INUVIK
The people behind a new club starting up are hoping to foster the development of a film community like those found in cities down south.

Dez Loreen and Inuvik Comedy are partnering with the Inuvik Youth Centre to offer a Youth Film Club in town. - Elaine Anselmi/NNSL photo

The Youth Film Club held its first meeting on Dec. 13 and is the brainchild of Inuvik Comedy's Dez Loreen, Brandon Larocque and Brendan Callahan.

"I'm from here, all three of us are," said Loreen.

"Growing up, we didn't have the benefits of some of the bigger centres. You'd go to Yellowknife for sports and see their big film labs and studios ... so, it's neat going out to the community and saying look, 'We're going to get another generation of kids interested in this stuff so we can really build a film community here.'"

The three brought the idea to the Inuvik Youth Centre, where executive director Renee Theoret jumped at the chance to offer a new sort of programming to youth in the community.

"I think it's giving that opportunity of reaching out to as much diverse programming as we can, not just focusing on sports programs, to reach out to as many youth in the community as possible," said Theoret.

The centre is already well-equipped with cameras, editing software and other key equipment that was donated in September 2008.

This past fall, when a film crew from Vancouver came up to work with more than 30 youth on skits, reading lines and practising in front of the camera, Theoret said about a dozen were particularly interested.

Having a local group build off of that momentum was a great fit, said Theoret.

Loreen also hopes the acting workshop would lead well into the club, using the youth's experience in writing workshops, storytelling and many facets of filmmaking. In addition, he said the club would be a way to build character and get youth past certain barriers, such as shyness and insecurity.

"I think the big thing is about confidence and instilling leadership skills here," said Loreen. "Giving the kids something to look forward to, a creative outlet that they don't have

at school or at home."

Working with staff at the youth centre, Loreen said they were beginning to draw up an outline of what they hope to accomplish through the club, including producing a series of short videos highlighting the Inuvik Youth Centre, writing and producing a short five to 10-minute film as a group, as well as setting up an editing suite and sound-mixing room for future use at the centre.

The youth will also hear from Tony Devlin, executive director of the Inuvialuit Communications Society.

"He'll offer some mentorship to them, talk about his career and the opportunities here for people in the region," said Loreen.

There is no set schedule for meetings as of yet, and Loreen said they hope to gauge the interest in participation and how often members hope to be involved.

"Ideally, I would like to see it institutionalized into a weekly drop-in thing, where we're there for a couple of hours for kids to write and shoot," said Loreen, adding that if there was funding down the road, they hoped the club could travel to a film festival and eventually host their own festival.

"This is really going to be the start of the Inuvik film culture."

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