Nolan : Here Nor There - A Lesson Of Reconciliation And Love In Saskatchewan Film
By Robert Thomas
“I want to tell stories about Saskatchewan. I want to depict Saskatchewan and romanticizing where I live. I don’t want to shoot something here and pretend it is somewhere else,” says aspiring local Moose Jaw film maker Dustan Hlady.
Hlady, who grew up in Alberta and moved to Caronport to study, is a permanent fixture in the Friendly City who sees the arts as something as an integral part of everyone’s lives.
“The arts are all around us, it is part of all aspects of our lives,” Hlady said after tracking him down in what could be best described as a week long game of telephone tag that is as hectic as the production of one of the low budget feature films he writes and produces.
This has been a good year for Hlady whose latest low budget creation Nolan : Here Nor There has been accepted in five festivals stretching literally almost across the globe. Hlady who wrote and co-produced the film with Jeremy Ratzlaff is directed by Regina resident Wilfred Dieter.
The shot in Saskatchewan feature was accepted into the Lift Off Festival in Tokyo, the Lift Off Festival in Toronto, the Gimli Film Festival, the Reel World Film Festival out of Toronto and the Native Spirit Film Festival.
The premise of the film underlies the suicide epidemic many in Saskatchewan are facing and how through a journey there is reconcilliation and salvation for one youth headed into the abyss.
“It is a coming of age tale of a kid growing up on a reserve and his facing the suicide epidemic and his mother is afraid for him. She sends him to Ft Qu’Appelle to help where he meets a residential school survivor and a dorky girl and he finds his way in the reconciliation story,” he said. “It is a journey of understanding because everyone who lives in Saskatchewan and Canada are all treaty people.”
“This is a zero or low budget film ,” Hlady said who financed the majority of the film with additional financial help from fellow Moose Jaw filmmaker Jeremy Ratzlaff.
But despite its low budget and slight technical glitches, the film is one seething with the hard work, sweat and love put into it which more than compensates for any shortcomings with a compelling story.
This is the stuff that film legends are made of. Low budget, hard work, attention to detail and care which cries out for discovery and once found spreads like a virus into potential blockbuster category.
Although the film has a definite reconcilliation theme Hlady said that making the film itself there was no great divide.
“I understand there is a division out there for some people but for me it was artists working with other artists. Art does not care so much about people all of the time…it was a great experience working with such wonderful people. It didn’t seem like a great cultural divide to me.”
Being shot in Saskatchewan the film was mostly shot in Ft Qu’Appelle but also was shot on Okanese First Nation, Peepeekisis First Nation and the Star Blanket First Nation.
Shooting on the First Nations (Reserves) was a thrill for Hlady who said the people there welcomed and helped out with the project.
“They accepted us with open arms and they were very welcoming. They were happy someone was telling their story…They were so helpful and wonderful.”
Being a no budget film the 20 plus actors in the film received no compensation. The cast consisted of both First Nation and non-First Nation actors.
The film was assisted with one band councillor and a former band councillor who pitched in and helped as producers trouble shooting and making things all come together.
Nolan : Here Nor There is a typical zero budget Saskatchewan film. It is a project where you grab your friends, round up some people with technical skills, provide home made lunches and coffee and somehow in the end it all comes together.
“You need to partner with those who have skills you do not have. If you can get that you are unstoppable,” Hlady said.
Hlady said he is likely one of the 10 - 12 filmmakers who continually produce films in Saskatchewan. Despite the cancellation of the Saskatchewan Film Tax Credit there are still people around who worked on films in the province before and now have the itch and come out and still make films when they can.
Nolan : Here Nor There cast members during production
Shooting time is often based around people giving up their own enjoyment to spend two weeks, a week, a few days or even a weekend to make the film happen. It is hectic and seemingly chaotic but the long days are in the end rewarding.
“Even though it is stressful and chaotic my wife, Carrie, told me I was smiling. I was having the time of my life.”
Hlady said although the film was not entered into such prestigious film festivals as Cannes or the Toronto International Film Festival that those affairs are usually the venue for film snobs who just take your entry film and likely do not watch all of your film.
“They are incredible art snobs they are always just ripping off independent film makers,” Hlady said.
Getting into five film festivals is a major achievement for Hlady and the rest of the people behind the film. For him the crowning jewel was making it into the Gimli Film Festival.
Gimli, a smaller film festival on the circuit, was his ultimate objective to be accepted at.
“I always dreamt one day I could get into Gimli. When the film got into Gimli I felt so excited. When I got into Gimli it felt incredibly validating,” Hlady said.
Film and making film is a dream come true for Hlady especially if it is Saskatchewan film.
“If it is made here in Saskatchewan I want to see it. Whatever it might lack it makes up for it in character…I really love Saskatchewan film makers and the stuff that they make,” Hlady said.
And this is where Nolan : Here Nor There enters the story it is not just a film telling the story of salvation, re-birth and reconcilliation but it tells a Saskatchewan story. And in telling that Saskatchewan story the film succeeds.
The next showing of the film happens at Reel World Toronto on October 14, 2020. And like the majority of film festivals in the year punctuated with COVID - 19 it is on-line only.