Shalom Life chats with TIFF filmmaker, Yonah Lewis

At 25, Yonah Lewis already has a feature film under his belt: Amy George. That in itself is impressive, but there’s more -- Lewis’ first movie, (which he helmed with Calvin Thomas) made it to TIFF as part of the Canada First! programme. The young Canadian director chats with Shalom Life about his movie, the festival and his plans for the future.

How did your passion for filmmaking come about?

I had been interested in cinema from an early age. I created several stop-motion shorts as a young child and attempted a massive, neighbourhood-wide production of Macbeth at the age of 12, which failed, naturally.

Who are some of the directors that you admire?

There were a handful of directors who directly inspired Amy George: The Dardenne Brothers, Lucrecia Martel, Noah Baumbach, to name just a few.

How did you guys come up with the concept for Amy George?

Calvin and I write everything together, which means we spend a great deal of time working to find an idea that feels interesting and somewhat personal to both of us. With Amy George, we finally stumbled across a story we felt we both could speak to - the ideas of exploring male adolescence as well as the first stirrings of artistic exploration

How would you describe the film?

I don't think I could do it much better than our official synopsis: Thirteen year old Jesse wants to be an artist, but believes that his mundane middle class Toronto life has left him unprepared. After reading a book on what it takes to be a "true-artist," he sets out looking for wildness and women.

What were some of the challenges you faced while making the movie?

Amy George is a film with a tiny budget and the majority of the obstacles we faced were directly related to a lack of money. Almost every prop, location, meal, or cast or crew member had to be found for next to no money - which is just as much fun as it sounds.

What was your reaction when you found out your film got into TIFF?

We were overjoyed... a little dazed and stupefied. We really didn't believe we would get in, so when the call finally came, we were over the moon. Two days into the festival, we still don't entirely believe we're here.

Are there any films that you’re looking forward to seeing at this year’s festival?

There are millions! Shame, Alps, The Artist, The Kid With a Bike, Melancholia, A Separation, We Need to Talk About Kevin, The Turin Horse, The Loneliest Planet, all of the films in our programme (Canada First!).

Do you have any advice for other young filmmakers?

Amy George only happened because we set ourselves deadlines (albeit stupidly short ones) and worked every second to meet them. We're still new to all this and are actively seeking advice ourselves wherever we can get it.

What’s next for you?

We have several projects on the go, all of which were dropped immediately upon finding out about TIFF, but we hope to pick them back up again once things calm down a little.