Application deadline : October 3rd 2024 at 23h59
Cost : 300$
Total duration: 25h
In person at Main Film

With the financial support of the Quebec government, Main Film, dedicated to independent filmmaking, pursues its mission of supporting emerging filmmakers.

GENERAL INFORMATION

This practical workshop on directing actors and actresses offers a rare opportunity for directors and actors to learn how to work together and understand each other’s roles. It covers directing, table reads, casting, representation institutions and related legal obligations, as well as the coordination of intimacy. It provides an understanding of both artistic and regulatory issues.

Talented director Kristina Wagenbauer and renowned actress Charlotte Aubin will help participants master the following key elements:

• Preparing for a shoot: analyzing the narrative structure of a script, establishing your directing/acting intentions, table rehearsals, etc.
• For directors: skills in communicating your intentions to actors and translating them into framing.
• For actors: modulate your performance according to the indications expressed and the staging.En parallèle, les participant·e·s appréhendront également les sujets suivants :

The training emphasizes practical application to make the concepts presented more concrete and easier to assimilate. Participants will have access to personalized project follow-up and will be strongly encouraged to interact with the trainers.

CONDITIONS OF ELIGIBILITY

The course is open to 8 people only – 4 directors and 4 actors.
It is addressed to self-employed media arts workers living in Quebec.

DETAILED SCHEDULE

Module 1 

Saturday, October 19 from 10am to 4:30pm (5h30) – including 1hr break

• Notions of directing from the director’s and actor’s point of view
• Scene strategy
• Scene distribution and crew training
• Advice on preparation
• Script analysis and rehearsals

Kristina Wagenbauer and Charlotte Aubin

Module 2 | Actors’ directing and staging practices

• Saturday, October 26th from 10am to 4:30pm (5h30) – including 1h break
• Sunday, October 27th from 10am to 4pm (5h) – including 1h break

Kristina Wagenbauer and Charlotte Aubin

Module 3 |Meeting with representative institutions

• Wednesday, October 30th from 5pm to 9pm (4h)
  ACTRA – UDA – DGC

Module 4 | Intimacy coordination

• Friday, November 1st from 10am to 12pm (2h)
  Stéphanie Breton

Module 5 | Casting preparation and process

• Friday, November 1st from 1pm to 4pm (3h)
  Tania Arana

APPLICATION

FULL – Thank you to all the applicants!

ABOUT

Kristina Wagenbauer

Kristina is a Canadian screenwriter and director of Russian and Swiss descent. After writing and directing several festival-winning shorts, she co-wrote and directed her first feature film, Sashinka, financed by Telefilm Canada’s Talent in Sight fund. Her films have been selected for 100+ festivals, including the Locarno Festival, the Oberhausen Festival, the Festival du nouveau cinéma and the Seattle International Film Festival. Noted for her sensitivity, offbeat humor and excellent directing, Kristina Wagenbauer’s work has won numerous awards. In 2021, in parallel with the release of her documentary film, Babushka, in competition at RIDM, Kristina will travel to Switzerland to shoot episodes of the series Avoir l’âge for RTS. She is currently developing Superluminal, a feature-length fiction film produced by Art&Essai, as well as several other fiction and documentary projects.

Charlotte Aubin

Charlotte Aubin ©Gaelle Leroyer

Revealed in 2006, at the age of 14, thanks to her performance in the Quebec adaptation of the film Romeo and Juliet, Charlotte Aubin has since taken a very personal and thoughtful path. She embarked on a four-year training program at the National Theatre School to perfect her culture and acting skills. Upon graduating in 2015, Charlotte landed a variety of roles, including leads in the Blue Moon series, directed by Yves-Christian Fournier, as well as in filmmakers Mathieu Denis and Simon Lavoie’s latest film, Ceux qui font les révolutions à moitié n’ont fait que se creuser un tombeau. Charlotte also returned to cinema with a surprising performance in Renaud Lessard and Jonathan Beaulieu-Cyr’s Mad Dog Labine, where she acted as acting coach for the film’s non-actors. She will soon be seen in the series Virage, directed by Catherine Therrien and produced by KOTV, where she plays the lead role of Frédérique Lessard, an Olympic speed skating athlete, as well as in Ken Scott’s feature film Au Revoir Le Bonheur.

Tania Arana

Tania Arana became a casting director in 2014 after studying communications and training as an actress in France. She worked on Maïmouna Doucouré’s first films (Maman(s) and Mignonnes), which gave her a great start, and continued her adventure in Quebec, where she has lived since 2016. Comfortable with non-agency casting, Tania likes to think outside the box and discover new talent. With her multicultural background, she makes a point of highlighting profiles that are still under-represented on defensible projects. Specializing in short and feature-length films, her expertise has also led her to distribute documentaries and web series. She places great importance on respecting and caring for actors, working hand-in-hand with directors. In 2024, she was nominated at the Canadian Screen Awards for Best Casting for the film Vampire humaniste cherche suicidaire consentant.

Stéphanie Breton