Still flying high off a recent film festival win, a Collingwood filmmaker has his eyes firmly forward on what’s next.
Thomas Stubbington, 27, owner of Two Six Productions, sat down with CollingwoodToday, an affiliate of BradfordToday and InnisfilToday, to discuss the award, his upbringing and some upcoming projects:
Q: Where did you grow up?
A: I was born and raised in Collingwood.
Q: What schools did you attend?
A: I went to Connaught Public School and Collingwood Collegiate Institute (CCI).
Q: When did you first know you wanted to get involved in filmmaking?
A: I was first interested in it at CCI. I was in Miss Meadow’s communications and technology class. She pushed me toward that and got me interested in it.
I met my long-time friend and colleague in that class, Khaleel Gandhi. Ever since, we’ve bounced off each other. We had all these aspirations. We brought them to fruition.
Q: Where did life take you after you graduated?
A: I went to Humber College for their communications course. It was a way to bridge into their full-on film course. I did a year of that, and then I decided to go into Georgian College’s film program in Barrie that had just started. I did a year of that, and then just jumped right into it.
Now, I run my own production company called Two Six Productions.
Q: What does Two Six Productions do?
A: I do a mix of everything. I do client work, events, short films and features.
I worked on my first documentary, 20 Years by the Bay, which is a heartwarming story about Theatre by the Bay in Barrie. It was about their 20-year history. It was a big project. Khaleel brought me on board on that one — he was communications director for Theatre by the Bay at that time. He directed it, I was the director of photography and we edited it together.
We just won an award for it at the Brampton International Nollywood Film Festival in October. It won best documentary film in Canada.
We were also selected at two other film festivals in Markham and Niagara, but we didn’t win anything at those.
Q: How did it make you feel to get that kind of an accolade?
A: There was a lot of work involved in it, so it was a breath of fresh air knowing that our film was honoured in this way. It was humbling for both of us.
It was a badge of honour.
Q: What other projects do you have on your radar?
A: I’m working on a documentary film about the Collingwood Shipyards. It’s called The Last Launch: The Rise and Fall of CollShip. It’s about its history in totality. It will include people involved in the shipyards and their stories, and how they felt when it closed.
It’s a historical documentary, but I didn’t want to make a film that just throws facts at you.
I’m really happy that Bell Fibe TV took a chance on me. They had a thing in April where they came and were looking for local content and we pitched live. I was one of them.
After my pitch, they asked for a one-on-one conversation. I’m grateful they took on the project and saw the vision. The Collingwood Shipyards were an important part of this town. A lot of people who come to this town don’t really know the history. This town used to be blue-collar, and now it’s not.
I have family members that worked on the yard. I have big roots in this community.
Q: What are your hobbies?
A: Photography is a big one.
I don’t do photography jobs. It’s kind of like my escape from everything else.
Q: What are your future aspirations for your filmmaking career?
A: I definitely want to continue in the industry and keep making films. It seems documentaries are kind of my niche right now, but I remain open to any project.
Q: Is there anything else you want people in Collingwood to know about you?
A: I’m a big storyteller. I’m a fan of people’s stories.
I love to hear stories, listen to people and learn.
Everyone has a different way of life and a different way of thinking. It’s interesting to learn about other people and reflect on that in my own life.
I’m a story guy.
