Rising young filmmaker beats the odds

By Jennifer Walker

At age 23, Alex Pappas is the director and producer of his own Centretown film production company, JumpPoint Entertainment.

With business partner and cinematographer Mike Carss, the pair is a local filmmaking success story.

Nine years after he began producing film in Ottawa, Pappas admits filmmaking is a difficult medium, especially in Ottawa.

“It’s very expensive,” he says. “And very time consuming. Ottawa is essentially an untouched market. We have a great deal of talent and a great deal of inspiration, but very little opportunity for young filmmakers.”

“I think that what we have here is an undiscovered market, and a need to explore the possibilities.”

Pappas tries to give younger filmmakers experience by hiring them to work with JumpPoint Entertainment.

He also gives young filmmakers lists of contacts within Canada’s film production business.

“You really have to be a go-getter to make it in this business,” he says.

“It’s a tough business to be in, and filmmaking requires a lot of dedication.”

The Independent Film Co-operative of Ottawa (IFCO) also provides access to the filmmaking industry through membership.

“Filmmaking is a very expensive medium,” says the executive director of IFCO Dawolu Saul.

“Filmmakers have to consider the equipment they will need for production, film needs to be purchased by the foot, and it is very time consuming.

“But there does seem to be a great deal of interest in it. [Ottawa filmmakers] are a growing community.

“Although Ottawa’s filmmaking society is not as rich and powerful as those in Montreal or Toronto, we are evolving.”

IFCO started in 1992 with 12 members and only one camera.

Since then the co-operative has grown significantly in terms of both members and equipment.

However, its mandate is still the same – to provide affordable access to production for aspiring filmmakers.

Pappas and Carss began their careers in film at the age of 14.

Using old three-quarter-inch U-Matic video equipment discarded by the RCMP, Pappas and Carss set out to find a company that would allow them to produce a corporate video.

The two entrepreneurs would offer to film the company for one day.

If the company liked the end result, Pappas and Carss would sell them the video.

That same year Pappas and Carss produced their first independent venture, a short film titled Attack of the Killer Garbage Bags.

The film was picked up by a local film festival, and the two 14-year-olds were rewarded $40 for their endeavours.

“It paid for the pizza, and that’s all that mattered,” jokes Pappas.

After graduating from college and working for a few years in the film industry under other directors, Pappas and Carss returned to their filmmaking roots.

Together they created JumpPoint Entertainment, their independent film distribution company.

JumpPoint’s first big hit TimeScape made its debut in January 2000 on the BRAVO! Network. It won the 2001 Finalist for Best Experimental Film at the Zoiefilm Festival.

It also brought in enough revenue to warrant the production of more artistic films.

Pappas advises aspiring filmmakers to never give up, make sacrifices, be flexible, and be true to themselves.

“Be willing to go the distance,” he says. “Let inspiration guide you, and never let go of the values you believe to be important.

“If you work hard enough, and give enough of yourself, everything else will fall into place.You just have to go and get it.”