How I Went From Teaching Sex Ed to Making a Feature Film (Guest Blog)

I began my career almost three decades ago teaching sex-ed class in a high school in Saskatchewan, Canada. It’s a long story, but the kids referred to me as the “sex guy.” From there I moved into elementary education for a few years, and then another high school position teaching P.E. and history while coaching football and wrestling.

It was a terrific eight-year ride, including a provincial championship for my wrestling team. During that time I began teaching a Media Studies course, through which I learned basic film techniques. When I got itchy feet and needed a new challenge again, I moved to an inner city school to teach drama and direct theatrical productions.

One of my teacher friends at the time asked, “What did you do wrong to get transferred to an inner-city school?” I told him I requested it. He just shook his head. But I really felt for those kids on the west side of town. It was the same side I grew up on.

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Those itchy feet are what led me to become a filmmaker, while still keeping my
day job teaching. I had a revelation in 2005 while teaching a filmmaking course for kids in the mountains near Calgary Alberta. I had been telling the kids, “Take a risk, make a film, don’t wait to get permission.”

But one night beside the campfire it struck me what a huge hypocrite I was. A few months later, I formed Five Stones Films and over the next couple years went on to make “Season of Dreams,” a movie about football in Saskatchewan. Its success surprised us, even though we’d been aiming high (as shown by our “David and Goliath”-inspired company name).

Since then I’ve made numerous shorts and four feature-length films, but I’ll reach a milestone of sorts when my latest, “Because of Grácia,” releases nationwide in the U.S. on September 15. Meanwhile, I’m still a high school teacher. At the moment, I’m running an intensive film school program for 11th graders who come for a semester from all across our city of 250,000.

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“Because of Grácia” started out as a stage play in 2001. In the years I was writing and directing theater, our productions were always playing out in my head as movies. I had grown up in the ’70s gorging on American pop culture from “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Rockford Files” to “Jaws,” “Star Wars” and “Grease.” (The music, dancing, camera movement and colors in that musical really captured my imagination.) So, early on I had already begun to think of storytelling in terms of the screen.

They say writers and filmmakers should tell stories about what they know best. That was certainly true of me “Because of Grácia,” a story about life in high school that dealt with all the issues kids had brought to me over the years: divorce, teen pregnancy, abortion, drugs, alcohol, faith, peer pressure and the like.

We shot a rough cut in a local school and people loved it. One minute we were talking about the potential of the movie to go big and the next minute someone had committed significant money for production funds for us to go out and shoot if for real. It all happened so quickly.

Production was in Louisiana. You don’t realize till afterward that it’s absolutely pure unadulterated pressure. Making my own films for nine years, I had always been engaged in every aspect, but now that had to change. I kept being reminded of Tarantino when he made his first film and was nervous about everything. His producer told him, “Hey, we hire people to do that stuff. Just direct the actors.”

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I was fortunate to find some great talent to bring our film to life in front of the cameras. Chris Massoglia, who plays Darren Shan in “Cirque Du Freak,” and singer Moriah Peters played my leads: a teenager named Chase Morgan who wants to start a relationship with newcomer Grácia Davis but is too afraid to ask her out.

The story is filled with all sorts of the characters I’ve encountered in my teaching over the years: the guy who keeps pressuring his girlfriend for sex; the girl who gives in, gets pregnant, and wants to have an abortion; the confident student saving herself for marriage; the undercover Christian kid desperate to avoid ridicule; the funny, jocular best friend; the honest-hearted atheist teacher; the pragmatic, amoral high school principal — you name it, they all show up.

As I continue teaching film here in Canada, I have hundreds of students watching my every move. I’m a living example for them of what can happen when you dream big dreams and work hard to achieve them.

I’m often asked by students what will happen if this film becomes a major hit. Will I quit teaching for the bright lights of Hollywood? Probably not, I tell them. I love my job and my students too much. If I inspire even one of them to pursue and realize their own filmmaking dreams, it will make my own long and winding road, from Saskatchewan to Hollywood and back again, all the more worthwhile.

All 19 Movies and Shows Steve Bannon Wrote, Directed or Produced (Photos)

