Nicky Forsman likes a challenge. She followed her year in Foundation at VFS with another in Entertainment Business Management, and now, in addition to working in Program Development & Production at Vancouver’s Shavick Entertainment, she’s tackling the monumental job of producing an independent feature called The Coming.

You might remember it – we’ve touched base with the production a few times. It’s written and directed by Film grad and Foundation instructor Chad Costen and Nicky estimates that 90% of the crew were friends and colleagues from VFS.

Nicky’s Foundation experience mirrors that of many other students. It’s not just a way to lay the groundwork for continuing on in another VFS program - it’s a place to experiment, to try disciplines on for size, and to discover career paths they might never have found otherwise.

When it was over, she had a revelation: “After working on a variety of indie shows in varying capacities and after having many many conversations with Foundation TA [now instructor] Chad Costen, I realized what was really lacking from our local independent scene - young aspiring producers,” she says. “I saw an opportunity to grow in the industry, outside of the creative, but I had no idea how.”

“At the time, the EBM program was not in place, so I decided to enroll in a film studies program at a local university. Before my classes started, I found myself working with Chad to create promotional materials and organize fundraising events for a feature film he was writing entitled The Coming. I loved what I was doing, raising money for this story and this person whose talent I believed in so strongly. I wanted to know what else I could do in a producing capacity to help this project get made, and be successful – and in the future do the same for other projects out there.”

“Most people thought we were crazy,” adds Chad. “But really, I’d done my homework, and I had a plan, and I found people who believed in that plan and saw ways to make it better and stronger. If not for having people like Nicky in my life, all my creative dreaming and scheming would amount to very little.”

For Nicky’s part, when EBM came along, as she puts it, “I was hooked.”

“Foundation gave me the creative basics and understanding of how filmmaking works. This, combined with my on-set experience, gave me an adequate knowledge of the creative world. EBM gave me what I was lacking at the time: an adequate understanding of how the film business works.”

“While in EBM, I took a handful of film classes, but I was able to apply something from each course to film in some way. The biggest thing I learned is that it’s all connected - from Accounting and Marketing to Music Business and New Media, there was something to be learned and applied from every class and instructor.”

Pulling an indie feature out of pre-production limbo and into a full-on shoot always means facing down a series of Herculean challenges, one after the other after the other. Even though the official blast-off date for The Coming is all the way in November, the team has to work at breakneck speed.

“The Coming has been nothing but an adventure from day one,” says Nicky, “So it’s not surprising that the uphill climb continues now through post-production. We are in a race against the clock to meet completion funding and festival deadlines – all of which are approaching very soon.”

Chad agrees. “I know seven months seems like a long time for some people, but for us in post-production, we only wish we had twelve. Welcome to the world of indie filmmaking, I guess.”

The team’s now racing to picture lock so that sound and visual effects work can begin. Chad: “Post is going well and things are pretty busy, but not nearly as hectic as pre-production was, nor anywhere near the insanity of production itself. Well, for me at least! My editors [Film Production alumni Patrick Britton and Courtney Urquhart] might disagree.”

But everyone’s optimistic, and Nicky’s excitement is palpable: “As a producer, I am very fortunate to be working with Chad, who I trust implicitly to keep his amazing post team on track. I recently watched the rough cut and was blown away - and I know it’s only going to get better.”

“When people log on to our website [thecomingmovie.com] and watch the trailer, they can’t wait to see more, which is equally exciting and rewarding. I can’t even imagine what the reaction to the film will be like, and I can’t wait to find out!”

Photos - Top, The Coming crew on set; middle, Daniel Leone; bottom, Kimara Brilling