Much Too Young – The Journey Begins BLOG #1

Hello All

I actually started this Blog a few years ago when I was creating another project about ALL young caregivers, which is still going on.

However in the last year I have changed back to another idea I had about 3 years ago and that is to document young caregivers who have a parent with Early Onset Alzheimer’s. And as most of you who are reading this know that the project Much Too Young has begun.

This will be the first of many BLOGs about my journey making this film. The Blog will also be supported by monthly short web videos and of course twitter/facebook updates as well. But why would I document the journey of making this film, well it was a few months ago when my wife asked me how is making this project going to affect you? I really hadn’t thought about the fact that I am going to document families that are going thru what I went thru about 10 years ago. I have already done some filming and can see some similarity in each situation, but how will it affect me? I am not sure.

People often ask me if it is hard to watch the first film I made about my dad called Forgetful Not Forgotten, but my answer is alway the same. It doesn’t bother me to watch it as I look at in a different way. I look at it now as a film that has helped a lot of people. It is a film that is used by many different organizations as a training tool, and I am happy with that, and I have seen it so many times that it doesn’t affect me to watch it, but this is different.

This time I will actually be there witnessing each family go thru some of the same situations I went thru, so you will just have to stay tuned to see how and if this project affects me.

We are done preproduction and you can see the first short video I have put together about that on my Vimeo page, however you have to have a password to see this first video as it is one for people who donated to my campaign. I will post others that are public soon.

Production starts soon and this will also be a learning experience for me as I am working with a small crew and the process is a lot different from my dad’s film, but I am glad to get it off the ground.

Talk to you soon!

Chris

Vimeo

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Much-Too-Young/696273550442357

Twitter

@ChrisWynnCLF

Summer Post

Sorry it’s been a while, things are still moving along with the Young Carers film. In the last few weeks two of the families have been going thru some hard times and my thoughts are with both the Clayton family & the Johnston family.

Some new developments…

1. I will be back in the Toronto area from Aug 11-14, the Young Carers Project at Hospice Toronto has asked me to make a promo video for them, as well I will also be meeting more families.

2. I’ve brought an old friend on board, Shawn who helped me film FNF back in 2006 will now be helping me do the filming in Toronto.

3. Also developing a workshop about making videos with the Young Carers Project, hope to start it in late fall. It will run over a few months and help young carers tell their own stories as well we hope to have a screening of all the finished videos at the AGO next summer.

4. I will be starting a fundraising campaign in September to keep the young carer project going.

5. Finally I am doing a webseries with MAREP at the University of Waterloo about people living with Dementia.

Lots going on!!!!

 

But first Kim and I are headed to LA this week for some well deserved relaxation time.

take care!

3 days at HotDocs

 

Last week I was back in Toronto for one of my favorite events, HotDocs international Documentary Film Festival. It had been a couple of years since I had been to HotDocs and it was great to see some old friends and some great films.

Here are my top 3 films I saw at Hot Docs

Cutie & The Boxer

http://www.cutieandtheboxer.com/

The Crash Reel

http://thecrashreel.com/

Alphee of the stars

http://www.nfb.ca/film/alphee_of_the_stars/trailer/alphee-of-the-stars-trailer

This festival just gets bigger and bigger every year, I hope to get in one year!!!

I was able to meet with two of my families and I have decided to give some of the young carers their own cameras. As I can’t be there all the time I am hoping they can capture some great stuff.

I also had some meetings with 2 broadcasters, TVO & Shaw Media, thanks to Jane & Nick for meeting with me. Let’s again hope this is just the start.

Also I had a great meeting with Larisa at the Young Carers program and I look forward to filming more there and developing a new project with them.

And finally thanks to Lauren who sent me a message all the way from New Zealand, who is also a young carer!

This project is international and there are more and more young carers I learn about everyday.

Until next time.

 

Update April 2013

I spent March 21-25 again hanging out and filming some great families. Before I go any further, thank you to Brianna, Dawn, Mary-Beth, Doug, Kassy, Alex, Sydney, Daniel, Steph, Denise, Greg & Larisa for letting me hang out with you.

As I continue with this project I have been doing a lot of research about how other indie Docs are now being made in Canada. Here is an inspiring story about one of my favorite films from last year.

http://www.nsi-canada.ca/2013/04/filmmakers-are-you-paying-attention-to-the-marketplace-kellie-ann-benz-says-thats-the-secret-behind-the-success-of-indie-game-the-movie/

Even though it is getting harder for indie films & Documentaries to get on to TV and into theatres, they can still get made and important stories can be told. Everyday there are more and more Young Carers dealing with daily struggles of trying to help a family member and still be a kid. These are some of the most amazing people I have met and they all have a story to tell. I hope I can help them tell it and get the word out.

 

Here are some photos from my trip.

Stephanie, Daniel, Sydney & Me

Me & Doug

Me & Brianna

Filming Continues

Second day of spring and winter seems to be hanging on for a while.I am Sitting on a train again on my way to Toronto. It’s been one year since I met with Larisa from the Young Carers Program and talked about a film about Younger Carers. It’s been a slower process, but that’s the way these things seem to evolve. I have met many families in this time who are all dealing with the tough job of having a family members with a disability. This weekend I am meeting a new family in Kitchener Ontario. I am looking forward to spending time with them and sharing their story.

In just over a month it’s Hot Docs film fest in Toronto. I have been attending the fest for many years, I started going about 15 years ago when I lived in Toronto and now that I am in Montreal I still make the trek every year to this fest. I had my 1st film “Forgetful Not Forgotten” screening at the Doc soup portion of the fest back in 2009 and I was even recognized as one of 20 up and coming filmmakers. So this is more then just a film fest it is also a conference where films and ideas get bought and sold. And that’s what I will be doing this year, pitching the young carers project.

Again looking forward to seeing my friends and families who are already part of this great project!

 

First Steps

The Young Carers Project

 Blog #1

 Jan 8, 2012

Since the fall of 2012, I’ve been meeting young carers. I was lucky enough to be introduced to Larisa at the Young Carers Program in Toronto. At first I wanted to develop a project about younger people who care for people with Dementia, because of my experience, but I soon realized that there are many younger carers out there that deal with many different situations and have their own story to tell. So with the help of the YCP I’ve been able to meet some families who are interested in being part of the project.

Now when I mention project, I mean many things, as I plan to use different types of mediums to help create education and awareness about what these younger people go thru. Of course it will first be a film documentary, but there is also a web series and different new media elements to be created as well.

So the journey begins, I am in Toronto for 4 days to meet and start to film some of the families. Please follow this blog ( as well I might keep a video blog) over the next few months to keep track of the project.