(1888PressRelease)
June 28, 2009 - She didn’t know the first thing about movie production and learnt fast while producing her first feature film. “Our production company put together budgets, raised financing, assembled teams to work with during pre-production, production and post production, and submitted our films to festivals,” Kattan explains.
“It also meant doing hundreds of contracts with cast, crew, investors, music, and more - which is probably my least favourite part of production. The upside is I feel I am getting close to a law degree,” she quips.
It’s a stressful and challenging environment with many balls being kept in the air on a daily basis: “There’s always the pressure to ensure the shoot comes in on time, that everyone is where they are supposed to be, that the cash flow is in place to pay the cast, crew, locations and equipment in a timely manner, that everyone is looked after well and fed well, and their travel movement to and from set is running smoothly and so on,” says Kattan, sounding remarkably calm while listing these exhausting responsibilities.
With the challenges come great rewards, of course. “It is an exhilarating process,” agrees Kattan. “Having lived with the characters Shamim has created through her novels and scripts, to see them come alive is breathtaking. And to see the various layers of film making from choosing the locations, shooting the film, editing, music, sound and grading through to the final mix is astonishing.”
‘And to be invited to the Toronto Film Festival – one of the world’s leading film festivals - was truly amazing. Especially since we had only finished shooting three months before our Toronto world premiere! We were very fortunate in that we were chosen in the prestigious Discovery section at Toronto, which focuses on new talented film markers. Every performance sold out and to experience standing ovations and the reactions of the audience was humbling and rewarding at so many levels.”
Unrelenting effort, a shared vision and solid teamwork has assured Enlightenment Productions has achieved its highest goals despite the warnings from experienced film makers that it would be incredibly tough to do so. Or perhaps it was in spite of those cautions.
“I am glad we listened to all the advice from people who have been in the film industry for over 15 years and who knew it more intimately than we did,” says Kattan. “But I am equally glad we went with our gut feeling and did what felt right. Perhaps we were naďve in some respects, but in fact, not knowing the limitations meant we weren’t as restricted by them!”
This explains why Kattan set up Enlightenment Films (distinct and separate from Enlightenment Productions) specifically to act as an international sales agent for The World Unseen and I Can’t Think Straight.
“That was another thing people told us we would not be able to do. But we managed to produce two feature films back to back in less than three years and to sell them ourselves. We got a North American theatrical release for both films with the same six-figure offer for each of our films as well as receiving substantial offers from other international markets for both films for theatrical release this year and early next year.
“We are passion-driven, there is no doubt about that. But that passion has been supported by a lot of friends and family who have believed in us from the start of this journey, and we will always be grateful for their belief in our dreams,” concludes Kattan.
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