During the fall semester, the FMTV program voted to produce six scripts out of 75 projected that were submitted. All six scripts chosen were all written by women.
Sarah Lemmings said she was excited and happy her story Zero O’Clock had been chosen.
“I came to this program for script writing, (I) never had written one before, and to see that my script got picked makes me feel so seen,” she said.
Zero O’Clock is about two middle-school best friends who find out the world is gonna end and they take the news in different ways. The duo creates a bucket list of things to do.
Lemmings is one of six writers whose stories are getting produced with the other writers being Meagan King, Audrey Johnston, Keira Wolfe, Hayley Matthews, and Megan Dillon.
Lemmings was thrilled that her friends Noah Landry and Meagan King were directing and producing her film.
“He (Noah) was so invested in this script before I had chosen to pitch Zero O’Clock. I knew that he’d always wanted to be a director, so I wanted him to have the opportunity to shine with my script,” she said.
“I had never worked with Meagan on a production before, but when we were producing and working on our separate documentaries – she was always in work mode – I could immediately tell that she worked amazingly as a producer,” Lemmings said.
Landry intends on having Lemmings be on set as they have worked closely together during the pre-production process.
“I intend on making sure he can come, but she does have responsibilities to another production at the time as the writers aren't tied to their script, as you've seen with Meagan,” he said.
King’s film Places in 5! is about a play that goes wrong, forcing the stage manager to confront her fear of stage fright, inspired by her own experiences.
King expressed her disappointment of not being on the set of her film Places in 5! as she is the producer for Zero O’Clock, but believes in her director Carter Lind and her producer Olivia Bronwyn.
“It kind of sucks because I would like to see how it looks, but they said they would send me a lot of pictures and I trust Carter and Olivia with my work,” she said.
Bronwyn said she was drawn to the script and the crew shares the same affinity for theatre as they are connected on a deeper level.
“I think what is best about the crew of people behind this film is that the majority of us share this same affinity for the theatre. This is something that connects us to the story as filmmakers, as we’re immersed in the narrative on a deeper level,” she said.
Space Baby written by Audrey Johnston is about a college student and his roommate who face the challenges of raising a baby alien they discovered in their backpack.
Johnston felt proud that she was chosen.
So was Keira Wolfe, writer of The Women’s Room.
"Hell, yeah!" she said. "I think it’s so amazing that all of us lovely writers get to share stories that are based on personal experiences, interests, opinions, et cetera," she said.
Please Hold by Hayley Matthews is about a character named Chandler who humorously tries to cancel his cable while stuck in a bank line.
Matthews reciprocated their feelings as she feels like women in the film industry are undervalued, but in Humber, they are appreciated.
“Film is still an industry where women get ignored, disrespected, undermined, and talked over. Seeing that these big productions began with the talents of this great group of women, gives me a new sense of hope and gratitude,” she said.
