ONE HAPPY VAN, 6min,. Canada,
Directed by Eden Wassermann
A father and a son embark on an unforgettable road trip in a 1977 Westfalia camper van through southern Ontario, sharing memories and discovering family values that will live on past the van's life.

https://www.bftv-docs.com/2022-one-happy-van.html
https://www.facebook.com/onehappyvandoc
https://www.instagram.com/onehappyvan_doc

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?

I have always felt like the odd one out in the family, and I don't mean to say this to be edgy or dramatic. Everyone seemed to have different interests or goals than I did. Everyone except for my Opa. We laughed at the same jokes, had little bits we would do (mainly reciting Monty Python skits), and both figured a way out of events we didn't want to go to. Needless to say watching his brain deteriorate from Alzheimers, was a terrible thing to watch. I learned that everyone forgets at some point in their life so I wanted to make this movie to act as a sort of time capsule that my family can look back on over the years so that no one forgets again.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

We actually came up with the idea at the end of the second year when people started talking about core. So from the initial idea, 8 months, but from when development started, 6 months.

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

I'd say it's "for everyone"

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Honestly, the whole process went really smoothly. The weather was perfect on the day, no equipment problems, the only thing was my car (which we were using as the follow car) broke down. It wasn't too bad though because my mom was near by and we just moved all the gear into her car then we were on our way.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?

It was really weird. Good but weird. I really just made this movie for my family so I didn't really think about how others would enjoy it. I'm really happy that a lot of people could connect with it and get something out of it. But yea, it was really wild seeing people I didn't know talk about a movie I made in a professional demeanor.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?

So I did an art fundamentals program at Sheridan before I went into film because I wanted to go into animation. I've always been making dumb little videos with my friends but never really thought of it much. It wasn't until I was in that program when my friend told me about this short horror film festival his high school was putting on. Him and I put something together and I had more fun doing that than any of the projects I had done in the art program so I figured I'd look into film.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?

Probably Jurassic Park.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site? It was really easy to use, I liked it a lot.

10. What is your favorite meal?

A childhood favourite has always been cheddar smokies, which are like, Snyders sausages with cheese in them. Super good. We had them all the time when we went camping and it was really nice to share that with my cremates when we filmed this doc. 11. What is next for you? A new film? Yea actually I got two movies going right now. My roommate Marco wrote a beautiful script about his experience with his grandparents and I have had the pleasure of directing said scripts. It's called Past, Peas, and a Little Bit of Butter. Keep an eye out it's going to be great. We're also working on a horror short film called Worn. Defiantly a very different tone than the fun family friendly happy van but I have a lot of interest in the horror genre and I think this one is going to be good.