Jason Hildebrand

The first thing you notice about Jason Hildebrand when you meet him is he oozes equal parts confidence and gratefulness. The second thing you notice about him are his fantastic taste in shoes.

Hildebrand started building his name in the entertainment business as an on-screen talent and thespian on stage. He has since earned a reputation as a filmmaker when his latest short film, which he wrote, produced and acted in - The Prodigal Trilogy - was featured in seven film festivals across North America and won five Best Short Film awards including 2009 Best Short Film at Gideon Film Festival, 2009 Jubilee Award - Best Dramatic Short Film at the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival and 2009 Best Short Film at the Imago Film Festival.

Playing in a style he likes to call Cinematic Theatre, Hildebrand has taken his love of dramatic solo performances and brought it to the big screen, all working together to breathe life into the other distinctive thing about Hildebrand - his choice to base his films off of Christian parables. The stories he tells have a very palpable religious basis, but are told with a modern twist, making the films resonate among the religious and non-religious alike.

I sat down with Jason to discuss his experiences bringing a stage production to film, his choice in using parables as the base of his projects, as well as his upcoming collection of short films Kings, Killers & The Cry Of The Soul.

You have a bit of a unique story in that you're a thespian, a stage actor, who has gotten into filmmaking. What drew you to that world and motivated you to take that leap?

My professional acting career actually began in film and television. After graduating from York University's acting program I spent a number of years performing in television commercials, from beer to airlines, and some independent film. I wanted to be a film actor. I love the medium. But, I am grateful for being drawn out of that world for a time into the world of theatre and more specifically into creating and acting in solo performances. I have been blessed with regular work for over a decade. I have performed in venues across North America and the UK. And, I haven't had to sit around waiting for an agent to call.

A couple of things drew me back into the film world. A few years ago I developed a multimedia solo performance based on the New York Times best-selling book "Blue Like Jazz." My production team and I decided to produce a film version and I realized for the first time that I could marry my solo performances with the medium of film to create something very interesting and unique. The term I like is Cinematic Theatre. Louis Malle's poignant film "Vanya on 42nd St" was very inspiring for me.

I am also very aware that film can speak to a much wider audience. In fact, my second project "The Prodigal Trilogy" has been screened in over 20 countries around the world and even shown to African royalty. Theatre just doesn't have the kind of reach.

Your latest short film, The Prodigal Trilogy, was derived from a parable from the bible. What inspired you to write this story for the stage?

I was actually hired to write it. A friend of mine who was in provincial church leadership with a protestant denomination was running a prayer and meditation retreat. The retreat was going to be rooted in Henri Nouwen's insightful book Return of the Prodigal Son based on Rembrandt's painting from the Luke 15 parable in the bible.

He asked me to write and perform a piece inspired by the text and painting. I was overwhelmed and undone by the book, the painting, and especially the parable. It's out of that space that the three-part production was born. I have been performing it live for the last nine years.

What were some of the challenges of adapting it from stage to screen? Would you say there were advantages to it as well?

There were a number of challenges in filming Prodigal. The biggest was finding a way to make the theatrical piece look cinematic. Theatre on film generally comes across poorly. So, my production team worked hard at crafting a beautiful image-based film rooted in the story. The DOP Jason George had an amazing eye for translating emotion through lighting, colour and shadows.

Another big challenge had to do with the Father character. In the live performance I give the Father an eastern European accent and the physicalization of an old man. This works in theatre as you can suspend an audience member's disbelief. However, on film neither of these character traits work. So the creative team decided that it would be best if I played the role with no accent and as my own age - play it like I was speaking about my own kids. I am really happy with the way that turned out.

I would say the biggest advantage to filming Prodigal was the music. The composer/music director Michael Janzen built an unbelievable score that meshed so beautifully with the story's images playing across the screen.

I also really loved turning the location itself into a character in the film through the way it was shot.

You seem to be in a unique position in that the stories you tell have an obvious Christian basis but are told with a very modern twist. Why do you want to tell these kinds of stories?

I am interested in telling stories that ask the big questions of life. I am interested in telling stories of everyday people intersecting with each other, their Creator's love for them. I think we live in a world where film and media tend to celebrate defeat and hopelessness. I want to tell stories that offer hope out of brokenness - not happy endings necessarily, but hope. Our culture needs hope.

The bible is full of these kinds of stories - regular people doing extraordinary things through the power of God in their lives. The modern twist has to do with taking these stories out of the mothballs of societies memory and offering them up as relevant to our story today - to encourage, provoke, rebuke and inspire.

I read in one of your interviews that while filming Prodigal you got a flesh-eating disease?

Yes, it's true. In fact, I was in the middle of editing Prodigal when I first started to feel sick. Very scary stuff. In just over a day I went from completely healthy to septic shock and then almost death. With Flesh Eating Disease or Necrotizing Fasciitis as they call it, I should be dead or at least missing a limb. My surgeon said she only took a few shark bites out of me.

It took me a year to recover. I guess there are a few more things for me to do here on the planet before I move on to the next phase of my journey. I know my family is happy about that. I'm just grateful that I didn't become the "one limbed actor." Cause then that's what you're known by!

What's the reaction you hear about your movie, from the religious to the non-religious alike?

I really think that Prodigal is a universal story that resonates with most people. In a way, it transcends religion. The best example of what folks thought of the film was at the premiere. We screened it at the newly renovated Royal Cinema on College St - an amazing venue. A couple of hundred people came to it, both religious and non-religious alike, and everybody loved it.

The film was also screened at the Mississauga Independent Film Festival and the Campagna Brothers, who run the event, and are not necessarily "religious guys" told me that they absolutely loved the film.

What are your thoughts on the film industry in Toronto?

As a filmmaker, I am a bit of a newbie in the film industry in Toronto. I really love the accessibility to great studio spaces, equipment and first-rate people. I worked with a great production house called Storystream Pictures on my last two projects.

We shot Prodigal at the beautiful Orillia Opera House. The space was a great and affordable non-union house.

Are there any locations in Toronto that are on your wishlist to use in an upcoming project?

Well my next short film "Kingdom of Herod" needs a leer jet. So, Pearson or the Island Airport would be great. I also need a very high-end ultra-modern kitchen for the shoot.

So, if any of the readers have a jet or one of these kitchens they would like to let me use for the next shoot I would be very grateful.

Can you tell me a bit about your upcoming project, "Kings, Killers and The Cry of the Soul."

My new project, "Kings, Killers & The Cry Of The Soul" will be comprised of three short films, produced over the next three to five years, whose themes will revolve around the historical and spiritual intersection between the kingdoms of this world and the Kingdom of Heaven. The films are tentatively to be shot on the RED.

The first film is entitled "Kingdom of Herod" will shoot this summer with a Christmas 2010 release date. This film has already been in development for more than a year and is ready to go.

It is a modern-day telling of the events surrounding Christ's birth through the eyes of the powerful and psychotic ruler, Herod the Great. The film will be highly stylized. Think "Wall Street" or the television show "Kings" meets Gordon Ramsey.

As with my last two projects I am working towards placing the project under the not-for-profit umbrella of IMAGO. So, all donations to the project will receive tax receipts.