Jeffrey St. Jules is starting his film career off on the right foot. He is filmmaker and driving artistic vision behind the recently Genie nominated film The Tragic Story Of Nling. St. Jules is a philosophical storyteller who brings a dark and mystical version of a world to life in this short film.

By: Kindah Mardam Bey

March 28th 2008 

Jeffrey St. Jules is starting his film career off on the right foot. He is filmmaker and driving artistic vision behind the recently Genie nominated film The Tragic Story Of Nling. St. Jules is a philosophical storyteller who brings a dark and mystical version of a world to life in this short film. I had a chance to meet Jeffrey St. Jules at the Genie`s and now interview him about The Tragic Story Of Nling, his future in films and on being the first Canadian ever to attend the Cannes Festival Residence in Paris...

1. Hi Jeffrey, It was great to see you at the Genies with your live-action short film The Tragic Story Of Nling. Tell the readers a little bit about the film in your own words.

Nling is a walled ghetto in a large imaginary island city where they shut away all the homeless. They also pump in their garbage which the homeless live off of.  The story begins when the garbage stops coming and two of the inhabitants tunnel under the wall to find out what happened.

2. The Tragic Story Of Nling has some strong philosophical themes running throughout the film. What theories and ideas were you trying to explore and how is that connected to the world today?

For me the film is ultimately about forgiveness and the need to take care of each other while on the earth.  The fact that the world of the film is made of paper made me think about how the reality of the characters is only paper thin and is easily torn.  This fragility of existence makes it necessary to have compassion for one another.  Of course, our existence is just as thin. As soon as it ends, everything that seemed to matter doesn't. This is what the thinness is.  From one angle the 2 dimensional piece of paper is an entire world but if you look at it from a different angle it seems to disappear.

3. You seem to have a strong connection to Capillia and its inhabitants. Did you previously direct and write a short called Capillia is Fading In Pools Of Stale Beer? What is that film about?
How is it connected to The Tragic Story Of Nling?

When I was a kid my cousin Dan Gallant and I made up planets that we told people we were from.  Mine was Zeyox and his was Capillia.  I stole Capillia from him.  I put these names into all my films as kind of a way to remind myself to stay childish and playful.  I also think it has something to do with escapism.  I somehow feel it is central to what I'm exploring in all my
films, but I don't think I know yet exactly what that is.

4. Was it a great thrill to get such an incredible actor like John Neville to do the voice of Donkey?

Yes it was amazing and intimidating and actually very easy for me, because I just let him do his thing and it was great.

5. The Tragic Story Of Nling was nominated for a ‘live action' Genie, but it could slip quite easily into the realm of animation. Tell me a little bit about the process of this film and why you chose to shoot it this way.

Yes, we are lucky because we can put it in whichever category suits us at the time.  We shot the actors on video in front of blank backgrounds, then we edited this footage, then printed out each from and cut it out by hand.  Then we re-photographed them in front of printed backgrounds, so it is both live action and animation.

I wrote the script and got a grant from Toronto Arts Council for $7500, without thinking how I would actually pull it off with that money. I figured I had a lot of time but only a little money, so I couldn't afford to build big sets to create the world, but I did have the time to sit and cut out and
scan images, so I came up with this method.

6. How did you get The Tragic Story Of Nling produced and made?

The money came from The Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council and the NFB Filmmakers Assistance Program.  I was working on a feature with producer Larissa Giroux, and when I told her about the short she agreed to produce it for me which worked out great.

8. You have made three short films now, and you must have a strong idea of what the Canadian film industry is like for a director at the start of his career. Tell me a little bit about how short films are received, and perceived within the film industry.

A lot of people think of them as calling cards for features, which I think is a shame.  Of course I do want to move into features, and I hope my shorts will help me do that, but I think of each film as a world of its own and I think all films short and long should be treated as such.  The main difference is that you make more money from features...sometimes.

9. How do short films get shown to the public? What would be a great way to get shorts to the larger public?

Internet distribution is definitely the way to go for expanding audiences for short films.  It will always be a niche audience and the best way to find that niche is online at places like the ITunes store where they sell shorts from Sundance and the Oscars.

10. In 2005 you had the great privilege to be the first Canadian ever to attend the Cannes Festival Residence in Paris. What was that experience like? How does the Cannes Film Festival help emerging filmmakers? What script were you writing?

My script was called "The Long Autumn". It is a dark fairy tale like story about an orphaned boy who is raised by a tree.

The festival flew us to Paris and put us up in an apartment in Pigalle and gave us a per diem for 4 months.  The idea is to give us time away from our lives to really concentrate on writing. This was fantastic because I not only worked on The Long Autumn but was able to complete the first draft of another feature.  The other great thing was just discussing film with my co-residents from all over the world and getting a really good sense of how film is approached elsewhere and building international relationships.

11. What do you love about filmmaking? What is filmmaking all about to you?

I love initiating the creation of worlds. There is a point in making a film where it grows out of your hands and becomes something you or your collaborators never imagined.  For better or for worse, it takes on a life of its own and becomes a world of its own.  Directing is not a job for control freaks. This I suppose is what it is about for me.  It is more magical and mysterious than a medium that you have complete control over.

12. Where do you think Canadian filmmaking is at right now? How could Canadian films gain a greater exposure?

I think we can all be more bold in the features we make and/or fund.  We have a tendency to play it safe and censor ourselves unnecessarily.  If we let ourselves be free and create what we really want to see, the rest will follow. I hope.

13. What are you working on now?

I'm developing two features; One surreal musical called Bang Bang Baby as well as the Long Autumn.

14. What are some of your favourite films to watch?

Hmmm. Withnail and I, 8 ½, Eraserhead, Stranger than Paradise, more recently I was really moved by - I'm Not There, There Will be Blood, and the Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.

Read The AnEVibe Review of The Tragic Story Of Nling