Filmmaker looking to make 'Dreams' into reality at Gimli Film Festival competition

One Winnipeg filmmaker hopes to see his dream take shape in the form of a film about the dreams of other people. But first he'll pitch his idea to a panel of judges as one of the finalists in the RBC Gimli Film Festival's Emerging Artists Project.

Each of the filmmakers will get three minutes to pitch their short film idea. The judges then get five minutes to ask questions and offer feedback.

The winner will receive $10,000 to make their film.

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Alan Wong's film idea involves artists of different backgrounds using a variety of media to illustrate their dreams.

"I've always had very vivid dreams and a lot of the time, as an artist, or a songwriter, or as a film maker, as a storyteller, I've always woken up really abruptly and tried to write them down or record them in some way. That's kind of the inspiration I guess."

Wong said many of his friends talk about their dreams on social media and he wondered if there was a way to visualize them.

Some of the people lined up to tell their stories include a visual artist, a musician and a dancer.

Using their chosen mode of expression, each one will attempt to visualize their dreams.

"Which are intensely personal to them. A lot of the time dreams are manifestations of what you're experiencing in the moment, your current life situation," Wong said.

One of the people appearing in Wong's film is a refugee from Malaysia, who was outed as gay on social media, forcing him to flee out of fear of being prosecuted.

He has worked with shadow puppetry.

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"So we're going to try to express some of his deep-seated dreams through shadow puppetry," said Wong.

"To see people of very different backgrounds talking about their dreams that are very personal, it might translate into just a little more understanding and seeing that humanity and commonality between people."

Wong's film Dreamswill go up against four other ideas:Heelby Alex Ateah, Your Mileage May Varyby Jackson Peters, The Alligator: Beast of the Manigotogan Riverby Justin Lamoureux and If It Ain't Gotby Miles Crossman and Nicola Baldwin.

The winner will also receive a mentorship at the National Screen Institute, a one-year-membership to On Screen Manitoba, and a $2,500 gift certificate. Their film will also be premiered ahead of the competition at next year's GimliFilm Festival.

Last year's winner, The Debut by Solmund MacPherson and Allegra Chiarella, will screen before this year's competition.