Living in the Reel World

The black haired, lanky kid laughs menacingly as he waxes the 12th floor staircase. Moments later, a bully bursts through the doors, slipping down the spiraling staircase and falling out of a window, only to be hit by a passing bus. The protagonist laughs at his enemy’s demise, and the film ends as he crosses another name from his list.
Despite its morbidity, this short film, titled Waxman, has served as the launching pad for one Concordia’s student’s directorial career.
Eric Piccoli. a Montreal-native, has been pursuing filmmaking as far back as he can remember. Whether studying at the Saidye Bronfman Centre or learning animation at CÉGEP, Piccoli has spent years refining his craft. So when Waxman was picked up by both the CBC and the Fantasia Film Festival in 2007, he decided to take the ball and run with it.
The film was such an immediate hit that it appeared on CBC television and was shown during the 2007 Fantastia Festival.
Hoping to build on the hype caused by Waxman, Piccoli and colleagues, Simon Gaudreau and Marco Frascarelli, formed their own francophone film production company, Artstroke Films Productions Inc., in 2006.
Piccoli has several volunteers who help make up the company’s flourishing production team. Since its creation, the film production company has created over 20 short films for their website and seven short feature films, with one currently in production.
“We all make films for people to enjoy, so when they’re on television or showed during the festivals, it’s like part of the dream is coming true,” said Piccoli.
Artstroke Films co-founder Simon Gaudreau began working with Piccoli prior to the company’s creation. Gaudreau admits that his partner can be fanatical when it comes to filmmaking, yet his greatness as a director lies in his openness to criticism.
“During the making of a film, Piccoli is completely invested in the project he makes and is always open to listen to commentaries, good or bad,” he said. “He always wants to hear everyone’s advice so it can make his film better.”
One of the company’s employees, Julien Deschamps Jolin, also vouches for Piccoli’s excellent directing skills, but also feels that he is a man of dedication, not procrastination.
“He is a guy who can’t do anything else but what he is passionate about. The number of hours he spends on a project to make sure its perfect . . . [his dedication] never ceases to amaze me,” said Jolin.
In addition to starting his company in 2006, Piccoli also decided to enroll in Concordia’s film production program to sharpen his skills. Since then, he has been studying fulltime while continuing to run Artstroke.
“I’m putting more energy into my company because it will be my job one day, but [I’m making sure] I continue my studies. It’s important in so many ways,” he said.
One of his Concordia classmates, Jonathan McMullen, has witnessed Piccoli’s passion for film in and out of the classroom. McMullen had taken two film production classes with the filmmaker, and has worked with him on a film.
The two recently combined forces and created a short film, directed by McMullen and filmed by Piccoli, called The Vaudeville Show. Based on his observations during the film’s making, McMullen sees great promise in his classmate’s future.
“[Ten years from now], I think Eric will be competing for an Oscar for best director [ . . . ] against me, of course,” he said.
Piccoli’s dreams don’t stray far from his classmate’s prediction, but he has some minor hurdles he would like to conquer before the Oscars.
“I hope that one day Artstroke Films will receive its own show on Radio-Canada. And I want to complete our first full-length feature film on media criticism and submit it to the National Film Board,” said Piccoli.
Until then, Piccoli will continue to juggle filmmaking and studying at Concordia.