Village Gamer

VFS Release – Paul St. Amand’s widely acclaimed documentary Parallels has taken top honours at the 2008 Triggerstreet Online Film Festival, an initiative for emerging filmmakers co-founded by two-time Academy Award winner Kevin Spacey. Chosen by festival judges Sam Mendes, Robin Williams, Jeff Goldblum, Rufus Wainwright, Roger Waters and Dave Stewart, this is the latest in a long line of accolades for the up-and-coming director, a graduate of the one-year Film Production program at Vancouver Film School (VFS).

Telling the captivating story of two US Army deserters of the American and Vietnam wars, the short documentary was produced during Paul’s year at VFS.

“I knew my student work at VFS could be a calling card and a career springboard, but I am surprised and delighted that Parallels is still making noise after more than two years,” says Paul, now based in Bedford, Nova Scotia.

The film has certainly made noise since its premiere at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2006. Parallels has won the Canadian Reflections Award at the 2007 Air Canada enRoute Film Festival, Best Documentary at the 2007 BC Student Film Festival, and a Golden Sheaf nomination at the 2007 Yorkton Short Film Festival. At VFS, Paul also directed the award-winning short Grover’s Mill, which featured on CBC Television, as well as One Last Thing.

“We’re truly thrilled for Paul,” says Marty Hasselbach, Managing Director of VFS. “It’s always exciting to see our graduates recognized for their work in what is really a tough industry. The successes of our students and graduates are a true validation of the Film Production program’s reputation for producing talented filmmakers.”

Of the three awards the Triggerstreet Online Film Festival has given out since its inception, two have gone to VFS graduates for shorts they made at the school – in 2005, Matthew Nie took top honours for his VFS documentary Good Stuff.