Parabola (2021)

Episode 2: Surviving Unexpected Scenarios

Parabola (2019) is a 15-and-a-half-minute drama about a Japanese-American single mother, who struggles to reconcile with her father, Musashi a notorious Yakuza enforcer following his release from prison. The film features Mayumi Yoshida playing the mother, and Hiro Kanagawa, playing the Father.

In this episode, we talk to Lee Shorten (Writer & Director), Phil Planta (Producer), Brittany Lum-Cho (Producer), Phoebe Miu (Actor - Izanami), Iya Yujuico (Hair & Make-up), and Angel Lynne (Still & Tattoo Designer) about the creation of the short film. We discuss the challenges faced in making a highly ambitious film, the importance of kindness, and one of the craziest days of production the team has ever experienced.

00:00 Introductions

01:38 How the idea of Parabola was born

06:45 Phoebe Miu as Izanami

10:58 The creation of the tattoos

15:03 The immense work of the crew during pre-production

17:09 Crazy 8s experience

19:35 The insane day 3 where everything went wrong

25:50 On the stress of the shoot and the value of a good team

31:39 Trying to shoot a film in Vancouver with snow

37:19 Lee’s philosophy to directing during indie films

38:55 On Parabola setting a high bar for people-centric filmmaking

45:52 The highlights of the team since Parabola

57:42 How to connect with the “Parbola” team

61:17 Conclusion and credits

For more information about Crazy 8s visit https://crazy8s.film/

Films Referenced in the Interview

Resident Alien (2021-)

Swan Song (2021)

Blue Eyed Samurai (2023)

Shogun (2024)

Ink Master (2012-)

Sponsors: Peacemaker, Lorne Lapham, Fusion Cine, Sims, Novo Lighting, Falcon Armoury, 3LMedia, Fritzworks Printing Services, Tindahan - Stella Dasa Belda, Mount Pleasant Furniture, MYJ Fabrication, Craft Cinema, TGK Films, Pelham Bishop Auto, NWT Professional Media Association, Fiber-Tek, Cineworks, Side Street Post, Big World Sound, Hollynorth


Special thanks to

Crazy 8s

Ric Beairsto, Jonathan Tammuz, James Moke & City of Surrey, Eric Chen, Bryan Fredericks, Dale Rechner, Clark & Page Casting, Alisa Luke, David Pink, Hello Goodbye Bar, MIA, Sai Woo, Joshua Mao, Trish Salisbury, Brian Salisbury, Penkse Burnaby, Mayhem TV, Sofie and Rudy Custodio, Thomas and Lyna Brennan, Yolanda Alviz, Go Studios, VFS, Burnaby Youth Custody Services, Nach Dudsdeemaytha, Adam Chan, Planta & Ho Family, Simon Chin and Joel Reimer

Director & Writer: Lee Shorten

Producer: Phil Planta, Brittany Lum-Cho

Production Manager: Irma Leong

First Assistant Director: Theo Kim 

Director of Photography: Angelica Anzures Perez

Production Designer: Neil Colango

Costume Designer: Angela Ganderton

Key Hair & Make-Up: Iya Yujuico

Sound Mixer: Jakob Weber, Emmy Sainz

Location Manager: John Alviz

Starring:

