Local filmmaker looking to secure grant funding for Red Deer documentary

“It all came down to connecting and being neighbourly and finding that closeness in culture,” says Panameno. “This documentary encompasses some of our needs and some of the assets that we need to build in our city to create a stronger, more productive growth.”

She points out that one of the projects she’s working on for example is the creation of assets in the abandoned Michener Centre buildings.

“Speaking with some of the people on info-structure, they’ve given us a couple of ideas on what can be done with that particular space,” she states. “So we’re going to be gathering together to talk about not only this documentary but also Alberta Culture Days coming up in September.”

Panameno says “Breaking Stigmas’ will be a 20 minute documentary with a budget of $50,000, which she is hoping to win from the Telus Story Hive Fund with the help of votes from central Alberta residents.

“We have not started filming yet apart from the promotional,” explains Panameno. “It’s going to go ahead one way or another but it will be a lot easier with funding. This is something that our community really needs because we’re looking at very important issues, not just to do with culture but also with our city’s growth and survival.”

“A lot of our service providers are bringing in topics that they would like to discuss, including the rise in our suicide rates here in our city and unemployment,” Panameno continues. “So we’re going to be discussing what assets we need to create from a community standpoint and the province’s so that they would really be grateful to know what our thoughts are so they can support some of this.”

She says one of the things they are looking for is space to create things like a science centre or education centre.

“A lot of people from Red Deer have come in to put in their voices to say what they feel would be a great advantage in our city to use that space that is available there,” she adds.

Panameno says filming for ‘Breaking Stigmas’ starts September 29 at the Culture Day picnic on the Michener grounds and should be completed in advance of the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer in February.

She hopes the community helps by casting votes for ‘Breaking Stigmas’ and results in the awarding of the grant funding from Telus.

“It’s not just in Alberta, it’s also in B.C.,” she says. “We’re up against a lot of great artists from all over our provinces and we’re very fortunate that they’ve extended it out to Alberta and in particular in Red Deer because we have quite a few different resources, including the Central Alberta Film Festival that’s here now.”

To show your support for ‘Breaking Stigmas’, you can cast your vote on the Telus Story Hive website or by visiting the ‘Breaking Stigmas’ Facebook page.

Voting is open now until August 2 at noon.

by Sheldon Spackman

Local filmmaker looking to secure grant funding for Red Deer documentary

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