Yes, of course many teens are captivated by social media, not making atmospheric Lynchian thrillers like “Rat King.” But many of those TikTok-addicted teens haven’t had the kinds of opportunities offered to students at GW Graham Secondary in Chilliwack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The film is a powerful representation of the kind of work very young people are capable of when the adults in their lives give them the freedom and means. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
What’s remarkable about “Rat King” is not just that Senanayake and his classmates made a festival-quality film, but that they did so while paying homage to the last days of the analog era. Though “Rat King” never overtly explains when it takes place, the set and props place it in the late ’80s or early ’90s \u2014 a time of waterbeds, rotary phones and VCRs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Students enjoy vintage things, especially from the ’80s,” says Michael Florizone, who teaches film production at GW Graham Secondary and grew up, like many of his students’ parents, in the ’70s and ’80s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“On several occasions during downtime, students would sneak into the set and enjoy old movies on the tube TV and VHS player,” Florizone recalls. “Thankfully, we still have many students who have self-control and are not glued to their phones. … Students often just need the time, encouragement and space to create.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And, of course, TikToks and movies don’t have to be at odds<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Senanayake started learning filmmaking in Florizone’s junior and senior production classes and the school’s TV production class, which led him to doing the Film Production Workshop for grades 11 and 12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When students voted on what project to make together last year, they unanimously selected Senanayake’s pitch for “Rat King.” The film tells the story of a grieving young man (Jared Magale) who pledges allegiance to the otherworldly creature of the title.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thanks to GW Graham Secondary’s commitment to film, for the last few years, it has had a formal affiliation with Vancouver Film School, one of MovieMaker’s 30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada<\/a>, about about 60 miles west of Chilliwack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n British Columbia’s tax incentives, good weather and strong film scene have long made it one of Hollywood’s favorite shooting locations, and the partnership between GW Graham Secondary gives students a pipeline to Vancouver \u2014 aka “Hollywood North” \u2014 and by extension, the film and TV industry. VFS’s support includes handing out free and discounted tuition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The VFS partnership is just one of the benefits of Florizone’s commitment to teaching filmmaking at a high level. He studied film, theater and visual arts, and began making his own films about five years ago with a short called “The Lender<\/a>” that screened at CIFF. He has also taken part in CIFF’s pitch session, and acted in several films, including one made by Chilliwack festival director Taras Groves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “Chilliwack is an exciting place to be,” Florizone says. “It\u2019s one of the fastest-growing cities in Canada and people here have a hunger for creativity and innovation. … While ‘Rat King’ may not directly reflect the story of Chilliwack, the way in which it was made embodies the vibrant, collaborative and creative spirit of our community.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The film takes place in a run-down two-bedroom apartment that \u2014 though you would never know \u2014 the students created in Florizone’s classroom. “A first for our school and our school district,” Florizone notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creating the film, he says, involved students “jumping into set and prop construction, scouring thrift stores for vintage items, and developing a vision for the story.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n He adds: “Others worked on mastering cinema and lighting techniques using our Red Komodo camera while taking time to learn the workflow required for large raw cinema files.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n Senanayake felt an “unwavering sense of gratitude” to his fellow students for choosing his story to make into a short. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “It gave me a duty to deliver something special and make their time worthwhile. The amount of dedication, trust, and patience I felt for me while making ‘Rat King’ has brought me to tears several times,” says Senanayake, who has finished GW Graham Secondary and is now a student in North Vancouver’s Capilano University\u2019s Motion Picture Arts Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow Chilliwack Spawned the ‘Rat King’<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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