Moose Jaw filmmaker Jeremy Ratzlaff and his crew won the Technical Achievement at the 10th annual Saskatchewan Independent Film Awards (SIFA) on Nov. 25 at the Royal Saskatchewan Museum in Regina.
Ratzlaff said the award reflects the deep craftsmanship of the crew he worked with on the film (which was also nominated for Best Short), with particular praise for the extensive post-production cinematography, lighting, and audio design of the finished product.
"The film is called Fear & Trembling, and we shot it in September 2022 in Moose Jaw, at the Mae Wilson Theatre," Ratzlaff told MooseJawToday.com. "The part I'm proudest of is, we worked with people from all over the province — Saskatoon, Regina, Weyburn, Yorkton, Prince Albert — and everyone came to Moose Jaw to do this work, and we just won at the Saskatchewan Independent Film Awards.
"We were nominated for 'Best Short Film' as well, and this was in a pile of some of the best independent short films I've seen made in Saskatchewan in the last 10 years, which is how long SIFA has been around. ... Just about everyone who was responsible for the camera and sound elements, which is what won us our award, was able to be there, and I got them all to stand up during the acceptance speech and there was huge applause, which means a lot in a crowd of professionals who really understand what went into this."
Ratzlaff is a self-taught filmmaker who got his start creating artist showcase videos for CBC Arts. He founded Lampblack Studios in Moose Jaw in 2019. Lampblack was recently acquired by Tandem X Visuals out of Regina, making Ratzlaff a partner and the production company's Director of Photography.
Fear & Trembling is the second instalment in what Ratzlaff hopes will be a three-part series about a young woman named Kit. In the first (By Faith, Denis), COVID-era short (completed in 2021), Kit becomes upset and leaves an awkward bible study group during a discussion of sexual purity. Against the backdrop of personal abuse and a stifling community, Fear & Trembling is about Kit's attempt to produce a stage play adaptation of the biblical story of the 'binding of Isaac.'
"These shorts are an opportunity to sort of learn filmmaking from the director's seat, and so I was keen on hiring a cinematographer, who is also a colourist, who's much more experienced than I am, so not only would my film look really good, but I could learn along the way. The colouring process is a massively significant step that a lot of people don't know about.
"The Mae Wilson also now has a 5.1 surround sound system, so we took full advantage of that, and Fear & Trembling was mixed for the full 5.1 experience. So, in the film, there are these long camera takes, with multiple characters — we had 12 characters mic'd simultaneously at one time — and the camera going through and around them, and there is just so much thought and intention and expertise that went into the sound design."
The full list of cast and crew is available on the short film's IMDB page, but Ratzlaff gave a special shout out to colourist Jason Rister and his crew, audio engineer Kyle Parkinson and his crew, and editor Jason Hamill.
"I'm so proud of Moose jaw and I want to see more stuff happening here," Ratzlaff added. "In the whole province, there's a movement to try and put more money back in and shoot big movies and shows here again, and I'm advocating for Moose Jaw as a location at every opportunity I get."
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