The original story can be found on A&S News.
A&S alum Andreas Vatiliotou is living his childhood dream of making a feature film, thanks to the mentorship, expertise and support he received through U of T’s creative writing program.
“I have so much love for that program, the other writers I met there and for my mentor, Anne Michaels, who helped me discover a deeper, more profound approach to storytelling,” says Vatiliotou, who earned his master of arts in 2012. “My work has become more personal, and the response from people when they read it is stronger because of the influence she’s had on my writing.”
Vatiliotou says mentors Michaels and Rosemary Sullivan not only had a profound impact on his career but were also the reason he chose to study at A&S after completing his undergraduate degree at Wilfrid Laurier University.
"One of the first books I read when I went to Laurier for my undergrad was Anne’s novel, Fugitive Pieces,” Vatiliotou says, “I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to work with the writer who created it. It remains one of the most beautiful and life-affirming books I’ve ever read.”
Vatiliotou points to his U of T degree, as well as the references Michaels and Sullivan provided, for his acceptance at the esteemed Canadian Film Centre (CFC). There, he participated in an intensive program that gave him the toolkit and connections he needed to start his journey as a screenwriter.
“The really lovely part of U of T’s creative writing program and the CFC was the sense of artistic community with people who see careers in filmmaking, and the arts more generally, as worthy and valuable,” Vatiliotou says.
Through the CFC, Vatiliotou connected with director, Glen Wood. The pair collaborated on a short film and were inspired to then develop I Come Home, a feature-length drama, as their next project together.
“It's a film about an atypical family and an atypical relationship, but a relationship in which the key players are very devoted to each other,” says Vatiliotou.
Vatiliotou wrote the screenplay for the film, now in post-production. He credits the making of the film, a costly endeavour in a cash-strapped industry, to Wood’s tenacity.
“Glen is just a lovely person to collaborate with because he’s so open to new ideas,” Vatiliotou says. “He also knows how to bring the right people together to make things happen, and he sets a positive tone when we’re shooting, which is vitally important for a film set.”
For his part, Wood was impressed by Vatiliotou’s short films and his ability to get the most from limited resources.
“Andreas makes a shoe-string budget look like so much more,” says Wood. “He writes wonderful characters; the kind of characters actors fight to play, attracting an excellent cast.”
With I Come Home, Vatiliotou sought to depict polyamory in a way that is honest and complex. He took inspiration from a friend wishing his husband and his husband's boyfriend a happy anniversary, absent of jealousy and ill intention.
“I just thought, I’ve never seen this kind of relationship on screen before,” he says. “Whenever we see polyamory depicted on screen, it's either used as a comedic device or a red flag of a relationship in crisis. I wanted to represent it in a more nuanced and less judgmental way.”
The writing of I Come Home was influenced heavily by Michaels’s teaching and the use of fiction to answer big, existential questions.
“Andreas is a deep thinker, and his seriousness and commitment were evident from our very first meeting,” Michaels says. “My earliest impressions have only strengthened over time. His work explores complex situations with intelligence and compassion.”
I Come Home was filmed in a whirlwind 15 days. Vatiliotou was on set throughout the production so he could be of use for last-minute rewrites but, per his own admission, he was mostly there to watch the movie magic unfold and partake in the craft service.
“It’s incredibly seductive to be on a film set,” Vatiliotou says. “It’s amazing to watch actors bring their interpretations to a character, and to see a director execute their vision, not to mention all the talented crew who bring the world of the film to life.”
When Vatiliotou is not writing films, he’s a communications officer at the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Centre for Industrial Relations & Human Resources. He says the rigour of a regular job helps his screenwriting.
“I've loved working in academia for over a decade,” Vatiliotou says. “It's so lovely to have new students come in every year with their enthusiasm and excitement, and to get the opportunity to work with brilliant staff and faculty.”
I Come Home will be released next year on streaming platform Crave.