Indie film Hoodoo Voodoo created quite the local buzz for being filmed and produced in Alberta, but co-producers Aaron Kurmey and Kevin Johnson say it’s only the beginning.

“We aren’t expecting a whole lot from this film; it was really more of a big learning experience,” says Johnson. “Now we know we can make a better movie having had this experience,”

The community must not have thought it to be a small deal; more than 500 people came out to see Hoodoo Voodoo in Lethbridge and it has been submitted for entry in the Sundance Film Festival.

Rumbunxious Skuter Productions was given a $10,000 grant from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. The filmmakers say there are a lot of granting agencies in Canada who will help fund arts projects, but that there are also cheaper ways to make a film.

“I know the university and maybe even the college new media department’s have cameras and equipment you can borrow,” says Johnson. “There are a lot of ways to keep things really cheap,”

Kurmey personally contributed $10,000 towards the film, money he had originally had saved for college. He has this advice for young filmmakers.

 “If you want to make a movie then go do it. Don’t make excuses or wait for someone to put a script in your lap or for Spielberg to call you up on the phone.”

Johnson added some of the simple methods he uses to save money.

“Stop going to the bar. We don’t really go out or waste our money on a lot of things so we always have money build up for movies.”

The filmmakers pointed out that getting a degree is not the only path to productivity.

“You can graduate from New Media or Multimedia with whatever degree you have and try and go get work but all you’re going to have is a degree,” Johnson says “Where as if you go and do it you’ll have a lot more experience.”

Kurmey agrees.

“It’s all about building something that you can actually show to people above and beyond a little piece of paper.”

Hoodoo Voodoo was shot using a $700 Panasonic camcorder and minimal equipment,” says Kurmey. “We didn’t really have much stuff, we didn’t even have any lights.”

The cast and crew of Hoodoo Voodoo spent three months filming in East Coulee, a town east of Drumheller They lived in a shanty hotel the entire time, which they said was their biggest expense.

The only business there was the hotel we were staying at, a bar underneath and an antique shop. We had no cellphone reception and hardly even running water,” says Kurmey

Even though Hoodoo Voodoo is a finished product, the Rumbunxious Skuter Productions team is still hard at work.

“As soon as we get out of here we’re going to Tim Horton’s to write.” says Kurmey “We are working on the next couple movies,”

Hoodoo Voodoo will be available for purchase online following the Sundance Film festival.