91原创

Skip to content

Viva Italia!

91原创 filmmaker Chelsea McMullan will spend a year in Italy, honing her craft at Fabrica
Brenda Anderson 2011-02-04
Chelsea McMullan
Chelsea McMullan is spending a year at Fabrica, in northern Italy, where the young filmmaker will hone her craft in an 'artistic think tank.'

A young 91原创 filmmaker has been granted an exciting opportunity to experience la dolce vita for herself.

But for Chelsea McMullan, spending a year in Italy doesn鈥檛 mean sitting at the edge of a vineyard, sipping wine or browsing world famous fashion houses.

Instead, the 26-year-old will spend the next 12 months working on her craft at Fabrica, in Treviso, a town of 60,000 people.

The creative think tank, operated by the Bennetton family 鈥 best known for their United Colors of Bennetton ad campaign 鈥 is located 20 minutes outside of Venice in the country鈥檚 far north.

Fabrica is, in its simplest terms, an 鈥渁rtistic incubator,鈥 McMullan said.

It is also a startingly minimalist piece of post modern architecture located outside a medieval Italian city.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty wild place. It鈥檚 got a huge, beautiful library, a photo studio 鈥 if you鈥檙e into the arts at all, it鈥檚 like being a kid in a candy store,鈥 she said.

As one of only 40 people selected to live and work there for the next year, McMullan will get an apartment in Treviso and receive a stipend to sustain her while she focuses on creative pursuits.

鈥淚 have tons of ideas of what I want to do,鈥 she said.

It鈥檚 not entirely up to her what she will work on, however.

There are no classes, per se, but she will be getting direction and assistance as she works on different film and video assignments.

鈥淧rojects come up and people are chosen,鈥 she explained.

McMullan learned about Fabrica through the company鈥檚 Colors magazine, which she鈥檚 been reading since she was 15.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty revolutionary, stunning stuff,鈥 she said of the magazine鈥檚 content.

And it was here she first learned about the opportunity to work abroad at Fabrica. A couple of years ago, with the 26-year age limit closing in, she decided to give it a shot.

鈥淚 thought, why not throw my hat in?鈥

Six months later, the phone call came from Italy, inviting her to take part in a two-week trial period.

Last October, McMullan boarded a flight for Europe, bringing along some raw footage to edit while she was there.

At the end of the two weeks her short film was screened and she was soon invited back for the full year.

McMullan left for Italy on Feb. 7 and won鈥檛 be home until Fabrica breaks for the month of August.

鈥淭his for me is, more than anything, creative development,鈥 she said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity to work with people from all over the world (who come) with a different perspective,鈥 she said.

The nine-minute film she created during her two-week tryout was based around auditions for a production of one of Shakespeare鈥檚 great tragedies.

It explores ideas of mortality and masculinity 鈥 death and grief as seen through the eyes of boys in the 12- to 15-year age range.

鈥淚 was reading a lot of Hamlet,鈥 she said.

鈥淩eading it after the death of someone close to you gives you a whole new perspective,鈥 said McMullan, whose mother, former Township Councillor Heather McMullan, passed away a year and a half ago.

鈥淵ou come to understand he was grieving in a world that doesn鈥檛 allow for it. He was banging his head against walls.

鈥淚 responded to it,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 remember the pangs of first understanding death.鈥

During her time at home in August, she plans to work on her ongoing project 鈥 a feature length documentary about Canadian trans-gendered musician Rae Spoon.

The two first worked together when Spoon provided music for McMullan鈥檚 short film Deadman, which was filmed in the desert near Kamloops and is currently making the rounds of the independent film circuit. She then directed a music video for Spoon鈥檚 single There is a Light (but it鈥檚 not for everyone).

It caught the eye of Bob Lefsetz, a well known music blogger in the U.S. and online visits to the video jumped.

鈥淥vernight, viewership tripled. I started getting offers, I鈥檝e been approached by labels, said McMullan, who rushed to take meetings in L.A. before heading to Italy.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a bit exhausting, she said of her recent travel schedule.

鈥淚鈥檓 a bit of a nomad.鈥

Having a supportive family has made her demanding life easier to handle.

In addition to giving her a much-needed set of luggage for Christmas, McMullan鈥檚 father, Rick, has been her most ardent supporter.

鈥淗e鈥檚 my number one fan. He鈥檚 been to every single screening of Deadman. He may have seen it more times than I have,鈥 she said.

As a lawyer, he鈥檚 been able to provide her with practical career advice, too.

Where her dad and older sister, Kylie, are the analytical thinkers in the family, McMullan believes she takes after her mother.

鈥淚鈥檓 more passionate. I鈥檓 always ready to jump in with both feet.鈥



About the Author: Black Press Media Staff

Read more



(or

91原创

) document.head.appendChild(flippScript); window.flippxp = window.flippxp || {run: []}; window.flippxp.run.push(function() { window.flippxp.registerSlot("#flipp-ux-slot-ssdaw212", "Black Press Media Standard", 1281409, [312035]); }); }