Conversion: an independent film with great ambitions

For the non-French speakers, I've translated the text interview with Dominic Marceau, director of the self-produced, locally made movie Conversion; enjoy!

Conversion: an independent film with great ambitions


To the question why shoot a movie without financing and with a photo camera, Dominic Marceau, director, shrugs and answers "But why not?" Why not indeed, when you have a script (signed kate McDonald), a DP, cameraman and producer (D.J. matrundola) and a team of volunteers willing to dedicate their summer weekends to a movie shoot?

"We're doing it because we can do it: we're doing it for the love of the art and to show that it's possible", says director Dominic Marceau. Rental agent at Cinepool, the director has used his connections and the support of his employer to make miracles happen: shooting, mostly at night, with professional equipment and the Nikon D 5000 photo camera.

Conversion recounts the unusual night of two very ordinary office workers who, having missed the last metro, must cross path with the dwellers of Montreal By Night to get home. "Kate has delivered her first script and I'm really impressed", says Dominic Marceau with growing enthusiasm.

With the help of the photo and video camera, the crew can shoot "incognito" in the streets and public areas of the metropolis. "We haven't got a crew like on a Denys Arcan shoot, but we can have all that freedom, its brilliant", he believes.

Carried by great ambitions, Dominic Marceau hasn't gotten a distribitor yet attached to his film. "We want to wait for the first edit, then submit it to festivals", he says. Shot in English, the movie targets an international audience. The arrival on the market of cameras so accessible has given a serious boost to the project, the director believes strongly in the technical prowess of his crew.

"The camera remains a tool, but you have to know how to use it. Its not as if you hit a button and its Lawrence of Arabia: its still necessary to master certain things" he says.

Original text by Anabelle Nicoud.