Britany Sparrow has been writing her whole life. Her first short story came to be at the age of seven, an adventure story about a killer whale and dolphin best-friend duo.
Her passion for storytelling carried through her youth and into adulthood, and her stories grew and matured alongside her. As she put it, she wrote more 鈥渁ngsty鈥� things in high school, and has now settled into the relationship genre. Sparrow writes about both romantic and non-romantic relationships in all forms, covering the human element of what it means to have a place in the world.
Now, two decades after she first began applying her story-telling passion to film, she is making her first full-length movie.
A Vernon native, Sparrow began her post-secondary journey at Okanagan University College (now Okanagan College) where she studied creative writing for two years and eventually landed at the University of New Brunswick in 2004, when she was 20. Switching coasts cemented her passion. While studying in N.B., she took a film course as an elective and discovered film was what she wanted to do.
In 2006, when she was done university, she joined the New Brunswick Filmmakers鈥� Cooperative, an organization for filmmakers and creatives to collaborate. The first film she worked on was, ironically, a no-budget feature film.
鈥淚t was a horror film. We spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights on it for four months, mostly in a parking garage. It鈥檚 a slasher movie where they paid homage to Halloween (the move),鈥� she said.
The first film Sparrow directed herself was titled The Perfect Cliche, a story commenting on how, as a person figures out their life, their relationships change.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the story of a young couple. They鈥檙e childhood best friends and then they fall in love, and it鈥檚 as the relationship sort of progresses and then falls apart,鈥� Sparrow said.
When she isn鈥檛 on set, Sparrow works as an archivist for the province of New Brunswick. Her day job doesn鈥檛 put any brakes on her passion though, and definitely hasn鈥檛 stopped her from starting up her own feature film, a movie operating on approximately $10,000 in raised funds currently shooting at locations across Fredericton.
Sparrow鈥檚 film is called Still Your Song, taking inspiration from the Goo Goo Dolls鈥� song sharing the same title. The song is about a man singing about a past relationship in which he made mistakes. Though he isn鈥檛 seeking forgiveness, the song is still for his past love.
The idea for the plot line was largely inspired by a night of drinks and catch-up Sparrow had with some friends. That night, they discussed art being made about art, such as a movie about making a movie.
鈥淚鈥檝e always loved that idea of art about art, and I started thinking it would be cool to write something about a band. I鈥檝e also always wanted to write something about a high school reunion, but I鈥檝e just never found the story in the idea. Those two things came together in my brain and when I got home I just started writing.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about five young people who were in a band in high school, and now they鈥檝e come back to their small town for a high school reunion, and they have drama that has carried over. They have adult drama that is unresolved, and there鈥檚 a lot of conflict within the band and their families. It鈥檚 all sort of about who they are, who they were, who they want to be and how they can reconcile all of that,鈥� Sparrow said.
Sparrow said filming is expected to finish in September, and the post-production process is expected to be lengthy.
When asked what she would tell her seven-year-old self now that she鈥檚 found her place in the film world, Sparrow offered a simple sentiment.
鈥淒on鈥檛 be scared. It鈥檚 everything I hoped it would be,鈥� she said.
鈥淧eople have asked me, saying 鈥業 wanna make a movie but I don鈥檛 know what to do,鈥� I always say 鈥榡ust do it.鈥欌��
Sparrow hopes to do what she calls a 鈥渉ometown tour,鈥� of her film once it鈥檚 finished, stopping in Vernon and Winnipeg, Man., the hometown of her producer.
Eventually she wants to enter it into film festivals across Atlantic Canada.
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