THE MOMENT, 7min., Canada
Directed by Craig Wrobleski
A poem about resilience and strength as a path to peace. The film follows one woman's extraordinary journey.

https://instagram.com/cwrobleski

Get to know the filmmaker:

What motivated you to make this film?
I received the poem that the film is based on as a text message from my friend Irina Lytchak. It arrived at the end of a rough day and the message of the poem really resonated with me. It felt like a universal message that could help others so I thought I’d make a film inspired by it.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
Well, that’s a difficult question to answer. From the idea to finishing the one-day shoot was about 3 weeks and then the edit took another couple days. It then went to the composer who spent a couple weeks working on the score and then the mix took another couple weeks. So that process took about 3 months. That is when things get complicated as I then became very busy on a number of projects, lost two close family members and basically had a lot of life happen. For that reason it took about a year and a half to complete the final colour and send the film out to the world. It was a long and difficult time but one in which the message of Irina’s poem became all the more resonant.

3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
Finding peace

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
The actual process of making the film was fairly straightforward but my "day job” as a cinematographer, the busy lives of my collaborators and all of the life events that occurred meant the process took longer than it required. It took two years to finish a film that I thought would be finished in about two months tops.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
It was gratifying and humbling to watch the audience reactions and hear how the message resonated. It was very fulfilling to heart that, despite its short duration and minimal locations, the film seemed to take the audience on the emotional journey I hoped it would.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I have always been creative and originally wanted to do something with music as a career but then, at college, I discovered the camera and became obsessed with visual storytelling.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Baraka is a film I could watch over and over.

8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
I think most festivals do all they can to get the films in front of an audience. Once there, it’s the film’s job to keep them there.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
The site is very simple to use and seems reliable.

10. What is your favourite meal?
Any meal shared with great people in a beautiful room.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
Off to Prague to work on a new series for Amazon.