A Case Study
Narrative | Dramatic Features
Film Name: Mister Cachemire
Genre: Comedy
Date: November 5th 2019
Director: Iouri Philippe Paille
Producer: Alexandre Caron
Writer: Samuel Cantin
Cinematographer: Gabriel Brault-Tardif
Production Company: Attraction Image
Budget: The global budget was $30 000
Financing: Morrison Films (Attraction Image) financed the short film
Shooting Format: We shot on an Alexa Classic in 4k Anamorphic, using vintage Anamorphic Lomo lenses, and in super 16mm Kodak film.
Screening Format: 2.35 : 1
World Premiere: HollyShorts!
Awards: NA
indieactivity: What is your film about?
Iouri Philippe Paille (IPP): Mister Cachemire is an absurd comedy about a larger than life character asking for a frivolous loan to a boring, square minded bank teller. It is first and foremost an exploration of character dynamics, comedy timing, and playful deceptions of the viewers expectations, but it is also a wild ride into the Colombian jungle, a drug induce chaotic dance, and an exhilarating tale that takes unexpected turns. Ever heard of El Dorado?
Tell us about the festival run, marketing and sales?
Iouri Philippe Paille (IPP): The short film is just starting it’s festival run. After being picked up by Travelling Film, a prominent distributor in Canada, it is now being submitted around the world, as the first news is just reaching us now. In just a few short weeks, it has been selected at HollyShorts in Los Angeles, USA — Fenêtre sur le court in Dijon, France — STUFF MX, in Mexico City — Longue vue sur le court in Montreal, Canada — and while we are waiting to hear back from a whole lot more, we are overwhelmed by the initial response and are very hopeful for what is to come.
This movie was produced with a lot of love and humble means. Every cent was put on the screen, so we do not have a marketing strategy and we are grateful to have festivals interested in featuring it!
Give the full Official Synopsis for your film?
Iouri Philippe Paille (IPP): A larger than life, enigmatic character, Mr Cachemire, faces a boring, square minded banker, asking him for a 500 000$ loan to fund an expedition to uncover the El Dorado treasures. What starts as a frivolous pitch gets increasingly attractive, as Mr. Cachemire lays out his plan. While revisiting the banker’s past life, we realize they might have more in common then previously thought, and in a moment of sheer excitement, the banker approves the loan. The pair starts celebrating in complete ecstasy, but the fall is hard when Mr. Cachemire candidly admits he is, in fact, an undercover “mystery client”, working for the banks head office. Needless to say the banker failed the test miserably. But after all is said and done, one really wonders who is the craziest of the pair.
Development & Financing?
Iouri Philippe Paille (IPP): Samuel Cantin, the screenwriter, found a script he had written for fun a few years ago, and sent it to me. It got me laughing so hard that we concluded we had to try to get it financed and shoot it. We knew this was a worthy story to tell, no matter how absurd it was. We went back and forth for over 15 versions of the script, seeking to make it a funnier, more engaging, and more cinematic script.
A call for projects came unexpectedly from within the production company representing me in advertisement, Morrison Films. They are a sister company from a major production company focusing on fiction (Attraction Image), and their initiative was to personally fund one short film, that would be selected by an independent jury, awarding it 30 000$ to get it shot. The call for projects was sent to all the directors on their roster. The competition was steep, as we were facing (amongst others) Academy award nominee Jeremy Compte with his brand new short film script. Our project was ultimately awarded the grant, as the jury highlighted the quality of our dialogues, the clever structure of the script, and the sheer madness infused fun that the story offered.
Production?
Iouri Philippe Paille (IPP): We had a very specific team and duo of actors in mind for the project. Working with such a tight budget meant to be patient, and hope the stars aligned to get them all together. We could not afford to shoot the jungle scenes abroad, so we had to get really creative to get the look I wanted. These scenes were ultimately shot a few minutes outside of Montreal, and the angles were incredibly limited to avoid showing just how close to the city the location was. The jungle scenes were the beginning of principal photography, and it took place on a scorching hot day in the Spring of 2018. A thunderstorm of biblical proportion surrounded us all day, menacing to ruin all our equipment. We got lucky, and I felt like the stars were indeed aligning.
We then had to wait 3 months before everyone in the cast and crew was again available to shoot. We prepped the set, an abandoned, creepy looking office space, for 2 days to get it fully dressed, and then shot all the dialogues, opening and closing scenes over 2 long days.
Morrison Films, which funded the film, were kind enough not to put too much pressure on the editing timeline, which allowed me to work closely with the editor and take our time to explore the structure of the film, the timing of the dialogues, and to tailor the perfect soundtrack.
Festival Preparation & Strategy?
Iouri Philippe Paille (IPP): There was no big strategy, no PR, and we are now just starting our festival run!
The Release?
IPP: HollyShorts was the world premiere
Advice from the Filmmaker?
IPP: Don’t trust the weather radar. The storms will have clemency on your set if you are worthy. Or not.
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