CONFLICT, 9min,. Canada
Directed by François Charette
A forest. A man in his forties sinks in, alone, abandoning his car on the side of the road. It sinks gradually, more and more hollow, suggesting to make peace with himself. The savagery of nature attracts him, without really knowing why. Insidiously, a metamorphosis begins, both moral and physical. The man finally transcends the forest.

Get to know the filmmaker:

1. What motivated you to make this film?
It's a very personal movie. I Had some experiences and needed to exorcise them. I tend to create with my emotions and my own experiences. It started with this feeling, in the woods. Standing before the forest, the kind of anxiety you feel before something way taller than you. So I asked myself a question : Why am I feeling like this ? Then, I started to write about it, and came the first draft of the film. I wanted to speak about anxiety, about how you feel the emotions itself, and I wanted the spectator to feel it too.

2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
The project took 3 years to finish in total. It could have been a lot faster but i have a dayjob too and i had to wait for the financing to come in. But it gave me the time to do a lot of pre-production so I'm happy with that.

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

4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
I think I'm not speaking only for myself on this one but the biggest obstacle was the budget. It's always hard to find money for genre movies.

5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I find it pretty interesting, I was smiling the entire time. I like to see people have their own meaning of the story. It just feels good to see people that talk about what you do.

6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
It came pretty young. Back when I was 11-12 I was a fan of horror movies. I was listening to Friday the 13th and I realized I wanted to create a monster like Jason. I then made a couple videos with my 2 VHS. it just came up like this, i was having fun then decided to make this with my life.

7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
Probably eternal sunshine of the spotless mind from Michel Gondry or Friday the 13th part 7

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 that having a masterclass with a professional or just having the opportunity to create contacts is pretty amazing. Being someone who lives far from the citys it can be very helpful to meet people from the industry. For me, being able to speak to producers would be a big opportunity.

9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
Pretty good, I was impressed with the number of festivals there. pretty handy if you ask me!

10. What is your favorite meal?
Japanese Ramen is the food to kill for.

11. What is next for you? A new film?
Yes, I have some projects to come. I want to do a feature film soon. And some shorts are still waiting in my closet. ;)