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Artscene “Connected to your Community”

T I N Y D A N C E R S

More than 400 students from Grace Academy of Dance will take the stage at the Oakville Centre for the Performing Arts May 28-31 at 7 p.m. each night to put on the production of Happy Holidays. There will also be a matinee performance on May 31 at 1 p.m. Tickets cost $21. Pictured in front row is Lucy Knapp, 3. Middle row, from left, are Zoe Williams, 9, Nyda Faraj, 10, Erin Riviere Lett, 8, and Mia Faraj,

10. Back row, from left, are Mycah DeJong, 14, Marissa Seber, 15, and Sydney Hassan, 11. | photo by Franki Ikeman – Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or www.facebook.

com/HaltonPhotog)

Film shot by Oakville director screening at CannesAfter learning that a renowned musician played a Stradivarius violin in the subway for spare change, Filip Terlecki rewrote his script.

The result was his Burlington-made film, The Master, which will be screened during this month’s 2014 Cannes Film Festival.

Terlecki’s film is loosely inspired by concert violinist Joshua Bell’s ‘cultural experiment’ at a Washington, D.C. subway station.

“Nobody recognized him. Everyone was busy trying to catch a train or checking their cellphones,” said the Oakville resident, who grew up in Burlington. “When the same vio-lin player was at a concert hall, people paid an enormous amount of money to see him play.”

In Terlecki’s short children’s film, Grandpa Nick plays a violin concert to help out two girls, but passersby would rather hear the vio-lin prodigy in the nearby concert hall.

“The story has a lesson that people walk away with,” said the writer/director. “Don’t judge a book by its cover. Just because it has a price tag on it, doesn’t make it better.”

Terlecki actually submitted his 15-minute movie just for the experience.

“When I found out, it was a huge surprise. It’s nice to be in Cannes,” he said. “You can’t get any better than the Cannes Film Festival.”

The Master is in the non-competitive Short Film Corner and is being screened throughout the festival’s run, which goes to May 25.

“It’s a showcase where you can meet people who will help bridge the gap between short films and feature films, and help you make a feature film,” said Terlecki.

The movie’s local cast, crew and scenery will also get international exposure.

Village Square’s exterior and the Burlington

by Dennis SmithSpecial to the Beaver

Performing Arts Centre’s interior were used for The Master.

“Growing up in Burlington, I always loved Village Square, it has a European-style atmo-sphere,” said Terlecki. “For film, it’s very cin-ematic looking.”

He said the performing arts centre operators were very accommodating, as was his local cast and crew.

“It’s great for me and it’s great for everyone involved, behind and in front of the camera, to say you were in a film that was shown at Cannes,” he said. “Everyone really gave it their all.”

Crew members, his parents Michal and Lidia, brother Martin, his wife Ursula and even their

baby daughter Maya were extras in the film. “With a low budget, you depend on volun-

teers,” he said. Terlecki is the founder of The Creators Bu-

reau (www.thecreatorsbureau.com), the multi-platform production company behind the film.

He is the firm’s principal creator while Ur-sula handles the business side.

The company makes branded content vid-eos for clients like HomeSense, Grey Goose and Winners.

“These are for people who want to watch,” said Terlecki. “So, if you’re into wine, we shot a series of videos in Niagara-on-the-Lake about what makes ice wine special. You can learn a little bit about it.”

He plans to submit The Master to the Toronto International Film Festival.

Terlecki will also be doing a short film adap-tation of Stephen King’s story, Suffer the Little Children.

He’ll work on it with Carmelo Giardina, pro-duction manager for The Master and a friend from their Notre Dame Catholic Secondary School days.

“I really became interested in film while in high school,” said Terlecki. “The teachers started a photography club and I started doing photos. That segued into film.”

His family immigrated to Canada from com-munist Poland (briefly staying in Germany) in the 1980s.

“My parents left for a better future for their kids and themselves,” said Terlecki.

He and his wife moved from Toronto to Oakville four years ago to buy a house and raise a family.

“I had a great time living in Burlington and growing up there, and Oakville offers the same community feeling.”

The couple headed to France to attend most of the film festival.

“We’re super excited,” said Terlecki.

Oakville’s Innovative Arts Train-ing and Production Studio is putting on the production of The Little Mermaid next week.

The show runs at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. each night from May 26-31 at Theatre Sheridan, 1430 Trafal-gar Rd.

Tickets cost $30 and can be purchased online at www.innovativeboxoffice.com.

The musical, which tells the story of a mermaid who dreams of

becoming human, is directed by Oakville’s Nathan McLeod, who also owns Innovative Arts Train-ing and Production Studio.

The actor, who stars in YTV’s Life With Boys, created the com-pany to provide weekly acting classes, private coaching, direct-ing programs, film production, and music theatre training.

It’s something he said, he wished he had while growing up. Nathan McLeod

The Little Mermaid staged at Theatre Sheridan next week

Gloria Adora (Maya), camera operator Nick Haight, sound recordist Rob Rush and director Filip Terlecki, an Oakville resident, are on the set of The Master, a short film being screened at the Cannes Film Festival this

month. | supplied photo