Making It To The Big Screen

Tuesday, 24 September 2019 06:50

Actor Tyler Parr. Photo Credit: Hill Peppard (submitted)

A local actor, originally from Ingersoll is starting to make a name for himself on the big screen. Tyler Lionel Parr is featured in the film Open for Submissions, a mockumentary that takes aim at film festivals.

INGERSOLL - One of the featured films at the Forest City Film Festival stars a local actor.

Tyler Lionel Parr was born in Woodstock and spent his childhood in Ingersoll before moving to London when he was a 8 years old. Most of his family still lives in Oxford County.

Parr says he remembers the moment, he knew he was going to be an actor, it was when he was a kid performing in a local show called Everything Old is New Again.

"I did something that was off script, I thought it would be funny, it was impulsive and I remember the audience just bursting with laughter, vividly, I remember that moment and that feeling of having all those people laughing over what I did. I thought, that's it for me, I'm sold, I'm done, I'm in, I have got to keep going, It was the best feeling in the world. That is how it all began for me, it began at a very early age, before I even went to High School, I was hooked for life."

Parr is featured in the film Open for Submissions, a mockumentary that takes aim at film festivals. Parr says the movie is a lot of fun.

"It was written by Bryan Skinner and Stacy Ashworth and it is basically a mockumentary about film festivals, about everything leading up to the film festival and how chaotic it can be. Bryan is a great writer, I have been in his projects before, he has a very strong political message that he likes to include in his films. This one has some wonderful underlining's of political messages and just the craziness of film festivals and what's involved, what to expect and what you go through as a filmmaker, how some of them are a great success and some of them are not so great. It really focuses on all those key players that make the film festivals happen, it's absolutely hilarious, you have to go see it, I mean it is just one that just snowballs all over the place, it's hilarious, it's great."

Parr plans on taking part in the Q and A's after the film airs every night at the Forest City Film Festival from October 23rd to the 27th. Parr also had a film in the Festival last year called Ironied, which is a short film that he had written, directed, produced and stared in.

"Because London was my home town, it was even more exciting, because I could celebrate this with friends and family and be amongst those, that for so many years in London, supported me as an actor. I got to bring this film home, it was perfect, it was a perfect festival for me and of course the festival itself is just so fantastic."

He is also working on a few projects of his own that he hopes will hit the big screen soon. Right now he is just working on getting some funding or grants for his next project, that is already written and ready to go.