me but I had too much on the go and no money, so we began meeting and went for the grant.”
Now in its fourth edition, Storyhive’s aim is to provide local creators in the arts sector with funding and distribution opportunities. To date, the program has invested more than $1 million in the creative industry in Western Canada and provided grants to more than 100 projects.