A Central Alberta filmmaker is hoping to delight audiences with a collection of short films created during her time at a film-making program in Dunham, Québec.

Lyndall Cave, of Lacombe, spent three months working with other young filmmakers and actors through Youth With a Mission (YWAM) and is excited to finally showcase their collective works on the big screen this month.

There will be a free showing of 10 short films – two of which were written and directed by Cave – at Carnival Cinemas, Red Deer on Nov. 23rd at 7 p.m. These films are a collection of the students’ work through the program and range across genres, including drama, comedy and fantasy.

Donations will be accepted to help cover the costs of the event.

“I’ve been a storyteller since a very young age and have loved to share that my whole life,” Cave began.

“However, I lived in Australia so the thought of doing films never really entered my mind. To me, the film industry belonged in North America, particularly in the United States. That changed when we moved to Canada 10 years ago.”

Cave’s love of film never waned from her childhood and led her to Olds College to attend the Costume Cutting and Construction program. She said her dreams became more tangible when she learned of the various independent films her teachers and peers were working on.

Cave eventually found a way to pursue her love of films through a Youth With a Mission (YWAM) program in Québec known as the School of Digital Film-making.

“It was a very hands-on, intensive program where we each learned to write and direct short films. There were five of us in the program, so we’d take turns working with each other and the actors of YUMA programs to produce them,” Cave said.

She dedicated her time to the initial project in a manner that allowed her work to be chosen to be developed, eventually leading to the creation of two short films: Flowers in Her Hair and Exspelled.

Flowers in Her Hair explores a situation between a young man – a sophisticated florist – and his girlfriend, who dares to show up in his store with dandelions in her hair.

Cave says the film explores the young man’s choices of his girlfriend or his hatred for the flowers.

Cave’s second film, titled Exspelled, explores the mishaps of two college students who attend a Magic College and fall in love with the same young man.

In order to decide who should have his affection, they cast a spell on him that puts him to sleep, only to be awoken by the one who truly loves him. To the students’ dismay, neither can break the spell and they must figure out who to break the enchantment.

Cave is thrilled to see her creations come to life during the viewing.

“My favourite part about film-making is watching people’s reactions as they watch the film. I’ve very, very excited to be able to open it up to the public and watch as they laugh and hopefully even cry,” she said happily.

“I want to see them immersed in a new world.”

The film collection has unofficially been given a rating of PG for mature themes and mild violence.

Cave said she hopes to draw a crowd that enjoys their experience and has fun viewing the breakout films of brand-new film industry hopefuls.

Reflecting upon her experience at the school in Dunham, Cave said she really enjoyed the challenges and perils of the film course. Cave laughed as she recalled some difficulty in the set department, as she and her classmates sometimes had to deal with issues of plans falling through even days before their scheduled filming.

Through any struggles she might have had, Cave has an immense amount of pride and happiness in knowing that she will soon be able to share the hard work of the YWAM students.

“Right now, I’m working on another short film with the Zap! Theatre Group, which we’re hoping to enter into the Break Forth Film Festival in Edmonton early next year,” Cave said.

She’s very excited to continue to develop her skills as a writer, director and producer.

“I love the stories. I love telling the stories and being able to create new worlds for people. I love exploring how characters interact with each other, with the world around them and influences like the stress in their reactions,” Cave said.

Follow Cave’s film-making career or register for the screening on her facebook page, Lyndall R Cave.

kmendonsa@lacombeexpress.com