Mayumi Yoshida as Makoto

Hiro Kanagawa as Musashi

Peter Shinkoda as Luke

Phoebe Miu as Izanami

William Budijanto as Matthew

Darryl Quon as Toshiro

Sophie Ramos as Young Makoto

Yuta Takenaka as Hiroyuki

Alex Barima as Lloyd

Ron Chartier as The Wolf

Laura Carly Miller as Carly

Second Assistant Director: Robert Richards

Assistant Director: Rachelle Francoeur

Camera Operator: Jeff Zwicker

First Assistant Camera: Brian Cheung

Second Assistant Camera: Negin Khazaee, Marc Yungco

Loader: Reed Kierce

Peacemaker Filmworks Team: Chris Wiseman, Ryan Ennis, Andrey Chibisov

Stills: Jan Colango, Angel Lynne

EPK: Chloe Cruz

Art Director: Athena Han

Supervising Art Director: Wenke Li

Art Assistant: Christine McCabe

Graphics: Noémie Thirion, Christine MacCabe

Assistant Costume Designer: Shelby Shukaliak, Mayumi Yoshida, Katrina Salisbury

On Set Costumer: Emma McKay, Shelby Shukaliak, Katrina Salisbury

Assistant Hair & Make-up: Alison Jeffreys, Gabrielle Dugré Desrochers, Katrina Kardynal

Tattoo Art: Angel Lynne, Frankie Hodge, Alexandria Tanguay, Iya Yujuico

Gaffer: Indiana Camilleri

Key Grip: Michael Debarrros

Best Boy: Samuel Stefanini-Taylor

Lap OP & Grip: Paula Muraira, Maria Acevez, Joshua Mao, Sebastian V. Buck

Balloon Technician: Peter Hagge

Dolly Grip; Steven Maki

Property Master: Frazer Nygard MacLean

Assistant Property Master/On Set Props: Dana Bontempo

Props Builder: Brendan Murphy

Props Assist: Brendan Murphy, Manon Pille

Set Decorator: Nadia Saliba, Walden Cameron

On Set Decorator: Noémie Thirion

On Set Dresser: Mik Narcisp

Lead Set Dresser: Jane Spencer

Set Dresser: Samantha Lam, Kallista-Dittrick Katevatis, Diane Lee, Joe MacDonald, Rachelle Francoeur

Swamper: Joe MacDonald

Boom Operator: Andy Liu

Assistant Location Manager: Diana Petrova, Dean Donlon

Location Production Assistant: Berlin Lu, Greg Whelan

Traffic Control Person: Genelle Palana, Diane Lee, Sarah Amerongen

Picture Car Coordinator: Collin James Head

Truck Driver: Riann Smit

Editor: Dominic Lester

Composer: Samuel Kim

Post Supervisor: Manpreet Babra

Assistant Editor: Nathan Young

Digital Compositor: Jordan Barnes-Crouse

Colorist: Kipp Lightburn

Translations: Mayumi Yoshida, Hiro Kaganawa

Supervising Sound Editor: Jeff Hilman

Sound Designer: Derek MacPherson

Sound Mixer: Doug Paterson

Foley Editor: James Neves

Background Audio Editor: Benjamin Paul De Caiman

Assistant Production Manager: Shelby Shukaliak

Production Coordinator: Stacey Douglas

Assistant Production Coordinator & Assistant to Producers: Katrina Salisbury

Story Editor: Ric Beairsto

Directing Mentor Jonathan Tammuz

Casting: Rebecca Davidson, Sheriz Tambanilla

Additional Casting Services: Breakdown Services

Co-Producers: Theo Kim, Irma Leong, Willan Leung, Alicia Bernbaum, Ingo Lou

Associate Producer: Sophie Caird, Nathanael Vass, Kent Donguines, Alexandra Staseson, Mayumi Yoshida

Executive Producer: Paul Armstrong, Erin Mussolum

Background Performers: Hayley Gray, Mike Li, Alina Anghel, Nevin Burkholder, Bill Yuan, Nach Dudsdeemaytha, Carolyn Yonge, Nathania Bernabe, Kamila Jones, Jackie Hanlin, Jordan Svenkeson, Ana Laura Ochoa, Gerardo Malpica, Theo Kim, Rebecca Strom, Ben Jones, Leslie Appleton, Lawrence Davidson, Mathias Retamal, Roberto Lanzas, Tamara Juozaitis, Leslie Kwan, Chris Carson, Alannah Bergman, Nick Wong, Armin Karame

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Hail Marie (2021) - Working With Diverse Experiences - January 2023

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White Lady (2022) - Shooting A Film In 48-Hours - November 2023