MyDocumentary: Hello, this is Dixon Christie here with mydocumentary.ca here with Alan Black of Jackpot. Hello Sir.
Hi, how are you?

MyDocumentary: I’m very good, how are you?
I’m OK.

MyDocumentary: So, you’re showing your movie here at Hotdocs for the very first time…
Yah, it screened last Friday night for the very first time.

MyDocumentary: How did it go?
Very good. It was a packed house; people seemed to have a good time.  A few of the subjects were there and had a really good time, so…

MyDocumentary: People love Bingo…
People do love Bingo.

MyDocumentary: Tell us the motivation to tell the story and a little bit of what the story is about.
Sure, well when I was a kid, I used to go to Florida to visit my Grandmother every winter and used to go to play Bingo at an old folk’s home called Century Village. I used to play with my Grandma, my sister and real great memories of that time. You used to play and gossip and play for a buck, and win ten bucks, and the candy. It was really exciting, and really love that time with my Grandmother and my sister. Then when I was older, my girlfriend and I were bored on a Friday night and went to play Bingo at a real serious, big time, big money Bingo. It wasn’t a dollar to play, it was big money to play, big prizes, lots of people, and it was totally different from what I remembered; it was intense and a bit scary, and there was a weird subculture thing going on. Totally different from what I remembered as a kid, but totally intriguing... That night I won the jackpot, 1500 bucks and it was great, but being the first time at the hall, I felt that everyone was kind of staring daggers at me and they were jealous and wanted to kill me. So we rushed to the car and went home. About three months later I read in the Toronto Star that a regular at a Bingo hall, an elderly man, had been beaten to death in the parking lot for his jackpot, which was the same amount, same parking lot by four other regulars of the Bingo hall and it was kind of the Bingo Murder of Toronto, kind of strange and made me think a lot about this place, why people were going, and it didn’t mathematically make since to me why four people would kill someone for 1500, which is 300 bucks each. Made me think that there was something else going on here besides the money, so I wanted to figure that out. That was kind of a long answer, but…

MyDocumentary: That was great. So there was the idea for your story...
That was the idea for the story, and the movie is really a character study, as Bingo halls are really on the wane here in Canada, especially Toronto, very few remaining so we spent a month, and I a year and a half at a bingo hall in St.Claire at a hall called Delta Bingo and its about this one hall in particular and a group of regulars that have been playing here for years.

MyDocumentary: I know it’s uncomfortable, but I’m just gonna scootch in here a little closer...
Oh, ya, sure.

MyDocumentary: So, you had the idea for the movie, and the location. Tell us going in, did you have an idea of what the story arc was gonna be for the movie?
Well, I really didn’t think of the movie having a big story arc, because it’s not the kind of movie where thing A happens, then thing B happens, then thing C happens. We knew for our team bingo was this compelling thing where the game itself from the outside point of viewer wasn’t that compelling, but from the people playing inside it was a big thing, it was life and death, big time thing, being one number away was really thrilling. So in a way, there was an arc within in each game. People winning and losing. The movie was really a bunch of small arcs of people winning, and losing, a series of small arcs of being close to winning and not close winning, and people not close to winning for a very long time and how that affects their psychology. There were a few larger arcs we discovered as we went along, but really the film’s thrust was in the individual scenes.

MyDocumentary: It’s like Indiana Jones; it’s exciting right from the beginning right to the very end.
Yah. I like to think so, but its funny, right from the beginning we talked about, part way through editing, talked and referenced it like an action film. There was a set price in each of the three acts of the film, there’s a big game or big montage in each of the three acts that really is self contained excitement I think; all are scenes that are totally exciting and you’re in the game and with the players and your rooting for someone.

MyDocumentary: So when you were able to see people for the first time, watching the movie, and you saw that level of excitement, how did that make you feel as a director?
It was great. It’s not a comedy by any stretch. Its human film; sad moments and funny moments. Those moments are the most precarious as a director it’s a dramatic thing you cant really gage reaction; with funny things that are intended to be funny, you get the laughs you intended to get you’ve done a good job; if you don’t then you haven’t done a good job. Screen wise It was exhilarating because we got laughs in all the spots we wanted to get laughs, and ‘ooh and ahhs’ where we wanted them. There’s a certain thrill to plotting out how people will react. I think we did that quite well.

MyDocumentary: I like to ask our directors if there was any part of the making of then film that you found something out about yourself, learned something about people during the creation of this film as a person?
I think if you ask any director, trying to build their own catalogue of stuff, 10-20 films, they are probably making the same film over and over again. Everything I’ve done is about how we wake up in the morning; nothing to wake up for. Learning about people’s challenges, emotional or real, they manage to keep getting up in the morning, convinced there is something good out there on the horizon.

Mydocumentary: Speaking of adversity; we ask of our directors is the budget. How difficult was it to come in under budget, getting the film done in time, particular challenges?
You’d have to ask the producer, but other films I have done on a micro-budget, under $5000.00 with just me and a bunch of friends, but we had a couple broadcasters on board for this one working with a small budget for a documentary but a rather big budget; I mean I had more money for the demo than most of the other films in total…

MyDocumentary: What was that? The budget or dollar figure…
Oh, I don’t even think I can say. I’d have to ask the producer… Bigger than $5000.00. I used to say I didn’t know what Id do with a lot of money for a film, and now I know where that money could go…

MyDocumentary: Ok, we also like to ask the producers how much footage they shoot and cut times?
The entire footage about 80hours, festival cut 50.02 Challenging because 80 hours in a bingo hall actually 80 hours of Bingo, so we’re wading through 80 hours of bingo which is quite a challenge but amazing so much that was good that didn’t make the cut; good quality stuff.

MyDocumentary: Mono waivers? Signing when they came in? Or did you have a big sign up?
We actually had a sign up on all the entrances, and for anyone that spoke; we had a PA on set. Who after we shot someone would let him or her know who we shot, and get them to sign. We had challenges of migrating on one side of the room or the other for who we could tape.

MyDocumentary: …and beautiful! All the beautiful people of the shooting side of the room…I’m kidding…
Well, beauty is a relative term in the bingo hall.... Interesting looking for sure. We though we had entered a time warp; 1972 in fashion, the way people dress, fashion, and look. It was completely fascinating.

MyDocumentary: So, where can people learn more about the film?
www.jackpotmovie.com, and it will air on Global Currents some time in the fall.

-Thank you very much.