Young filmmaker documents dangerous journey

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Up-and-coming local filmmaker Scott Boyd knows there's no rule saying that documentary films can't still have the seat-of-your-pants excitement typically associated with big-budget blockbusters.

Boyd's latest work, a documentary short titled The Escape Clause, follows the journey of escape artist Scott Hammell as he prepares for a death-defying leap.

For the 21-year-old Hammell's stunt, he decided to jump out of an airplane while wearing a straightjacket, then break free of his bonds, somehow catch a parachute that has been thrown out of the plane and make his way safely to the ground.

"(Hammell) was looking to launch his motivational speaking career by jumping out of the aircraft in a straightjacket," Boyd said. "When I heard what he was planning, I thought it would make for a great story."

Film festival organizers obviously agreed - The Escape Clause has been accepted at the Edmonton International Film Festival, the Mississauga Independent Film Festival and Toronto's Student Shorts Film Festival, where it will be screened alongside other films from young filmmakers from around the world this weekend.

The filmmaker, also 21, found out about Hammell's dangerous plan purely through coincidence. Both Hammell and Boyd grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo and, though they had never met, they were more closely linked than either knew.

"Our Dads were best friends 20 years ago so it was really organic the way I found out about it and the way it all came about," Boyd said.

The filmmaker began dabbling in film in high school media arts classes and quickly found a passion for the craft. His earlier ventures were fictional pieces, focusing mostly on comedies, but he later moved on to meatier fare.

"Documentaries just have a greater impact on people," he said.

Boyd is currently working on a pilot for a potential television series on people who have been wrongly convicted of crimes. If the show becomes a series, it will be hosted by Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, a former boxer who was convicted of a triple murder only to have the sentence overturned 20 years later.

Boyd moved to Toronto to study film at York University and currently lives in the Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue area.

"There's not exactly a budding film industry (in Kitchener-Waterloo), so this is definitely the place for me to be," he said.

The Escape Clause will be shown as part of Student Shorts' More Than Meets the Eye program at the Bloor Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W. at 9:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 26. Visit www.studentshorts.com for more information on the festival.