A rising name in the local film scene, writer/director John Hollands has crafted several impressive titles to his name on the heels of numerous accolades and screenings for his projects. Now, in honor of his short film "Le Tour de Canada" screening at the 2025 edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival, I talk with him about his early interest in filmmaking, the making of the short, and some upcoming plans.
Me: Hello and thank you for taking the time to do this. First off, when did you get into horror in general? What films specifically got you into watching horror movies?
John Hollands: The first true “horror movie” I ever saw was probably Alien when I was around eight or nine. I loved science fiction growing up, so Alien was really kind of a side-door entry into horror for me. Alien was a great introduction to the genre in part because it’s such a perfect movie, but also because it's the kind of movie that teaches you how to watch horror films in a way. It’s such a great distillation of a lot of the genre conventions.
Me: When did you first discover a passion for filmmaking? Were you always interested in the creative arts growing up?
JH: I think my family probably figured it out before I did when I wore out our Jurassic Park behind-the-scenes VHS, watching it over and over again when I was about five. I was completely obsessed with how they had brought the dinosaurs to life, and that kind of bled into an obsession with the process and craft of filmmaking. That interest progressed to making short animations with Lego and paper cut-out stop motion. A lot of the skills I first started to learn while making those animations led directly into some of the paper cut-out animations I incorporated into Le Tour De Canada.
Me: Having worked on various aspects of film production, do you have any particular preference for working on any?
JH: I really love directing. My films are very small, and I want them to have a handcrafted kind of feel, so I’m often doing a little bit of everything, but I especially love working with actors. It’s a really fun kind of work, and the extremely collaborative nature of directing is exciting. It’s a part of filmmaking where you can be really surprised and learn a lot about the film that you wouldn’t have on your own.
Me: With plenty of short films early in your career, what tools and skills did you acquire working on those that transferred to feature-film projects?
JH: My previous film, Grenfell Adrift on an Iceberg, was also a blend of animation and live action. Every shot in that film was a visual effects shot. A lot of the techniques I learned from that film carried over directly to Le Tour De Canada. Some techniques, like the cut-out animations, were directly informed by what I had learned doing cut-outs on Grenfell. Others, like the rear projection shots, were informed by challenges faced on Grenfell.
Me: That brings us to your latest short, "Le Tour de Canada." What can you tell us about the project? Where did the inspiration come from? Were there any unique stories about its conception?
JH: At its most basic level, Le Tour De Canada comes from my deep love of cycling. I had been thinking about a way to make a film about bikes for a while, and while working on Grenfell had gotten really deep into the filmography of Jan Švankmajer. I fell in love with his 1988 short film Mužné hry (Virile Games), which is an absurd and brilliant live-action animated hybrid film about a football match that descends into extreme violence. The film is a clever comment on the end of the Soviet era in now Czechia, but is also just a deliriously fun and inventive short about sport. Around the same time, I first saw Louis Malle’s brilliant film “Vive Le Tour,” which documents the 1962 Tour de France. The film is pretty plainly the best film ever made about cycling. These two films sat with me for a while, and eventually Le Tour De Canada kind of grew out of the ideas of these two films.
Me: With a cast of experienced and talented indie actors, how'd you settle on the cast getting involved in the film? What characteristics did you look for with each performer that they brought to the table that helped bring the production to life?
JH: When we started the process of casting the film, we initially went out to a number of comedians. I felt strongly that the film needed people who knew how to be funny; performers could make people laugh with just an expression or the way they moved their bodies. I was first introduced to Ben Cockell through a filmmaker friend and really felt he was a great fit. Ben has such an incredible expressive face, and quickly, I felt sure he was right for the role of Marc. Ben introduced me to Zander. The three of us met, and I immediately saw how strong their rapport was.
They were both great to work with. The nature of this kind of production can be challenging for actors. We did a million extremely short takes, completely removed from context or any kind of motivation. Ben and Zander were both incredibly patient and got really invested in the kind of tedious process of some of the shots. They’re commitment really shows on screen, I think. Matthew Rankin joined the project later. Matthew has been very supportive of my work, and I felt his voice would be perfect for the kind of mid-century NFB aesthetic we were going for. Matthew sent over a few first readings and nailed it on the first go. We didn’t even have to do second takes.
Me: What was the set like while shooting the film? How did the cast and crew react to the type of film being made?
JH: The shoot itself was very short. We only had two days to get all the live action elements, and virtually every shot had a visual effect component, which meant that everything took a little longer to set up. Nearly every shot had a rear-projected background, which also added an extra level of complication. Ultimately, this just meant we had to be disciplined and really prepared. The whole film was storyboarded from start to finish so that we could maximize our time on set. The complexity and unorthodox nature of the visual aesthetic meant that it was also really important for us to have a really clear sense of what we were trying to achieve with every shot, and we knew we had to be able to communicate it really effectively with our crew.
Me: Do you recall having any odd or funny on-set stories about yourself or any of the other cast/crew members?
JH: We shot the film in December in an unheated stage in Port Moody, BC, which added an extra level of realism to the Newfoundland sequences!
Me: What are you most looking forward to with its upcoming release?
JH: The timing of the release of this very Canadian movie, with the increase of patriotism across the country, is something I had not counted on. The film is so based in the language of NFB, government filmmaking, and Canadian cinema, which were all responding to very different political conditions. I’m interested to see how Canadians and non-Canadians alike respond to the film in the context of the current political climate.
Me: What do you do to keep your creative energy flowing?
JH: I love to ride my bike. It gives me a lot of time alone to mull over different ideas. Riding through the city is also secretly a great way to glean little bits of story. You cover so much ground, and yet you’re still going slow enough to catch all these little human moments. It’s a great way to collect story ideas.
Me: Lastly, what else are you working on that you'd like to share with our readers? Thank you again for your time!
JH: Right now, I’m developing a horror feature set in a mine in 1930s Newfoundland.
This interview is part of our coverage of the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival. Click the banner below to check out our reviews and interviews from the festival:
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