Rebel filmmakers share dark, comedic vision with growing audience

By Reg Clayton
for The Enterprise
Saturday September 01, 2007

Kenora independent filmmakers Matt Kennedy and Conor Sweeney, of Greypoint Films, are gaining a growing if sometimes perplexed following after recent Winnipeg screenings of their work. Reg Clayton photo

Matt Kennedy and Conor Sweeney, the young rebels of Kenora’s independent film scene, are back in class at the University of Winnipeg this week after another successful summer reign of cinematographic terror in their home town.
The two theatre and film arts students recently completed shooting their latest project, HIZ (Z for Zombie) and expect to enter the teen sexploitation horror comedy in the Winnipeg Short Film Massacre this fall.
“It’s a throw back to the Italian zombie movies of the 1970s and Hollywood summer camp slasher movies of the 80s,” Kennedy explained. “Kids go to summer camp where they’re exposed to a zombie virus from military experiments gone awry 20 years earlier.”
“It’s a morality story. Really, it’s so deep,” deadpans Sweeney. “We’re at the point where we’re basically trying to disgust ourselves.”
Self-acknowledged fans of schlock fest teen slasher flicks, troupe comedy and sworn enemies of sickly sweet romantic movies, Kennedy and Sweeney have released more than 20 short films through their production company Greypoint Films. Their five-year creative partnership began while they were students at Beaver Brae High School.
A reoccurring premise of their work is to mix genres resulting in their own eclectic brand of horrific, dark comedies, parodies of mainstream movie trailers, advertisements and sketch comedies. They write, act, shoot and edit their self-produced films and rely on an extended group of friends and family members to act in the productions. Kenora musicians Mike Procyshyn and Matt Chapeskie of the local band the Quietaphobics have contributed original musical scores to several movies.

Last summer, Kennedy and Sweeney shot Ena Lake Blues near Kenora. The Chaplinesque, black and white, silent movie, complete with dialogue cards and a Ragtime piano soundtrack begins as playful romp by a trio of young people on holiday at a lakeside camp. However, the period piece quickly adopts the dark characteristics of an 80s B horror movie as the plot degenerates into murder, mayhem and all manner of substance abuse and sexual excess. By the end of the 12 minute film, the teen characters have all come to a bloody, gruesome end.
Ena Lake Blues was nominated for best screenplay at the University of Winnipeg Film Festival and won second place at the Winnipeg Short Film Massacre.
Kennedy also won accolades this year for Street Racer, the comedic parody he wrote and directed about drag racers on foot. Sweeney acts in the 30 minute film in which Kennedy won awards for best screenplay, best director and best film at the University of Winnipeg’s Student Film Festival in April. Friend and Greypoint regular Chris Epp also won best actor.
“It was a big night for Greypoint,” Kennedy acknowledged.
Their work is attracting a growing, if sometimes perplexed audience. The lads say Street Racer was well received when it was screened at the Winnipeg Gong Show, a feature of the revitalized Park Theatre on Osborne St. Meanwhile, a Greypoint Films retrospective received a mixed response during a recent three-night weekend run at Cinematique, the Winnipeg Film Group theatre at ArtSpace in Market Square.
“It’s a weird mix of people who like our work,” Sweeney related. “Friday night was uproarious with people laughing and applauding. Then on Sunday, not a peep. It was like we were showing World War ll documentary footage. Some people get it and some don’t.”
“You have to be in on the joke to understand the comedy otherwise you’ll be lost,” Kennedy agreed.
“The Winnipeg arts community is slowly embracing us but it’s a wary embrace,” Sweeney added. “We’re getting recognition but it’s reserved.”
Friends, fans, cult followers and former teachers can view a sampling of their films posted on YouTube.com. Just sign-in to the web site, search greypoint films and pop some corn. All that’s required is a high speed internet connection, a sense of humour and an appreciation for the theatre of the absurd.