Hi, I’m Declan McKenna and I’m the writer and director of Bystander.
I’m a 19 year old, 2nd year film student from Vancouver, living in Toronto to study at TMU.
Bystander is a self-funded student short film that centers around a group of four friends over a period of 24 hours in downtown Toronto. I don’t want to reveal too much about the story itself but this is the synopsis: “What seems like an average night for Tyler, Cole, Rocco, and Terry quickly goes awry when they are approached by a mysterious stranger.”
The idea for Bystander came from a variety of interactions I had with friends, and random people on the streets of Toronto during my first semester in here. This film in a way represented the fears I had about living in a new big city, halfway across the country from my family. I also wanted to base certain characters off the friends I had met since attending TMU. Other inspiration came from movies like The Goonies, Prisoners and Good Time–also Stranger Things kinda.
We shot Bystander early 2nd semester. Originally, it was planned to be about a week long shoot, but due to unforeseen circumstances, we didn’t wrap shooting until like a month after the first day on set. We shot it using the equipment we had or could rent from the school with an entirely first year cast and crew from the film, professional music, business, fashion, and new media programs. The budget was sub-$250.
We shot it in all three residence buildings, as well as the school movie theatre, Kerr hall, and on the street. Other locations included the backlot of a homeless shelter and outside the Imperial Pub.
– Declan McKenna
Parseptchien Pictures
@parseptchien
How it came to be
Parseptchien began as an attempt to make a film club in Ottawa. I was isolated in the suburbs of a high school surrounded by STEM students. Whenever I mentioned film as a future, I would be ridiculed, so Parseptchien was my attempt to show how broad the community of young filmmakers was in this small city. At first, I reached out to a close friend of mine, Kayla Hoang, who attended De La Salle High School which was a French art school situated in the core of downtown Ottawa. Then, I was introduced to Samuel Jean who directed one of Parseptchien’s first projects. Later on, word got around and I met Pamela Fuller who directed Prom Dress (2023) which became our first success since the short film went viral, sitting at 100k views on YouTube. At this point, I wanted to reach higher, and this is how I was determined to pursue a future in film, hence the company.
Why did I create it (Purpose)
The true purpose for creating this company comes from my struggle in high school. I was isolated with no one else to discuss my love for film. I wanted to share ideas with others, and the process of finding friends took 1-hour bus rides to downtown Ottawa to attend Bytowne and Mayfair, independent theatres that played classics and obscure films. Developing my love for downtown, I began messaging or putting on my story “Please DM me if you know anyone interested in film in Ottawa!” I met with little responses until I reached out to local art schools with film programs. Because of this lengthy journey, I decided that Parseptchien would become a haven for independent young Canadian filmmakers who wanted to work and watch films together. With events like Bystander’s World Premiere, I had always dreamed of creating a space in which you could meet your future collaborators and community without having to make the long trip which I suffered during the days of my high school years.
How it is
Coming to Toronto Metropolitan University was possibly one of my best life decisions, and funny enough, writing this seems like I’m advertising them, but the idea that I would be surrounded by creatives and attend film-focused classes meant that I would meet my future collaborators. Being at the heart of Toronto, TIFF is nearby, and with the school, I am able to live in an environment purposely for what I want to do.
Future
In the future, we plan to produce three short films for 2024, and our goal is to hopefully share more events with the public and hopefully travel with our films wherever festivals will accept us.
-Justin Tan