The After School Club is a Canadian short film directed by Tamara Black.
We subsequently had a chance to have a conversation with Tamara Black about her career and the industry in Canada.
HNMAG: Are you originally from Vancouver?
Tamara Black: I’m actually from Port Moody. It’s about forty-five minutes from downtown Vancouver.
HNMAG: Was the 25th anniversary of the Whistler Film Festival (WFF) your first time there?
Tamara Black: It was my second time. Last year, I went with the Women and the Director’s Chair Program which was really fun.
HNMAG: Nice.
Tamara Black: That felt a lot busier, but this year it was nice to just be there celebrating The After School Club, and it was our premiere, so that was very rewarding.
HNMAG: How did you get interested in film and television?
Tamara Black: I took a film class in high school. I had never really had any exposure to filmmaking prior to that but I fell in love with it. The way I entered into the industry didn’t happen for another ten years. I did a criminology degree after high school and then had a nine-to-five job. I felt I would regret it if I didn’t pursue film so I left my job to become a commercial production assistant (PA). The rest is history.
HNMAG: What was your job before being a PA?
Tamara Black: I was a project manager at a tech company.
HNMAG: That sounds like a pretty important job.
Tamara Black: The skills also overlap with being a producer, which came in handy.
HNMAG: When you left the corporate world and became a PA, was that for non-union commercials? Or was it mixed?
Tamara Black: Mostly non-union commercials, but a little bit of everything. I also did some movies of the week (MOWs). In 2017, I was asked if I would be interested in joining the assistant director (AD) department because they had lost someone at the last minute, and that’s how I got into being an AD. It was very scary at first.
HNMAG: Were you a third AD on the project?
Tamara Black: I started as the third, but as with all indie stuff, everyone wears multiple hats, so I would also do the call sheets and run cast and everything like that.
HNMAG: You eventually became a first AD.
Tamara Black: I did a lot of first ADing in commercials as well.
HNMAG: You were working as a first AD, transitioned to directing music videos, and then you made a short film.
Tamara Black: That was called Three Way, a kind of ridiculous title. It was for the Run N Gun competition.
HNMAG: Did it play anywhere after Run N Gun?
Tamara Black: We did a few festivals, and we made the top forty for the screening at the Rio. That’s where I met Alex Kink, who wrote The After School Club, and they played Jared, one of the leads. So, that definitely led to all of this – We sat down for coffee shortly after and decided we wanted to collaborate on something, and this idea formed from our discussions and the themes that we wanted to explore in filmmaking.
HNMAG: You also produced the documentary An Intimate Evening with Adam Pally.
Tamara Black: It’s a fun spin on what a stand-up special can be, so it’s equal parts rock concert, documentary and comedy special. Our director, Brent Hodge. drew out the story in a really unique way. It allows Adam’s personality to shine. It’s definitely a fun ride. You start watching it thinking it’s one thing and then it goes in a different direction.
HNMAG: Where does Adam Pally live?
Tamara Black: He’s based in New York.
HNMAG: Did you go down to New York for that?
Tamara Black: I went there for the premiere but did a lot of the coordination remotely.
HNMAG: How did you get involved?
Tamara Black: Brent and I met in 2023 on a podcast!
HNMAG: Where was An Intimate Evening with Adam Pally shot?
Tamara Black: It was filmed at the Bell House in Brooklyn.
HNMAG: Where can we see it?
Tamara Black: Streaming on HBO in the US and Crave in Canada.
HNMAG: The After School Club, screened at the Whistler Film Festival in December. How would you describe it?
Tamara Black: It’s a political satire from a YA drama lens about two opposing candidates who are using the same political informant. They’re not aware of that, but she’s basically a puppet ensuring that she has a position – as we call it in the film – “Boy #2” in the school council. I won’t spoil it, but chaos ensues.
HNMAG: It’s inspired by the feature film Election?
Tamara Black: Exactly. Election was a major reference.
HNMAG: Election was a really good movie. That’s a good homage to go with. Have you ever had any experience in high school politics?
Tamara Black: I haven’t. My high school didn’t really do anything like that.. We didn’t even have a student council.
HNMAG: What are some of the other projects that you’re working on right now?
Tamara Black: Alex and I are developing a short-form series. It’s a fun blend of The Bling Ring and Tell Me Lies.
HNMAG: Do you have any other comedy specials that you’re working on?
Tamara Black: We have a few coming up that I’m very excited about.
You never know where the next great film and TV producer will come from. Tamara Black was in the corporate world with a stable and important job as a project manager. One day, she rolled the dice and did a one-eighty. She left that safe world to work in Film and Television. She started at the bottom as a production assistant and quickly climbed the ladder to become a first AD, directed music videos, and worked on podcasts, which led her to produce an HBO comedy special/documentary. Tamara Black didn’t let that path define her, as she also directed short films, including the award-winning The After School Club. Tamara Black continues to develop exciting content, which we are waiting for with great anticipation. Tamara Black joins the list of very talented and productive Vancouver filmmakers.