From small-town Manitoba to the glittering glitz of Los Angeles, Angelo’s traveled many roads since graduating from Writing well back in 2000. In fact, he’s just arrived back from a private screening of his film Flickering Blue at the Director’s Guild of America.
Cinematic Stories
“I grew up in a small farming community in Southern Manitoba called Rosenort, which, more-or-less, means rose-village. I don’t think I ever saw a single rose anywhere.” Angelo’s upbringing is, he admits, one of the primary sources of inspiration for his stories, which tend to explore themes of isolation and abandonment. “A small town like Rosenort is a microcosm – you have all the archetypes that you’ll find in every segment of society all over the world.”
But abandonment doesn’t seem to be a problem for Angelo - who’s been happily married for twelve years. He and his wife, Esther, have traveled widely throughout North America, Latin America, Cuba, Thailand, and India. “There's nothing like international travel to renew your perspective.”
Finding the Source
Despite his penchant for globe-trotting, it was right here in Vancouver where Angelo first considered using his writing skills to produce screenplays. “ I started doing some research and came across (a part-time VFS writing class). It was a great experience and got me off to a good start.” Years later, Angelo opted to enter the full-time program.
“The immersive nature of the writing program at VFS was critical to my identity as a burgeoning writer.” That, and the camaraderie that develops in-class, are the things that Angelo remembers the most. “We were all in it together, cutting our teeth. I’m glad it all ended when it did, however, or we would probably have ended up injuring ourselves or one another.”
From Rosenort to Hollywood
Angelo’s first post-graduation film experience came upon encountering Bevan Klassen at the cryptically named Catacomb Microcinema in Winnipeg. “ Bevan is one of those rare directors who knows he’s not a writer. We began meeting for lunch once a week and discussing life, films, work, religion, the deep malaise of the middle class.” Eventually, Klassen optioned one of Angelo’s short stories and hired him to write an adaptation. On a Sunday was later filmed and screened at the Vancouver International Film Festival in 2005.
But Angelo’s first big break came after he submitted his short script Flickering Blue to a small competition purely on the basis that it had no entrance fee. What resulted was a reasonably high-profile project starring Broadway veteran James Karen (Mulholland Dr., Apt Pupil, Superman Returns) and directed by Harper Philbin. The film was recently screened at the Director’s Guild of America.
“It’s because of your lovely writing that I’m here,” Angelo quotes Karen as saying upon his visit to the set. Moments such as these, as well as “sitting among the audience as the house lights go down - watching their faces, hearing their sighs of outrage or sputters of laughter along with my characters onscreen,” have solidified Angelo’s commitment to this arduous craft. “That high lasts for months, and the feeling is easily recalled even now.”
