It has been said that the secret recipe for a successful film is an infinite amount of patience, a handful of contacts, and just a pinch of talent. It would seem that Derek Milton, a recent VFS grad, has read the filmmaking cookbook.

He’s the director and writer of The Black Prayer, his first film after graduating from the VFS Film Production program. “I knew that I would see the film to fruition. I was bound and determined to do so because that was the reason that I attended VFS in the first place.”

The Black Prayer has been screened at The Hollywood Underground Film Festival, The New York International Independent Film Festival , and the Vancouver Film School Alumni Festival. “Having one's film being screened at a festival is something I believe that every filmmaker should experience.” Milton exclaims, “All it takes is to be at the right place at the right moment and the next level of one's career can suddenly vault forward.”

Contacts Make The Film

Having already worked as a director, actor, and screenwriter for 30 some years, Milton’s patience and wisdom paid off when he came to VFS. “The greatest thing to come out of VFS is my relationship and friendship with Don Hunter - a man I have a great deal of respect for.” Milton says. Don Hunter teaches cinematography at VFS and ended up being the DOP for The Black Prayer.

Along with Hunter, three other VFS instructors worked on the film: Ricki Choi, Jeanne Slater, and Joanna Brown. The rest of the crew were VFS grads recruited by Don Hunter. “Every last person who worked on the film, including my 8 actors, all worked for free,” Milton explains.

Within two weeks of graduation, Milton formed his production company, Karladam Films, with classmate Derek Lawrence. The Black Prayer took 5 days to shoot and cost $11,200. The film was completed in January 2002 and was screened at the Pacific Cinematheque Theater on February 2 the same year. Immediately afterwards, Milton submitted the film into festivals.

At first, the “biggest chore is making the proper copies and gathering fees for each festival. From there, it's up to the festival if they think the film is worth screening,” says Milton. “Once the film is accepted, that means a whole new bundle of expenses arrives. In fact, to attend the two-week NY festival, it cost me close to the same amount of money that the film itself cost.”

Milton believes it was worth every penny. Again, as with school, contacts were the rewards garnished from the festivals. In New York, Milton met the character actor Martin Kove (Kreese, the cruel sensei in all three Karate Kid films) and famed Norwegian composer Oystein Sevag. They both agreed to work with Milton on his next film, The Plan.

Milton hopes that “The Plan launches a series of my films that will keep me busy for the next dozen years as writer/director.”

The chef is in the kitchen.