Before he had the ear of the president, former White House Chief Political Strategist Steve Bannon tried his hand at Hollywood. As a producer, he was behind several small movies, but he really hit his movie-making stride writing and directing conservative documentaries aimed at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Here's a complete list of every Hollywood project in which Bannon's had a hand.
“The Indian Runner” (1991) — Executive Producer
Bannon’s first movie as an executive producer was, somewhat ironically, written and directed by famous Trump critic Sean Penn. “The Indian Runner” starred Viggo Mortensen and David Morse as brothers on the opposite sides of the law. Here’s the trailer.
MGM
"Seinfeld" (1992) — Investor
Bannon's investment banking company bought a minor stake in Castle Rock Entertainment, the producer behind the show, in 1992. That gave Bannon's company an undisclosed chunk of the syndication royalties for the show. By 2013, "Seinfeld" reruns had earned $3.1 billion. Even if Bannon only had a 1% cut of the royalties, "Seinfeld" would have netted him $31 million.
NBC
"Titus" (1999) — Co-Executive Producer
Anthony Hopkins and Jessica Lange star in this modern-styled adaptation of the Shakespeare “Titus Andronicus.” That story packs an interesting mix of 1950s aesthetics and ancient Roman subject matter. Bannon served as co-executive producer on the project, the production of which was his obsession for almost a decade. Watch the trailer here.
Fox
“Reagan: In the Face of Evil” (2004) — Co-Producer
Bannon wrote and directed this documentary, based on the book “Reagan’s War” by Peter Schweizer. It’s heavily conservative and positive about the former Republican president, focusing on his Cold War battle with the Soviet Union. It also holds a fairly abysmal 11 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration” (2006) — Executive Producer
Bannon’s got a lot of interest in illegal immigration. “Border War” expands its look on illegal immigrants coming from Mexico, trying to include everything from human smuggling and crime to protests and immigration laws. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Tradition Never Graduates: A Season Inside Notre Dame Football” (2007) — Executive Producer
For the first time since he was producing Shakespeare, Bannon’s filmography takes a break from conservative-leaning movies to talk about how great Notre Dame football is.
Vimeo
“The Chaos Experiment” (2009) — Executive Producer
Obviously the best way to improve a “Saw”-style serial killer thriller is with a heavy handed anti-global warming message. Val Kilmer is a deranged global warming scientist who no one will believe. So he locks six people in a steam room to simulate what global warming will eventually do to the world. Watch the trailer here.
YouTube
“Generation Zero” (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer
More than one critic called Bannon's documentary “Generation Zero” a “horror movie” about the US economy. Bannon explains the economic crash of 2008 by blaming the national deficit and bank bailouts, as well as the 1960s and the Baby Boomer generation. But really, this is about the rise of the Tea Party. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Battle for America” (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer
Bannon tried to get out the conservative vote for the 2010 midterm elections by painting it as a war against the Obama Administration in this documentary. It's kind of hilarious listening to some of the conservative comments about the radical Obama presidency in the face of Trump's first seven weeks in office. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Fire from the Heartland" (2010) — Writer, Director, Producer
Focusing on women in American conservatism, "Fire from the Heartland" paints the picture of a powerful American cultural movement that draws strength from women's issues. The movie posits that angry "Mama Grizzly" conservative women are the unforeseen side-effect of feminism in America. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Sarah Palin: The Undefeated" (2010)
"The Undefeated" chronicles Sarah Palin's rise in battling the Republican establishment and the liberal media. Bannon's doc explores her life and history as a politician, painting her as a warrior who went up against special interests and corruption as she rose from Alaska to the national stage. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“The Hope & the Change” (2012) — Writer, Director, Producer
Democrats are disillusioned because of Barack Obama, Bannon works to show in this documentary. Interviewing something like 40 Democrats and Independents, the movie finds people who never got the Hope and Change they were promised. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“District of Corruption” (2012) — Writer, Director, Producer
Before he was part of the Trump Administration and the constant allegations of corruption it weathers, Bannon made this doc hammering the Obama Administration with claims of corruption. Bannon wrote and directed this one, working with conservative watch dog group Judicial Watch. Check out the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Occupy Unmasked” (2012) — Writer, Director
Bannon's documentaries have shown the Tea Party in a positive light, and in "Occupy Unmasked," he goes after a liberal movement. The movie portrays Occupy as radical, uncontrollable, and dangerous. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Sweetwater” (2013) — Executive Producer
Taking a break from making documentaries, Bannon produced "Sweetwater." The Western is all about revenge and murdering bad dudes, and has a pretty notable cast, including heavy hitters like January Jones, Jason Isaacs, Ed Harris and Stephen Root. Watch the trailer here.
“Rickover: The Birth of Nuclear Power” (2014) — Executive Producer
"Rickover" tells the story of controversial US Navy Admiral Hyman Rickover, who pushed for the first nuclear-powered submarine. After that, Rickover became an entrepreneur and nuclear pioneer, building the first commercial nuclear power plant. The documentary, produced by Bannon, appeared on PBS, of all places.
PBS
“Clinton Cash” (2016) — Writer, Executive Producer
Ahead of the 2016 election, Bannon wrote a documentary adaptation of the book "Clinton Cash" by Peter Schweizer. The movie focuses on Clinton Foundation corruption and suggests foreign money influences Hillary Clinton in government. Another ironic one, as allegations of ethics breaches and using the presidency for personal enrichment continue to follow the Trump family. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
“Torchbearer” (2016) — Writer, Director, Executive Producer
"Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson goes around the world to talk about Christianity and the Bible in this Bannon-directed doc. The Duck Commander uses the Bible to add context to historical sites, pushing the idea of a culture war to get Christians out to the 2016 polls. Watch the trailer here.
Citizens United
"Trump @War" (2018) -- Writer, Director

After his ouster from the White House, Bannon directed and co-wrote a documentary ahead of the 2018 midterm elections that portrays Trump supporters as under siege. He also admitted to Axios that he hoped the film would get back into POTUS' good graces: "How jacked do we think Trump will be when he sees this?"
Victory Film Group

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Bannon produced Hollywood movies in the 1990s, but most of his efforts have gone to making polemic, conservative documentaries

Before he had the ear of the president, former White House Chief Political Strategist Steve Bannon tried his hand at Hollywood. As a producer, he was behind several small movies, but he really hit his movie-making stride writing and directing conservative documentaries aimed at Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. Here's a complete list of every Hollywood project in which Bannon's had a hand.

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BIO Tom Simes

Tom Simes is the writer-director of "Because of Gracia," which opens nationwide on September 15, 2017.