This year, the Vancouver International Film Festival this year was host to 340 movies from over 75 different countries, but one of the most talked about films on this year’s line up was That Burning Feeling, directed by SFU alumni Jason James. Winner of VIFF’s Best Canadian First Feature award, the film challenges and enhances the romantic comedy genre — and was filmed completely in Vancouver.
The Peak sat down with James and he talked about That Burning Feeling and what brought it to life. He was inspired to make this film by watching cheesy airplane movies. “I like to watch the biggest, dumbest movie possible; there is something poetic about watching these big movies on these tiny little shitty screens.” James also mentioned his “love hate relationship with rom-coms,” adding that “some of the best films made are of that genre and some of the worst films made are of that genre.”
James knew he wanted to create a rom-com that would hold true to the genre and address a new topic, usually dismissed as unromantic. He called up his writer, Nick Citton, and they got to work, whittling away at the concepts and characters until they created something they could stand behind.
The duo wanted to make a romantic, heartwarming movie about something off-putting: gonorrhea. That’s right, gonorrhea. A big challenge was securing backing for a film that addresses the situational humour of STIs.
Within the first few minutes of the film, Adam Murphy (Paolo Costanzo) is diagnosed with gonorrhea and must inform all his sexual partners of the past 30 days. The thing is, Adam has slept with — and thus must get in contact with — a good number of women. Like any rom-com, That Burning Feeling has a bad guy, a funny friend, a love interest, and a flawed protagonist. It follows the formula, but adds its own flair to create a memorable and enjoyable film.
James is the brain behind Resonance Films, a Vancouver-based production company, and is responsible for acclaimed films in both the Toronto and Vancouver International Film Festivals. He also worked on This Space is for Rent, a well-known dramedy on CBC.
Graduating from SFU in 2000 with a double major in communications and film, James has been wanting to make movies ever since he was nine years old (when his family bought their first good camera): “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, what I’ve always done, like every single step I’ve made in my life has been towards becoming a filmmaker.”
At the end of our conversation, James offered some advice on how to make it big: “Make bad movies, because you have to start making bad ones to eventually make good ones. You actually start learning when you’re in the real world.”
