Travis Champagne's short film Jackdaw is traveling festival circuits and winning awards although this is nothing new to the young director whose previous short film "The Out and Outs" starring Mean Girl's Jonathan Bennett and popular Australian TV Show Neighbour's Jordy Lucas won the audience award at the Seattle Shorts Film Festival. According to MTV's Katie Calautti regarding Champagne's most recent film, "Bluesy tunes, bayou vistas and dark plot lines abound. The ever building slow burn that isJackdaw". Jackdaw most recently screened at Fargo Film Festival and is on the lineup for the upcoming Hill Country Film Festival in Fredricksberg. If you can't make a festival screening, you can look for it on ITunes as part of the distribution deal it scored with Academy Award winning short film distributor Shorts HDbecause of its success at the Louisiana Film Prize.One thing is for sure: Champagne is a budding director you want to keep your eye on and some of the best in the business are jumping at the chance to work with him!
MTV: We’re Calling It Now: The Next Big Filmmaker Is Coming From This Festival
If you think the trailer’s stressful, prepare yourself for the ever-building slow burn that is “Jackdaw,” which focuses on Shane (Gary Smith), a man grappling with single fatherhood in the aftermath of his wife’s mysterious disappearance. “’No Country for Old Men’ was my main inspiration,” says Champagne.
And it shows – as does Champagne’s less overt influence from the first season of “True Detective.” Bluesy tunes, bayou vistas and dark plot lines abound. “I’m not going to say ’True Detective’ isn’t definitely an inspiration of mine, because I’ve seen that first season three times and I definitely think about it a lot when I write,” says Champagne, of the comparisons his film has garnered. “To even be remotely considered in that realm of TV brilliance is a win.”
Prize-goers have come to expect memorable performances out of Champagne’s films – “Jackdaw” includes a creepy turn by Ryan Broussard as the main suspect in the unsolved case, along with an impressively imposing showing as chief investigator from Tishuan Scott, and Champagne’s 2014 Prize entry “The Out and Out’s” starred aforementioned “Mean Girls” actor Bennett, who – coincidentally – was first recommended to Champagne by Gretchen Wieners herself, Lacey Chabert. If you’re down with moody, immersive filmmaking, you’ll want to keep an eye on Champagne.
Author: katie calautti
BREAUX BRIDGE NATIVE'S JACKDAW MAKES LAFP TOP 20
Texas filmmaker Travis Champagne has deep roots in Louisiana that keep him coming back.
The Breaux Bridge native first left Louisiana in 2001 when his family moved to Houston. But he returned three years later to attend Louisiana State University.
Aspirations to work in film took him to California and Texas. But for the past few years he’s been drawn back to his home state for a north Louisiana film competition he says is unlike any other.
This year is no different.
Champagne, 29, will be among 20 finalists showcasing short films at the Louisiana Film Prize Oct.1-4 in Shreveport. The festival awards one of largest cash prizes for a short film — $50,000. Champagne — who founded The Woodlands production company Red Belt Studios— was one of 125 filmmakers who entered the competition.
His film, “Jackdaw,” is about a father coping with the disappearance of his wife on its one-year anniversary.
Champagne said though the woman’s disappearance is at the heart of the film, he hopes audiences take away more than the storyline and see the film’s deeper metaphorical meaning.
“People who’ve watched it, assume it’s only about a kidnapping and finding out the details of her disapearance,” he said. “But what I think is important is the loss of a mother and wife and (the father and son) realizing the importance of each other after such a tremendous loss.”
The greatest part of film is the journey, Champagne said. “With this particular journey, it ends in a way the story still goes on,” he said. Champagne collaborated with fellow Film Prize veteran, Stephen Kinigopoulos, a New Orleans filmmaker who recently moved to Maryland.
The two met at the 2013 Film Prize.
Kinigopoulos’ “Last Call” was among the Top 20 films being screened that year, as was Champagne’s “The Sound of Trains.” “I just really enjoyed his film and his passion for filmmaking,” Champagne said.
So as Champagne began his script for this year’s entry, he reached out to Kinigoupolos to see if he wanted to be a part of it. It turned out, Kinigoupolos had a script of his own and a collaboration ensued. “We kind of merged the two and made a baby called ‘Jackdaw,’” Kinigoupolos said. He said their concepts and visions were different but complemented each other.
Champagne found ways to engage the audience, while “I loved to build characters,” Kinigoupolos said. The combination resulted in an amazing film, he said.
Author: Michele Marcotte