From action movies to documentaries

Island filmmakers share love for telling people’s stories

By Daniel Brown

Nathan Carter wanted to make an action movie when he was a kid.

It didn’t matter what it was about. He just wanted to tell a story.

“Anything I could point a camera at.”

Carter went to his buddy’s house with his old, VHS camera. They filmed it on an old cassette.

When they finished the action sequences, they realized it needed one more thing.

“Obviously, we had to have a dance break in the middle,” Carter said.

The two friends grooved until the film was done. They premiered their creation, but discovered the cassette they used also had footage recorded from a church event.

The dance break was dubbed to choir music.

Nathan Carter holds a camera outside Holland College. He switched from camcorders to cameras because he finds they are better quality.

Carter still finds his childhood films entertaining.

“They just make me laugh so much.”

He went on to study chemistry at UPEI. Other than producing videos for some non-profit organizations, filmmaking was only a hobby.

“It was what I liked to do a lot more than chemistry,” he said. “I honestly never thought I could make any money.”

When Carter graduated in 2017, he decided to pursue filmmaking full-time.

Carter founded Wrong Horse Productions in February. He’s contracted to produce and oversee video projects.

Last summer, he released the “Interesting Islanders” documentary series, which showcased eight locals with unique stories.

Carter wants to tell stories of people doing things they’re passionate about. He likes documentaries because he can capture emotions and translate them to the screen.

He likes asking questions and showing people as relatable, he said.

“I’ve landed the dream gig.”

Shane Pendergast also went from action movies to documentaries.

“I was always walking around with a camera.”

In Grade 9, he switched from James Bond parodies to a documentary on his hometown, Tracadie Cross.

People were upset the school had shut down. Pendergast wanted to tell a story that focused on the community rather than the buildings.

The documentary, Community, solidified Pendergast’s passion for film, he said.

“It was sort of sad throughout, but hopeful in the end.”

He’s studying film production at York University in Toronto. His documentary about John Bil, a renowned oyster restaurateur, is in three East Coast film festivals.

Pendergast also made a short film at the St. James Presbyterian Church in Charlottetown. It’s based on a ghost story called The Phantom Bell.

Documentaries are a great way to share and preserve stories, Pendergast said.

“There’s so much power with the medium.”

He hopes to move back to the Island to make more documentaries. He’s working on one about a folk musician, he said.

He wants to make a historical drama about P.E.I. rum-running with his friend, Logan Fulford.

“There’s a real untapped collection of stories.”