The following blog was first posted by our friends at Modacity on their own site. We are really excited about the stories they are telling through film, and can’t wait to share them with the world.

When BikeArlington contacted us in late 2014 about commissioning a series of six short films designed to promote cycling in their county, we didn’t hesitate for a second. This was an incredible opportunity to apply the skills and style we had developed while independently producing the Vancouver Cycle Chic Films, but on a much larger scale. The logistics of casting, scouting, and shooting a documentary series on the other side of the continent was admittedly a little daunting, but with a talented and dedicated crew of close friends, we managed to plan and execute everything (rather) smoothly, and spent two memorable weeks filming “on location” in the DC metropolitan area earlier this year.

Casting call

Our open casting call attracted a great deal of attention on the ground in Arlington, and left us sifting through over one hundred wonderfully detailed applications with our team. After three exhaustive rounds of screening – including additional email, Skype, and telephone interviews – we decided on the six unique stories that we wanted to tell:

• Edgar: An inspiring community leader dedicated to improving the lives of newcomers through education.
• Natalie: A bicycling real estate agent who works to make change for the people and world around her.
• Grant & Gillian: An unconventional family of five whose cargo bike travels more miles than their minivan.
• Nonie: An empty nester challenging and rediscovering herself through a newfound sense of adventure.
• Chris & Rachael: A father and daughter who used bikes as a physical and emotional focus to defeat Leukemia.
• Annie: A teenage ballerina who stays grounded and finds ‘home’ through the people and activities she loves.

Our team has spent their summer working tirelessly behind-the-scenes on post-production, which includes sorting through hours of video and audio footage, editing it together into six cohesive narratives, composing original pieces of music, and then completing the final audio mix and coloring. We are now nearing the end of this process, which has kept us busy 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are finally preparing to unveil this project to audiences around the world. These six short films will have their world premiere at a series of events during the second week of September:

• September 10th, 2015: World Premiere: Arlington Cinema & Drafthouse. Q&A with all cast and crew.
• September 12th, 2015: Philadelphia Premiere and Q&A with Producer Chris Bruntlett (Details T.B.D.)
• September 15th, 2015: Vancouver Premiere and Party, Sidesaddle Bikes. All crew will be in attendance.

Host a screening

Interested in hosting a screening of your own? Please contact us and we’ll make the necessary arrangements. Can’t make it to any of these particular events? Don’t fret! These short films will be unveiled on the BikeArlington YouTube channel in mid-September. A sincere “thank you” to each and every person who helped make this project happen. We couldn’t be prouder of these six inspiring little stories, and can’t wait to share them with the world.