L-R: Director Ranjit Mullakady of Film City Productions Inc., antagonist Matthew Gray, and protagonist Ky Langevin filmed a pitch video with other cast and crew recently on a rural property in Red Deer County. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

trying to raise red deer's filmmaking profile

Red Deer filmmaker pitching Telefilm Canada for funding to make movie

May 3, 2022 | 1:10 PM

A local filmmaker recently had his cameras rolling in Red Deer County, where his cast and crew were shooting a short pitch video for Telefilm Canada.

Ranjit Mullakady, who operates Film City Productions Inc. and the Central Alberta Film Festival, is hoping to secure up to $250,000 from Telefilm Canada for a feature-length movie he wants to shoot this summer.

The funding would be through Telefilm’s Talent to Watch Program, which supports emerging filmmakers who are Indigenous, Black, People of Colour, Women, Gender-diverse and 2SLGBTQIA+, persons with disabilities and members of Official Language Minority Communities. Projects to be funded under this funding stream also must prioritize gender parity and intersectionality.

The plot of Mullakady’s film involves a young man who falls in with the wrong crowd, then finds himself experiencing an addiction to drugs, but then is aided by an unexpected source. The film is called Second Chance.

Michelle McLernon and Ky Langevin film a scene for a pitch video to Telefilm Canada. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

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Mullakady says he wants to tell a story about how anyone can be faced with a battle against addiction.

“I’ve been hearing lots of stories about people experiencing drug addiction, and my friend’s brother got caught up in this too, so it’s a bit personal. That’s where I got the idea,” he shares. “I want it to bring awareness about the realities of drug addiction.”

If he’s able to pull it off, this would be Mullakady’s first full-length film after self-funding a handful of short films and a documentary.

In 1998, Mullakady, 56, immigrated to Canada from India, where he had worked in Bollywood, most notably as a production manager on a TV series.

He hoped to have similar opportunities in Red Deer, but it hasn’t been as grand as expected; not yet anyway.

“I’m quite passionate about filmmaking. I want people to think more about Red Deer’s arts and culture scene,” he says.

Ky Langevin plays the lead role of Robert in a pitch video to Telefilm Canada for Film City Productions Inc. Make-up by Tasha Alten. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“Calgary and Edmonton have major filmmaking industries, but Calgarians also go to Edmonton to film and bypass Red Deer. If they knew they could have a good platform here, their travel would be halved.”

If Red Deer could get more attention from filmmakers, he adds, it could give somewhat of a boost to the local economy — restaurants, hotels and people seeking employment included.

The production of the film’s pitch video had a cast and crew of about 15, which would increase to 25 for the full film. The pitch video can’t yet be shared.

The cast of Second Chance includes Matthew Gray as the antagonist, Ky Langevin in the lead protagonist role, and Michelle McLernon, also in a lead role.

Decisions on funding are usually made in the summer, according to Telefilm.