Every year, six talented, new filmmakers are chosen from hundreds of applicants to make a short film for Crazy8’s.
Crazy8s provides filmmakers with a significant boost to their projects. Six finalists receive $2000 each, plus an in-kind production package and post-production service valued at up to $50,000. This includes professional equipment, mentorship, and access to locations, helping them complete their short film within eight days. There is a huge gala screening at the Vancouver Centre.
We met with director Mariel Calvo to talk about her career and The Last Caller.
HNMAG: You grew up in Calgary?
Mariel Calvo: Just outside of Calgary, in a small town.
HNMAG: What was the name of that small town?
Mariel Calvo: Bragg creek, a little hamlet. There’s not much to do out there.
HNMAG: Except to watch film and TV.
Mariel Calvo: Pretty much and running around the woods to play make believe. It was really fun though.
HNMAG: How did you become interested in making films?
Mariel Calvo: My background was actually in theater, so that’s really where I spent most of my adult creative process. I’ve always just been drawn to stories and storytelling, whether it’s writing or putting on plays or making little home videos and stuff like that. My brother is a filmmaker, so I was always kind of influenced by him as well. He would show me all the movies growing up. It was always part of my life, but I was drawn to the the live aspect of theater. Something about the immediate human connection drew me there, so I studied that. But it all so easily comes back to film because it’s such a such a big part of our world, right?
HNMAG: How did the idea of The Last Caller start?
Mariel Calvo: I work at the Vancouver public library and a patron came in and told me a funny story about his time working at the bingo hall on main street. Then I was talking with our writer and producer, Miguel Da Ponte, and that’s when the idea of a mockumentary about a passionate bingo caller took shape. We just started building the world and Miguel is an awesome writer, so he went and wrote such a funny script. We ended up going through the entire process not really having an idea of what was expected and what we had to do, but I think we were unburdened by the lack of knowledge. We really approached it with so much play and so much love and excitement to be able to create something together.
HNMAG: Cool. When did you move to Vancouver?
Mariel Calvo: I came to Vancouver in the fall of 2020.
HNMAG: Oh, during the pandemic.
Mariel Calvo: It was an interesting little move.
HNMAG: It must have been challenging.
Mariel Calvo: Ya, I just graduated university and obviously there was no theater to do. I didn’t really know what to do with myself and my sister and brother were living here. My brother said why don’t you just come to Vancouver? Check it out, if you want, you can try to work in film. Hopefully things will open up soon. It was hard to find the community when everything was shut down, but, all these years later, it’s a very different vibe. I am very glad I moved here.
HNMAG: Great.
Mariel Calvo: Yeah, it’s beautiful.
HNMAG: This film is a mockumentary. How much of it was improvised?
Mariel Calvo: Not too much. We cast it really well. So there’s certain moments where there’s improv – where the actors made it their own and added things. But overall we stuck to the script.
HNMAG: Sure.
Mariel Calvo: Because of the nature of Crazy8s, you can’t go into it with mostly improv because you don’t have the time.
HNMAG: What’s next for you? Do you have another project lined up after this?
Mariel Calvo: Not directly in film. I do have some projects I’m working on in theater, which is really exciting..
HNMAG: Are you gonna put that up at the fringe or do you have a venue for that yet?
Mariel Calvo: I’ll be working with a program called DBLSPK with Rice & Beans Theatre. It’s basically a space for artists to workshop their work with a focus on bringing multiple languages into performance.
HNMAG: Do you speak other languages?
Mariel Calvo: Yeah, I’m trilingual, My family’s from Argentina.
HNMAG: So you speak Spanish?
Mariel Calvo: I grew up speaking Spanish at home. The other two languages are English and French.
HNMAG: What do you hope audiences take away from The Last Caller?
Mariel Calvo: I hope they have fun. I hope they laugh and I hope it brings some lightness. It’s a heavy reality we live in right now. We need more comedy. I want people to have a good time. I really hope that comes through and that people have that experience in the theaters.
Short films don’t have huge theatrical releases. It’s a shame because the best way to experience a movie is in a movie theatre. Imagine that?
It’s even more the case with comedy. You can watch comedy on a small device or on TV and it could be enjoyable but it doesn’t replace the experience of sharing those laughs with other audience members. You might see The Last Caller on one of the smaller screens but consider yourself fortunate if you attended the packed Crazy8s screening at the Vancouver Centre. If you have never been, attend the next one in the Spring 0f 2027. Mariel Calvo is a talented and young filmmaker who has a big career ahead of her. From watching the The Last Caller you can tell that the fun is just beginning.