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Sept. 9, 2011
TIFF is lifelong dream
Festival has accepted Yonah Lewis’ first movie.
JENNIFER LIBMAN
Yonah Lewis has been working toward his dream of being in the Toronto International Film Festival since he was 12 years old.
Last month, it was announced that his film, Amy George, had been accepted into the festival, in a category celebrating first-time Canadian filmmakers.
Lewis, 25, made his first attempt at becoming a famous director when, at age 12, he decided to film a production of Macbeth. He gathered as many children as he could in his Hamilton neighborhood and, when the lead actor proved to be unreliable, Lewis replaced him with his own father, Robert.
“I was not exactly your average kid,” Lewis said.
Even though this first attempt at filmmaking was ultimately a failure, Lewis was not discouraged.
“From the very start, my family was incredibly supportive,” said the filmmaker, whose family includes grandparents Rita and Marvin Weintraub in Vancouver. “They saw that this was something I wanted to do, and they stood by me. How many fathers out there would agree to put on a kilt and play Macbeth in the middle of a neighborhood?”
Lewis was home-schooled as a child, and much of his education was dedicated to the arts. He was always interested in filmmaking, but it was during his first summer at Centauri Summer Arts Camp in the Niagara region of Ontario that he caught the bug, he said. “Centauri created an environment that really fostered my creativity. I loved how I was able to combine writing, producing, acting and directing into one piece.”
Lewis spent a lot of time in his teen years creating short films and he returned to Centauri for several summers as a camper, then as a staff member. He and his family eventually relocated to Toronto, and he enrolled in the media arts program at Sheridan College.
“I had no doubt that I wanted to pursue filmmaking professionally, but the idea of going to school was so I could meet like-minded individuals.”
During his time at Sheridan, Lewis met his filmmaking partner, Calvin Thomas. They both graduated in 2008 and began working on feature-length films. “It was a real learning process, and each script we wrote was progressively better than the last.
“We approached breaking into the world of film in a different way than many other film students. Lots of people think the best way to learn about the industry is by working on a film set or by assisting another director. The problem is, one day they wake up and they’re 40 years old and still someone’s assistant. The one advantage of being young is that you get to take risks – you can try to go out on your own and, at my age, it’s a lot easier to bounce back after an unsuccessful attempt,” Lewis said.
After six abandoned screenplays, Lewis and Thomas came up with Amy George. In February 2010, they began writing the script; the filming began just three months later. The story takes place in the Riverdale area of Toronto, the neighborhood where Lewis currently lives, and is about a 12-year-old boy who is worried that his middle-class upbringing has left him unprepared for his dreams of becoming an artist.
“We created Amy George in a way that everything was accessible to us. It takes place in the neighborhood I live in, and every scene, whether it was in a car or in a store, were things we knew we could access. I even had my 19-year-old brother, Lev, create the music for the movie. We wanted to write something that we could feasibly film without a large budget.”
Lewis and Thomas raised money from their family and friends to support the project. Their biggest investor was a 15-year-old boy who Lewis has taught about filmmaking at Centauri. “It was just amazing how everyone believed in our film,” Lewis said. “The amount of support was overwhelming.
“I was completely dumbfounded when I found out [that the film had been accepted],” he added. “Even after hanging up the phone, I was convinced that it was a mistake. I’m still coming to terms with what it means. This has truly been a lifelong dream.
“To be part of a prestigious film festival is always an honor, but the fact that it takes place in Toronto makes it even more special. Now we get to share our success with all of our friends and family and everyone who was involved in the film. We can’t wait to see where it goes from here.”
Jennifer Libman is a freelance writer living in Toronto. This article was first published in the Sept. 1 Canadian Jewish News; it is reprinted with permission. For more national Jewish news, visit cjnews.com.
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