Over the past 11 months, we鈥檝e all had to learn to celebrate big accomplishments 颅differently. I鈥檝e known people who have had babies, gotten married or graduated from high school, and each of these big events has had to be celebrated differently. In all of them, there has been a disappointment, but it hasn鈥檛 overshadowed the accomplishment.
My good friend Arnold Lim directed his first feature film and it was accepted in two film festivals. Currently, that film, All-In Madonna, is part of the Victoria Film Festival.
The feature-length film is set in a small town and tells the story of two sisters who live with a single father. The older sister decides to attend school against her father鈥檚 wishes and discovers stories of her father鈥檚 past that he was trying to keep hidden from his daughters.
All-In Madonna had its world premiere at the Whistler Film Festival in December, and I had high hopes of travelling to 颅Whistler to see the film on the big screen and to 颅support my friend. I bought tickets, but, as I was about to book a hotel room, the travel restrictions came into effect.
I was sad that Lim, who has worked for years to get this film funded and then made, would not get to see it on the big screen. Now, with restrictions still in effect, its 颅premiere at the Victoria Film Festival is also virtual.
鈥淚鈥檇 be lying if I said I didn鈥檛 want to share it with people who got me to where I聽am, but I am thankful for the opportunity and to still be able to present my art,鈥� said Lim. 鈥淭here were times when I wasn鈥檛 sure this film was going to be made 鈥� at least not by me.鈥�
The film was shot on southern Vancouver Island with the assistance of Islanders, who offered to provide locations and homes to shoot in, helped to find props and provided support for the cast and crew.
Lim, who grew up in Clearwater, a town of 200 people, and faced racism and 颅segregation as the only Korean kid in school, says there was a lot of 鈥渃onnective tissue鈥� between his life and the script that he could mine making the film.
Living in a pandemic, I think we can all relate to characters struggling with identity, isolation and loneliness, the film鈥檚 themes. It鈥檚 almost more fitting that the audience is not allowed to watch it in a theatre.
In 2018, Lim received a $125,000 grant from Telefilm to make the movie. He says he was rejected four times before he got the grant. 鈥淓very year I was rejected hurt just as much as the year before,鈥� said Lim. 鈥淚f you鈥檙e not moving forward, you鈥檙e moving backward. I am always working to move forward and get better.鈥�
I think it鈥檚 important and healthy for us to share our disappointments, but our 颅disappointment can鈥檛 overshadow our 颅successes or the successes of others around聽us.
We also need to give a nod to organizations such as the Victoria Film Festival for adapting and still creating a platform for artists to share their work, so people like us can have access to great independent films.
There will always be rejection, 颅disappointment and hurdles along the way, and that has nothing to do with the pandemic. It鈥檚 just part of life.
